Neumann - BCM 104

The emotion carried by technical perfection. Neumann Broadcast Series microphones have been designed to achieve this ideal. They have been optimized according to the needs of professional broadcast studios, and their optimized functional design ensures that they are microphones with character.

With its large diameter static capsule and cardioid polar pattern, the BCM 104 is ideal for faithful reproduction of speech and music. It owes this in particular to a flat frequency response up to 3 kHz, then gradually rising into the treble. If necessary, internal selectors allow you to compensate for the proximity effect or reduce the sensitivity by 14 dB. The BCM 104 is a universal microphone, suitable for a wide variety of applications: news, round tables, radio dramas, musical recordings, etc.
Mechanical characteristics
The microphone grille unscrews easily for quick cleaning. Neumann offers, as an option, color-coded grids allowing each animator, for hygiene reasons, to use their own grid. In front of the capsule, mounted on a support frame, a very fine gauze serves as an incorporated anti-pop screen.

The microphones in the Broadcast Line range also have an internal suspension absorbing noise transmitted by the stand, ensuring compatibility with articulated microphone stands specific to broadcast applications.
Acoustic characteristics
The microphone grille houses the large-diaphragm K 04 capsule, which has a flat response curve up to 3 kHz. In the treble, the presence bump reaches 2 dB.

As the mentioned characteristics are obtained without using a resonance effect, the microphone ensures an excellent response on transients, and transmits all acoustic phenomena (music or speech) without any coloration.
Integrated pop screen
The pop screen is not only used to reduce plosives, which cause unpleasant noise when recording vocals; it prevents any unwanted body - spit, nicotine, water vapor from breathing, food particles, etc. - from attaching to the membrane. It is easily disassembled, without tools, for cleaning.
Electrical Specifications
Instead of an audio transformer, the BCM 104 uses an electronic circuit for coupling the microphone output. Like a transformer, this circuit provides excellent common mode rejection.

Interferences appearing in the path of the symmetrical signal are therefore effectively suppressed.

Thanks to a very low background noise level - only 7 dB(A) - and a maximum admissible sound pressure level of 138 dB SPL, the BCM 104 offers a dynamic range of 131 dB (A-weighted).
Filter and pre-attenuation
The amplifier integrated into the BCM 104 ensures a linear response up to 20 Hz. An active filter effectively suppresses signals with frequencies below this limit. To compensate for the proximity effect, the microphone incorporates an electronic high-pass filter, which attenuates frequencies below 100 Hz with a slope of 12 dB/octave.

A 14 dB pre-attenuation selector allows, if necessary, to adjust the mic output level to circuits designed for dynamic models. Obviously, the level of background noise will increase accordingly.

These two selectors are located inside the microphone, since they will only be activated once, when setting up the studio.
Assembly
Recommended use is to mount the BCM 104 or BCM 705 on a standard model studio boom stand.

A thread adapter, allowing screwing onto different leg models, is provided. To ensure effective protection against noise transmitted by the foot, both the capsule and the microphone have an elastic suspension.

The SG 5 mounting ball, available as an option, allows the microphone to be tilted by +/-90 degrees.
*The design of this microphone is registered by Georg Neumann GmbH in certain countries.