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Reviews For: Sennheiser HMD26-600-XQ

Category: Headphones & Boom-microphone Headsets

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Review Summary For : Sennheiser HMD26-600-XQ
Reviews: 2MSRP: $449.95
Description:
The closed and supra-aural headsets HMD 26 are lightweight and
designed for use in broadcast applications at TV and Radio. The
headphones are dimensioned for high maximum SPL. HMD 26 provides
high wearing comfort in combination with a good noise attenuation. All
variants of HMD 26 for Broadcast are equipped with ActiveGard which
protects the user from volume peaks.

The dynamic microphone with hyper-cardioid characteristic satisfies with
perfect broadcast sound up to 16 kHz. It is mainly designed for applications
in noisy environments. Another important feature is the less sensitivity
against structure-born sound. The gooseneck microphone can be used
either on left or right-hand side. The microphone boom allows an individual
adjustment at the right position.

600 Ohm per system, dynamic microphone, steel cable with connector
XLR-3 and 1/4 inch jack, 3 foot length.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.sennheiserusa.com/professional-headset-TV-radio-broadcast-applications_502466
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0024.5
VK5LDH Rating: 2014-11-09
Good Performer but Difficult to Interface Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned a couple of these headsets for about twelve months but have only been able to put them through a good real world test recently.

Firstly the headphones sound great. They are a closed type and attenuate outside noise to a large degree allowing you to better hear the audio in noisy environments. Being 600 ohm impedance they can be difficult to drive to high volumes. Most modern headphone outputs are designed for a low impedance and can't supply the requisite amount of voltage. I built my own amplifier, its a fairly simple electronics project.

The microphone I must say I found a little disappointing. Firstly, I would suggest it would be a hard task to find a microphone that is deafer than this one. With an output level of 0.4mV/Pa this microphone will challenge the majority of preamps. Even a very low noise, high gain preamp will yield a fairly high noise floor with this mic, but I suppose that for the kind of applications that these headsets were intended for, the electronic noise floor will be swamped by ambient noise.

I found that the supplied windshield for the mic is not quite enough, and can cause unattractive noises if you breathe on the mic. A Shure RK229WS windshield (for Shure SM63) fits snugly over the top of the supplied windshield and works quite nicely.

The sound of the microphone has an incredibly pronounced peak in the mid range area and sounds quite sharp indeed but I think this is an advantage for most amateur radio applications.
N4WVE Rating: 2012-06-13
Best headset set mic EVER! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have used all sorts of microphones and headset microphone combinations over the last 20+ years, and thought I had found the best, even though it seemed a compromise. I read the review on the HMD-25 from Sennheiser and thought I would check them out. I made it a point to notice what headsets various sports broadcasters were using on the major networks. I even talked with several network engineers to get their opinions. They all said that, hands down, these were the "Holy Grail" of boom mics.

I decided to take the plunge, even though they were pricey. The first thing I noticed on arrival was the weight. They are VERY light and the professional craftmanship is obvious. I pluged the XLR plug into my W2IHY EQ Plus and the audio plug into my speaker. I set my FT-2000 to some basic settings and spoke into the mic...the results were amazing! With a little audio adjustment, you truly hear the true broadcast quality of this mic! My first contact in the UK responded with "What on earth are you using for a mic?" you sound like the BBC! The audio is clear, smooth and powerful. The receive audio is crystal clear and even has automatic protection built-in to protect your ears from sudden audio spikes.

If you have any questions about this headset, please feel free to email me! You will not be dissapointed with this headset!