250 Hz
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0
5
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180º
315º
270º 90º
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235º 135º
dB
R21 Polar Pattern
R21 Specifications
Type Dynamic
Frequency Response 80 Hz - 12 kHz
Polar Pattern Cardioid
Output Impedance Rated at 500Ω
Sensitivity -53 dBV/pa (1.8 mv/pa)
Connector 3-pin gold plated balanced XLR male
Dimensions
Head length 2.125 in. / 53.97 mm
Main unit length 4.56 in. / 115.88 mm
Total length 6.85 in. / 169.8 mm
Weight 7 oz. / 217 g
In contrast, directional cardioid mics are specifically designed to accept mostly
signal coming from directly in front, and to reject signal coming from behind or
from the side. The cardioid pattern is utilized by the R21 (as shown in the illustra-
tion below). For this reason, the R21 excels in environments where there is a
good deal of unwanted ambient sound—it delivers those signals originating
directly in front of the mic capsule itself while rejecting those that originate from
behind.
The polar pattern also determines how prone a particular mic is to inducing feed-
back. Feedback is that characteristic nasty howling sound that occurs when a mic
is placed too close to a loudspeaker—the signal from the loudspeaker is fed into
the mic, then into the loudspeaker, then into the mic, over and over again until an
oscillating tone is generated. Because the cardioid pattern utilized by the R21 is
so good at rejecting signal not coming from directly in front of the mic, you’ll find
that use of the R21 greatly minimizes feedback problems.
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