Sennheiser
e 865
Handheld condenser · Supercardioid · 40–20,000 Hz
- A handheld condenser at the price of a good dynamic — 3.0 mV/Pa and a response that runs to 20 kHz.
- Needs phantom power, which on a wired stage means remembering to switch it on and on a wireless stage means the transmitter supplies it.
Frequency response
No response curve yet.
MicSense only draws a curve redrawn from a graph the manufacturer publishes — it never estimates one from the microphone’s class. No published graph has been redrawn for the e 865 yet, so the numbers are in the spec table below.
Polar pattern
Generated from the first-order directivity formula for supercardioid. It illustrates the pattern type — it is not a measurement of this individual model.
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Sennheiser |
|---|---|
| Model | e 865 |
| Type | Handheld condenser |
| Form factor | Handheld |
| Polar pattern | Supercardioid |
| Frequency range | 40–20,000 Hz |
| Sensitivity | 3 mV/Pa · ≈ -50.5 dBV/Pa |
| Max SPL | 150 dB SPL (THD not stated) |
| Self-noise | — not published by the maker |
| Impedance | 200 Ω (nominal) |
| Connector | XLR3M |
| Powering | Phantom 12–48 V |
| Weight | 311 g |
Specifications: Sennheiser specifications page · last checked 2 Oct 2026. These are the maker’s published figures for this model. A dash never means zero: “not published by the maker” means the maker’s documents give no figure; “not yet checked” means MicSense has not confirmed one yet. Spotted an error? Tell us.
MicSense notes
| Price tier | Mid |
|---|---|
| Introduced | — not recorded |
Price tier and “a rider regular” are MicSense’s own judgement, not the maker’s.
What it gets used for
- FOH vocal
MicSense tags microphones by the job on a live stage, not by studio category — so you can filter for “kick in” or “monitor vocal” instead of working backwards from “large-diaphragm condenser”.
e 865 alternatives: closest in published specs
Based on published specifications only — always listen at soundcheck. These are the microphones in the MicSense library whose datasheet figures sit closest to the Sennheiser e 865’s for the same live job, with the reasons. It says nothing about how they sound.
Not compared for the Sennheiser e 865: response curve not redrawn yet.
-
Neumann
KMS 105
- Same job: FOH vocal
- Same type: condenser (handheld)
- Same supercardioid pattern
- Same form: handheld
- Max SPL as high or higher (150 vs 150 dB SPL)
- ≈ 4 dB more output — about 4 dB less gain
-
Shure
KSM9
- Same job: FOH vocal
- Same type: condenser (handheld)
- Switchable pattern — set it to supercardioid
- Same form: handheld
- About the same output — within the datasheets’ tolerance
- Max SPL as high or higher (152 vs 150 dB SPL)
-
Shure
Beta 87A
- Same job: FOH vocal
- Same type: condenser (handheld)
- Same supercardioid pattern
- Same form: handheld
- About the same output — within the datasheets’ tolerance
- Check: Max SPL 10 dB lower (140.5 vs 150 dB SPL) — check it on loud sources
Compare it against the alternatives.
MicSense lets you put up to four microphones side by side — spec table, overlaid response curves and polar diagrams on one screen. Free with a free Squaresmile account.