Sennheiser
MKH 8070
Small-diaphragm condenser · Lobar (shotgun) · 45–20,000 Hz
- A long shotgun: 112 mV/Pa out, for picking one source out of a stadium.
- Above roughly 2 kHz an interference tube narrows the pattern into a forward lobe — the diagram here sketches that lobe; lower down the capsule behaves like a supercardioid.
- The trade for that reach is a 124 dB ceiling — this is a distance microphone, not a close one.
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 MKH 8070 yet, so the numbers are in the spec table below.
Polar pattern
A shotgun’s interference tube narrows the front lobe beyond any first-order pattern; the lobe drawn here illustrates the type — it is not a measurement of this individual model.
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Sennheiser |
|---|---|
| Model | MKH 8070 |
| Type | Small-diaphragm condenser |
| Form factor | Shotgun |
| Polar pattern | Lobar (shotgun) (Supercardioid) |
| Frequency range | 45–20,000 Hz |
| Sensitivity | 112 mV/Pa · -19.0 dBV/Pa |
| Max SPL | 124 dB SPL (THD not stated) |
| Self-noise | 8 dB(A) |
| Impedance | 25 Ω (nominal) |
| Connector | XLR3M |
| Powering | Phantom 48 V |
| Weight | 300 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 | Premium |
|---|---|
| Introduced | — not recorded |
Price tier and “a rider regular” are MicSense’s own judgement, not the maker’s.
What it gets used for
- Broadcast
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”.
MKH 8070 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 MKH 8070’s for the same live job, with the reasons. It says nothing about how they sound.
Not compared for the Sennheiser MKH 8070: response curve not redrawn yet.
-
Sennheiser
MKH 8060
- Same job: broadcast
- Same type: condenser (small diaphragm)
- Same supercardioid pattern
- Same form: shotgun
- Max SPL as high or higher (129 vs 124 dB SPL)
- ≈ 5 dB less output — add about 5 dB gain
-
Sennheiser
MKH 416
- Same job: broadcast
- Same type: condenser (small diaphragm)
- Same supercardioid pattern
- Same form: shotgun
- Max SPL as high or higher (130 vs 124 dB SPL)
- ≈ 13 dB less output — add about 13 dB gain
-
Sennheiser
MKE 600
- Same job: broadcast
- Same type: condenser (small diaphragm)
- Same supercardioid pattern
- Same form: shotgun
- Max SPL as high or higher (132 vs 124 dB SPL)
- ≈ 15 dB less output — add about 15 dB gain
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.