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Polar Pattern

The shape of what a mic hears: cardioid, omni, figure-8.

A polar pattern maps sensitivity by angle. Cardioid hears the front and rejects the rear (null at 180°); omni hears everything equally; figure-8 hears front and back and rejects the sides (nulls at 90°/270°). The nulls are the point — aim them at what you don’t want: the keyboard, the second speaker, the noisy window.

Category: Microphones