AES Preview: Gefell M950 Studio Condenser

C-Tec, the exclusive distributor of Microtech-Gefell microphones, announced a new studio condenser microphone, the Gefell M950 wide cardioid. Designed specifically for use in applications where capturing the natural sound and ambiance of the instrument, the M950 combines the tonal advantages of an omni-directional microphone with the directional control of a cardioid.

The M950 is extremely compact yet features a full sized 1" diaphragm for greater sensitivity. The capsule is mounted on a triangulated pedestal to reduce body refractions which of course causes comb filtering which has the negative effect of altering the source. The Gefell M950 is phantom powered via standard 48V. Using an optical bridge, the DC input is then converted to light and back to DC to both eliminate noise and hash from the supply while increasing the plate voltage to 80 volts. This allows the M950 to handle 144dB of sound pressure without the use of a pad while only exhibiting 7dBA self noise according to the company. This provides 135dB of dynamic headroom making the M950 an ideal choice for high resolution digital recording.

The compact design will be of particular interest to engineers as it allows significantly greater placement ease while reducing on-stage visibility. This also reduces the sound pressure vortex that surrounds the mic and provides a net benefit of improved on and off axis pattern control. The result is a more natural rendering of the instrument with less artifact.

MSRP: $1250 US.