Sound-on-Sound Vol 12 Issue 7 May 1997

PROS 1. Smooth, open sound. 2. Very versatile. 3. Interchangable capsules 4. Comes with wooden box and clip.

CONS 1. Available by direct order only - you can’t try it in the shops.

In recent years, Russia has become known as a source of quality inexpensive microphones. Paul White investigates the latest creme de la Kremlin

This latest Russian microphone discovery is the work of Elation’s founder and chief designer, Dr Alexander Scheibmann - a suitably impressive name for a mic guru - who spent many years working at the Moscow Research Institute.

Supplied in a velvet lined box with spaces for two further capsules, the KM201 is a fairly small microphone (120 x 23.5mm), with a choice of four different heads: cardioid, super-cardioid, hyper cardioid or omni. The tems super-cardioid and hyper cardioid are usually considered interchangeable, but here the supercardioid has a tighter polar pattern than the hyper-cardioid. Unfortunately the hyper cardioid capsule was not available at the time of this review.

Changing a capsule is simply a matter of unscrewing the end of the mic and screwing on another capsule - electric contact is made via the screw threads and a single sprung contact point in the centre of the body which mates with a pin on the capsule.

The microphone body section terminates in a conventional XLR balanced output connector, and the basic package includes one capsule and a stand adaptor clip. Additional capsules are all £76.38 including VAT. Unfortunately, no frequency response plot was provided with the mic, only paper specifications, so I’ll reel out the most important ones of these before moving onto how I thought the mic sounded.

From it’s physical size, this is obviously a small diaphragm model, and the cardioid capsule has a quoted frequency response of 20Hz - 20kHz. No limits were given, so I assume these are the -3dB points. The sensitivity is a reasonable, but not exceptional 15mV/Pa at 1kHz, and the self noise is a very acceptable 16dB (A-weighted). Phantom power at 48V is required. Maximum SPL is quoted at 140dB, and the literature provided suggests that the microphone would be as happy in front of a drum kit as a string quartet. No spec sheets accompanied the additional supercardioid and omni capsules, but the subjective performance seemed comparable.

IN USE

Prior these mics being available in the UK, they were supplied to a number of TV, film and sound studios throughout Russia, which implies that the KM201 is a competent all-rounder rather than being a mic designed for any specific application. Unfortunately, the microphone is only available direct from the importers, Mytex-UK, so you may not be able to try before you buy. Given it’s size and specifications, I would suggest that its uses would include drum overheads, stereo recording of acoustic ensembles, choral ensembles (when used in pairs) and solo acoustic guitars. It would also be worthwhile trying them on acoustic piano, though I didn’t have one handy during the review period. Used with vocals, the cardioid version delivers a pleasantly full sound which combines mid range strength and projection with high end detail. It isn’t as assertive as some mics with deliberate presence peaks, but it still manages to sound both natural and confident. Background noise is reassuringly low, and the overall sensitivity is roughly comparable with other studio capacitor mics, including its unrelated Russian counterpart, the Octava MK219. The hypercardioid capsule sounds very similar to the cardioid but the omni has the distinctive, open all-involving sound that characterises non-directional capsules. (every time I check out an omni mic, I tell myself I should use them more often. The high end response of the omni mic falls off slightly, but noticeably at angles greater than 90 degrees off-axis but this shouldn’t be a problem in the majority of real life situations.

Tests with acoustic guitar also inspire confidence, and the overall sound of the instrument is captured fairly accurately by this mic, with plenty of articulation and depth. Transient detail is resolved with accuracy, yet without the undue emphasis that can sometimes result in harshness, and the overall impression is one of smooth competence. To keep things in perspective, there are a great many good capacitor microphones that have an open natural quality about them but, given its price and standard of performance, I feel that the Elation KM201 offers good value and is well worth considering.

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