Microfone Sonata eco-h6a superlux
The Superlux Sonata ECOH6A is a very low-cost capacitor microphone that the manufacturers suggest is suitable for both live and recording applications — and as it costs only £25 I had to test this claim! A back-electret capsule around half an inch in diameter provides a fixed cardioid-pattern response, with a useful frequency range of 40Hz to 18kHz and a sensitivity of 22mV/Pa. Sound levels of up to 136dB can be accommodated and the transformerless output stage has a 200(omega) impedance, which should match all standard mixers and mic preamps designed to work with low-impedance microphones. As this model is a back-electret design, it has inbuilt preamps, so phantom power is required, but otherwise it is quite conventional, with the usual balanced XLR output. You also get a zip-up nylon carrying bag and a rigid standmount. There's no hard case or shockmount, but at this price that is a perfectly understandable omission. The microphone has the same slightly bulbous shape as some of its more costly Superlux stablemates, but there's no easy way to open it up to examine or compare the electronics. The capsule is protected by a dual-layer basket, and as the shape suggests this is a side-address microphone, with the 'live' side of the grille coloured silver and the rear black. There are no filter or pad switches, so you simply plug in, switch on the phantom power and go. (Of course, for vocal use you should be sure to add a step here: always use an external mesh pop-shield!)

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