Aston Microphones Origin

I got one of these back in 2015 and a second one this year.
We use them for 2 purposes: one is singing (soprano) and the other is ASMR.
From a sound standpoint, this microphone delivers. I like its neutrality and the fact I can EQ the recording in whichever way I please while maintaining the naturalness of the original source.
The -10db and bass roll-off switches are good to have too, just in case you need them. The filter is a pretty big deal as well.
I have been in LOVE with this until I started to do ASMR. Love it or hate it, ASMR is a good way to prove stereo pairing and sensitivity. Unfortunately, it's just here where the Origin fell a bit short.
Not only the 2019 one has a different feel from the previous (warmer sound and louder), but both have pretty high self noise levels which won't be noticed when singing, but are definitely a hindering when it comes to ASMR, especially if gain levels won't be the same due to poor pairing, making the noise much louder on one side.
Too bad because the sound clarity itself is spectacular for ASMR.

Summary:
If you're on a budget and need to record good vocals and instruments, look no further.
If you're an aspiring ASMRtist, there will be better options at a similar price range.

I both bought the Spirit and this smaller unit here. I phantom powered them with a Vovox unshielded premium cable and first thing I noticed that this one is not capable of suppressing the hum introduced by an unshielded cable (whereas the bigger one greatly does). Obviously, with a normal XLR this problem doesn't apply.
Secondly, This unit's noise fairly low but a bit too crispy on the very high spectrum, where the bigger brother has instead a really low, browny noise, basically inaudible while you record your signal, you can always hear it on this unit here instead.
Last, sound quality is really OK but... there's no comparison with bigger brother Spirit: at 100 more bucks, you get a wider and natural sound, with great Neumann-like dynamics and spectrum clarity, things that you're not gonna find on this mangled little brother.

My advice: bank on the Spirit, it really does worth the price, more than this unit would possibly ever do.

When I picked up this mic I had little to no experience with aston microphones, I had seen one used in a live context and it blew me away, I used this initially in the studio as a kick mic and in home recording with guitar amps and I was really satisfied with the weight and presence this mic had. I have also used it live in singer-songwriter environments and as a mono overhead for live drums in small venues and loved it. Given the design of the inner foam and it's casing the mic is definitely more suited to studio work. I will continue to use this mic and explore other options by Aston after using the Origin.