Superlux ECM999

I got this mic for room acoustics measurements. I use it when setting up sound reinforcement in live venues and for checking & balancing home/location studio setups.

I remember learning about room acoustic measurement systems in college, thinking "I'll never be able to afford such a system". Things have changed, for the better.

An omni-directional mic with such wide & flat frequency response is restricted in terms of ideal applications. Besides measurement, it would serve well as an overhead mic for overall ambience in a live room recording, as drum kit overhead, or for choir or classical room ambience. Basically, anywhere you might be inclined to use a single small-diaphragm condenser, where a degree of ambience is desirable, this will do nicely.

It even comes with a little windshield, so that you could also use it for soundart, location sound effects recording, or filmmaking where you'd like an ambience channel.

The case it comes in is sturdy & practical. This is the second special-purpose Superlux mic I've bought, not expecting great quality, but I have to say they're both very rugged mechanically and very satisfactory audio-wise. Surprisingly so, for the price.

I have bought this with an intention to use with Sonarworks Reference software. Sonarworks asked me for the calibration profile and I couldn't find any for this mic so I skipped the step and was doubting it's accuracy. I've performed my measurements, put it on shelf and forgot about it. Later I had a chance to test a genuine Sonarworks mic with most accuracy and I performed the same test with ECM999 just after that. After comparing the results I can say this one's definitely worth it's money: I don't remember clearly but I won't lie if I say that in my room the differences would be no more than +-1.5 dB across mids and higs while lower frequencies would be almost identical. I have also recorded some percussions with these and got a fairly acceptable result even though I think it's not designed for this kind of needs.

I purchased this mic to use as a reference mic for setting up my PA system with a Driverack. The unit comes in a foam padded plastic case with cutouts for the mic, windshield and mic clip which are all included in the package. The mic itself looks and feels high quality, I have Superlux headphones and I must say the build quality of their products is excellent.

The mic has a flat frequency response which is perfect for sound measurement or reference purposes, but I can see it also being used for general recording, particulary video work.

Connection is via standard XLR but you will need to have phantom power, another version of this mic is available with a built in battery if you don't have phantom. Overall this is a quality microphone for a great price and backed up by excellent Thomann warranty and customer service, very happy with this purchase and would recommend.