Sontronics Mics

[chris p]

I had the opportunity to call in on Howard on Friday to check out a couple of his Sontronic mic offerings.

I'm looking at pencil condensors and multipattern non-tube large condensors, so in the Sontronics range it was the STC1 pencil and Orpheus 1" condensor that I wanted to audition.

The Orpheus in cardioid mode had a warmer mid and less accentuated top compared to the Rode NT1000 I was using as my reference. I'd read that this was a deliberate move by Sontronics to strengthen the mids, but its not over the top - its a gentle roundness to the sound that is quite distinctive. It has a strong proximity effect, but again its warm rather than boomy, and would be magic in the hands of the right vocalist. Its output level and sensitivity seemed pretty much the same as the Rode to the ear, and it handled sibilence and pop sounds well - maybe due to its internal shockmounting.

In Fig 8 mode it had very defined shape and almost total attenuation of the off-axis place. It was strange to listen to Howard talking at the off axis point and only hear reflections from the sides of the room through the headphones. The Omni also has a good shape, with nice balanced senstivity all round and only shallow dents at the off axis points. I could certainly see a pair doing nice MS, Blumlein or omni stereo miking.

Construction seemed solid, and its design surprising functional given its quirky looks. Overall, its an impressive mic.

The STC1 pencil was, to my ear, less coloured and more transparent. It had appreciably more output level and sensitivity than the Orpheus, which made it much more vulnerable to pop booming and rumble, even with its supplied windshield attached. Its more suited to a instument or drum OH/room mic role, than say vocals or a close drum or amp mic. I could hear accoustic or classical guitar sounding great through it, and I bet you'd hear every breath taken by a wind instrument payer. Overall it struck as something of a sports car - great performance if you know what you're doing and what its capable of, but dangerous in the wrong hands.

So thanks Howard for the audition, and I hope I've rendered a fair summary - feel free to correct any mistakes!

[Howard Jones]

Thanks for the comments, Chris. I think that they would give everyone a pretty good idea of the capabilities of these 2 mics. Anyone else wanting to check out any of the Sontronics range should contact me.

Cheers,
Howard.

[TimS]

Howard,
How would you rate the Sontronics Sigma ribbon mic rate against the AEA R84 or a Royer 121?

[Howard Jones]

I haven't heard the Royer or the AWA, so I'm afraid I can't offer a meaningful comment.

[TimS]

No probs H..