KAUSTHUB RAVI & SIVANESH NATARAJAN
FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE.
SOYUZ MICROPHONES
Microphone
SU-011
SU-013
SU-017
N
ew entries to the premium microphone category are
fairly common these days. With each microphone
looking to claim the position held by the classic
U47s and U87s. The newest contender comes from quite an
unlikely place, Russia! Named after the very successful Soviet
spacecraft, Soyuz microphones hints at a level of precision or
perfection. Every piece is hand built in their tiny facility in
Russia.
Let's talk about the LDCs. The SU-017 is the tube variant
and comes with a detachable 34mm diameter capsule with a
cardioid pattern. The company is planning to offer different
capsules with a selection of polar patterns soon. The capsule
head, internal from and top and bottom sections of the
body are all machined from brass on lathes built in the
Kalashnikov factory. Their attention to detail and nod to
history bleeds into every aspect of the design.
The SU-019 is the flagship. It is a FET condenser and
looks very similar to the SU-017. It features a hand-wound
proprietary toroidal transformer. The 019 also featured a
stacked disk construction (similar to the 017) commonly used
in the design of missiles and rockets. It claims to give the mic
a very stable internal structure.
The SU-023 or bomblet as it is rightfully called is their attempt
at making a more affordable microphone for the masses. It is
a large diaphragm, phantom powered, externally polarised
solid state capacitor microphone. It follows the same outer
body shape as the others but uses polished steel rather than
the fancy painted finish of the other two.
The smaller pencil condensers look quite beautiful as well.
The SU 011 and the SU 013 both have a similar finish and
colour profile to the LDCs. The SU 011 is a tube variant which
is quite uncommon in this category of microphones.
SU-019
SU-023
It features a changeable capsule (cardioid/hypercardioid/
Omnidirectional).
Now that we’ve gone past admiring the design and aesthetic
of the mics, we can move on to how they sound.
COME AS YOU ARE!
They sound exceptional and premium, justifying the high
price tags. The SU-019 sounds extremely accurate and
pristine. Vocals sound really natural and open with high
levels of detail while remaining soft on the sibilants. This
quality also serves acoustic guitars and snare drums really
well. In our personal experience though, we liked the SU-
017 more. It maintained the clarity of the 019 while adding
the subtle gooey quality of the tubes. On vocals, it sounds
like nothing else, with a sound that most describe as fluid
and smooth. The detail and dynamics seem so much more
pronounced and its got the right balance of warmth and
clarity. The tubes don't take long to warm up and once warm,
they saturate beautifully. The bomblet is marketed by Soyuz
mostly to be thrown on kick drums thanks to the mic’s ability
to handle high SPLs. No doubt though, they sound fantastic
on percussive instruments including Indian instruments like
tables, tapes and tavils. The pencil condensers deserve more
love than they get. The 013 sounds great but the 011 is truly
special. Having tube character on a small diaphragm allows
for some pretty diverse applications. They sounded fantastic
on acoustic guitars, sounding warm, rich and accurate. They
also performed really well on guitar amps, drum rooms
and overheads. But it definitely works best to buy these in
pairs. It gets quite expensive but they are the only pencil
condensers you will need.
All in all, these are absolutely fantastic microphones that
justify the high price tags. If you are a gear-head, these
beautiful handmade microphones are a must have.
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
41