AKG, ART, Samson and MXL all make similarly priced offerings.

AlternativesĮntry-level condenser microphone options are surprisingly broad-ranging, with Marantz possibly offering the cheapest with the £40 MPM-1000. Of course, at this price there is no flight case included, but we don’t foresee this being an issue for most of the home-studio owners who will be tempted by this microphone. The X1 A comes with a clip and mic-stand thread adaptor, rather than a full shockmount. In theory, a smaller capsule means the microphone will respond more accurately to high frequencies and have a greater dynamic range, at the expense of some sensitivity and self-noise. Furthermore, the electronics have been updated, the pad is now twice as strong at -20dB, and the slightly unusual 500Hz 4dB/Oct high-pass filter has been replaced with a more standard 100Hz 6dB/Oct high-pass filter.Ī 17mm capsule puts the X1 A in somewhat of a middle ground between small-diaphragm and large-diaphragm condensers: a ground also occupied by the AKG C1000S and not all that much larger than the 15mm capsule in SE’s RN17 microphone. This is about half the size of the 32mm K67-style capsule in the original X1. Does Size Matter?ĭespite looking almost identical to the older model, the X1 A is built around an all-new 17mm capsule. SE has managed to bring the price of the microphone down with this update, too. The newest addition to the line-up, the X1 A, is essentially an update to the original X1, aimed squarely at musicians and entry-level engineers looking for an all-purpose large-diaphragm condenser microphone. SE has since expanded the range, using the same chassis for a ribbon microphone (X1 R), tube condenser (X1 T) and a version tuned for use on kick drums (X1 D).

Mxl condenser microphone set