New Hampshire-based mic manufacturers Earthworks have just launched a new small-diaphragm condenser: the SR40. Featuring similar ‘electric toothbrush’ styling to their SR25 and TC20 models, the SR40 claims a frequency response of 30Hz to 40kHz, and boasts what Earthworks are calling a “near-perfect [cardioid] polar pattern”.
Exemplary technical performance characterises most, if not all, of Earthworks’s products, and the SR40 is no exception. The polar pattern is remarkably uniform across the frequency spectrum, and the microphone’s sensitivity is only 6dB down at 90 degrees off-axis, with a deep rear null, the pattern only approaching omnidirectional characteristics above 16kHz. Transient response also promises to be very fast, with a quoted diaphragm rise time of just 25 microseconds.
Self-noise is quoted at 22dB (A-weighted), and Earthworks claim a respectable maximum SPL of 145dB. No price was available at the time of writing.
