SONTRONICS Orpheus Multi-pattern Condenser Microphone

Its low self-noise and unmistakable presence allow you to record the subtlest of instruments or voices without the need
to edit afterwards.

The highly sensitive 35mm dual-diaphragm capsule is suspended in its own special mount, almost floating in the large, spherical basket. ORPHEUS’s body is cast from zinc alloy, which gives a very low resonance, helping to keep the signal tight and accurate.

Sontronics ORPHEUS is supplied in a luxury, velvet-lined wooden case and really does sound as good as it looks. When used as a room mic or for drum overheads, either on its own or in a pair, ORPHEUS will totally blow your mind!

Technical Specifications

There is rather less technical spec provided with these mics than I’d like to see for microphones in this price range. Specifically, there’s no response plot, so I couldn’t see where the presence peak, (which my ears told me was definitely there), was located. Both mics have a quoted 20Hz-20kHz frequency response, but without saying how many decibels down the response is at the extremes, so the numbers are pretty meaningless.

Both mics have a 20mV/Pa sensitivity, which is in the same ball park as most other large-diaphragm capacitor mics, and the solid-state Orpheus has a 2dB better EIN figure than the tube-based Helios, which is quoted as 18dBA. While these figures are perfectly acceptable for most studio tasks (and as good as or better than most Chinese-built mics), they aren’t as good as some of the newer designs from the more mainstream mic companies. For example, a modern-day Neumann U87 comes in at around 12dB EIN, and many of Rode’s mics, which use a new generation of surface-mount circuitry, manage an astonishingly low 7dB EIN or better.

The maximum SPL handling is also a little lower than average at 125dB at 1kHz for 0.5 percent distortion. Most mics manage 135dB or thereabouts, with the most tolerant getting up above 140dB. Putting this into perspective, it isn’t going to affect vocal recording, and that’s mainly where this mic is aimed, but close-miking brass instruments or loud percussion could throw up problems. If you’re using this as a conventional studio vocal mic or for instruments like acoustic guitar, then both the noise figure and the maximum SPL handling are absolutely no problem.