Musicians and sound techs are familiar with the problem of microphone stands that are screwed on too tightly and can hardly be reached in the forest of stands on stage. Once you finally get them loose, they lose their position completely - making fine adjustments to microphone angles by a few degrees difficult.
Austrian Audio's engineers have developed a swivel system for the microphone basket that allows a 220° rotation of the field. The microphone can be very easily aligned precisely to the sound source or according to personal sound preferences without having to awkwardly adjust or loosen the microphone stand; frustrations such as microphones falling off or fingers pinched on the stand are now a thing of the past.
Precise directionality is a prerequisite for the targeted alignment of a microphone. The OC7 and the OD5 use Austrian Audio's well-known Open Acoustics technology: the "linear cardioid" polar pattern captures sound not only from the front, but also from the rear or side, perfectly and undistorted. This ensures that even the, sometimes unavoidable, crosstalk from other instruments sounds good.
In addition to their shared attributes, the OC7 and the OD5 each have unique features. The OC7’s true condenser capsule is perfectly protected by the microphone basket and can therefore be positioned without hesitation even in places where the microphone might be subjected to knocks. The OC7 is equipped with a 2nd order high-pass filter with an operating frequency of 40 or 80Hz. A -10dB pad, which results in lower sensitivity by reducing the capsule voltage, allows it to be used in front of the loudest sound sources. With an outstanding 154 dB SPL (>160dB SPL with pad), the OC7 is extremely resistant to overload.
The OD5 features the active-dynamic circuit; the same one featured in the OD505 vocal microphone. This ensures that even long cable runs have no negative effect on the signal. In addition, the active-dynamic design allows the integration of a proper high-pass filter. In the OD5, a CAB ("Cut & Boost") filter is applied at 80Hz, which is particularly well suited for use with guitar amplifiers, for example. This filter removes the unusable low frequency sound and at the same time increases pressure in the bass range. The second position at 120Hz is a common 2nd order high-pass filter.
Another feature of the OD5 instrument microphone is the pad switch. In the zero position, the active dynamic microphone has a sensitivity usually found in condenser microphones, and at the same time, it’s almost impossible to get the OD5 to overdrive. The -10dB pad is ideal for protecting downstream mic preamps from clipping when they have no pad capability themselves.
The versatility of the OD5 ($299 USD / €249 EUR) make it a great workhorse with many applications. Perfectly suited for use on various drums with an optional custom mount, it’s also useful on guitar amplifiers, as well as in front of wind instruments.
The OC7 ($519 USD / €429 EUR) offers an open and transparent sound reproduction and, due to the strengths of the OCC7 small diaphragm capsule, it is ideally-suited for use on all instruments that have particularly lively transients. This includes all kinds of percussion instruments including snare drums and toms, but also piano and acoustic guitar. The open, silky sound also lends itself to use on various string instruments.
New Wireless Heads
Austrian Audio also announced the new OD505 WL1 and OC707 WL1 Wireless Microphone Capsule for Shure radio systems. Perfectly matched to the human voice, the OC707 WL1 provides great volume and allows all the subtlety and detail of the vocals to stand out in the mix without anything being overemphasized. The microphone’s proximity effect has been optimized so that it can be used to the singer’s advantage in any performance, retaining the character of their voice at various distances from the mic and with changes in mic technique.
The OD505 WL1 is the perfect performance partner for any artist, whether lead or backing vocals. It’s natural tuning and strong signal quality provide the perfect foundation to bring out the strengths of any vocalist with minimal tweaking required. In many live situations, ambient noise is a big problem. That’s why a supercardioid was chosen as the directional characteristic for the OD505. This focuses on the voice, so drums or other loud instruments on stage are not additionally amplified through the vocal microphone.
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