Almost all of the most revered studio microphones are based on designs from around the middle of the 20th century. For the Austrian Audio OC-S10 the company decided to design and build this large-diaphragm condenser microphone from the ground up.
Their design is a tribute to microphone designs of the past with a specific focus on what producers and engineers need today.
OC-S10 sound
With the Austrian Audio OC-S10 you get impressive clarity over the full frequency spectrum. The bandwidth of the capsule is a full 20Hz to 20kHz! This allows a level of richness and detail in capture that ranges from low end sources like bass guitar and kick drum to the high end sizzle of cymbals.
OC-S10 specs
The central piece of the mic is the CKR12 capsule. It’s a free-floating design with a low noise floor that can handle high SPL, up to 147dB.
Six polar patterns (omnidirectional, cardioid, wide cardioid, hypercardioid, figure-8, and individual by dual XLR outputs) let you tailor the pickup to whatever you’re recording.
It’s not short on additional tuning features either. It has 2nd order high-pass filters at 40Hz, 80Hz, and 160Hz and switchable pads at -10dB and -20dB.
Summary
Austrian Audio says, “OC-S10 was designed specifically with [these] creatives in mind – an inspiring, modern take on a classic recording paradigm but with a modern approach to sound and workmanship that pushes us into the future.”
It’s a new player in the large-diaphragm condenser microphone arena, but it’s very impressive. Most similar microphones aren’t this versatile or set up to handle pretty much any source like this model.
The Austrian Audio OC-S10 is available now for $2,992.
