Elation KM201

In recent years, Russia has become known as a source of quality inexpensive microphones. Paul White investigates the latest crème de la Kremlin.

There may be a biblical quotation concerning the forging of swords into ploughshares, but when it came to disbanding the Soviet Union, somebody obviously figured out that forging their weapons into studio microphones would make the metal go further. This latest Russian microphone discovery is the work of Elation's founder and chief designer, Dr Alexander Shreibmann — a suitably impressive name for a mic guru — who spent many years working at the Moscow Research Institute. I had occasion to visit one such Moscow R&D establishment some 15 or more years ago, to service a piece of measuring equipment, and was amazed to find that they had to raid another room for a light bulb so I could see what I was doing. When I asked for solder, a few precious blobs of reclaimed solder were produced from a tobacco tin! Considering the total scarcity of almost everything in the old USSR, it's a tribute to the ingenuity of Russian engineers that they continue to make so many serious contributions to the sciences.

Supplied in a velvet‑lined oak box with spaces for two further capsules, the KM201 is a fairly small microphone (120 x 23.5mm), with a choice of four different heads: cardioid, supercardioid, hypercardioid or omni. The terms supercardioid and hypercardioid are usually considered interchangeable, but here the supercardioid has a tighter polar pattern than the hypercardioid. Unfortunately, the hypercardioid capsule wasn't available at the time of this review.

Changing a capsule is simply a matter of unscrewing the end of the mic and screwing on another capsule — electrical contact is made via the screw threads and a single sprung contact point in the centre of the body which mates with a pin on the capsule. Some Asian countries have a belief that nothing man‑made should ever be perfect, because perfection belongs only to the gods. The Russians have obviously taken this on board, because both examples of this otherwise very neatly built microphone that I tried had quite noticeable (and strangely identical) dents in their cardioid capsule grilles. Both the supercardioid and omni capsules, supplied a few days later, were fine, so perhaps this was a minor pre‑production flaw.

There are many good capacitor mics that have an open, natural quality, but given its price and performance, the KM201 offers good value...

The microphone body section terminates in a conventional XLR balanced output connector, and the basic package includes one capsule and a stand adaptor clip. Additional capsules are all £76.38 inc VAT. Unfortunately, no frequency response plot was provided with the mic, only paper specifications, so I'll reel out the most important ones of these before moving on to how I thought the mic sounded.

From its physical size, this is obviously a small‑diaphragm model, and the cardioid capsule has a quoted frequency response of 20Hz‑20kHz. No limits were given, so I assume that these are the ‑3dB points. The sensitivity is a reasonable, but not exceptional, 15mV/Pa at 1kHz, and the self‑noise is a very acceptable 16dB (A‑weighted). Phantom power at 48V is required. Maximum SPL is quoted at 140dB, and the literature provided suggests that the microphone would be as happy in front of a drum kit as a string quartet. No spec sheets accompanied the additional supercardioid and omni capsules, but the subjective performance seemed comparable.

In Use

Prior to these mics being available in the UK, they were supplied to a number of TV, film and sound studios throughout Russia, which implies that the KM201 is a competent all‑rounder rather than being a mic designed for any specific application. Unfortunately, the microphone is only available direct from the importers, Mytex UK, so you may not be able to try before you buy. Given its size and specifications, I would suggest that its uses would include drum overheads, stereo recording of acoustic ensembles, choral ensembles (when used in pairs), and solo acoustic guitars. It would also be worthwhile trying them on acoustic piano, though I didn't have one handy during the review period.

Used with vocals, the cardioid version delivers a pleasantly full sound...

Used with vocals, the cardioid version delivers a pleasantly full sound which combines mid‑range strength and projection with high‑end detail. It isn't as assertive as some mics with deliberate presence peaks, but it still manages to sound both natural and confident. Background noise is reassuringly low, and the overall sensitivity is roughly comparable with other studio capacitor mics, including its unrelated Russian counterpart, the Oktava MK219. The hypercardioid capsule sounds very similar to the cardioid, but the omni has the distinctive, open, all‑involving sound that characterises non‑directional capsules. (Every time I check out an omni mic, I tell myself that I should use them more often.) The high‑end response of the omni mic falls off slightly, but noticeably, when it's used at angles greater than 90° off‑axis, but this shouldn't be a problem in the majority of real‑life situations.

Tests with acoustic guitar also inspire confidence, and the overall sound of the instrument is captured fairly accurately by this mic, with plenty of articulation and depth. Transient detail is resolved with accuracy, yet without the undue emphasis that can sometimes result in harshness, and the overall impression is one of smooth competence. To keep things in perspective, there are a great many good capacitor microphones that have an open, natural quality about them but, given its price and standard of performance, I feel that the Elation KM201 offers good value and is well worth considering.