Pro Audio Review - June 2008 - (Page 27) densers produce, but I liked the sound because it was pretty smooth in the critically sensitive high-mid/low treble hearing frequencies without that hyped stridency you can get from a condenser with the broader treble rise. But sometimes you get an acoustic “sheen” from that treble tilt that many condensers impart. If you want that sheen with the Cascade, you may want to tweak the EQ — especially with a really dark instrument. With the separate elements, proper mic placement and a good-sounding room, the stereo spread was excellent, as was the mic’s ability to pick up the room sound. I tried the X-15 with my custom Martin 0028 with silk/steel strings and it really sounded good with a tight bass and warm midrange. The resulting recording really filled out the width and depth of stereo recording. With most of the stringed instruments that I used the sound was pretty consistent. With its mostly flat response to 10 kHz, the mic just does not have any hyped character. The Figure 8 pattern allows you to experiment to find the optimum position for getting the best stereo image, plus picking up a bit more of the room. Although I did not test it on drum overheads, I would expect its smooth character and two-in-toone placement to work well in such an application. I did not have another stereo ribbon for direct comparison, but the X-15 has the essence of a ribbon microphone with a smooth warm response. Other ribbons that I have used may have more richness in their low treble character, but there is nothing wrong with the sound of this mic. I also recorded a hard-to-record Guild and it sounded quite good as did the Gibson hollow-body and Fender Twin Reverb amp. | SUMMARY The Cascade X-15 stereo ribbon is a very good sounding stereo microphone with a smooth character that can work on a lot of different instruments and applications. And it is quite a deal at $399 retail; this class of Chinese made-ribbons seems to improve with every generation. With the fit and finish, the cable, and carrying case — it is quite a nice package. Did I mention it is under $400? John Gatski is Publisher/Executive Editor of Pro Audio Review. PRODUCTPOINTS + Price + Smooth sound + Quality construction + Stereo recording in one package - None SCORE A good sounding stereo ribbon at a great price www.proaudioreview.com June 2008 | ProAudio Review | 27 http://www.antelopeaudio.com http://www.mercenary.com http://www.windovertheearth.com http://www.audioMIDI.com http://www.proaudioreview.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.