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B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

CAD Audio E100S
A famous name gains a new look —and a remarkable new sound
While today’s marketplace offers hundreds of affordably priced largediaphragm condenser (LDC) microphones, it’s easy to forget that in the early ’90s your choices in the budget LDC arena were minimal at best. Along with an occasional used AKG C414, it was Audio-Technica’s AT4033 and AT4050, the RØDE NT-1 and CAD’s Equitek series that fueled and fortified the initial home-studio recording boom. A pair of CAD’s entry-level E100 microphones was my original LDC choice when I made my move from cassette porta-studios to my first ADAT-based set up in the mid-’90s. The original CAD (short for Conneaut Audio Devices) E100 was a ruggedly built side-address supercardioid condenser microphone. It featured a 1/2" gold-sputtered capsule, behind a distinctive golden mesh grill, housed in a flat rectangular body with a built-in mic mount. It had a 40 dB pad, an 80 Hz rolloff switch, and a pair of built-in rechargeable batteries that could be switched on for use when phantom power was unavailable. It was made in the USA, looked great, sounded great, and, better yet, at a then street price of around $200, home enthusiasts could actually afford it. After a steady aural diet of handheld Unidynes, SMs and AT-Pros, for me the E100’s clear, detailed sound was a revelation and I put it to use on everything. Eventually other microphones with different flavors and higher price tags seduced me away, but as they say, “you never forget your first”. For this reason, when CAD announced the newly redesigned and upgraded E100S, I was eager to get reacquainted.
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Kind of like it’s never been gone Interestingly, the original E100 wasn’t dropped from CAD’s lineup until the early 2000s, when CAD moved production overseas (yes, to China) to stay competitive and retooled/updated the mic. With a new oval logo, wider, bumped out grill and some minor frequency response tweaks, they dubbed this second generation the e1002 (reviewed December 2004). At first glance the new E100S looks similar to the older models with some minor cosmetic surgery, but as we will see it’s a completely new beast. Before digging into the details, I have to mention two points of immediate interest: Number one: The E100S is designed, engineered and built back on United States shores, and while some of the parts may still be outsourced, this is a huge deal and places this mic in a very select company. Number two: Its street price is $600. Before you think, “Hey, that’s three times the price of the original”, go back and see Point Number One again. Few other USA-assembled microphones come close to this price point, and as we’ll see, you’re getting what you pay for! Getting to know the E100S Like previous models, the E100S is still a supercarioid, side-address condenser housed in a rectangular (6" x 21/2" x 1") body. The golden front grill is now a tasteful matte silver and the body has the feel of a slight rubber coating. Internally the E100S has a new fully differential, bootstrapped Quadra-FET circuit and a 1" nickelplated capsule, which is rare in an affordable modern microphone.

While the E100S retains its 80Hz highpass filter, the pad has been lessened to 10 dB, and, more significantly, gone are the power switch and internal batteries, and the E100S is now a phantom-only affair. Manufacturer-listed specs: Frequency response of 40 Hz–18 kHz, sensitivity –30 dBV (28mV) @ 1Pa, a maximum SPL level of 150 dB when the pad is engaged (meaning it can handle the occasional space shuttle launch or Screamo singer), and a 3.7 dBA noise floor. This last number gives the E100S the lowest noise floor of any microphone in its class—if not any class. The E100S mounting system has also been redesigned, and while stylistically similar to the hard mount found on the original it is now semi-detachable and suspended by a pair of elastic plastic bands. Completing the package is a stylish cherry wood box. Sound Sonically the E100S is a completely different microphone from its ancestors. Instead of offering the clear,

Recording - May 2010

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