In Broadcast - August 2015 - 38


38

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 5 - Issue 8 | August 2015

InSound

Broadcast Microphones
Jim Evans takes a look at the increasingly
competitive microphone sector...

A

combined with the passion, expertise,
and creativity of our Associates has
led us through 90 years of success.
We are very appreciative to all of our
customers and channel partners for
their support over the years."
Still on the anniversary tack, the end
of 2014 marked the 75th anniversary
of the launch of the distinctive Shure
55 Unidyne dynamic microphone,
an iconic design and favourite of
celebrated figures through the
decades, including Billie Holliday,
Frank Sinatra, Elvis, and John F.
Kennedy, to name just a few.
Introduced in 1939, the 55 Unidyne
was internationally adopted as a
workhorse microphone for broadcast,
public address, recording, and two-way
radio applications. By the 1950s it was
so well known that it was marketed as
"the microphone that needs no name".
And even in the 21st century, its design
symbolises what many think of when
they hear the word "microphone".
To
commemorate
the
75th
anniversary Shure has launched the
5575LE - a limited edition of the classic
cardioid dynamic microphone with
"a few carefully chosen 21st-century
upgrades to improve durability and
sound quality". The 5575LE features
the current Unidyne III cardioid
element, the instantly identifiable
large outer grill, vintage badging,
and a zinc die-cast finish, with a silver
finish desk stand. The microphone is
supplied in an aluminium flight case
with a 75th anniversary logo, including
a certificate of authenticity.
A
comparative
youngster,
Sennheiser was founded in 1945, just

Photo by Robert Beck /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. v Manny Pacquiao was televised live. Handling the selection,
deployment, and coordination of wireless microphones, IEMs, and intercoms for the
event was Las Vegas-based Soundtronics

a few weeks after the end of World
War II, by Fritz Sennheiser and seven
fellow engineers of the University of
Hannover, and its first product was a
voltmeter.
At NAB, Sennheiser and Apogee
debuted ClipMic digital and MKE 2
digital that allow professional-quality
sound recordings with iPhone, iPad
or iPod touch. ClipMic digital and
MKE 2 digital combine Apogee's A/D
conversion expertise with Sennheiser's
microphone design knowledge, to give
users optimum sound quality for their
recordings. Especially designed for iOS
devices, both microphones feature a
Lightning connector to directly connect
to iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, thus
creating high-quality, ultra-portable
solutions for recording speech.
"We are proud to launch the first
digital clip-on microphones

Introduced in 1939, the 55 Unidyne
was internationally adopted
as a workhorse microphone

Photo: Anna Camerlingo

s new technologies and formats
arrive at what seems to many an
alarming rate, the humble microphone
remains the starting point in the
broadcast audio chain. It's at the sharp
end of things and always has been.
Microphone technology has moved on
since the days of early pioneers David
Edward Hughes in England, and Emile
Berliner and Thomas Edison in the US,
and long established major marques
thrive, alongside some relative
newcomers that are claiming market
share.
Shure is celebrating its 90th year
in the business. From its beginnings
as a one-man company selling
radio parts kits, Shure now offers
a diverse portfolio of wired and
wireless
microphones,
listening
products,
personal
monitoring
systems, phonograph cartridges, and
conferencing and discussion systems.
Recent additions to the Shure
product portfolio include the Shure
Axient Wireless Management Network
- the first wireless microphone
product to detect interference and
automatically change frequencies.
The MOTIV digital products are a new
plug-and-play microphone line suited
for individuals looking to capture
high-quality audio for vocal/acoustic
recording, podcasts, YouTube videos,
field recording, and more, says the
company.
"Our founder, S.N. Shure, was
dedicated to creating products of
exceptional sound quality, durability,
and technical innovation," says
Sandy LaMantia, President and CEO
of Shure Incorporated. "His vision,

Production Sound Mixer Mike Westgate used a Soundfield SPS200 microphone on the
recording of the feature documentary Crossing Rachmaninoff

Made in Sud attracts over 2.5 million viewers every week, so sound quality
was an important consideration
http://www.inbroadcast.com http://soundtronicslv.com/ http://www.shure.com/americas/products/microphones/classic/55sh-series-ii-iconic-unidyne-vocal-microphone http://www.tslproducts.com/soundfield/soundfieldsps200-software-controlled-microphone/
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