S3-87 Microphone

Features

• 34mm (large diaphragm) dual-sided, dual-backplate, K67-style condenser capsule
• 3 way pattern switch: Cardioid, Omni, Figure-8
• Switchable 10dB pad
• Tapered, 2-layer brass mesh grille
• 60mm elastic shockmount
• Plastic storage case

Description

The S3-87 is a large-diaphragm condenser microphone built by hand in the US (using the best components we can find from all around the world). It uses a K67/K87 style capsule and expertly optimized transformerless electronics.

We do not stock this mic; all S3-87 mics are built to order. Allow 3-5 business days for the build, burn-in, and QC.

The microphone has high sensitivity, very low distortion, and low self-noise. It has a neutral, unhyped, uncolored tone that works well on a wide variety of sources -- from voiceover to foley to drums and guitars.

If you intend to record very high-SPL applications (such as kick drum), we can build a high-SPL version of this mic upon request -- with lower sensitivity, and a 20dB pad.

The S3-87 ships with a an elastic shockmount and a hard plastic storage case.

Specifications

Origins and Components

The circuit is our highly optimized version of the transformerless design pioneered by Schoeps. We manufacture and populate the circuit boards in the US, using the finest components available: 1% Vishay Dale resistors, long-life Panasonic and Wima capacitors, vintage ("NOS") transistors from Siliconix and Toshiba.

The capsule is our RK-87, our specially tuned K67/K87 style capsule. This is a 34mm O.D., dual-backplate capsule modeled after Neumann's famous K67 (found in the U67 and U87ai microphones). We use 3-micron Japanese Mylar for the diaphragms, which are metallized with pure gold.

The headbasket is a tapered design that we modeled after the Neumann M49/M50 grille. We make it with 2 layers of mesh, as that gives the best compromise between sonic transparency and blast/EMI/RFI protection.

All these great parts come together to create a slick-looking, very sensitive (~30mV/Pa), very low-noise (~10dBA) studio microphone with wide bandwidth and neutral tonality.

Platinum Edition

The Platinum edition includes upgrades for the primary resistors in the circuit; we employ carefully matched (~0.25% tolerance) NOS tantalum parts. We upgrade the signal capacitors, the JFET, all electrolytic capacitors, and make a change to the circuit topology to improve noise filtering. The goal of these changes is to add transparency and detail, and to increase the depth of the noise floor. 

The Platinum S3-87 uses a different circuit board than the standard edition or DIY kit; we had to design something new to accommodate the topology changes and the components we selected for this upgrade.

In the Box

The S3-87 ships with a metal-frame elastic shockmount and a padded plastic suitcase. The mic is warrantied against defects for 90 days.

Availability

These microphones are built to order in our US headquarters. Allow 3-5 business days for assembly, testing, burn-in, and final QC. Click here for the latest news about custom mic ordering times.