Sontronics SATURN

The Saturn is a condenser microphone inscribed in England and manufactured in China.
Its capsule is strongly inspired by the K67 (used in U67 and U87).
The microphone offers 5 directional (Omni, subcardio, cardio, hypercardio and 8).
Requires a 48v supply

It has two notch filters down to 75 and 150Hz (12dB/oct) and PAD at -10 or -20 dB

It can collect 130dB SPL (I do not know if this is with or without PAD)

Response curve can be summarized as follows: a slight depression of 2dB at 200Hz and the characteristic hump 5dB to 8Khz of K67 cells.

It is supplied in a small suitcase with his suspension.

This microphone is considered "good to all" by Sontronics, and it has been studied from the beginning in this direction.
Excluding the close miking of drums and the very fancy because of the suspension investment, you can actually place the microphone to any source and get immediate results.
Over his PAD and filter to adapt the microphone to all sources, even if it has no analog ChannelStrip on hand to treat the outlet.

I have not much used the microphone and I will complete this test as you go.

I mainly use the Saturn there or my R84/M160 do not provide:
-Very sweet female voice, which blow preamps with a ribbon
-Acoustic instruments where deaf who need a highly detailed rendering in production.
The in-room Omni, especially in my marble staircase or a battery 1.50m 40cm from the ground.
-In front of the bass drum, as I already use my other good couple overhead mics and room.

OVERALL OPINION

It has been 3 months since I use it quite regularly.

I am passionate about starting ribbon microphones, and I continue to use as possible.
However I also need a microphone with a higher than tape and several liability directional sensitivity.

I discovered Sontronics their models and tape myself naturally turned to this model capacitor when I learned of its existence.
I appreciate his precision, his 5 directional allowing for use in all circumstances and perfectly dosed the impact of the acoustic environment.
If acute Sontronics is close to a U87, I especially appreciated the lower midrange. The small dip at 200Hz is very useful to give a clear sound. Clearly this is my micro ultra modern vintage look in my park.

The only downside for me lies in his suspension, if it draws honorably to eliminate vibrations, is absolutely not practical for fantastic investments. However, no elastic stories slamming, what can happen in the competition.
Talk about competition, precisely. The Saturn costs about 800 € new. In the same price range, there is the AKG C414, neumann TLM103, the AEA R84, the AT4080 to audiotechnica (to cite references that I know of).
To try all these mics I think the Saturn beats Platte sewing other large diaphragm condenser microphones. It is softer than the other two but still accurate, it offers more directivity and a lifetime warranty.

If you are a home studio in search of a versatile microphone that can adapt to all working conditions, you do not necessarily have a lot of equipment (preamps, channelstrips ...) the Saturn is an excellent choice. Attention to the omni direcitivité if the work environment is noisy: this microphone means "far" when it is ubiquitous and can easily pick up sounds coming from the floor below. Home studio, choose cardio or hyper cardio or the figure 8 gives the main compartment width while ignoring many of the defects of the environment (just place it in the right direction).

If you hate the bump in the treble of the K67 and you have a good preamp, think both models band that I mentioned above. They have a much more neutral sound (less bright) than the Saturn and directionality in 8 is very useful in home studio. Moreover, these pickups are very easy to "neutralize" the EQ, just go a little lower and treble a bit serious.

I will update the test As I make friends with my saturn.