CAD E-300

The CAD E-300 is a large diaphragm multi-pattern condenser microphone.  It has a high pass filter as well as a 20 db pad.  The mic has a few polar pick up pattern settings including omni, cardioid, and figure 8.  I have only used this microphone in the recording studio so this review will focus only on this type of use concerning the E-300.

OVERALL OPINION

I first used the CAD E-300 at a school studio and while I found it to be a suitable microphone for some applications, overall this isn't my favorite sounding condenser mic.  I do like the versatility in terms of the different pick up patterns, but I'm not a fan of the overall sound quality.  Its sound is pretty clean, but I don't get as much detail as I would like from a condenser mic like this one.  It is suitable for a variety of applications including vocals, acoustic guitar, and as a room microphone.  While this microphone is aimed at home studio owners rather than professionals, I do think that even in this price range that there are a variety of microphones available that sound better than this one.  Don't get me wrong, this is a fine microphone for doing projects in a small home studio, but if you're looking for a higher and cleaner sound quality, I don't think that I would recommend this mic.  The price of course is probably the best feature of the E-300 as it makes it accessible to studio owners in all prices, although I only think that home and project studio owners should be looking at this mic.  While I don't recommend this microphone out right to anyone, if you are a home studio owner looking for a mic like this, I would recommend looking at a variety of mics including this one to see what will work best for you and your situation...