For those who simply love the elegant retro style but still pursue rather good sound quality, spending a great amount of money on the best vintage microphones may not a very wise thing to do. With the revival of the retro style on the market, microphones appear with 1970s antique design while incorporating modern features that means they can be used to record a podcast, live-streaming, solo instrument recording and more.
Types of Vintage Microphones
In terms of appearance, vintage microphone generally adopts grille housing which makes it stand out of ordinary microphones and attracts antique enthusiasts. According to different transducers, vintage microphones can be classified into two types.
Dynamic mic feature:
- Good suppression effect on environmental noise
- No need to use hiss canceller because it doesn’t pick up extra high frequency sound.
- Avoid harsh sounds.
- Widely used, including voice/instruments recording.
- More suitable for outdoor recording.
Condenser mic feature:
- High sensitivity and flat frequency response.
- High audio reproduction.
- The preamplifier needs to provide less gain for desired level.
- Electric metal plates and thin diaphragm bring more vocal details.
- More suitable for indoor recording.
What are the features of Elvis Presley’s Retro Microphone?
High Performance
- Dynamic microphone features with noise reduction effect and fall resistance, suitable for stage.
- Cardioid polar pattern reduces sound pickup from the rear and minimizes sound reflections.
- The frequency response of microphone can adapt to speech, voice and instrument.
Functional Retro Design
- Classic grille appeal shapes Elvis’ personal stage style
- Durable and sturdy die-cast housing ensures reliability even under harsh environments.
- Flexible stand supports easy operation during different stage performances.
EMR: A Combination of Retro Appeal and Modern Functionality
From many people point of view, the sound quality of retro USB microphone could not arrive an ideal level for podcasting, musical recording or other demanding recording needs. Since I have tried some USB microphones, I have different opinions. It’s officially said that EMR is the first USB microphone combining retro appearance and studio-level sound in MOMAN family. So today I am going to make a review on MOMAN EMR microphone and talk about why I think it as the best retro USB microphone in this price.
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Sound Quality
The sampling rate of EMR is up to 192kHz/24bit. So what does 192kHz/24bit mean? Generally, the higher the sampling rate is, the lower the recording loss is and the more authentic the human voice details are. Meanwhile, high sampling rate makes music better at ultrahigh frequency. Ultrahigh frequency mainly shows the sound field sense of space, reverberation and sense of air. Thus, the music from 192kHz sounds more open and soft rather than stiff, harsh and manic, and from 24bit brings more musical details, thereby adding more appeal.
On the other hand, EMR uses 16mm large diaphragm. The sensitivity of large diaphragm mic is higher than mid and small diaphragm, because large diaphragm mic has larger contact area with audio signal, captures more low-frequency signal and highlights voice recording. Frequency response from 20Hz to 20KHz and -38dB(+3dB) high sensitivity make EMR able to capture large scale of sounds and keep more details. Different from other USB microphones, EMR can be more used in podcasting, voiceovers, solo instrument recording and other sound quality-oriented occasions, which is beyond my expectations.
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Retro Appeal
To avoid weighing appearance more than function, EMR innovatively uses vintage grille design with triangle noise shielding. In outward view, the triangle mic head can pickup maximum of your voice from the front while shielding noise from the side and rear. Meanwhile, it persist classic grille outlook from 1950s to 1970s. You could imagine you were speaking to the delightful golden days and the matte black wouldn’t make it look too out-of-place even in a modern studio.
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Setup & Use
As a USB microphone, EMR is certainly a plug-and-play device for PC. To my surprise, it is built with Type-C output and supports directly working with smartphone. For apps like TikTok, it highly improves my production. Last but not Least, the design of button board couldn’t not be ignored. Free of too much complicated controls, there are only two buttons onboard, one for volume adjustment and the other for balancing outputs between microphone and computer.
When it comes to Elvis, it’s always a must to speak of microphones he used. Gradually, I learn something about retro microphones and begin to look for the most ideal one. As I say, retro usb microphones can be diversified into various types according to different factors. It is important to be well aware of your actual usage scenario, which is the decisive factor. If you don’t intend to show your talents on stage and simply need a quality microphone for home or studio production, the Moman EMR usb microphone has impeccable quality, attractive design, ease-of-use and everything that you need to make a podcasting hit.
