The build quality of the example I received was excellent. The mic has
a handsome blue finish and a brushed metal windscreen. On the front of
the mic there are two switches for the high pass filter fixed at 3dB @
100Hz. and a pad that provides -16dB of non capacitive attenuation. As
I mentioned the mic comes supplied with both a standard mic clip (much
like the type used with the Neumann TLM series mics) and a very solid suspension
shock mount. In my observation, the supplied shock mount is of a superior
quality than many of those typically found supplied with offerings in this
price range. Much better than a $300 after market a shock mount I
purchased for my vintage AKG C24 that broke the first time I used it. In
past times, the accessories supplied with the M9 would have cost more than
the whole M9 package! It is indeed, impressive. But what does it
sound like?
In Use
We did some listening comparisons of the CAD M9 tube microphone, using
a Studio Projects VTB1 mic pre into a KORG D1600 at 16 bits. I choose to
use this less expensive pre and recording format because I thought the
M9 would be most attractive to people who are using this low cost type
of recording gear and I wanted to see how it performed in that arena.
We compared the M9 to a Studio Projects B1 on vocals and the difference
was very apparent. I happen to be a fan of the $100 SP B1 but the M9 is
definitely warmer but to my ear. The M9 seems to have as much air as the
B1 and at first listen I can see how someone might think the M9 didn't
have as much top end but if you roll off the lows a bit, the sheen and
presence of the M9 becomes more apparent. It's actually the added
lows that lend to the perception that the M9 is a darker sounding mic.
It is very warm sounding but not really at the expense of presence, sheen
or airiness.
Along with vocals we tried the M9, as a single overhead on a drum kit.
I wish I had a pair of the M9's for this test but some of the best drum
recordings ever done only used one overhead. I was very impressed with
the M9s performance. On playback, the drum kit sounded very realistic and
natural, not hyped in the least. The kick, snare and all other elements
of the drum set were very well defined. Adding a little of the kick drum
track tracked with a D112, produced a drum sound that would be deemed as
very acceptable in any genre' or era.
The M9 sounded very nice on a super cheesy, cheap distorted solid state
guitar amp, adding a bump at the low end and a nice airy sheen, smoothing
and warming up what might have been a overly gritty brittle tone. If you
can't afford that premium or vintage tube amp the M9 goes a long way to
cure the ills a less expensive solid state amp exhibits. Much better than
any modeling amp, processor or pedal will do!
The M9 also performed well on acoustic guitar providing lots (I mean
lots) of low mid punch and high end sparkle. I found it to be a bit "woofy"
on double bass but I should add that due to time constraints, we didn't
really mess around with placement much. Transparent it ain't .. but it
is very pleasing to my ear how the M9's tube warms and thickens the signal
without attenuating the presence frequencies. The opamp chip used in the
output stage doesn't seem to impart any sonic signature of its own leaving
the creamy tube tone to stand on its own. I think in the overall picture,
the M9 is very useable on a wide variety of sources and it will be doing
multiple duty in the home studio, something that really increases the value
of a purchase. The M9s costs savings come from modern manufacturing techniques.
One caveat ... the tube in the M9 generates a lot of heat. One user
of the M9 mentioned on Recording .ORG, that after 3 hours of
use in a vocal session, the glue holding the capsule melted causing
the capsule to fall against the windscreen and the mic to fail. CAD replaced
the mic but the lesson is, as with all tube mics, position the mic so it
is hanging upside down. This directs the heat produced by the tube upwards
and away from the capsule. Even if the glue were not susceptible to melting,
the heat would affect the diaphragm causing a change in performance.
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| CAD M9 up close |
