Apex 460 Tube Condenser

This is the Apex 460 tube condenser microphone, manufactured in China by Alctron Electronics. It is their model T-11A rebadged as an Apex 460. Its design is based on the legendary AKG C12 studio condenser microphone.

A knob on the power supply switches the microphone to 9 individual polar patterns ranging from figure 8 to omni-directional. The Apex 460 comes supplied with a shock mount, a foam windscreen, power supply, cables and molded plastic carrying case. The supplied cable from the power supply to the microphone is about 30 feet long, more than enough for just about any studio or field recording situation. The tube is a Chinese 12AX7B, a very common tube in budget-priced Chinese tube condenser microphones.

The Apex 460 has become a very popular platform for modification. There are a number of websites on the internet that detail component and/or tube upgrades, yielding a microphone rivaling units costing over 10 times the street price of the stock Apex 460. Dave Thomas of Advanced Audio Microphones offers a modification package for the Apex 460, the finished product being on a par with the AKG C12 in terms of response and sound quality. In fact, a good friend who owns a recording studio in California recently tested the Advanced Audio CM-12 and was extremely impressed. He felt it actually sounded better than his Telefunken M16 MkII, another microphone based on the AKG C12.

My personal testing of the stock Apex 460 revealed a microphone with a robust bottom end as well as excellent response on transients in the upper partials. I did notice an emphasis in the upper midrange that might be problematic on some acoustic instruments with a high midrange component to begin with, such as flute; however, on trombone and piano the Apex 460 did a fine job reproducing the subtleties of these instruments. The sound quality and sensitivity of this microphone was very good overall. I found its overall character similar to the Stellar CM-3 reviewed below, but with slightly less midrange emphasis. The microphone already sounds good with the stock tube, but I suspect that a tube swap to a Mullard 12AT7 (or similar) might tend to tone down the midrange emphasis and “warm up” the mic’s sound a bit.

I would recommend this microphone for general field recording of small acoustic jazz groups, rockabilly, or bluegrass ensembles. The Apex 460 would also do well on a 5-piece brass ensemble.

Recently, there was an online exposé revealing that the Apex 460 is identical to the earlier Telefunken R-F-T M16 which sold for $1,200.00 (street price for an Apex 460 is around $200.00). This information generated a lot of controversy and a great deal of embarrassment for Telefunken USA. No link is provided here as the website has since been taken down, no doubt due to pressure from Telefunken. Once it was revealed that the Telefunken R-F-T M16 was, in fact, identical to the Apex 460, Telefunken USA immediately discontinued the R-F-T M16 and released the M16 MKII. Telefunken then offered purchasers of the original R-F-T M16 a free exchange/upgrade to the MKII model. Online reviews of the newer M16 MkII indicate that it is an excellent microphone.

I had the opportunity to test the Apex 460 on a very capable female vocalist and was quite impressed with the clarity with which it recorded her voice.  The slight upper midrange emphasis of the Apex 460 was a benefit in this case as it kept the subtleties of her articulation and enunciation  from getting lost in the mix.

Sterling Audio ST55

This is a Sterling Audio ST55 condenser microphone.  It features a low-cut filter to mitigate proximity effect and low frequency vibration from external sources, as well as a -10 db pad to compensate for louder sound sources.  Its pickup pattern is cardioid-only and is identical to the now-discontinued Groove Tubes GT55.

The capsule of this microphone sports a very thin 3-micron Mylar diaphragm, as well as a resonator disk mounted in front of the diaphragm to improve high frequency response and clarity on transients.  My tests confirm the effectiveness of this system.  Although it gives the microphone a “brighter” sound than one would expect, it is in no way objectionable or “edgy.”  I do not consider this brighter character to be a shortcoming of the microphone.

The ST55 exhibits a very clear sound with an average degree of proximity effect (along the lines of what one would expect of a LDC condenser microphone).  The enhanced high frequency clarity of the ST55 might make it a good choice for a vocalist or speaker with a bass-heavy voice.  I would not hesitate to use this microphone for voice-over work.

I tested this microphone on my own voice, my own instrument (trombone) and also on my 1898-vintage Sohmer upright piano.  In all cases, the ST55 demonstrated a very smooth response across the audio spectrum.  With that being said, I did notice a slightly subdued bottom end response as compared with the MXL 960 tube condenser microphone, the MXL 992 and the TCN Audio ACM-1 ribbon microphone.  This issue is more a matter of personal taste, rather than an undesirable characteristic of the ST55.

Overall, the Sterling Audio ST55 is a quality, budget-priced microphone with a very smooth frequency response and good transient response in the upper partials.  I would personally choose a pair of these to field-record a small string ensemble, harp, classical guitar or an acoustic bluegrass band.