Sterling Audio outs an arsenal of six affordable new microphones

17 Aug 2017 by Lyubomir Dobrev | Approximate reading time: 3 Minutes

Sterling Audio's line of affordable professional mics ought to turn a few heads... · Source: Sterling Audio

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Sterling Audio announces a new line of affordable professional microphones for studio recording. The line includes six individual microphones, a two-microphone package, and two new shock mounts. Here’s more about each model.

Sterling Audio ST170

The ST170 sports a Figure-8 pickup pattern and has the characteristic ribbon mic sound – rich presence and warm bottom-end. Sterling positions it as a good choice for electric and acoustic guitars, drums, vocals, and overhead/room tracks. The mic’s active phantom-powered design delivers an optimal output level for hitting the tonal sweet spot of mic preamps, and it easily handles up to 132 dB SPL for recording loud sources like guitar amps and drums. The ST170 ships with Sterling Audio’s SM5 metal shock mount and sturdy aluminum carry case.

Sterling ST169

The ST169 Multi-Pattern Tube Condenser Microphone is good for vocals, instruments, speech, and overhead/room recording. Sterling combined both new and traditional technology to achieve full frequency response and quick transient response without having to sacrifice authentic tube warmth and tone. The microphone offers selectable cardioid, omni, and figure-8 polar patterns with a switchable hi-pass filter and attenuation pad, along with the ability to handle up to 142 dB SPL of sound. It comes with Sterling Audio’s SM8 premium metal, band-suspension shock mount, aluminium carry case, and a low-noise power supply.

Sterling Audio ST155

The ST155 Large-Diaphragm Condenser Microphone is a large-diaphragm model designed for recording vocals, instruments, and speech. It has a hand-assembled capsule and a custom-wound transformer alongside a switchable hi-pass filter and attenuation pad. The mic is able to handle up to 144 dB SPL from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. It comes with Sterling Audio’s SM8 premium metal, band-suspension shock mount and a custom-padded carry case.

Sterling ST131

The ST131 Studio Instrument Condenser Microphone features a hypercardioid polar pattern with a custom-wound transformer and hand-assembled, 1 inch capsule. Its cardioid polar pattern makes it a good choice for a variety of recording applications. The microphone comes complete with a mic clip and a zippered carry case that complement its rugged construction.

Sterling ST159

The Sterling ST159 Multi-Pattern Condenser Microphone has selectable cardioid, omni, and figure-8 polar patterns to make for a very versatile mic. It has a switchable high-pass filter and attenuation pad, and it includes the SM8 premium metal, band-suspension shock mount, and aluminum carry case.

Sterling SP150/130

The SP150/130 Studio Condenser Microphone Pack provides two professional Class A FET cardioid microphones to let you handle the widest possible range of recording situations. The side-address SP150 is designed to deliver articulate and detailed vocal, instrument and speech recording, while the end-address SP130 instrument mic is designed to capture fast transients.

SM Shock Mounts

In addition to its new line of microphones, Sterling outed two new shock mounts: the SM5, which can accommodate a variety of medium-body (1.2 to 1.7-inch) studio microphones and the SM8, which fits any Sterling large-diaphragm microphone (1.6 to 2.4-inch body diameter).

Price and availability

While individual prices are yet to be announced, Sterling Audio’s new microphones range between $99.99 to $499.99. These are definitely good numbers for professional microphones that probably sound great for the money. Some of the models are already available for pre-order at various outlets, presumably ready to ship in a few weeks.

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