The stream of low-cost mics from Russia shows no signs of slowing down — but that's good news according to Steven Streater, who roadtests the Nevaton CMC51 condenser mic...

There've been some new and interesting developments in microphone technology just recently. Only a few months ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing the BPM Studio Technik, a good-value valve mic from Eastern Europe. And this month, I've had placed in front of me a reasonably-priced studio condenser mic, the Nevaton CMC 51, which weighs in at £588, including VAT.

Out of the box

Build quality is excellent for the price. The mic has a solid, robust feel that wouldn't disgrace a model costing twice the price. Although there is neither a pop shield nor a mounting cradle provided as standard, there is a rather neat LED situated just below the capsule, which shows both the direction of acoustical axis, and indicates phantom power status. The Nevaton is designed around a medium diameter capsule, which is optimised in such a way as to provide 'large diaphragm', character, but without the nasty trade-off in off-axis response. Or so the sales pitch has it. Basically, there are four polar patterns available, cardioid, wide cardioid, figure of eight and omni-directional. An added bonus is a 10db pad which, it is claimed, enables the CMC51 to handle in excess of 120db.

Certainly, once powered up, the Nevaton immediately impressed with its sharp presentation, brimming with life and vitality throughout the high frequency band. It performed admirably with lead vocals, but coped especially well with backing vocalists on the wide cardioid setting, capturing several backing vocalists with an impressive sense of weight and scale, but without quite matching the body and depth of the very best.

"the Nevaton immediately impressed with its sharp presentation"

Similarly good results were achieved with a wide range of instruments, the best of them being acoustic guitar and percussion, which benefitted from the CMC 51's crisp treble detail, portraying good leading edge transients particularly well. The slight lack of body hindered certain instruments, such as Grand Piano and electric guitar, although not sufficiently to cause any major concern. It's nothing that a bit of creative EQing wouldn't redress.

The verdict

All things considered, I liked the Nevaton a great deal. There's some healthy competition around the same price point, not the least of them the Beyer MC740, but the CMC 51 is certainly good value, and well worth a listen.