GearCast Video - Audio-Technica AT5040 Large Diaphragm Condenser Studio Vocal Microphone Review

Audio-Technica's premier studio vocal microphone, the AT5040 represents a milestone in condenserDefinition:
An archaic term for Capacitor. design, offering remarkably musical high-fidelity performance, with profound realism and depth, presenceDefinition:
An EQ effect that boosts audio, typically between 2 kHz to 7 kHz, to add clarity and articulation. and purity of sound.

Designed as a first-choice vocal microphone, the AT5040 cardioidDefinition:
A microphone's heart-shaped directional pickup pattern. condenser features an extremely smooth top end with controlled sibilanceDefinition:
A high-frequency, hissing sound produced by speaking or singing consonants such as "s." When excessive, it can produce an unpleasant distortion that can be minimized with a De-Esser signal processor. See De-Esser.. Large-diaphragmDefinition:
The moving portion of a microphone that transforms sound waves into motion that can ultimately produce electrical waves. characteristics and fast transient responseDefinition:
The ability for a piece of equipment to follow a fast-rising waveform, and reproduce it accurately. also make it ideal for recording acoustic instruments such as piano, guitar, strings and saxophone.

The first of our design criteria for the AT5040 was purity of sound. To achieve this, Audio-Technica engineers developed a four-part rectangular element, the pinnacle of our recent breakthroughs in sound-capture technology. Four exquisitely matched ultra-thin diaphragms function together (with outputs proprietarily summed) as Audio-Technica's largest-ever element, providing combined surface area twice that of a standard one-inch circular diaphragm.