Teenage Engineering CM-15 Black large-diaphragm condenser microphone (USB/mini-XLR/minijack)

General

You have to hand it to them: with every new Teenage Engineering product, you are often tempted to think: "what have they made now?" Also with this CM-15, because how many microphones do you know with a housing in this almost square shape? And yet again, they do have something. Think about it: if you want to record on location (with a field recorder, for instance), you often have a small-diaphragm microphone at your disposal. The CM-15 is a large diaphragm (1 inch). Microphones in field recorders, they are not always the flattest microphones. In itself, given the price of an average field recorder, you can't expect everything of course. The CM-15's frequency response is remarkably flat and consistent. So the bottomline is that in terms of class, this is a genuine studio microphone, but compact and therefore portable. And that's where the CM-15 picks up points! Do you often record on location? Then the CM-15 is one for your wish list. Not the cheapest microphone, but you get genuine studio quality in return - and that may well represent a value.

Practicalities of the Teenage Engineering CM-15

We mentioned the field recorder, but the CM-15 is a pure microphone. So you need a recorder-device for it. That could be a computer/laptop via USB, it could also be a pro-audio device for which you would need XLR. What is in line with the field recorders is the fact that the CM-15 has a battery, AND the mic is compatible with 48V phantom power. The CM-15 has mini-XLR, but an adapter cable to normal XLR is included. This highly focused mic (supernier) comes pretty complete, with cables, as well as a folder, and tripod adapter. Its target audience is very diverse, its capabilities are diverse. It seems such a simple mic, and many will be tempted to look too much at the 'Teenage Engineering' name, but this is a microphone that should not be underestimated, filling a gap in the market and simply sounding good.