Audio-Technica has introduced its flagship 50 Series of studio mics with the launch of the AT5040 Cardioid Condenser Microphone. Designed as a vocal microphone, the AT5040 is also well suited to recording acoustic instruments such as piano, guitar, strings and saxophone.

The AT5040 is a large-diaphragm, side-address studio condenser, with four ultra-thin (2 micron) rectangular diaphragms that function together providing greater combined surface area than is possible with circular diaphragm.

Accrding to Audio-Technica, the first design criteria for the AT5040 was purity of sound. To achieve this, engineers developed a four-part rectangular element –matched diaphragms function together (with outputs proprietarily summed) as a single high-performance element. By using four diaphragms as a single capsule, the design provides a large surface area without the increased weight and decreased transient response associated with single diaphragms.

Another key design feature is an internal shock mounting that decouples the capsule from the microphone body. For additional isolation, each AT5040 is provided with Audio-Technica’s new AT8480 shock mount. Featuring a proprietary design, the AT8480 was engineered not only to isolate the microphone, but to avoid the mount itself of resonances and other audio aberrations.

Each AT5040 is hand-assembled and inspected, and is housed in an aluminum and brass shell with gray chrome plating. Discreet components have been selected for optimised capsule performance. To protect the AT5040, each microphone comes in a custom-designed hard-shell carrying case, padded with die-cut foam compartments for the microphone and shockmount.

The AT5040 Cardioid Condenser Microphone, the first model in Audio-Technica’s new flagship 50 Series, will be available in January 2013, with an MSRP of US$2,999.

More: www.audio-technica.com