Published 12/2/08
JZ Microphones' Black Hole
JZ Microphones are a newly formed mic manufacturer from Latvia whose first product is the Black Hole, a multi-pattern condenser. Originally announced under the Violet Mics brand (but not released or substantially marketed as such), the Black Hole offers a seemingly new concept in mic design. As its name suggests, the Black Hole is black in colour and has a whopping great hole through the middle — so much so that you can hold it like a child's beaker.
The hole, however, does serve a purpose — the interesting rubbery shockmount clips onto the mic using two seemingly sturdy contact points located at each end of the hole.
The mic has uses a dual-diaphragm design, and can operate with omnidirectional, cardioid and figure-of-eight patterns. The manufacturers say that it has a frequency range of 20Hz and 20kHz, although they say nothing of roll-off slopes or the like. The mic has a maximum SPL of 134dB, and comes in a neat wooden case. It costs 1690 Euros, which was just over £1250 at the time of writing.
A single-pattern version of the Black Hole is also available. The Black Hole SE, as it's called (pictured), only operates in cardioid mode, and as such only has a single diaphragm, but is essentially the same as the standard version of the mic. It'll cost 1299 Euros (£968) when it becomes available.
Currently, JZ Microphones do not have distribution in the UK, but you can buy directly from the company in Latvia. Visit their web site for further details.
JZ Microphones +37 167 246648
www.jzmic.com
JZ Microphones are a newly formed mic manufacturer from Latvia whose first product is the Black Hole, a multi-pattern condenser. Originally announced under the Violet Mics brand (but not released or substantially marketed as such), the Black Hole offers a seemingly new concept in mic design. As its name suggests, the Black Hole is black in colour and has a whopping great hole through the middle — so much so that you can hold it like a child's beaker. The hole, however, does serve a purpose — the interesting rubbery shockmount clips onto the mic using two seemingly sturdy contact points located at each end of the hole.
The mic has uses a dual-diaphragm design, and can operate with omnidirectional, cardioid and figure-of-eight patterns. The manufacturers say that it has a frequency range of 20Hz and 20kHz, although they say nothing of roll-off slopes or the like. The mic has a maximum SPL of 134dB, and comes in a neat wooden case. It costs 1690 Euros, which was just over £1250 at the time of writing.
A single-pattern version of the Black Hole is also available. The Black Hole SE, as it's called (pictured), only operates in cardioid mode, and as such only has a single diaphragm, but is essentially the same as the standard version of the mic. It'll cost 1299 Euros (£968) when it becomes available.
Currently, JZ Microphones do not have distribution in the UK, but you can buy directly from the company in Latvia. Visit their web site for further details.
JZ Microphones +37 167 246648
www.jzmic.com
