Austrian Audio OC-S10

The OC‑S10 is a premium vehicle for Austrian Audio’s highly regarded CKR‑12 microphone capsule.

Most of the products we review in Sound On Sound are good. Companies who make bad products don’t tend to stay in business for long! Even so, it’s rare to encounter something that instantly screams “modern classic”, but Austrian Audio’s first product was one such. Released in 2019, the OC818 is a multi‑pattern capacitor microphone based around a re‑engineered take on AKG’s celebrated CK12 capsule. Employing a ceramic surround rather than the original 'brass ring', Austrian Audio’s CKR‑12 is more consistent, more stable and easier to manufacture than the original — but, crucially, it shares all of its positive sonic qualities.

Had Austrian Audio simply used this capsule in a faithful recreation of the C414, it would no doubt have been very popular. But what makes the OC818 a modern classic is that they opted not to be limited by AKG’s 50‑year‑old design choices. The OC818 dispenses with the C414EB’s output transformer, improving its specs and producing a cleaner sound. It uses microprocessor control to adjust the polarisation voltages to each side of the capsule, for superb polar pattern accuracy. Cutting‑edge manufacturing techniques deliver unprecedented consistency, meaning that any two OC818s can be used as a pair with no need for additional matching. And not only can the polar pattern be controlled remotely over Bluetooth, but the signals from the front and rear of the capsule can be recorded independently, whereupon Austrian’s Polar Designer and Stereo Designer plug‑ins enable far greater control over the directionality of the mic than would be possible with switches alone.

What’s perhaps most impressive of all about the OC818 is that it remains relatively affordable, retailing at well under £1000. That’s not something you can say of many modern classics, or indeed of second‑hand C414EBs. What’s more, Austrian Audio have used the same capsule in two even more wallet‑friendly mics, the fixed‑cardioid OC18 and OC16. They’ve also diversified into headphones, pencil mics and stage dynamic mics, with solid results. Until now, however, they haven’t entered the premium tier of the mic market.

Launched at this year’s NAMM Show, the OC‑S10 is very definitely a premium studio microphone. In creating it, Austrian Audio haven’t steered away from the trusty CKR‑12, but nor have they taken some of the more obvious paths open to them. They could, for example, have used this capsule as the basis for a high‑end valve mic, or added an expensive output transformer and fancy Japanese capacitors. They could even have made a stereo mic. What they’ve actually done, however, is more subtle.

Doing The Rounds

Unusually, the shockmount does not use elastic cord; the inner cradle is suspended using triangular pieces of rubber‑like material.The OC818, 18 and 16 all share a distinctive body shape, which is a little reminiscent of a hip flask. In its way, this is as individual and recognisable as the angular C414 body, and has some advantages over that design, including reduced susceptibility to RF interference. The OC‑S10, though, looks nothing like either. Its generously sized, cylindrical body is outwardly more conventional than that of the OC818, but in its own way represents an equally innovative design.

Five basic polar patterns are available — omni, subcardioid, cardioid, hypercardioid and figure‑8 — and the OC‑S10 has the same complement of pad and high‑pass filter settings as the OC818. Rather than being adjusted using switches, however, these are selected using detented rings that surround the entire body of the mic. These are satisfyingly solid in operation, but more practically, they make the current setting easily visible from any angle, since the legends for each position are reproduced on the rear side.

The OC818 already has an unusually open headbasket, but the OC‑S10 goes even further, suspending the capsule in a considerable volume of free space. A similar three‑point elastic capsule mount is used, and this in itself offers a decent degree of shock protection, but one of the OC‑S10’s outstanding features is the dedicated shockmount that Austrian Audio have developed. A threaded ring holds the mic in place within an inner cradle, which in turn is suspended within a rigid outer frame. The linkages between the two are not formed from conventional elastic bands, but from Y‑shaped pieces of soft rubber. These provide support in compression as well as in tension, and so even though the mic itself is only attached at one end, there’s minimal droop when used horizontally.

I’d go as far as to say that this is the most effective shockmount I’ve ever tested.

This mounting system is remarkably good at preventing the transmission of mechanical noise. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that this is the most effective shockmount I’ve ever tested,...