Josephson C706

The C706 aims to shine a new light on one of the great capsule designs.

Manufacturers of capacitor microphones fall into two categories: those who make their own capsules, and those who don’t. You could argue that buying in capsules is like bottling someone else’s wine, but capsule design and manufacture is a highly specialised art, and few people have the skill, experience and facilities to do it well. David Josephson is among those few, and his capsules are employed in quite a few highly regarded ‘boutique’ mics from other manufacturers. Naturally, they are also central to the Josephson Engineering range, where they are typically paired with strikingly original bodywork and innovative electronics.

C Suite

The C706 is a fixed‑cardioid, externally polarised microphone with a one‑inch, edge‑terminated capsule. Dubbed the J12 by the manufacturer, this is a painstaking recreation of the ‘brass ring’ AKG CK12. More than 70 years after it was designed, the CK12 is still regarded as the pinnacle of capsule design by many, and its reputation for sound quality is matched only by its reputation for being difficult to manufacture. AKG gave up on it about 50 years ago, and today the flame is kept alive mainly by Josephson and a handful of other skilled operators building CK12‑alikes by hand. In fact, Josephson have been making their J12 since 1990, meaning that it has enjoyed a longer production run than the original; and during that time, they’ve taken numerous opportunities to refine the design and the production process.

The AKG and Telefunken mics that used the CK12 were all transformer‑balanced, and many of them had valve‑based electronics. By contrast, the C706 uses the same “discrete FET cascode input circuit and active balanced transformerless output circuit” developed for Josephson’s existing C716 model. This delivers a self‑noise level of less than 15dBA, a comparatively hot sensitivity figure of 26mV/Pa, and enough headroom to accommodate sound pressure levels up to 130dB. There are no pads, filters or other controls, and the C706 is powered over a standard ±48V phantom supply, from which it draws 6mA.

Mics in this price bracket usually come with cosmetically appealing...