Lewitt Audio Pure Tube

Lewitt’s vocal‑oriented Pure Tube promises valve tone without the noise.

From their headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Lewitt Audio have built up a formidable reputation for innovation in microphone design, culminating in last year’s flagship LCT 1040: a mic that offers an extensive selection of sonic options around the theme of blending between valve and FET signal paths (see www.soundonsound.com/reviews/lewitt-lct-1040). The impressive features of the 1040 come at a cost, however, and Lewitt have sensibly borrowed some of the R&D that went into that product to produce a more affordable option for engineers who require a valve mic of similar quality but who don’t need all the bells and whistles. The result is the Lewitt Pure Tube, a cardioid‑only valve capacitor microphone.

First Impressions

Lewitt offer the Pure Tube as part of two different bundles. The Essential Set comes with a minimal set of accessories, including a basic mic mount and an even more basic case for keeping the mic dust‑free. I was sent the Studio Set, which features a robust Peli‑style case housing the mic, the compact power supply and a very large shockmount, which also serves as a neat way of attaching the custom pop filter. I like this idea of offering both a minimal set and a more fully featured package, and it is perhaps a better option than cutting corners by supplying lower‑quality cases and mounts to all buyers regardless of whether they’re needed.

The mic itself looks very similar to the flagship 1040, with a simple, functional form factor that makes no attempt whatsoever to mimic any of the vintage designs we are so accustomed to. I often like to ask clients coming through my studio what they think of a review mic’s appearance and, for what it’s worth, I recall hearing the words ‘fancy’ and ‘modern’ more than once. I won’t dwell too much on aesthetics, but the design choice of having the valve visible — housed like a trophy in a miniature cabinet — serves no practical purpose and will perhaps spilt opinion. It can look nice in a moody low‑light recording session, thanks to a small LED that creates the impression of the valve glowing, but it could also be described as an unnecessary gimmick. Overall, though, I was very impressed with how solid everything looked and felt in use and this, combined with its...