10 l April 2012
www.prosoundnewseurope.com
technologyreview
SoundField updates its popular portable mic system with a redesign of the control box. Russ Hepworth- Sawyer went on location with the ST450
SOUNDFIELD has built a reputation for being a leader in surround sound capture. The ST450 is the company’s portable solution for location sound specialists, weighing in at 290g for the microphone and 580g for the control box. These values are extremely respectable given what is on offer. It should be noted that battery kit is an additional extra and adds more weight. Despite its portability, the ST450 microphone is still very much a SoundField product. The microphone itself is physically large but well built and sports the usual four capsules arranged in a tetrahedral fashion to deliver the B-Format output. The ST450 comes with SoundField’s own suspension mount that employs four clamps to secure the mic. With this you can be sure of a very solid connection, but I wonder whether these could be tightened a little too far? SoundField says the control
box has been redesigned taking into account component advances since the release of the ST350 resulting in lower noise. This rugged small unit provides lugs, presumably for a shoulder strap, and arranges the controls on the front face. The side face, neatly at 90º, contains the breakout sockets and DC power in (PSU supplied).
The control laden front face hosts an input gain control and an eight-LED input meter ranging from -30dB to +12dB. Typical SoundField controls can be found here too such as ‘End Fire’, should you wish to angle the microphone more like a dynamic vocal mic rather than its traditional upright position.
A high pass filter set at 100Hz is included which works across both stereo and B-Format outputs. The ‘stereo’ section includes ‘Pattern’ and ‘Width’. ‘Pattern’ permits sweepable polar pattern responses from omnidirectional to cardioid to figure-of-eight. Meanwhile ‘Width’ flexibly permits adjustment from literally mono to wide stereo. Below this is the ‘M/S’ switch altering the stereo output of the ST450 to change to Mid-Side for later balancing in the studio. Finally the ‘Monitor’ section provides a headphone level and socket. The ST450 certainly packs more controls into its small frame than its predecessor.
The side face houses the 12-pin Lemo connector for the ST450’s supplied 5m cable, and three five-pin XLR-style breakout connections for Stereo and SoundField’s B-Format W, X
SoundField ST450 portable mic system
and Y, Z outputs. Short cables are provided to split each five-pin XLRs to two female standard XLR sockets. Having all this hanging off the unit might not be to everyone’s taste, but it is a neat solution given the portability. The SoundField mic arrived as I had a number of live performances to record. Carting the mic system around with me was easy as the company provides a rugged case made by Peli which snugly protects the mic, control box and
output live, there and then for those who may need it. Decoding the B-Format output can be done using SoundField’s bundled software plug-in ‘Surround Zone’. Using Surround Zone I was able to fully decode the B-Format signal recorded at the concerts and make excellent 5.1 and stereo mixes for clients from within Logic Pro. Surround Zone also works with most DAWs including Pro Tools, Sadie, Audio Unit and VST. SoundField mics have always been high quality, and the ST450 is no different. Its capture is clean, yet not clinical, with a natural degree of
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY The ST450 comes in three kit varieties: f Kit 1 (tested here)
£3,750/€4,500 (ex VAT), inc ST450 mic, control unit, shockmount, cables, case
f Kit 2 £4,300 (ex VAT) - Kit 1 plus Compact Rycote kit
fKit 3 £4,560 (ex VAT) - Kit 2 plus rechargeable battery kit
fAvailable from SoundField
www.soundfield.com
TECH SPECS fFrequency range 20Hz-20kHz
fEquivalent self noise, IEC 179 (cardioid): 13dBA SPL
fMaximum output levels: 22dBu fPowering DC 9/18V
PROS fLightweight B-Format mic capture wherever you need it
SoundField’s portable solution for location sound specialists
associated cabling. Setting up the mic too was very simple. What I’ve always loved about
the traditional Mid-Side technique, and here, SoundField’s B-Format, is the ability to make alterations to the field of the recording (stereo or surround) once you’re back in the studio and all in phase alignment too. The ST450 is brilliant at this, permitting you the opportunity to track a stereo
warmth that is not hyped – if you like, ‘what you hear is what you get’, but then again with all those to manipulate the output from near mono, stereo, Mid Side through to 5.1, you can present your recordings in any output format you choose! There is no denying that if you’re recording surround sound, then you need a SoundField and if portability is a criteria, you have no choice but to invest in an ST450. I would.
fFeature-laden small control unit fImpressive and natural sound
fBundled Surround Zone decoding software for your DAW
fExcellent carry case
CONS fBattery kit is not standard
f5m Lemo cable might be too short for some
fTwist grips for securing mic in shockmount
fThe necessary breakout cables might not be to everyone’s taste
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