Austrian Audio OC818 Large-Diaphragm Condenser Microphone - Dual Set Plus

These mics are incredible. The matching was on point and the quality of everything that came with them is great. The sound is massive and detailed, to a point where it picks up things my other mics didn't in the same scenario. I've never heard the sound of a drum kit captured so perfectly. Like all mics, you can't trust the specs to present the sound, you have to actually listen. The highs are present and not strident, mids are beefy and lows are present without being boomy. I have tried this on reeds, drums, percussion, guitars, and bass cabs, all with very useable results. Even vocals worked amazingly well. The polar designer and variable polar fields present real changes to the response of the mic and I found them to work great in figure 8 and cardioid for mid-side plus Omni for room and choral settings. The hypercardiod is very focused which is great for spot mic applications like toms. Not sure I'd use them for close miking a kit, not because it sounds bad, but because I don't want these dented! It's not every day that a new company comes out with "industry standards" right out the gate but these are mics you'll keep and use for a lifetime.