sE Electronics RNT Multi-pattern Tube Condenser Microphone

The RNT: A new flagship tube microphone from sE Electronics and Rupert Neve Designs®.

Delivers the pristine, musical sonic character and uncompromising performance of the world's most prized recording equipment.

The RNT is the third microphone in the collaboration between sE Electronics and Rupert Neve Designs, founded by the legendary audio designer Mr. Rupert Neve.
Mr. Rupert Neve & Mr. Siwei Zou at the Rupert Neve Designs office in Texas, October 2014.

Much like the RNR1 Active Ribbon and RN17 Small-Diaphragm Condenser, the RNT is something truly special, developed over several years of careful listening and measurement by Mr. Rupert Neve, Mr. Siwei Zou, and the engineering teams from both Rupert Neve Designs and sE Electronics.

All in all, this new flagship tube microphone brings the larger-than-life sounds of classic studio microphones into the modern age with greater depth and clarity than ever before.

The RNT utilizes fully discrete, Class-A electronics throughout both of its active stages.

The first stage is tube-based, with a hand-selected, low-noise ECC82 tube within the microphone chassis, and implementing a custom-built Rupert Neve Designs output transformer.

“A tube has a lot of qualities which are very desirable, and it has a particular quality of sound to it."

If you get the size of the diaphragm of the microphone right, and you get the frequency response and the directional properties, and all the myriad of other qualities right, it is symbiotic with the tube’s performance."

- Mr. Rupert Neve

The second stage is within the floor box – which controls polar pattern, filter and gain switching – and is also coupled with a second custom-made Rupert Neve Designs output transformer.

This second stage is is built around the same custom op-amps used in Rupert Neve Designs’ flagship 5088 recording console, known worldwide for its unrivaled transparency and headroom.

sE's Capsule Master Hongzu Xu holding a tray of RNT capsules, hand-made in our own capsule room.

The custom handcrafted large-diaphragm true condenser capsule is the finest capsule sE has ever made, born from years of rigorous testing and listening, and developed and constructed by hand in sE’s own factory.

The Class-A electronics and switchable gain ensure a massive dynamic range, with high sound pressure level (SPL) handling capability and extremely low-noise components, and the switchable low-cut filters eliminate rumble or footfall noise, and can also compensate for an excess of bass frequencies caused by the proximity effect.

This enables the RNT to close-mic many instruments including electric guitar speaker cabinets, brass instruments and drums.

Lastly, the 9-position polar pattern switch allows for omnidirectional, cardioid, and figure-eight pickup patterns (plus several positions in between each) for precise tailoring of the balance between direct and ambient sound when recording with the RNT.

INSIDE THE MICROPHONE

• HAND-CRAFTED, GOLD-SPUTTERED 1" TRUE CONDENSER CAPSULE

• The finest and most complex capsule sE has ever built
• Hand-crafted and individually tuned in our very own factory
• Refined electrode design delivers supremely natural sound quality

• NINE SELECTABLE POLAR PATTERNS

• Precisely-tuned dual-diaphragm capsule design allows you to choose the perfect setting for every application
• Minimize unwanted signal bleed with ease

• HAND-SELECTED ECC82 TUBE & CUSTOM RUPERT NEVE DESIGNS AUDIO TRANSFORMER

• Each microphone-grade tube is carefully selected and pretested in-house
• Allows for stunning realism and depth in recordings
• Unique tube circuit design optimized for driving the first custom-made transformer

• HAND-CRAFTED METAL HOUSING WITH PREMIUM FINISH

• All-metal construction built with highest attention to detail
• Efficient rejection of any electrical interference and noise
• High quality finish ensures a great look for many years
• As with all Rupert Neve Signature Series microphones, the RNT's solid brass chassis is milled in our own machine shop.

INSIDE THE FLOOR BOX

• A SECOND CUSTOM-BUILT RUPERT NEVE DESIGNS AUDIO TRANSFORMER

• Designed for sweet, musical performance and bulletproof isolation
• Provides the legendary sonic character of Rupert Neve's famous transformers

• CUSTOM-MADE, DISCRETE CLASS-A RUPERT NEVE DESIGNS AMPLIFICATION

• Delivers the sonic character and performance expected from the world's most prized recording equipment
• Utilizes the same operational amplifiers found in Rupert Neve Designs' flagship 5088 console
• These discrete op-amps ensure enormous headroom, ultra-wide bandwidth, zero crossover distortion, and quality without compromise

• ACTIVE GAIN STAGE WITH THREE SWITCHABLE LEVELS

• Provides 24dB of extended dynamic range for a wide range of applications
• Discrete Rupert Neve Designs op-amp cards ensure pristine performance
• Suitable for everything from delicate ambience recordings to close-miking of extremely loud instruments and voices

• TWO SWITCHABLE ACTIVE LOW-CUT FILTERS

• Custom Rupert Neve Designs op-amps implemented for best possible sound quality
• Reduce unwanted rumble or foot-fall noise, or compensate for proximity effect

The RNT is sE's new flagship large-diaphragm condenser microphone, and proudly stands alongside the RNR1 and RN17 in being what we believe are some of the finest and most unique microphones ever produced.