CAD M179 Variable-Pattern Condenser Microphone

by CAD

Product Features

• Operating Principle: Externally-biased condenser
• Polar Pattern: Continuously variable
• Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20KHz
• Sensitivity: -36dBV (16mV) @ 1 Pa
• Impedance: 200 ohms

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 4 inches ; 4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 12 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002D0N70
• Item model number: M179
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,170 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)

Product Description

Travel the space-tone continuum with the touch of a dial. The figure-of-eight is rich and intimate. The omni is spacious and articulate. Experience all the variations in between. We combine the large-diaphragm capsule with algebraic phasing and high-power transformerless drive to create an indispensable acoustical window. Additional features include hi-pass filter and attenuator. Swivel mount, elastic shock mount and carrying case are included. P24 (24V) or P48 (48V) phantom power is required.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warm, Smooth & Heavy, April 14, 2010

By 

Dirk Buro (Hofheim, Hessen) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: CAD M179 Variable-Pattern Condenser Microphone (Electronics)

I bought this microphone just or one purpose: Tom miking.

Prehistory:
After having read raving critics about the CAD - mainly from US engineers at Gearslutz - I couldn't resist any longer and wanted
to make my own picture.
Since I'm located in Germany, having done a search for shopping resources over here quickly revealed: Nothing.
No CAD M179 was available in Germany at that time, which seems to be strange because CAD produces in China.
Anyway, I finally found it on Amazon.com in the U.S.

Buying experience:
Although I've always been a bit skeptical about customs, delays and whatever else can go wrong with oversea transports, I ordered the price reduced bundle of 3 units.
To my greatest surprise, the package arrived quite fast (10 days, 2 of them in the customs), was safely packed and 100 % as described.
Import tax was very low by the way, only 2.5% of the microphone price plus shipping (tax for Germany, other countries in the EU may vary).

Packaging:
The CAD comes in a very large, cube-like package, printed with the-more-the-better zillions of colors, mainly in purple, red and blue.
One could say the carton design looks cheap, but as always, taste is a personal thing and in the end it's the content that counts, isn't it?
Although not my piece of cake, I must admit that the microphone seems to be well protected by this giant package.

Construction:
The microphone is sturdy built, with a anodized metal surface while being surprisingly heavy.
The capsule is placed safe inside the solid metal windscreen.
Part of delivery is a ring clamp plus a professional shock mount - highly recommended to reduce vibrations when miking drums.
The overall construction is very good, in my opinion even exceptional for the given price.
The CAD M179 offers a pad switch, which is a must for drum miking or the capsule could tend to distort.
Both, variable pattern wheel as well as the pad switch, are easy accessible in front of the mike.
Overall impression: No bells and whistles, but a solid workhorse, built for pro's.

Sound:
The CAD offers a warm, natural sound, that perfectly fits for Toms, but also for clean Guitars and even background vocals.
I personally wouldn't use it for Lead vocals, but what can you expect for the price.
Of course, the CAD wasn't built to be a concurrence to Neumann and other high end brands. But it does its job extremely well.

The main purpose for me was Tom-miking, so the following research is covering only my experience with Toms.
Set to cardioid, surrounding sounds from back and side are successfully suppressed, quite important when dealing with bleeding HiHats or cymbals.
The Toms immediately sounded really big, not to say huge, without messy crash sounds coming through.
Although having used Sennheiser MKH-40 for Toms before (one costs 10 times the $$ of a M179 ...), the results were doubtless significantly better then ever!
You can turn up the Tom tracks in your mix, really push them in breaks and the like, and at the same time your mix won't suffer of the typical cymbal bleeding as known from other microphones (like the MKH-40 or MD421).
Amazing.

In Short:

Pros:
* very good and sturdy crafted
* exceptional good sounding results, specially with Toms
* low price

Cons:
* heavy weight that demands for mic stands
* typical microphone clamps will place the CAD more over the center of Toms, not at side, due to it's size.
I can live with that, although your setup will be cluttered even more when using stands.

Conclusion:
I love this microphone! My dream of a perfect drum sound has become more true, day in and out.
A clear recommendation: Buy it!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CAD M179 mic ROCKS!!!, August 29, 2007

By 

R. Russell (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: CAD M179 Variable-Pattern Condenser Microphone (Electronics)

I have used many mics over the years, from AKG's to Neumann's, and as you know, they're pretty costly but get you that great full warm sound. I always thought that to get that sound, you needed to shell out the bucks for studio time in the places that use them. How can you get that sound for less than $1,000 (and that's IF you're lucky enough to find them for that price!!!)? GET YOURSELF THIS CAD M179 MIC!!! I kid you not-it's versatile Variable pattern selector function alone is worth it! With a low self-noise rating, sleek design, great shockmount, and just an overall warm vintage-but-still-modern sound, this baby has impressed a good number of my clients that SWEAR it's been souped-up with high-end German tech modifying! Get it...you won't be disappointed!!!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Made in China these days, September 25, 2007

By 

Kuru (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: CAD M179 Variable-Pattern Condenser Microphone (Electronics)

Contrary to the product description, all CAD mikes are made in China now, and receive only batch-level inspection in the U.S. (according to CAD Sales). I bought one of these to go along with my U.S.-made M177. Based on my initial tests, the two mikes are quite comparable in sound quality, which is to say, they sound quite good and are certainly worth their price. My older U.S.-made M177 has been very reliable.

Noise: very quiet (low self-noise from the mike). The M179 is slightly noisier than the M177.

Frequency response: designed to be flat, almost like a reference mike (what you hear is what you get). Good low-end response means that low frequency rumble is easily recorded; a roll-off switch is provided that will clean that up.

The neat feature of the M179 is the ability to change recording pattern from Figure-8 through omni. This works as advertised, although fresh out of the box the dial is quite stiff and generates noise/clicks as the pattern is changed (since this is normally set prior to recording, this should seldom if ever actually matter.) This feature is usually only available on relatively expensive mikes. Having it on the M179 makes this mike a good choice for a first home studio mike. Given the variety of uses this mike can be put to, I suspect I'll be giving it plenty of work.