Budget studio gear just got a vintage facelift without the wallet-draining price tag. United Studio Technologies released the UT Vintage87 to jam classic U87-style audio into a cheaper chassis. This microphone maintains the tone from their UT Twin87 sibling but utilizes a set cardioid pattern to slash expenses.
The build centers on a custom UT-K87 capsule milled from brass. Technicians skin it using PET film from Japan, six microns thick, before finishing the membrane with 24k gold sputtering. Every single unit gets assembled inside a strict clean room to ensure construction remains meticulous.
That capsule connects to a large-core output transformer manufactured stateside. This heavy component uses all-nickel laminations inspired by old German designs but lacks size limits. It boasts quadruple the metal mass found in standard 87-style transformers to maximize headroom.
Extra mass helps low frequencies stay intact across long cables while creating 3D sound. The circuit board features premium parts like tantalum or multilayer ceramic caps alongside capacitors from WIMA. Tight-tolerance carbon film resistors sit next to transistors that engineers selected individually.
Chad Kelly, a co-founder, claims the company avoided cutting quality corners completely. He insists the build uses identical internal ingredients found inside the Twin87. Removing pattern-select circuitry allows a hotter output with less self-noise. This stripped-down workhorse costs 529 euros.
The build centers on a custom UT-K87 capsule milled from brass. Technicians skin it using PET film from Japan, six microns thick, before finishing the membrane with 24k gold sputtering. Every single unit gets assembled inside a strict clean room to ensure construction remains meticulous.
That capsule connects to a large-core output transformer manufactured stateside. This heavy component uses all-nickel laminations inspired by old German designs but lacks size limits. It boasts quadruple the metal mass found in standard 87-style transformers to maximize headroom.
Extra mass helps low frequencies stay intact across long cables while creating 3D sound. The circuit board features premium parts like tantalum or multilayer ceramic caps alongside capacitors from WIMA. Tight-tolerance carbon film resistors sit next to transistors that engineers selected individually.
Chad Kelly, a co-founder, claims the company avoided cutting quality corners completely. He insists the build uses identical internal ingredients found inside the Twin87. Removing pattern-select circuitry allows a hotter output with less self-noise. This stripped-down workhorse costs 529 euros.
