Attention to Detail
Hand made in Russia, these microphones signify everything that is great about studio recording. Supplied with a heavy duty shock mount and external power supply, along with an oak case to house the microphone itself, every step of the building of this microphone has led to the end result being nothing short of a work of art. The bold design is similar in looks to certain other microphones around, but the overall finish and compete setup is truly the culmination of the hard work put in by the design team at Soyuz.
The Sound
There are a few microphones that have stood out in the course of recording history as being some of the greats, achieving that ’holy grail’ of sounds. The Neumann U-47 is one of those and it is also one microphone that the Soyuz SU-017 has been compared to by a number of producers. Sadly, I didn’t have a U-47 lying about to go head to head with, but I did listen to some comparisons between a U-67 and the Soyuz. The results were very similar, with the U-67 perhaps offering a little more low frequency response, but other than that the SU-017 held its own. In my own tests, I can honestly say this is the most beautiful sounding microphone I have heard in a long time. It is not too brittle in the high frequencies, yet there is plenty of sparkle and the low range allows you to hear what is going on in the room as far as bass goes. And in the middle there is brilliant warmth and a certain undefinable quality that just sounds so very sweet.
If I had to record with just one microphone, I wouldn’t have any issue if this had to be it. The Soyuz SU-017 is the sort of microphone that doesn’t require much work in the post stage because the results it delivers directly sound so good to begin with. There is plenty of dynamic response, great clarity and rich warmth, it is like three of your favourite microphones all recorded together.