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Josephson Engineering e22S

Cardioid Condenser Microphone

The Josephson e22S cardioid condenser was designed at the request of Steve Albini.

The side-address design facilitates placement; the long body can reach over the rim of a drum, and the capsule can face the head directly.

The mic’s capsule, model number KA22S, is manufactured by Josephson. The diaphragm measures 16mm in diameter. MIX describes it as a derivation of the company’s Series Six capsules, “with a 5/8-inch diameter, gold-evaporated polyester diaphragm.” Reviewers note its uniform cardioid pattern and good rear rejection.

The FET amplifier circuit, “a C609 Class-A discrete FET cascode front end,” is combined with a custom Lundahl output transformer. The electronics were designed to interface easily with either transformer or direct coupled mic preamps.

David Josephson

In the e22S, we use a proprietary Lundahl amorphous-core transformer. When I designed that mic in the early 1990s, I gave the same challenge to four really good transformer makers and the Lundahl solution was by far the best, as they have mastered the construction of amorphous cores (wound from a tape of metallic glass).

The mic’s frequency graph shows the low-frequency -3dB point at 45Hz. A +3dB presence peak is centered at 8kHz, falling gradually to -2dB@20kHz.

The mic has low self-noise, so it delivers low level detail, and handles high sound pressure levels well.

The microphone housing is very rugged, with a precision machined, satin black chrome finish.

Steve Albini

The specific need addressed by the e22S was drum kit recording, and the mics are used in that capacity nearly every day, but once they were in our hands, they quickly became a favorite mic for many instruments, including acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo, guitar amplifiers, organ and horns. The e22S is easily the most versatile microphone in our cabinet.

On loud sounds like drums and guitar cabinets, the 609 head amplifier delivers a crisp, clear signal that is free of distortion, at a level that doesn’t require an external pad.

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Specifications

Frequency Response - CardioidClick Graph to Compare!

Pickup Patterns	Pads & Filters
Cardioid (3.0 mV/Pa; 45 - 20,000 Hz)

Capsule Dimensions	Impedance	SPL/Noise
Diaphragm diameter: 16mm	200 Ohms (Low)	Max SPL: 144 dB Self-noise: 15.0 dB(A)

Weight	Length	Max Diameter	Interface(s)
180g (6.35oz)	190mm (7.48'')	21mm (0.83'')	3-pin XLR male (1)

Power Specifications
Requires phantom power

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