The DC-196 80th Anniversary Edition highlights the 80th anniversary of Pearl and Milab (1941-2021) and is coated in a beautiful red Nextel finish which gives it a bit more attitude than the more discreet black DC-196.

The DC-196 is a versatile power tool built around the latest version of Milab’s rectangular capsule (the 2900). It offers low noise, selectable patterns (cardioid, omni, bidirectional), excellent SPL handling and an extremely smooth off-axis response – all in a very compact format. In fact, the DC-196 is one of the smallest large-diaphragm microphones ever produced.

The DC-196 shines on transient-rich sources like acoustic instruments and, thanks to the unique properties of the rectangular capsule, it excels in recording situations where a smooth off-axis response is crucial, such as string ensembles and choirs, but also stereo setups like X/Y and Blumlein where large-diaphragm microphones are usually avoided.