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The British call them “capacitor microphones” and for a reason, too. You may remember from physics class that a capacitor is essentially two metal plates in close proximity. The closer they are, the higher the capacitance.

A condenser capsule is constructed similarly. It consists of a thin membrane in close proximity to a solid metal plate. The membrane or diaphragm, as it is often called, must be electrically conductive, at least on its surface. The most common material is gold-sputtered mylar, but some (mostly older) models employ an extremely thin metal foil.

When sound waves hit the diaphragm, it moves back and forth relative to the solid backplate. In other words, the distance between the two capacitor plates changes. As a result, the capacitance changes to the rhythm of the sound waves. Voilà, we have converted sound into an electrical signal.

The capsule signal itself, however, is much too “fragile” to be connected to other pieces of gear. The condenser capsule’s output voltage is actually quite high, but it produces almost no current, because so little energy is stored in this small capacitor. It requires what is called an “impedance converter”, a circuit that buffers between the capsule and the outside world. The impedance converter makes the signal more “sturdy” by making more signal current available.

Condenser microphones therefore require external power. This could be inconvenient in the old days, but today just about any microphone input offers P48 phantom power – a Neumann invention, which has become the international standard (see box “Powering Condenser Microphones”).

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A capacitor has two plates with a voltage between them. In the condenser mic, one of these plates is made of very light material and acts as the diaphragm. The diaphragm vibrates when struck by sound waves, changing the distance between the two plates and therefore changing the capacitance. Specifically, when the plates are closer together, capacitance increases and a charge current occurs. When the plates are further apart, capacitance decreases and a discharge current occurs.

A voltage is required across the capacitor for this to work. This voltage is supplied either by a battery in the mic or by external phantom power.

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MXL 770 Cardioid Condenser Microphone. GEARANK. ...

Behringer B-1 Studio Condenser. GEARANK. ...

Audio-Technica AT2020. GEARANK. ...

MXL 990 Condenser Microphone. GEARANK. ...

Samson C01. ...

Blue Microphones Snowball. ...

Audio-Technica ATR2500-USB Condenser Mic. ...

Samson C03U Multi-pattern USB condenser mic.