Sanken CS-2 Microphone
Product review
I have always been a fan of the Sanken CS-1, a short shot gun mic which I’m sure, was aimed at the on-camera market.
I found the CS-1 a great ‘place’ mic with a lot of low frequency response considering the mic’s physical size.
The CS-2 has lived up to my expectations from Sanken and not disappointed me in any way.
The build quality is the same as the CS-1, which I have found to cope very well with the demands of being in a hire fleet for a few years. Therefore, I would expect the CS-2 to weather just as well.
With a 120mm acoustic tube and dimensions of 250mm x 19mm, the CS-2 is a very familiar size. Weighing in at 110g it is also quite light. It is clear that this mic has been designed to be a location recordist’s workhorse.
Listening to the CS-2, I was very pleased with the overall quality of the sound. The first thing that struck me was a slightly higher output level than I am used to from similar mics.
It has a very transparent lower mid range, which is a nice change from the usual slightly muddy lower mids that I have come to expect from a leading competitor.
Sanken have added a novel switch called a ‘High Boost Switch’.
I believe this is designed to lift the frequencies from around 2K to 20K, in order to compensate for wind gags and wind jammers.
The CS-2 is priced very competitively, making this a very serious contender for a Sound Recordist’s microphone of choice.
Ian Coles - Sound Department
Visual Impact
