Designing a modular microphone system

Some microphones are designed in a few months. Hydra has been a much longer journey.

The first version of Hydra was made almost 15 years ago. Since then, we’ve kept coming back to the same idea: could we build a truly great tube microphone that runs from standard 48 V phantom power, without compromising the sound or the electronics? The answer took years of development, testing and refinement.

We tested the design at component level, experimented with different circuit approaches and carefully selected the parts that make up the signal path. The goal was never simply to make a tube microphone that works from phantom power. We wanted to make the best possible microphone we could within that concept.

We designed the microphone as a modular capsule platform. The capsule can be changed using interchangeable adapter rings, allowing Hydra to work with a growing range of condenser capsules, from classic vintage designs to modern capsules. This approach also meant we had to test and measure every small diaphragm capsule we could lay our hands on.

And we’re not finished. We are continuing to expand the Hydra system, with several new adapters and other developments already in the pipeline. Stay tuned…