"Well I suppose I could buy a familiar brand name, but not after I used this" commented Nigel Kentish - Recording Officer, The Faculty of Music at Newcastle University.

"We used the Mann for a month on a variety of applications from PA applications to serious recording. The main problem was that we needed two Mann's; everything we record is in stereo so we mainly used the Mann as a spot microphone, everything from recording Slava Grigoryan at a recent Musica Viva concert to voice-overs and instrument spotters.

The pickup pattern has nine options available, the standard 3 - omni, cardoid and figure 8 with variants in between. In one application we tried it as a PA mic for guitar on a 'guitar and orchestra' application. Placing the Mann 12 - 18 inches from the guitar's soundhole, tuned with a third octave equalizer into the PA, the clarity was stunning.

In terms of recording, in the control room not only did we hear a rich warm guitar but it supplemented and enriched the whole mix adding a natural balance from the other instruments in the immediate vicinity. Super hyper cardoid it is not."

Ray Hugo, Radio Station 2NUR-FM noted " The tone was constant for spoken voice even as the artist moved about. It captured more than just the instrument being miked"

Ray the classical music presenter and recording engineer whose program 'Hunter Rostrum' appears Sunday evening s commented. "As a spot mic it lifted the presence of the sound"

The microphone kit supplied includes a briefcase to house the mic, power supply, mic lead, IEC power lead and a shock mount. It even includes a windsock. No specifications were supplied but the sound speaks for itself. "Ideal for a main microphone in any application"