Wunder Audio CM7 S Tube Microphone Wunder Audio

The new Wunder Audio CM7 Suprema microphone is one step above our already legendary CM7 model. The standout qualities of the new CM7 Suprema passive electronics are their extraordinarily direct low-end responsiveness and wide high-end plateau. Combine this with an audiophile PSU and you'll hear both the best qualities of a modern microphone and the legendary sound of a vintage microphone. The CM7 S is exceptional as a vocal mic as well a it being an excellent choice for drums, acoustic guitars and piano. The CM7 S is a serious pro-studio workhorse because it has a very nice top and bottom, and brings out a natural sound from any source. 

Grille

Our Wunder Audio CM7 S Grille is true to vintage with three gauges of grill mesh at the head grille: an outer large mesh, an inner medium mesh, and a fine mesh that is sandwiched in between. The Wunder Audio Suprema Grille has acoustic interplay with the capsule, having the electronic properties of a faraday cage. This proper vintage mesh gauge is not the readily available metric gauge and is vastly important for the legendary sound of a U47.

M7 Capsule

The diaphragm in our M7 capsule is stretched and glued to the rim, akin to how a snare drum head is stretched over a rim, and never screwed to the backplate. Our backplate is brass and precision milled by hand in Switzerland to the original rim height 15/10000th inch specification within one-micron tolerance. (1 Micron = 0.0000393701 inch). Many other modern capsules are CNC milled and cannot meet these tight specifications. The original M7’s had up to .0002” tolerance, this modern upgrade explains why some brand new U47’s back in the 1950’s sounded better than others.
The CM7 S has three mounting isolation rims, true to the vintage Berlin M7 and superior to the Gefell M7 which has only two; having three rims provides an improved isolation of the ground. Our capsules are then sent to Germany, where they have perfected the craft of skinning them in gold. Tube they’ve put a modern upgrade to the original vintage NOS Telefunken EF14 tube to achieve the same specs as the VF14. Our NOS tubes were made in Berlin or Ulm Germany during the same production run as the original VF14’s.
The original U47 had a VF14 metal tube that was made in Germany in the 1950’s by the original Telefunken GmbH company, which no longer exists.  NOS VF14 tubes in a sealed box are now totally extinct.
Wunder Audio only selects tubes from the best production years, the year and the location of where the tubes were made can be identified by the date code on the tube. The VF14 and these select EF14 used all the same tooling for the internal and external components. The only difference in these EF14’s from the VF14 is where the filament wire was attached. The VF14 that was used in the Neumann U47 microphone was under heated, and so if you use an EF14 and run a separate filament at 5.0 V, the EF14 will be sonically indistinguishable to the VF14. With passive electronics we slightly modify the filament load to achieve this resulting in identical results to the VF14.

Capacitor

They’ve optimized our passive components to achieve a true audiophile performance. While audiophile equipment is usually referred to at the end of the chain in recording, we feel that it is most important that the first link in the recording chain, the microphone, be the best attainable. To be able to listen to the best possible recording, you must be able to record the source with minimal amounts of noise and distortion and be able to accurately capture every nuance of the sound. They’ve enhanced our true to vintage microphones by utilizing the Suprema Silver Gold Oil capacitor which is the highest quality capacitor available today. More importantly, sonically the CM7 S capacitor stands out due to its wonderful natural singing and exceptional micro dynamic. Capacitance: 1uF; Dielectric: Polypropylene Metallization  99.99% silver, 1% gold; Purity of silver: min. 99.97% typ. 99.99%; Purity of gold: min. 99.97% typ. 99.99%”.
Sound: At this level we are talking about a really serious capacitor, relative to other exotic types. They are richer and better layered and they seem more open and more spatial. Mundorf Silver Gold Oil really excels in image depth – call it bowling alley depth! A slight hint of top-end air, this probably contributes to the perceived spatiality and micro-detailing. These capacitors are so quiet and really let you look very deep into the recording!
This results in a modern-vintage sound where the spectrum opens up, adding emphasis to the sound staging and creates a greater sense of air and transparency, without the impression of a diminished mid and lower-end response. The outcome is a less grainy and a much more fluid sound. The focus is tighter and sharper.

Transformer

The transformer inside the CM7 Suprema is a historic recreation of the early transformers used in the exceedingly rare early “Large Badge” U47s. It contains the exact vintage Mu-Metal as these early Berlin U47 transformers and are wound to the original Braunbuch specifications using NOS (new old stock) laminations.
The most important difference in the first several hundred “Large Badge” U47’s was that the transformer bobbin was a full 1/8” larger than the later version of the U47 transformer. The CM7 Suprema transformer incorporates these highly desired larger bobbin specs. The CM7 S replaces the problematic PVC wire insulation, upgrading it to Teflon to ensure 100% reliability. Over the decades, the original U47 transformers will begin to decay. The clear PVC coating that was used as an insulation between the layers of the Mu-Metal laminations rubs off by the transformer mounting screws and fuses the lamination layers together causing changes in the lows and high frequencies.

Additionally PVC was used as insulation on the hookup wire emanating from the bobbin and this PVC eventually flakes off the wire causing irrevocable damage to the bobbin windings. Aging and decay of the transformer and 30 other components in a 66-year- old vintage U47 microphone is the reason for the undesirable sound in many of the older mics.

Power Supply

The new generation tube Microphone PSU is proprietary to Wunder Audio and is an upgrade from the vintage tube mic PSU’s used for the 1960's era Neumann design. Our upgrade gets a clean and stable DC voltage to the mic and shields the influx of Wi-Fi and RF interference with 100 percent reliability. They’ve engineered our PSU to the equivalent of the technology incorporated in top tier audiophile systems, using a duel-pole neutral-fusing design. The PSU can be plugged into any voltage in the world without having to jumper a voltage setting switch.
Inside, they’ve incorporated extremely accurate 30 turn trim pots so we are able to fine-tune all of the voltages. Most other power supply designs either do not have a voltage trim or use a single turn pot, which is susceptible to drifting.

Box and Carrying Case

Your Wunder Audio CM7 S is nestled in velvet and softly secured in place in a foam-lined quarter sawn oak box that is clasped and hinged. This box then is safely incased in a precision velvet-lined thick foam tweed case that also holds your PSU, your shock mount, and your cables. The tweed carrying case is a work of art in itself; it uses the same Fender tweed found in a vintage fender guitar case which amplifies the vintage period of the vintage-style CM7 S microphone, and it is trimmed with top grain leather and fine stitching. The CM7 S case has a strong leather handle and combination lock to keep your mic secure. This case can be sold separately.

Upgrade Your Mic 

All previous versions of the Wunder Audio microphones can be upgraded to the Surprema.