CU-55
WARM
NATURAL
AND MUSICAL
CU-55 A Great All Purpose Small Premium Quality Cardioid Mic
Featuring a modern, compact design, the CU-55 provides a rich vintage sound in a small, lightweight, easy to position package. It is a great, affordable, all purpose mic.
The CU-55 houses a side-firing 16mm capsule. Designed with a resonant chamber like the top of the line CU-44X MK II, it has been tuned to create a perfect cardioid pattern, and is omnidirectional below 50 kHz.
Top Engineers & Producers
Talk About the CU-55
Engineers Chuck Ainlay, Frank Filipetti and Wesley Seidman talk about why they choose and how the use the Sanken Chromatic CU-55 mic.
Sound On Sound AES
Interview with Jim Pace
Sanken Chromatic’s Jim Pace talks with Sam from Sound On Sound about the design philosophy and features of the CU-55 mic
Small Mic Packs A Powerful Punch
Affordable premium quality mic perfect for all instruments, acoustic, electric and percussion, in addition to vocals
This new generation microphone is flat even at 90 degrees, flat on axis, with very little proximity effect. The CU-55 uses the same diaphragm material as Sanken Chromatic’s remarkable CU-100 and CUW-180 mics. Ideal for acoustic instruments like guitars, cello, harp and piano, the CU-55 can also handle the explosive levels of big brass and pounding tympanis. Try it on a snare drum, it fits nicely into tight spaces.
It features a built in resonant chamber that mates with the capsule to optimize pattern and minimize proximity effects. Stereo pairs are truly matched.
The affordably priced CU-55 is a fitting addition to the Sanken line of fine studio microphones. The response is very warm and natural sounding, very musical, without any coloration or artificial boost. If you are wrestling with some high SPLs, have no fears – the little CU-55 can handle whatever you throw at it. It can also bring out the best in softer, subtler sounds, and as a compact side-address microphone it is very easy to maneuver into tight spaces.
Like all Sanken microphones, the CU-55 provides optimum quality audio and reliability, and is a solid investment for the ambitious recording engineer/producer.
- Rich vintage sound from a modern mic
- Perfect cardioid pattern
- -10dB attenuation switch for two sensitivity settings
- Flat frequency response (40Hz to 20kHz)
- High maximum SPL of 137 dB at 1% THD and 15dB EN
- Small form factor
- Finely tuned resonant chamber that mates with the capsule
- Very low proximity effect
APPLICATIONS
 | CU-55 | CU-51 | CO-100K | CU-41R | CU-44X MK II |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application |  |  |  |  |  |
| Acoustic Guitar | |||||
| Background or Chorus Vocals | |||||
| Brass and Woodwind | |||||
| Drums Close Mic | |||||
| Electric/Bass Guitar Amps | |||||
| Orchestra Mains | |||||
| Orchestra Solo | |||||
| Overheads | |||||
| Percussion | |||||
| Piano | |||||
| Sound Design, Effects and ATMOS | |||||
| Strings | |||||
| Upright Bass | |||||
| Vocals |
CU-55 Applications | Brochure PDF
- Acoustic Guitar
- Background or Chorus Vocals
- Brass and Woodwind
- Drums Close Mic
- Electric/Bass Guitar Amps
- Orchestra Solo
- Overheads
- Percussion
- Piano
- Upright Bass
- Vocals
SPECIFICATIONS
|
Model Name |
CU-55 |
|
Transducer |
DC biased condenser |
|
Directivity |
Cardioid |
|
Frequency response |
40Hz – 20kHz |
|
Sensitivity |
PAD@:0dB -26dB |
|
Equivalent noise level (IEC) |
15dB-A |
|
Max SPL(1% THD) |
137dB SPL(PAD@:0dB), |
|
Output impedance( 1kHz ) |
180 ohms |
|
Powering |
+48V±4V phantom |
|
Current consumption |
3.5mA |
|
Weight |
180g/ .4lbs |
|
Dimensions |
113mm x 30mm (D) |
|
Surface finish |
Matte brown |
|
Connector |
XLR-3-12C(M) equivalent |
POLAR PATTERN
FREQUENCY RESPONSE AT 30cm AND 1m
ACCESSORIES
CU-55 Included Accessories:
Vinyl Case
CU-55 Optional Accessories:
KS-55
KS-55 Shock Mount Band Suspension for CU-55 – mic not included
S-55
Shock Mount Basket Suspension for CU-55
