The Malmqvist Frequency
Pearl Microphones’ ELM-T tube microphone.
13 October 2022
In the world of microphones, it is near impossible to find someone with a longer career than Bernt Malmqvist. Malmqvist started working for Pearl Microphones in Stockholm, Sweden in 1954 and has at the age of 86 amassed an astounding 68 years of experience. In early 2020, Malmqvist was given carte blanche to develop his own signature microphone and after spending well over two years working on the project he is ready to present his new microphone to the world.
The Pearl ELM-T Bernt Malmqvist Signature Edition is a true tube microphone in a striking Rolex Green Nextel finish with seamlessly variable polar patterns. The power is supplied by a custom-made PSU from Andreas Grosser in Berlin. The microphone is built around the unique Pearl ELM capsule with a 7:1 height-to-width ratio, possibly the largest condenser capsules on the market. In combination with a true tube amplifier, the microphone provides a warm, detailed sound with a very smooth off-axis response. The large diaphragm helps to keep the self-noise at 15 — very low for a true tube design — and the frequency response extends well beyond 20 kHz.
The ELM-T is built entirely by hand in southern Sweden and delivered in an aluminium case with a PSU, cable, shockmount and an individual frequency chart. The formal presentation will be held at an event at Power Station Studios in New York City on Oct 18 and at the AES show, Oct 19-20, and the first deliveries are expected in December 2022.
Pearl Microphones, founded in 1941, is one of the oldest, continuously operating microphone manufacturers in the world. To this day, all microphones are built entirely by hand in Åstorp in southern Sweden. Every Pearl microphone is delivered with its own individual frequency chart and protected by a lifetime warranty. In 2017, Pearl Microphones was acquired by its former sister company Milab Microphones AB.
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