Sanken has announced the CSS-50 short stereo shotgun microphone – an affordable, easy-to-operate and flexible stereo shotgun for use in broadcast audio capture and film sound recording.

The CSS-50’s three-diaphragm electret condenser mic offers innovative technology in a short, practical form factor. It performs as a normal shotgun, but with the addition of two mic capsules for variable stereo imaging. In use, it offers three distinct operation modes. Mono mode offers sharp shotgun directivity, normal (stereo) mode provides precise stereo localisation, and wide (stereo) mode allows for expanded 140° stereo, ideal for cinematic ambience and sound effects. Unlike conventional approaches, the CSS-50 is especially effective in the 400Hz to 3kHz range for optimum stereophonic perception.

Sanken’s original thin square capsule design allows the capsules can be stacked in the short sound tube, providing performance equivalent to the CSS-5 in a more compact body. The high-performance electret condenser capsules are equivalent in response to DC-biased capsules.