United Studio Technologies UT Twin87

A CUSTOM UNITED UT K87 CAPSULE.

The UT Twin87 features United’s own custom-made K87 style, dual diaphragm/dual backplate capsule. The UT-K87 capsule is precision milled from brass, skinned with 6 micron Japanese PET film (mylar), and has 24k gold sputtered membrane. The capsules are skinned in a laboratory clean-room environment.

In Vintage Mode, the capsule is polarized simply by normal phantom power voltages (+48v, optimal), and utilizes an insulated backplate design to polarize the front and back sides separately. In Modern Mode, the capsule backplates are connected, and the polarization voltage is raised (slowly, and gently) up to about 63 volts using a specially designed boost circuit.

CUSTOM UNITED TRANSFORMERS.

United looked at many iterations of the original German output transformer used in this type of microphone, drawing inspiration particularly from some of the older, larger frame designs. Knowing that the size of a transformer can sometimes be a limiting factor, United developed their own custom-wound part which has nearly four times the metal mass found in any “87-style” microphones. This part truly ensures that there are no bottlenecks or weak links in the design, and that nothing is lost in translation as the signal is passed out of the microphone and down long cable runs. Their transformer sounds open, with high headroom, and clear, three dimensional sound — and will never impede low frequencies.

United’s custom-wound, US made transformer is built with large, all nickel laminations. While they could have used a smaller or less expensive transformer; they simply refused to compromise.

IT’S NOT JUST ANOTHER MIC — IT’S A UNITED.

Modern “87-style” microphones incorporate an output filter designed to block RF and EM interference — much debate has taken place over the years as to whether this filter enhances or harms the sonics of the microphone. The UT Twin87 has also ended this debate, as the filter can be engaged/disengaged at any time, in either Vintage or Modern mode!

When the UT Twin87 is set to cardioid, another boutique modification is quietly engaged: the “true-cardioid mod”. Rather than operate in active (switched) cardioid mode as per the standard design, the UT Twin87 will disengage the pattern select circuitry altogether and decouple from the rear diaphragm of the capsule. This yields a cardioid function that is slightly hotter, more pure, and boasts a better signal to noise ratio.

With all of the extra features and high-end components, the UT Twin87 is a truly exceptional microphone — but it’s real strength is it’s accuracy in providing the same sound engineers have grown to love in every variation of the “87-style” circuit.