Wunder Audio CM7 Suprema

Description

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 We’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

We’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. We’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.

We’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,
we’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.

Additional information