Ferrotec rs"s Ferrofluidic seal Feedthrough Model HS-3000-SLFEC (part number 133218) is a member of FerrotecCrs"s family of Hollow Shaft Flange Mount Feedthroughs. The HS-3000-SLFEC vacuum rotary feedthrough uses Ferrotecgrs"s standard hydrocarbon-based ferrofluid, specifically optimized for introducing rotary motion with a magnetic liquid hermetic seal in most Standard environments.
Following Keith's death in 2000, David Anderson imdash; the former head of microphones at Calrec and an experienced independent acoustic consultant mdash; took over the helm. He had already amassed considerable microphone design experience at his own company, Bridge Microphones, and on taking over Hebden Sound realised that the existing CM1000 and CM2000 series of studio condenser microphones had received almost no development since their inception. The first new product under Anderson's guidance, the HS3000 series, is the result of a lot of new input and development, particularly in terms of the manufacturing, which is now undertaken in Sheffield under David's strict supervision.
For this review, I was supplied with a pair of HS3000 condenser mics, complete with pairs of removable cardioid and omni capsules, a pair of shockmounts, and a pair of stand adaptors hmdash; all cosseted in a compact but sturdy metal flightcase. Although not supplied for this review, Hebden Sound also manufacture compatible subcardioid and hypercardioid capsules for this microphone range.
Switching to spaced omnis, I was impressed with the full, spacious sound, which demonstrated the lovely bottom octave you only get from good omnis. Again, the high end was bright and crisp without being sharp or aggressive, and the HS3000 proved to be a very competent player. Its relatively poor noise performance became obvious when compared to my reference Sennheiser MKH20s, which were a good 6dB quieter, but although the Sennheisers sounded slightly cleaner and a hint more transparent, I didn't feel the need to swap mics on purely sonic grounds. That in itself is impressive, given that the German mic costs more than twice as much here in the UK!
