Audio-Technica ATM250DE
Two capsules in one housing - a dynamic for the beater's crack, a condenser for the shell's roundness.
Overview
The ATM250DE is the odd one in Audio-Technica's Artist Series. One microphone body carries both a hypercardioid dynamic capsule and a cardioid condenser capsule. Audio-Technica's own catalog copy lays out the pitch plainly: the dynamic element is voiced for the attack of the kick drum beater, and the condenser element captures the round tonalities of the shell. The Pro Audio Review (May 2009, p.2) Artist Series coverage repeated that framing almost verbatim, which is a fair sign the dual-element approach was the whole reason the mic existed.
The design descends from Audio-Technica's AE2500 dual-element kick mic, which the company had been selling as a flagship kick-drum tool. The ATM250DE is the cheaper, Artist-Series take on the same idea. Sound on Sound (September 2006, p.8) noted the ATM250DE as "a cheaper version" of the AE2500 when the Artist Series refresh was announced. The AE2500 is the reference the DE is measured against, not some unrelated mic.
The single-element sibling, the ATM250, is a hypercardioid dynamic built for percussion, brass, kick drum, and other high-SPL sources. The DE costs meaningfully more than the single-dynamic version, and the extra money buys the condenser capsule, not a different dynamic element.
Placement is where the dual-capsule design earns its keep. EQ Magazine (November 2006, p.47) reported that both the ATM250 and ATM250DE ship with the same AT8471 isolation mount used with the ATM450, and that the two mics did equally well at holding securely when placed inside a kick drum. A mic that shifts inside a kick drum ruins a take. The AT8471 is the shared mount across the Artist Series instrument line.
The ATM250DE also turns up in the wider trade press as a known quantity rather than a novelty.
The ATM250DE is a working tool rather than a shelf piece. The realistic caution is the one that applies to any dual-element mic: the two capsules age independently, so a used example should be checked on both elements before purchase. Buyers should also confirm which mount is included. The AT8471 is the correct one, and a mic sold without it will need one.