Electro-Voice Model 623
A slim, swivel-mounted dynamic that Electro-Voice billed as the general-purpose workhorse for both speech and music.
Overview
The Model 623 is a slim dynamic microphone that Electro-Voice put between its budget omnidirectional Model 611 and the fancier "Slimair" Model 636. The company's own period advertising pitched it as a general-purpose slim dynamic covering 60 to 12,000 cps, "ideal for recording or PA," at a list price of $57.00. That was well above the $45.00 Model 611 and comfortably below the $72.50 Model 636. It was the sensible middle choice in a crowded E-V dynamic lineup, not the flagship and not the bargain.
For the money you got a compact, unobtrusive body. The period catalog copy describes it as small and slim enough to stay inconspicuous and easy to handle, which suited a mic expected to work on a podium and in front of a musical source. The swivel mount lets the element tilt through a 57-degree arc toward the sound source, so you can aim it without wrestling the stand. Inside sits an Acoustalloy diaphragm, the same diaphragm material E-V used across this generation of dynamics. Finish is satin chrome, and the net weight is one pound.
The frequency response is quoted at 60 to 12,000 cps. That upper figure is the limiting one. 12 kHz is low by modern standards, and a mic that rolls off at 12 k will sound slightly soft on cymbals and sibilance next to anything built in the last few decades. For speech and the general-purpose PA and recording work E-V was aiming at, that range covers the fundamentals and most of the harmonics that matter. The company's own advertising in Audio (February 1963, p.35) listed the 623 right alongside the 611 and 636 as part of a general-purpose dynamic line. The same ad noted that Hi- or Lo-Z operation on the 623 was available simply by changing the cable connections, which made the mic easy to drop into whatever system a venue happened to have.
Electro-Voice's marketing through this period leaned hard on its "Variable D" acoustic principle. The company's ads in Audio (January 1958, p.86) and Tape-Recording (February 1958, p.3) described it as employing three distinct sound entrances with acoustical filters to achieve flat response, good back cancellation, and reduced boominess on close talkers. That was house-wide advertising copy for the dynamic line rather than a spec sheet for the 623 specifically, so treat it as brand positioning and not a measured claim about this exact model. It does show the design philosophy the 623 was sold under: durable dynamics with controlled proximity effect, aimed at studios and PA installers who wanted uniformity and reliability rather than coloration.
The honest caveats are the ones any collector will run into. The 623 is a period dynamic from an era when "satin chrome" and die-cast bodies were the norm, and E-V's own line advertising from the period notes that the models in this family used high-pressure die-castings with a satin chromium finish — solid construction, but the finish and the swivel hardware are the parts that show age first. The 60–12,000 cps response means it will never be a first-call vocal mic for anyone chasing air and detail, and the swivel mount, while convenient, is a mechanical joint that deserves a look before you trust it on a stand. None of that is a knock; it's just what a microphone of this vintage and this price class is.
The 623 turns up in old broadcast and recording setups as a period-correct general-purpose dynamic. A matched pair even surfaced for sale in the classifieds of Broadcast Engineering at one point, unused and in original packaging. That suggests these were bought in pairs for institutional work and occasionally survived untouched. In a mid-century E-V dynamic collection, the 623 sits between the two: cheaper and plainer than the 636, more capable on paper than the 611, with a 12 kHz ceiling.
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