Electro-Voice RE-2000

A large-diaphragm condenser that made a dynamic-mic company prove it could play the studio game - and priced itself accordingly.

Overview

When Electro-Voice finally built a serious studio condenser, it didn't sneak in at the bottom. The RE-2000 is a large-diaphragm, side-fired, RF-biased condenser with switchable output level. The spec sheet claims a frequency response of 30 to 20,000 kHz. That reads like a typo, but it's the figure the documentation carries. It was a deliberate statement from a firm whose reputation had been built on dynamics.

The design brief was unusual. The RE-2000 is a short-D, high-efficiency unit. It pairs the high output of a large-diaphragm capsule with the tighter polar pattern and faster transient response normally associated with small-diaphragm designs. The low-mass diaphragm is ultrathin, gold-sputtered and environmentally stabilized. The mic uses a true balanced-output transformer designed especially for it by Jensen. An external computer-grade power supply feeds the Constant Environment System, which keeps the capsule's operating conditions steady instead of relying on whatever phantom power the console happens to supply.

The practical details are well thought out. A 10 dB capsule attenuator pushes usable sound pressure levels to 148 dB, and an internal three-stage pop filter tames breath blasts and wind noise before they reach the capsule. The side-fired format and supercardioid pattern point to close studio work, like vocals and acoustic instruments, rather than distant room capture.

Electro-Voice's own advertising leaned on the enthusiasm of early users rather than measurements. The promotional material collected testimonials calling the mic warm in the manner of a tube design, quiet enough to capture low-level material without added noise, and versatile across vocals, acoustic guitars, trumpets and violins. Producer Roy Thomas Baker was quoted calling it one of the most versatile mics he had used. That is marketing copy, not an independent verdict.

Independent coverage filled in the picture. EQ (April 1995, p.26) auditioned the RE-2000 and characterized it as a mic that keeps its cool no matter how hot you run it. It published a list price of $2450 for the package, which included the power supply, shock mount, pop filter, stand clamp and carrying case. The same review listed a supercardioid pattern, a frequency response of 70-18,000 Hz, 20 mV/pascal sensitivity at 1 kHz, a rated source impedance of 150 ohms transformer-balanced, 10 dB SPL A-weighted equivalent noise, 148 dB maximum SPL with the attenuator engaged, a switchable 130 Hz 12 dB/octave low-frequency rolloff, and power requirements of 12-volt DC external regulated or 12-48-volt phantom. That doesn't match the manufacturer's wider 30-20,000 kHz claim. The EQ figures are the more conservative and more believable of the two.

By the following year the RE-2000 had become the reference point for the company's condenser ambitions. Studio Sound (September 1996, p.34) described the mic's 1995 launch as a significant departure for Electro-Voice, noting that until then the company had made its name with dynamic microphones. The same piece framed the later RE1000 as a model that conceded little to its more elaborate and more expensive forebear. EQ (1997, p.110) put the family relationship plainly, calling the RE1000 a little brother to the RE2000 and pricing it at $928 suggested list - less than half the RE-2000's outlay.

That price gap is the thing to understand about the RE-2000 today. It was never a bargain microphone. It was a premium one, sold with a dedicated supply and a full accessory kit, and it competed for the same dollars as established studio condensers. Collectors and engineers describe a mic closer to tube designs than to the clean, clinical solid-state condensers of its era, but that description comes from the promotional testimonials and is reputation, not measurement. What is documented is the engineering: RF biasing, the Jensen transformer, the environmentally stabilized gold-sputtered diaphragm, the external regulated supply.

Documentation for the model is thin in the usual places. Production years, total unit counts and current secondary-market values are not established in the available record. The dedicated power supply is essential to the Constant Environment System, and it's the part most likely to complicate a purchase today, since a mic without its supply is a project rather than a working tool. Buyers should confirm the supply, shock mount and case are present before committing.