Nakamichi CM-700
A $150 electret that Nakamichi slotted between its flagship condenser and its budget capsule system - and then let the accessories do the talking.
Overview
Nakamichi built the CM-700 as a studio electret, and the spec sheet reads like a company that didn't want a mid-priced mic embarrassing the flagship. The element is a 16 mm electret. Nakamichi's own literature credits that small diameter and low mass with the extended high-frequency response, fast transients, and low coloration the mic was sold on. A hand-selected FET sits in the built-in low-noise preamp. The mic runs on a user-replaceable 6-volt silver oxide cell instead of phantom power, so it works with whatever preamp you own. It also means the battery is a consumable you keep buying for as long as you keep the mic.
The system approach is where the CM-700 earns its keep. Two interchangeable capsules ship in the box, cardioid and omnidirectional, and a 15 dB pad keeps loud sources from overloading the input. The power switch has a third position for "lo-cut," Nakamichi's proximity-effect attenuation for close work. Audio (September 1978, p.90) listed maximum input SPL at 130 dB cardioid and 128 dB omni, rising to 145 and 143 dB respectively with the attenuator engaged. Response was quoted as 20 to 20,000 Hz ±3 dB, with a 600-ohm balanced output. Those are strong numbers for an electret of the period.
Audio's test bench (September 1978, p.94) found the directional behavior genuinely surprising. The reviewer noted that a mic of this type should collapse toward a cardioid pattern below roughly 500 Hz. The CM-700 held uniform directivity down through the low end instead, and the magazine's phrasing was that Nakamichi had apparently defied the laws of physics.
The accessory that made the CM-700 a system rather than a single microphone was the CP-703 shotgun capsule. Audio (September 1978, p.94) measured essentially null response at 90 and 180 degrees with the CP-703 fitted. It also reported that the capsule stayed directional at low frequencies, where a conventional shotgun would have degraded to cardioid. For location work and dialogue, that made a $150 electret more flexible than its price suggested.
Nakamichi positioned the CM-700 between the top-of-the-line CM-1000 Studio Condenser and the CM-300 Electret Condenser, and priced it at $150.00 suggested retail - the same figure carried in the company's own announcement materials. That's a mid-pack price for a mic with two capsules and a pad. It was a working tool, sold to people who needed a clean small-diaphragm condenser and didn't want to pay flagship money for it.
The caveats are the ones that come with any battery-powered electret. The 6-volt silver oxide cell is user-replaceable, which is good, but it's also a battery you have to remember exists. Audio (January 1988, p.118) advised installing a fresh cell before any critical session. That is standard counsel for integral-battery electrets, and a dying battery is the most common way these mics go quiet. The capsules are interchangeable and the pad is switchable, so there's more to go wrong than on a fixed-capsule dynamic. The small electret element is clean, but it is not the last word in character.
Versatility is where it earns its place. A cardioid capsule for overheads, an omni for room capture, the pad for loud sources, the lo-cut for close vocals - that's four different mics in one body, and the CP-703 shotgun extends it further. The CM-700 is not a cult object the way Nakamichi's cassette decks are. It's a utility microphone, and the ones still in service are usually there because someone kept fresh batteries in them. The real risk on the used market is missing capsules and a bad pad switch, so a complete example with both elements and the CP-703 is worth more than the sum of its parts.
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