RN17 Cardioid Capsule

The RN17 Cardioid Capsule is the swap-in front end for the RN17 microphone body, giving the mic a focused cardioid pickup that rejects sound arriving from the rear. It carries a gold-sputtered diaphragm thin and light enough to follow sharp transients from cymbals, plucked strings and percussion without softening the attack.

Every capsule is hand-built and individually tuned in the sE factory, so response stays consistent from one unit to the next. That consistency matters when you are adding a second capsule for stereo work or replacing one mid-project and need the sound to line up with material you have already tracked. Externally polarized true condenser design keeps the tone natural rather than colored, and the hand-made brass housing shields the element from electrical interference while standing up to daily handling.

Cardioid pickup suits situations where the room is not helping: overheads in a live space, acoustic guitar in a small booth, voiceover in an untreated room, or spot-miking inside an ensemble. It also handles vocals where articulation and depth need to come through clearly. Thread it onto an RN17 body and the mic is ready to track. A factory-matched pair is available when two capsules with near-identical output are needed for stereo recording.