sE Electronics and Rupert Neve Designs Join Forces

Ruper Neve, photo courtesy of rupertneve.com

Somerville, MA (May 24, 2008) – In one of the most exciting partnerships in manufacturing, the sE Electronics International group is producing a brand new range of Rupert Neve signature series mics under the sE stable for 2008.

The first of several mics being readied for production in this new sE series will be a state of-the-art active Ribbon mic with revolutionary performance, provided by discrete circuits and purpose designed transformers by Mr. Rupert Neve. The capsule and manufacturing are being controlled by sE, whilst the electronics, and of course the transformer, are being taken care of by Mr. Neve.

The combination of a custom designed transformer and circuits from the man who has become legend in the world of solid state electronics, and a microphone and Ribbon from Siwei Zou, who in the relatively short history of sE has designed such industry standards as the multiple award-winning sE2200a and Gemini (not to mention the hugely successful Reflexion Filter), has given rise to a product which will surpass everyone’s expectations of what recording excellence can be achieved with a Ribbon mic.
Following hot on the heels of the release of the sE and Mr. Neve Ribbon will be a large diaphragm tube mic, and a solid state condenser. The first three mics will all share a common look which both gives a nod to ‘retro’ whilst still driving forward with sE’s modernistic ‘industrial chic’. In a word, the mics are BEAUTIFUL, the packaging will be second to none, and their performance will set new standards in the high end microphone market.

Rupert Neve says: “"Recent developments in the way that humans perceive sound are demanding significant advances both in performance and the philosophy of audio processing. That which was ‘good enough’ for light-hearted amusement fails to satisfy the thoughtful listener – in fact deficient sound quality has been shown to result in frustration, even anger. The experienced listener is aware of incredibly small Sound Pressure Levels that in many cases are beyond the conventional range of hearing.”

“I have worked for some time on the designs for a new range of microphones – the concepts of which are actually already being implemented in our own Rupert Neve Designs 5088 Console – namely utilizing Discrete Single-Sided Circuits and my custom designed transformers. This new approach to analogue sound processing needs extreme care in its manufacture and meticulous alignment of the embedded discrete opamps and the delicate microphone elements. This association with Siwei Zou and sE will provide an ideal partnership in terms of their masterly and enthusiastic commitment to innovation and quality that have also been my own hallmarks for more than 50 years."

Siwei Zou says: “I have, for many years, admired the work of Mr Neve, and now that we have a chance to work together I am able to realise a quality level in microphone technology that no other manufacturer to date has managed to achieve. The excellence we have worked so hard to achieve in production, design and capsule technology at sE, coupled with the best transformers this product area has ever seen, plus new cutting edge circuit board design, which from early tests are already proving to surpass anything I have ever heard before, means we are now able to produce high end mics, at a fraction of the cost of other high end brand models, but which have a sound and performance quality the likes of which this market has never seen before. This is a truly exciting time for sE and me personally.”

Josh Thomas, of Rupert Neve Designs, says “We are extremely pleased to be working so closely with sE Electronics. Rupert has been studying the mic market for some years with the intention of working on a project like this. After putting a number of big brand names, and countless mics, through rigorous testing, and looking at the manufacturing techniques, build quality, and work ethic of these companies, it quickly became clear that the partnership with sE would be extremely interesting from both a design standpoint and for the market.”

He continues: “Where most manufacturers we looked into seem to be cutting corners in manufacturing, packaging etc, or subcontracting to OEM to save money, and blindly copy what has been done before, sE have consistently shown us a complete commitment to pushing the design envelope with hand crafted quality in all their products, and continual efforts to improve every detail possible in their product. sE’s ethos is less about making as much profit as possible, and more about making the best product they can, and frankly, that is precisely what Mr Neve is all about.”

sE Electronics’ James Young says: “It’s a huge honor for us that Rupert even considered us among the big players as a company he might like to work with. In the end there was no way we could ever compete with the kind of money that a large corporation could throw around to secure a deal, so it’s a testament to Mr Neve’s principles and dedication to his art that he chose to work with the company that he thought would build the best product, plain and simple.”

“We are all so excited about where this collaboration will take us and focused now on getting the first three products to market by Summer 2008 and then… Well, you’ll see!”