JZ Microphones MU-1 combines ribbon and condenser in one body

JZ Microphones has announced the MU-1, a hybrid microphone that houses both a ribbon element and a large-diaphragm capacitor capsule. It was developed together with Grammy-winning producer and engineer Marc Urselli.

The idea behind it

Engineers often place a ribbon and a condenser microphone on the same source and blend them. The MU-1 is meant to make this faster: the two elements are phase-aligned and level-matched inside one body, so there is no need to adjust the position of two separate microphones. JZ says this makes setup and positioning much quicker than with a typical two-microphone approach.

Design and specifications

• Condenser element: JZ Golden Drop cardioid capsule from the Black Hole series, with a transformerless signal path.
• Ribbon element: 1.2 µm foil motor with a custom transformer.
• Patent-pending hybrid capsule layout.
• Active design: both elements run on 48 V phantom power.
• One five-pin XLR output carries both signals; a breakout cable splits them to two three-pin XLRs.

With the breakout cable, the ribbon and the condenser arrive at the preamp as two separate channels, each on its own three-pin XLR, so the balance between them is set at the mixing stage rather than by moving microphones.

The box also contains a shockmount, a wooden case and a certificate of ownership.

CEO Andris Zemmers said the MU-1 takes a technique top engineers already use and removes the obstacles to it.

Price and shipping

The MU-1 is available for pre-order at $1,999 or €1,999. The first units are expected to ship in August 2026, and matched pairs are available on request.