Ok, here comes a short review.
First, Martin is a terrific guy and designs absolutely top-notch gear.
I've used 3 different NU-47's, the first beeing Martins first prototype at his own studio (about 10 yers ago) and later two friends of mine, one singer and one producer, got their own aswell.
If there are some design differences between these 3 I don't know. Looks are most certainly different, the prototype was built in a plastic tube. Looked cool though, it had the blue glowing tube.
I've used the NU47 a lot of times since I work a lot with my singer friend who owns one.
It has endeed a lot in common with the U47 when it comes to how it sounds.
The depth, dynamic response, the "you are there"-factor, the sense of 3-dimensionality and a gorgeous overall smoothness.
To my ears it's a *little* bit brighter than the U47's I've heard but then again I have no idea if they've been up-to-spec. It might aswell sound just the way a U47 sounded brand new.
Although using this mic many times I've only recorded vocals and acoustic guitars with it. Always with excellent results.
FWIW It's definitely one of the best LDC mics I've ever used (I've used all the usual suspects) and if I had the $$ I'd buy one right away (damned gearslutism
).
To my understanding this is a "very limited edition" mic due to availability of parts.
Hope this helps at least some... I'm quite bad at describing how a piece of gear sounds.
