Much bigger surface area (approx. 40% bigger than main competitor, and ridges almost double this again) The multi-award winning Aston Origin is a high-performance cardioid condenser microphone utilising a one inch (1″) gold evaporated capsule. It's versatile enough to use with any instrument and, for singer-songwriters, excels on acoustic guitar and vocals. Its hand-selected capsule is paired with high-end transformerless circuitry using only the finest components.

Everything from first design to final assembly is done in this country; handmade by a team of some of the finest engineers and craftsmen in Britain. Each mic has been meticulously developed by a team of British Engineers with the help and advice from over 30 UK Music industry professionals.Instead of just recreating a similar design to the tried and tested model seen on many of the mics today. Aston dare togo against the norm,pushing the boundaries of technology and designto create something completely new from theground up.

A new breed of reflection filter?

Probably the most noticeable difference between the Aston halo and the Kaotica Eyeball is that the Aston is far more a isolation booth, whereas the eyeball is pretty much a mic cover. We like to think of it as an oversized mic windshield – you know, the type newsreaders have on their mic. Therefore, you can record a lot further away from the Aston Halo than you can the Kaotica Eyeball.

Because the pop filter is integrated into the eyeball, you can’t really alter it distance from the mic. Whereas with the Aston you can, as it doesn’t come with a pop filter built in. The Aston Halo itself is made of Aston’s own patented form of PET– the same material that they make plastic bottles out of. All of which makes the Halo a hit of an eco-warrior, as it’s made out of 70% recycled material. However, don’t be fooled into thinking that it’s rubbish! This material is far more acoustically absorbent than foam. In case anyone from Greenpeace is reading this, we’d also like to point out that the Halo on the Aston is made of recycled plastic bottles (PET), so as well as not feeling cheap it’s environmentally friendly too! The results are visually stunning. TheSpirit Mic may look like a piece of modern art, however aesthetics are only part of the story. Each element has been meticulously designed to create better performance, better durability and better usability.

Oh no! Why did I get blocked?

Both the Aston and Kaotica Eyeball adopt futuristic designs that we’re personally huge fans of. You have to admire any product that pushes the boundaries. Our market research also revealed that many people have a hard time with getting a good performance when using other reflection filters because they are not very ‘creative-friendly’ environments. The Halo’s form, colour options and size is designed to create a more ‘organic-feeling’ space for the performer to work with. Buy a Halo and you’re buying a completely new product – the Aston Halo has been completely re-engineered as a mic isolation shield. It’s not just a rip off of one that’s been released before.

The filter itself offers a much bigger surface area and is made of the latest patented acoustic materials and proprietary moulding techniques which bring massively improved filtering performance. It also incredibly lightweight so you don't need a ridiculously heavy duty stand or have troublesetting it up.Whether you choose the sE Reflection Filter or the Aston Halo, you shouldn’t be disappointed with the build quality. Both these reflection filters feel really premium and are well engineered. Although with it weighing 3x more than the sE, the Aston does feel the most sturdy. Though I was acquainted with the specs beforehand, I was still surprised when setting it up at just how rigid and lightweight the structure is. I found it to be perfectly stable when placed on a dedicated bog-standard mic stand (ie. on a different stand from the mic), and the extra isolation this produces is definitely worth it. Conclusion

In fact, the only instance where we think you should think twice, or at the very least assess whether a Halo would be worth it, is if you don’t really need a mic isolation shield full stop. In other words, you’ve already got a fully sound-treated room or free access to a professional studio. In which case, this purple shield would serve more as a prop than a functional piece of equipment. But saying that, it would look pretty killer as part of a music video, and certainly screams “pro producer” to any artist who walks into your studio. All of which then means you can make a fair comparison and of course reach your own conclusion. After all, everyone’ setup is different, as are their requirements,, so while we might think the Halo’s worth every penny, you might think different. So let’s gets into it – here’s everything you need to know about the Aston Halo reflection filter… Key details I’ve had a few mic shields over the years. This one actually works. Really good. I don’t need it anymore so selling on. Because not only is there a lot of scepticism around mic isolation booths, but when it comes to the Halo, we’ve got to admit that we’ve got a slight crush. Well, we say slight… we’re HUGE fanboys! So as you can imagine, the thought of doing an Aston Halo review seemed to be treading awfully close to being bias. Which it kind of is, but we’ve decided to give it a go anyway, as a way of disciplining our fanaticism about this remarkable mic isolation shield. Though the Halo is most suited to vocal usage, we find it works well with acoustic guitar, especially considering the proximity effect behaviour. It is well worth playing with the mic depth into the reflection filter as this can have a 'drying out' effect - a little room helps acoustic instruments live in a mix.When it comes to sound absorption, the sE uses foam. Unlike the Aston which uses the company’s patented type of PET felt. A materials that’s said to 1up the sound absorption that you get from traditional foam.