Aston Microphones HALO Purple Reflection Filter and Portable Vocal Booth

Product Information

Just like the Aston, the sE features a ribbed surface both on the inner and outer part of the mic shield to deflect sound. However, we’d say the dome shape of the Halo give it a huge advantage here over the flat sE. 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. Aston Microphones pride themselves on being a British brand; both designing and building high quality, hand crafted and affordable microphones in the UK. Somewhat surprisingly, they're currently the only microphone manufacturer in the UK.

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. Safe to say, if it’s good enough for Drake, then it’s good enough for virtually everyone. How do you attach an Aston Halo? While the eyeball is effective at diffusing sound, the Aston Halo just does it better. Record the same lines into both these mic shields and you’ll soon see the difference. The Halo is more expensive than many similar products, so it does need to trade on quality over value for money.

A new breed of reflection filter?

The Result is abeautifully open sound with sparkling harmonics. This highly accurate microphone gives a stunningly natural and transparent recording, capturing all the detail in the high range but without adding the harshness that some condenser microphones seem to. Key Features: The sheer difference a Halo makes to vocals is nothing short of phenomenal. Get your hands on one of these and you’ll soon see what we mean. Sing or spit your rap bars into a Halo and almost immediately your vocals are more focused and noticeably tighter in the low end. They’re just so much more pronounced than you get with a bare microphone setup. All of which makes post production 10x easier, especially if your recording environment isn’t what you’d call soundproof. Unbox the Halo and grab yourself a straight mic stand – for this mic shield you do not need a boom. Then set about screwing it into the metal attachment that you find on the bottom of the Halo. This should only be a one-man job and be sure easy, due the fact the Halo is so lightweight. The most impressive quality of the Halo is its sonic neutrality. Placing any (semi) solid object close to a microphone, especially those with cardioid and figure-eight polar patterns, tends to seriously affect tonality, whether the intended source is close or at a distance. The Halo is made from a patented PET felt which is one of the most lightweight and efficient, technical acoustic products available on the global market today, making it ideal for use in a reflection filter.

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.Much bigger surface area (approx. 40% bigger than main competitor, and ridges almost double this again) 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.

Halo’s unique design is much bigger than other portable booths, and wraps around top and bottom to a maximum rear depth of almost 100mm to improve room isolation and absorption without dominating the room sound. Its textured and wave-formed surface also helps diffuse direct sound. 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. The Halo gives a mic diffusion from 360 degrees, including the top and bottom. Something that the majority of mic isolation shields do not. Perhaps why mic isolation shields have got a bad rep? As two of the most reflective places in most rooms are the floor and the ceiling.

Oh no! Why did I get blocked?

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 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 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. The Aston Halo reflection filter is the ultimate in portable acoustic booth technology. In a market awash with differing versions of an ageing design concept, the Aston Halo is a huge leap forward in reflection filter performance, most notably for Isolation, absorption, mounting hardware and the overall performance as a studio tool for achieving portable room control. Our multiple award-winning Halo is, according to every independent magazine review, the best reflection filter in the world (and it looks fabulous too!)

Look at the Halo and you’ll see that there’s ribs both on the inside and outside to absorb and deflect sound. None of which you get with the eyeball. 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. 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 Halo’s form and size is designed to create a more ‘organic feeling’ space for the performer to work with. The combination of radically improved performance in almost every area of currently available technology, by much bigger than other portable booths, and wraps around top and bottom, to a maximum rear depth of almost 100 mm to improve room isolation and absorption without dominating the room sound. The Aston Halo comes with a unique mounting design that’s all made of metal and simply screws onto the top of your mic stand. Once attached, it can be adjusted by both height and angle too.

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. Okay, so now you’ve clued-up on the Halo and aware of what it is and how it functions, you’re most probably itching to know what makes it so good, as well as its potential pitfalls. As with any product, the Halo comes with its own set of pros and cons. Both things it’s wise to know before putting your money where your mouth is. 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. 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.