German Radio Award 2025 – A legendary microphone from Gefell on the winners‘ stage

It honours what makes radio so firmly anchored in the everyday lives of millions of people: the fast and reliable information, the closeness and familiarity that presenters radiate, the surprising, spontaneous and emotional. And last but not least: the growing journalistic power of radio. The Radio Prize thus sets standards for quality in radio broadcasting.

The German Radio Award is intended to recognise and encourage exceptional radio achievements – from impressive reports to particularly successful comedy.

The sponsors of the German Radio Award are the radio programmes of ARD, Deutschlandradio and the private radio stations in Germany.

Microtech Gefell is delighted that the legendary UM 900 microphone was used at the award ceremony.

The meanwhile historic UM 900, which was awarded the Thuringia Prize for Product Design in 1998, was the first switchable tube condenser microphone that could be connected to industry standard 48 Volt phantom powering using a regular 3-pin XLR-microphone cable. This was made possible by an advanced circuit design for the amplifier and internal power supply.

The pickup capsule used a traditional, proven design with two large, gold plated plastic diaphragms.

Three switches were located around the body of the UM 900. The switch in the front selected the polar pattern: omni, wide cardioid, cardioid, hyper cardioid and figure 8. Located 120 degrees to each side were switches for gain adjust and low frequency roll-off.

Acoustic influences that could result from the housing resonance and/or mechanical vibration were reduced by the robust construction and by a special fixture within the microphone’s housing that dampens vibration.