I’m Hank Davis, and this is Podcast Gear News for May 2026 (Your monthly podcasting equipment news show).

Solid State Logic has released the SSL-1. It's a 2-in/2-out, 32-bit/192kHz USB-C audio interface with 1 preamp, 1 instrument/line in, 1 headphone out, 2 monitor out ports, 3x stereo loopback, legacy 4K analogue enhancement, bus power, and it comes with bundled software. The SSL-1 is available for macOS, Windows, and mobile devices. The SSL-1 retails for $159.99. Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/4nXJxMv

Microphone manufacturer Soyuz announced the V1 Dynamic Atomic Heart limited edition microphone. Created in collaboration with video game studio Mundfish, this mic draws inspiration from the retro-futurist world of their game Atomic Heart. I don't know anything about the video game, but to me it just looks cool. This limited edition mic will set you back $279.00.

https://shop.soyuzmicrophones.com/products/v1-dynamic-atomic-heart

I'm not claiming to be clairvoyant, but the moment I started to talk about the long-in-the-tooth levelator app, that levels speaker audio, we've gotten a few replacements. You can now add Accentize's dxLevel to the mix. The plugin claims to "keep dialogue consistent across speakers, scenes and recordings with intelligent loudness corrections." The plugin is currently free to download and works on several major audio and video editors in VST3, AU, and AAX formats. The link is in the description. https://www.accentize.com/product/dxlevel/?v=0b3b97fa6688

W.A. Production announced DeNoizzer, a noise suppressor plugin offering a comprehensive set of tools which can be fine-tuned to suit your needs.

• Learn noise profiles and eliminate them from any audio.
• Listen mode for enhanced monitoring.
• High & Low pass filters for frequency-specific cleanup.
• Resolution for quality adjustment.
• Speed response dial for different types of audio.
• Frequency spectrum display.
• AB comparison & Undo / Redo.

The background noise removal example on their own website was not very impressive. The plugin will retail for roughly $30 with an introductory price of just $10.

https://www.waproduction.com/plugins/view/denoizzer

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Last month I missed the launch of Sennheiser’s HD 480 PRO professional closed-back studio headphones. Sennheiser says they eliminate the two most-cited pain points of closed-back headphones by delivering a tight, accurate bass reproduction and ensuring supreme comfort for audio professionals tasked with recording, tracking, or monitoring in the studio, in live audio environments or on the move.

The HD 480 PRO headphones retail for $399.00. Affiliate link below.

https://amzn.to/4vf1bh3

I'll place this under the "Just Dreaming" category, but it's simply too cool not to mention. JZ Microphones unveiled the world's first ribbon and large diaphragm condenser hybrid studio microphone. The MU-1 was designed by Grammy Award-winning producer and engineer Marc Urselli.

Both capsules sit side-by-side inside a single metal body, aligned in physical space and phase-coherent by design. A single 5-pin XLR carries both signals, splitting the signal via the included breakout Y-cable into two standard 3-pin XLRs - record either capsule alone, or both on separate channels, and blend to taste.

The microphone ships in August for $1999. I did NOT add this to my wishlist.

https://usashop.jzmic.com/

On a side note I have seen a lot of discussion around the reduced pieces for all, or almost all, of Zoom’s products.

Zoom Corp. which is a Japanese manufacturer of audio and music equipment, is facing significant financial distress, having swung to a net loss in fiscal 2025 due to falling net sales and structural market changes. The company declared a “business emergency” in the first half of the year and launched an emergency restructuring plan aimed at restoring profitability in fiscal 2026, driven by restructuring expenses and impairment charges.

COMING SOON:

I can finally discuss the new budget audio interface I've been testing for the past couple of months. The video review will appear on the Free Podcast Tools YouTube channel in mid June.

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Thank you for listening to Podcast Gear News. I’ll catch you next month.