Closer Look And Operation

To start with, the Colonna microphone is heavy at 1.4 kg (3.1 lb), while its height is 27.5 cm (10.8 ") and the base is 11 cm (4.33 ") wide. With these dimensions, there has to be enough room on one's office desk or it would turn awkward if one is clumsy enough; dropping the microphone would be an easy task!

Other than the wireless microphone I wear during the making of the unboxing video, I do not remember using another microphone lately. With the above said, the Colonna microphone is the first desktop microphone we test and review, which means it will also be our point of reference from now on out.


Arozzi's design team seems to have paid lots of attention to the microphone's appearance, and to be honest, it does make a great impression since the capsule has a vintage look that immediately catches the eye. The only metallic part of the microphone is the base, which also seems to the heaviest part. The base is stable and an anti-slip mat is attached to the bottom side. The capsule can move back and forth while a bolt on each sides of the base adjusts the resistance of the movement. As already mentioned, the Colonna comes is four different colors; black, gold, rose gold, and silver, the color of our sample. Plenty of color options exist to have it fit into everyone's office.


On the upper side of the capsule is a calligraphic capital "A" letter inside a circle, which obviously stands for the company name. There are a total of four buttons combined on both sides of the microphone.


The first button, which protrudes from the microphone's body a bit, is the mute button. If a red light is on, the microphone is ready for use. Once you press this button, the light becomes intermittent, which means that the microphone has been muted.


The dial controller right below the mute button is for adjusting the headphone's volume.


On the rear are two more buttons identical to those on the upper side. With the first button, we can choose between the three polar patterns; omnidirectional, cardioid, and bidirectional. An LED points out which pattern is currently selected.


Below the polar switch is a dial controller with which one can amplify the microphone's gain (aka volume).


On the front are the microphone's windscreen under a protective plastic grill, and around the back, we come across a USB port and 5/8" thread with which we can mount the microphone to a studio microphone boom.


The Colonna microphone also features a 3.5 mm headphone port.