Yesterday evening, I went a-googling for details about the microphones they use at the despatch boxes in the House of Commons because they fascinate me.

They’re AKG D222s, which I used to covet in the 90s. They’re odd dynamic mics: Unlike most others, they don’t make your voice sound bassier as you move your mouth get closer to top—they are said not to exhibit a proximity effect because bass sounds are handled by a capsule in bottom end and mixed in with the treble picked up at the other, closer-to-your-mouth end.

Apparently they were chosen for Parliament because of this unusual proximity behaviour, their resistance to “popping“, and because they are famously reliable—the design dates from the 1960s.

So now you know.