Simple Explanation

A directional pickup pattern shaped like a heart, commonly used in microphones and some speakers to capture sound mostly from the front.

Concise Technical Definition

A polar pickup pattern characterized by maximum sensitivity at 0° (front), reduced sensitivity on the sides, and minimum sensitivity at 180° (rear). It reduces ambient noise and feedback by rejecting sound from behind.

Layman-Friendly Analogy

Like cupping your hands around your mouth to focus your voice in one direction and block background noise from behind.

Industry Usage Summary

Widely used in live sound, studio recording, podcasting, and broadcast to capture focused audio while minimizing feedback or ambient noise. Found in cardioid microphones, speaker dispersion systems, and acoustic modeling.

Engineering Shortcut

Pickup pattern: 0° = full sensitivity, 90° = ~6 dB drop, 180° = null point (minimal pickup). Often labeled as “unidirectional.”

Full Technical Explanation

The cardioid pattern gets its name from the heart-shaped polar response graph. It is achieved through pressure gradient transducer design, where the microphone captures the difference in pressure between front and back. This causes it to favor on-axis sound and attenuate off-axis noise, especially from behind. It is ideal in environments where sound isolation is critical, such as in vocal performance, broadcasting, and live sound reinforcement to reduce feedback and bleed.