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28May

Mic shootout – 6 condensers from $120 – $1900 – Female vocals

As part of the Home Recording 101 class at Revolution Audio, this past Thursday we did a shootout of 6 vocal mics. The mics selected were some of the top sellers at the store and ranged in price from the M-Audio Nova at $119 to the AT4060 at $1905.

You may wonder why there are so many M-Audio mics in this shoot out.  Well that’s because they make good mics for the price, we had a variety on hand, and it seems like these mics don’t get a lot of attention.

The mics:

  • M-Audio Nova
  • Audio Technica AT2035
  • M-Audio Solaris
  • M-Audio Sputnik
  • AKG C 414 B-XL II
  • Audio-Technica AT4060

The source was Kate singing the first line of ’9 Crimes’ by Damien Rice. Each recording is a separate take, though she is very consistent. No processing has been done. Drop all the files into your DAW, keep the piano track active if you like. Scroll down to the bottom to get the files. The order of the files has been changed so you’ll need to guess which is which.

Leave a comment with which mic sounds like the best fit for her voice and I’ll email you the answers.

Other things to think about:

Which mic sounds like it’s the cheapest?
Which mic sounds the most expensive?
Which 2 mics are the tube mics?

M-Audio Nova $119nova

  • affordable large capsule cardioid condenser
  • 1.1” evaporated gold diaphragm
  • solid brass capsule
  • Class A solid state electronics
  • 20Hz-18kHz frequency response
  • includes hard mount, cable  and soft case

Audio-Technica AT2035 $235at2035_2

  • Large diaphragm for smooth, natural sound and low noise
  • High SPL handling and wide dynamic range provide unmatched versatility
  • Custom shock mount provides superior isolation
  • Switchable 80 Hz high-pass filter and 10 dB pad
  • Cardioid polar pattern reduces pickup of sounds from the sides and rear, improving isolation of desired sound source
  • Includes custom shock mount and protective pouch

M-Audio Solaris $399solaris

  • affordable large diaphragm cardioid condenser
  • 1.1” solid brass capsule w/ evaporated gold diaphragm
  • Class A solid state electronics
  • all Solaris microphones exhibit no more than +/- 1dB variation from each other
  • cardioid, omni and figure-8 polar patterns

M-Audio Sputnik $899sputnik

  • vintage tube design
  • 3-micron evaporated gold Mylar diaphragm
  • low-current 6205M dual triode tube
  • cardioid, figure-8, and omni polar patterns
  • -10dB (attenuation) pad
  • 80Hz high-pass filter
  • solid brass body with polished nickel finish
  • dedicated power supply with included 7-pin cable
  • professional shockmount
  • soft cloth bag
  • custom flight case

AKG C 414 BXL-II $1299c414-b-xli

  • High sensitivity and extremely low self noise
  • Five switchable polar patterns for placement and application flexibility
  • Two-color LEDs provide quick visual indication of selected polar pattern and output overload
  • Elastic capsule suspension greatly minimizes structurally-transmitted noise from chassis vibration
  • High sound pressure level capability and wide dynamic range
  • Completely immune to electrostatic and electromagnetic interference from digital gear, computer monitors, etc. thanks to solid metal housing and transformerless output stage
  • Three switchable bass cut filters and three pre-attenuation pads with LEDs for quick visual indication
  • All switchable components operate in low impedance circuits for ultra-high reliability even in extremely humid conditions

Audio-Technica AT4060 $19054060

  • Vintage tube sound with the versatile performance necessary for the most demanding studio applications.
  • Wide dynamic range, low self-noise and high max SPL capability.
  • Carefully-controlled cardioid pattern maintains uniform off-axis response.
  • Dual large-diaphragm elements for extended frequency response.
  • Hand-selected tubes are aged and individually tested to ensure peak performance.

The sound files

Get the files here: http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/1053122/vocal%20mic%20shootout.rar

Leave a comment with your guesses
Answers are now here

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Related posts:

  1. Cheap Mic Shootout #1
  2. 3 Key Components To A Home Studio
  3. Cheap Mic Shootout #1 part 2, now 600% geekier!
  4. Drum Session
  5. Vocal recording update and mini gear review

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Comments:54

Leave a Reply
  1. Reply DW
    09/05/29

    M-Audio Nova – f
    Audio Technica AT2035 – a
    M-Audio Solaris – e
    M-Audio Sputnik – c
    AKG C 414 B-XL II – d
    Audio-Technica AT4060 – b

  2. Reply Spydog
    09/05/29

    This was a great exercise for me, thanks for posting this. It was fun for me (I’m a bit of a noob with all this audio stuff, but I love it) to listen to the different tracks and just hear the subtle differences. I don’t really know the reputations of the various mics, so my guesses would be wild guesses. Here’s what it sounded like to my inexperienced ears though:

    A – a little harsh on the top end, not as smooth as some others (also, could hear a fragment of a conversation on the recording)

    B – there was some sort of very deep rumble through the whole track…not sure if that was the mic’s fault (I also heard the rumble on the first few seconds of track E but it went away on that track)…this mic seemed a bit darker/warmer than the others to me

    C – this mic was a touch hotter than most others; sounded good, but not great

    D – I liked this mic, although not as much as F; this one had a bit more of a bump in the low-mids than F

    E – hard to get past that low rumble followed by a pop of some sort in the latter part of the track…again, not sure if any of that was the mic’s fault

    F – this mic seemed the most even, smooth and articulate to me

    Looking forward to hearing the answers. Hope I didn’t make too much of a fool of myself with this response. :)

  3. Reply Junior
    09/05/29

    Great shootout, looking forward to hearing the answers. I don’t know the reputations of any of the mics, too, but let’s say my guess:

    M-Audio Nova – e
    Audio-Technica AT2035 – f
    M-Audio Solaris – c
    M-Audio Sputnik – b
    AKG C 414 BXL-II – a
    Audio-Technica AT4060 – d

  4. Reply Ray
    09/06/10

    a – sounded good to my poor ears. This one seemed to have the most bleed from the headset when solo’ed. Is it more sensitive?

    f – seemed to be the most “real” (whatever that means)

    What’s amazing is how similar they are given the wide variation in price.

  5. Reply Daniel
    09/06/10

    a – AT 2035
    b – M-Audio Nova
    c – M-Audio Sputnik
    d – AKG 414
    e – AT 4060
    f – M-Audio Solaris

    Thanks so much for doing this test, and I can’t wait to find out what is what!

    -Daniel

  6. Reply Jon
    09/06/11

    Way off on those answers Daniel. :D

  7. Reply powlow
    09/06/11

    f sounds the most suitable for her voice
    e is also quite suited but a diferent colour
    b + d seem to lack presence
    c seems quite noisy and resonant
    a sound muffled and somehow cheap

    great shootout : looking forward to the results!

  8. Reply Daniel
    09/06/11

    Wow! I was kind of shocked when I saw which microphone was which…ashamed almost!

    Jon, for the record it was either D, or E that sounded best to me. :)

    Thanks again for such a revealing shootout!
    -Daniel

  9. Reply powlow
    09/06/11

    ah the trusty 414…glad that one sounded like one of the top mics! Justifies my “can’t go wrong with a 414″ theory :)
    however, the nova is a bit of shock…still, its a case of what’s more suited to a certain source.
    Great surprising results Jon.

  10. Reply Olaf
    09/06/11

    M-Audio Nova b
    Audio Technica AT2035 a
    M-Audio Solaris e
    M-Audio Sputnik c
    AKG C 414 B-XL II f
    Audio-Technica AT4060 d

    Thanks so much for doing this podcast!

  11. Reply Dave
    09/06/15

    Really, none of these sound that bad to me. And there is a lot of variation in the takes. But here it goes…

    I like B and E the least.

    I like C and D the next least.

    Which leaves A and F as the two I liked best.

    Overall, I think A sounds the nicest to me.

  12. Reply Sti
    09/08/10

    Howdy
    A is the cheapest sounding.
    D (or F) is the most expensive sounding.
    C and E possible tube mics? (Haven’t got a clue !).
    Thanks for doing this …

  13. Reply Terence Morris
    09/08/11

    C and D sound fuller and more 3D – I would guess these are the tube mics – I like them best, with C having the edge. Okay.

    C AT 4060
    D Sputnik
    A Nova
    B AT 2035
    E AKG
    F Solaris

  14. Reply Terence Morris
    09/08/12

    Please can you email me the answers.
    Thanks

  15. Reply Terence Morris
    09/08/12

    Yikes – I’m stunned. What preamp did you use?
    Thanks!

    • Reply Jon
      09/08/12

      These were all very quickly recorded with an M-Audio Projectmix, which IMO sounds pretty poor. 6 mics on 6 stands going into the interface.

  16. Reply Sti
    09/08/13

    Jon, was the Solaris record in cardioid pattern like the others?

    • Reply Jon
      09/08/13

      All the mics were in Cardioid.

  17. Reply Terence Morris
    09/08/13

    Well, thanks for the time/effort. Did you notice there was ground noise on the 4060, at first I thought my system was out of wack. Just mentioning that.

  18. Reply Bill L
    09/09/10

    My choice would be “f” as to which one I would use on her vocals. I feel that “c” would be an acceptable choice, if used with a de-esser. I’m interested in knowing which is which!

  19. Reply Moi
    09/09/30

    Dunno wich would be each,
    but I clearly prefer D, at least in her vocals.

    I wanna know the relations please; thanks!

  20. Reply Brett R
    09/10/06

    I don’t feel I have the ears yet to pick up the subtle differences but it is very interesting to do this as an exercise. I liked C and E the most. Next A, D, F and B. But what do I know!

  21. Reply Nordan Manz
    09/10/06

    Hello! I want the answers!

    thanx!

  22. Reply Brett R
    09/10/06

    Thanks Jon-nothing like a blind taste test to mess up your mind!

  23. Reply ehsan
    09/10/12

    c Sputnik
    d AT4060
    f Solaris
    a AT2035
    e AKG
    b Nova

  24. Reply ehsan
    09/10/13

    plz send me the answers

  25. Reply Sylvio
    09/10/16

    I really don’t know hauahau… please send the aswer!!

  26. Reply tommy
    09/10/23

    I want the answers, too! Looking into buying a Sputnik…

  27. Reply Joseph
    09/11/11

    I just got the AT 2035 and I am anxious to know how it did. If you could email me the answers that would be great. Thanks!

  28. Reply oytun
    09/11/13

    Sputnik E
    AT4060 A
    Solaris D
    AT2035 B
    AKG C
    Nova F

    thank you for doing this..

  29. Reply Ryan
    09/11/20

    I’ve never used any of these mics so I have no business guessing. But like Joseph, I’m curious how the Audio-Technica AT2035 held up in the competition. I about to buy one.

  30. Reply John
    09/12/03

    I have not used any of these mics so I will not guess which is which. I am also a total noob so forgive my poor sound desriptions.

    a: Highs come through clearly. I like this one the best.
    b: sounds a bit muffled.
    c: Like this one about same as I like a. Very clear and haunting sound.
    d: sounds a bit muffled.
    e: lots of clicks. sounds pretty clear though.
    f: sounds clear. I still like a then c, then f.

    Thanks for posting this test. It was fun even for my untrained ears. I really like the tonal qualities of the vocalist.

    Looking forward to receiving the answers as I am about to order my first LDC mic and the results of this test may help me in my choice.

  31. Reply FaireDesVagues
    09/12/05

    for me D is the best for her voice
    after
    A > C > E > B > F
    good test, thanks

  32. Reply Sairu
    09/12/11

    E).- M-Audio Nova
    F).- C 414 BXL-II
    C).- M-Audio Solaris
    B).- M-Audio Sputnik
    A).- Audio-Technica AT2035
    B).-Audio-Technica AT4060

    Can u please send me the awnser? im think i will buy the Audio-Technica AT2035 but i wanna know how it sounds thankz

  33. Reply Sairu
    09/12/15

    yo i just pass to let you this, its a small Mix clip that i made using the female vocals here. just for fun

    http://www.zshare.net/audio/699136453128876c/

  34. Reply Andre
    10/01/08

    Thanks for the samples! I want to buy a mic to start a home studio and this test gave me a good idea on how these mics compare to each other.

  35. Reply Lemuel
    10/03/08

    Wonderful test! Please email me the answers! Thanks!

  36. Reply Joe
    10/04/07

    cant believe how off some of these comments are about which mic is which. The tube mics which can be heard very clearly are A and B. A is probably the Sputnik and B is the AT 4060. The other good mic in this shootout was the Akg 414 which sound like E. The rest of them sound flat and cheap

  37. Reply Joe
    10/04/07

    What is going on. Some of you actually thought D sounded the best. As soon as I heard D it was very obvious it was one of the cheapest mics. it sounded horrible.

  38. Reply Jorge
    10/04/29

    B AT4060
    D AKG
    F Solaris
    A Nova
    E Sputnik
    C AT2035

  39. Reply Jorge
    10/04/30

    please email me the answers

  40. Reply Jon
    10/04/30

    Answers are here: http://audiogeekzine.com/mic_shootout-f.txt

  41. Reply Hendrik
    10/10/19

    Hi – the link to the mic-shootout-f.txt doesn’t work anymore.
    I m realy curious about it.
    Is there any possibility to get the answers ?
    Best, Hendrik

  42. Reply manu
    11/09/29

    Jon send me the answers there are here :

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qNZjeCzuLVOwe_Mt1dYwgMq8wJ6FVqZx-FfCMhYJbVY/edit?hl=fr

    It’s fun to consider that only a obviousy well formed engeneer as Joe was right.

  43. Reply TJ
    11/10/03

    Jon,

    Can you share the answers, the link doesn’t work anymore!

    • Reply Jon
      11/10/03

      Here are the answers to the shootout
      1 4060 -b
      2 414 -e
      3 Sputnik -a
      4 Solaris -c
      5 2035 -d
      6 Nova -f

  44. Reply Moose
    11/10/30

    The Sputnik was my fav, by far. Then the 414, but felt a little lifeless (interesting, since I had the same opinion in the studio earlier this week…chose a u67 instead). The remainder sounded hollow & cheap. However, my biggest complaint is the room. There’s a resonant frequency in there in the singer’s midrange. The cheaper mics expose it well. It just rings through. The Sputnik doesn’t give into it, though. Sounds like a very clear representation of the singer’s voice & is very very sensitive without picking up the room. Maybe something internal to the mic housings? Time to ditch my AT2020s.

  45. Reply beepakoo
    11/12/06

    Should I be worried if I can’t tell the difference to save my life? I’m a somewhat educated musician, although I’m just getting into home audio recording. I’m obviously going for the cheapest given the results. What % of the population would be able to tell the difference anyways?

  46. Reply beepakoo
    11/12/06

    Meeeh, maybe I can tell some difference, but it’s not like it makes that big of a difference that I can justify a $2k mic in any way (not even a $235 mic lol).

    Anyways thank you for posting this, it was very educating, and perhaps also illustrative of my hearing impairment :-)

  47. Reply N-dru
    12/06/12

    IMO
    best for her voice is: [C]
    sounds like it’s the cheapest: [F]
    sounds the most expensive? [E]
    Which 2 mics are the tube mics? [B, C]

  48. Reply Crankcase
    13/03/28

    So where are the answers? The link saying “The answers are now here” is dead.

    • Reply Admin
      13/03/28

      1 4060 -b
      2 414 -e
      3 Sputnik -a
      4 Solaris -c
      5 2035 -d
      6 Nova -f

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