- Aug 29, 2007
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I had the privelage to do some mic comparisons yesterdaye so I figured I'd share my results. The DAW was Sonar Prod Ed 6. The monitors were Dynaudio BM 5. The mic pre was an A - Designs Mic Pre Pacifica. The room was beautifully tuned using a ton of real traps and mid - high range absorbers.
The mics
ADK Vienna
ADK Hamburg
ADK TC
AKG C12 (original)
Neumann U87 (modded)
Neumann U67
All we tested was noise floor and some minor signing and some screaming on them, but it was enough to give a really good idea of how those mics sound. We put positioned the capsules as close together as possible and sang in the center of each.
I've gotta say that the AKG C12 is absolutely an AMAZING mic and for the price it should be, but man I was floored when I heard it. It is a very musical and very smooth mic. Probably the most musical and smooth sounding mics I have ever heard. It had a very nice dark tone to it that did not screech on high notes, but rather complimented them. The sound was also incredibly focused. It sort of made me feel like it would be a good mic on a jazz singer, sort of that feeling when you sit and listen to a jazzy singer in a smoky bar, if that makes any sense. We put the ADK Hamburg up next it as well. Which was pretty cool. You could hear how the Hamburg was trying to simulate the characteristics of the C12, but there was a certain harshness to it. Especially on the higher notes, by comparison, it sounded peaky and not as focused. But keep in mind that this was apples to oranges, the purpose was to hear the difference between crazy insane expensive mics to the less expensive, yet well respected mics.
Then the U 67 was next in line for being dark, but not nearly as dark as the C12. It was just as smooth and just as focused with a different character. With the Hamburg still next to it, we heard the same differences, the Hamburg sounded peaky ,where as the U 67 sounded smooth, yet the U 67 was just a tad bit brighter than the C12, but still had that nice warm smooth sound, but the low mids on that mic were freaking amazing! Very pleasing to the ears! The Hamburg again, was still brighter than the U 67, while trying to imitate the those characteristics, but it seemed like it picked up some room noise, even the room being as well tuned as it was, was just not flattering.
The U87 next to the Vienna had similar results, but the U87 seemed more modern and again more focused.
This is where it gets interesting. The modified U87 next to the TC... VERY similar in character, but the U87 had just a tad bit more lows, and a sweetened presence that the TC seemed like it was trying to get there, but just didn't quite seem to fully grasp. But just barely. I mean the difference was splitting hairs. I actually heard the TC next to a U87 earlier in a different studio, one U87 was modified, the other was not. For vocals, I would take the TC over that U87 easily. But once the U87 was modified, then it was splitting hairs. But your talking the difference of a $600 mic over a 3k with 450 bones worth of mods. That surprised me! However, I will say when it comes to stacking, I don't think that the TC would stack nearly as well as the U87.
That being said, I love ADK, as a matter of fact I own a Vienna and a TC. and they are both great sounding mics. We even heard the Vienna next to the TC, and the Vienna actually had similar characteristics to the TC. But it was very interesting to hear the difference between staple mics and more affordable mics. I guess now I know what the hype is all about. But the difference was marginal but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was night and day.
BTW, if you ever get a chance to get a Royer R-121, I HIGHLY recommend it!!!
The mics
ADK Vienna
ADK Hamburg
ADK TC
AKG C12 (original)
Neumann U87 (modded)
Neumann U67
All we tested was noise floor and some minor signing and some screaming on them, but it was enough to give a really good idea of how those mics sound. We put positioned the capsules as close together as possible and sang in the center of each.
I've gotta say that the AKG C12 is absolutely an AMAZING mic and for the price it should be, but man I was floored when I heard it. It is a very musical and very smooth mic. Probably the most musical and smooth sounding mics I have ever heard. It had a very nice dark tone to it that did not screech on high notes, but rather complimented them. The sound was also incredibly focused. It sort of made me feel like it would be a good mic on a jazz singer, sort of that feeling when you sit and listen to a jazzy singer in a smoky bar, if that makes any sense. We put the ADK Hamburg up next it as well. Which was pretty cool. You could hear how the Hamburg was trying to simulate the characteristics of the C12, but there was a certain harshness to it. Especially on the higher notes, by comparison, it sounded peaky and not as focused. But keep in mind that this was apples to oranges, the purpose was to hear the difference between crazy insane expensive mics to the less expensive, yet well respected mics.
Then the U 67 was next in line for being dark, but not nearly as dark as the C12. It was just as smooth and just as focused with a different character. With the Hamburg still next to it, we heard the same differences, the Hamburg sounded peaky ,where as the U 67 sounded smooth, yet the U 67 was just a tad bit brighter than the C12, but still had that nice warm smooth sound, but the low mids on that mic were freaking amazing! Very pleasing to the ears! The Hamburg again, was still brighter than the U 67, while trying to imitate the those characteristics, but it seemed like it picked up some room noise, even the room being as well tuned as it was, was just not flattering.
The U87 next to the Vienna had similar results, but the U87 seemed more modern and again more focused.
This is where it gets interesting. The modified U87 next to the TC... VERY similar in character, but the U87 had just a tad bit more lows, and a sweetened presence that the TC seemed like it was trying to get there, but just didn't quite seem to fully grasp. But just barely. I mean the difference was splitting hairs. I actually heard the TC next to a U87 earlier in a different studio, one U87 was modified, the other was not. For vocals, I would take the TC over that U87 easily. But once the U87 was modified, then it was splitting hairs. But your talking the difference of a $600 mic over a 3k with 450 bones worth of mods. That surprised me! However, I will say when it comes to stacking, I don't think that the TC would stack nearly as well as the U87.
That being said, I love ADK, as a matter of fact I own a Vienna and a TC. and they are both great sounding mics. We even heard the Vienna next to the TC, and the Vienna actually had similar characteristics to the TC. But it was very interesting to hear the difference between staple mics and more affordable mics. I guess now I know what the hype is all about. But the difference was marginal but I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was night and day.
BTW, if you ever get a chance to get a Royer R-121, I HIGHLY recommend it!!!
