MXL v67g & AKG 414- A blind test

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antispatula

antispatula

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I just bought an AKG 414 and it arrived on my doorstep a few days ago.
I compared it to the only other LDC I had, the MXL v67g.

MXL v67g...........$99 new
AKG 414 XLS.....$949 new

I thought it would be fun to post a blind test comparing/contrasting the two. I of course have my own reservations about the results, but I will leave that up to you to decide! Could a hundred dollar mic sound just as good as a thousand dollar mic? Is there such a huge difference between the two a grandmother with hearing problems could hear the difference? Are they simply apples and oranges? Take a listen.

Short 'n Sweet vocals:
vocals 1
vocals 2

Basic acoustic guitar:

guitar 1
guitar 2


For vocals I put them right next to eachother and sang into them from about 12-18 inches away. I thought this was a better idea then trying to do two seperate preformances, seeing that would be the least accurate way of comparing/contrasting the two.

For acoustic guitar I also put them right next to eachother, centered at the 15th fret. One of course is an inch closer to the soundhole and one one inch closer to the upperside of the bridge, but again, I thought this was a better idea than trying to make two identical clips from two seperate preformances.

All clips were made going through a DAV BG1, then through my soundcard straight into REAPER with no EQ or processing of any kind. All clips are 224kbps MP3's. They weren't recorded under ideal situations, you can hear my computer in the background and it's in a bedroom that is untreated, but both mics were recorded under the same situations, so it's no problem.

I will post the results of which is which in a few days. Post which one you think is which, or which you think is better/worse if that is the case!
 
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I like Vocal #1 the most and Guitar #2 the most, though I don't like either guitar recording very much.

Looking forward to the results.
 
antispatula said:
I just bought an AKG 414 and it arrived on my doorstep a few days ago.
I compared it to the only other LDC I had, the MXL v67g.

MXL v67g...........$99 new
AKG 414 XLS.....$949 new

I thought it would be fun to post a blind test comparing/contrasting the two. I of course have my own reservations about the results, but I will leave that up to you to decide! Could a hundred dollar mic sound just as good as a thousand dollar mic? Is there such a huge difference between the two a grandmother with hearing problems could hear the difference? Are they simply apples and oranges? Take a listen.

Short 'n Sweet vocals:
vocals 1
vocals 2

Basic acoustic guitar:

guitar 1
guitar 2


For vocals I put them right next to eachother and sang into them from about 12-18 inches away. I thought this was a better idea then trying to do two seperate preformances, seeing that would be the least accurate way of comparing/contrasting the two.

For acoustic guitar I also put them right next to eachother, centered at the 15th fret. One of course is an inch closer to the soundhole and one one inch closer to the upperside of the bridge, but again, I thought this was a better idea than trying to make two identical clips from two seperate preformances.

All clips were made going through a DAV BG1, then through my soundcard straight into REAPER with no EQ or processing of any kind. All clips are 224kbps MP3's. They weren't recorded under ideal situations, you can hear my computer in the background and it's in a bedroom that is untreated, but both mics were recorded under the same situations, so it's no problem.

I will post the results of which is which in a few days. Post which one you think is which, or which you think is better/worse if that is the case!
Click to expand...


Make a complete recording using each mic (like 8 tracks min) and you will see the difference like night and day.
 
HeyHeyMyMy said:
I like Vocal #1 the most and Guitar #2 the most, though I don't like either guitar recording very much.

Looking forward to the results.
Click to expand...

i thought the same as that. though i don't know anything about either mic, so i wouldn't be able to tell you which was which... working on "more expensive = better" i'd hope Vocal 1 and Guitar 2 were the AKG :p

Andrew.
 
agree

HeyHeyMyMy said:
I like Vocal #1 the most and Guitar #2 the most, though I don't like either guitar recording very much.

Looking forward to the results.
Click to expand...

that's what I think too...#1 vocal and #2 guitar...looking forward to the results.
 
kojdogg said:
i notice that you've posted this after selling the 414 :D
Click to expand...
Yeah I thought it may be bad business form to post it while I was trying to sell it, just in case:cool: I actually sold it on ebay anyways.

MCI2424 said:
Make a complete recording using each mic (like 8 tracks min) and you will see the difference like night and day.
Click to expand...
Hm. That might be a very valid point. It doesn't apply to me personally though since besides vocals and acoustic guitar I don't mic anything.
 
HeyHeyMyMy said:
I like Vocal #1 the most and Guitar #2 the most, though I don't like either guitar recording very much.

Looking forward to the results.
Click to expand...

yeah can't say I do either, the guitar was a $99 cheapo.....I think a new acoustic will be my next investment.
 
Personally

I'll take 2 & 2 for preference, but as pointed out, neither guitar sounded good.

Guitar #2 was further away from the soundhole, right?

This was done on my work computer speakers, but I would guess that in both cases #2 was the v67.
 
Yup.

On vocals, number 2 sounds like the real mic, and number 1 sounds like the Chinese imitation.

On guitar, I'd guess number 1 to be the real mic ... but then again, I also might guess that one to have been further up from the sound hole, so I don't know if I can accurately hypothesize.

.
 
Vocal #1 sounds more accurate to me. guitar 2 has more life to it. i dunno which mic is which, but i prefer Vocal 1 and Guitar 2.
 
I didn't listen to the vocals. I don't particularly like either of the guitar recordings. I think #1 sounds a little better than #2. To me it sounds like you could have gotten better results with different mic placement.
 
So many differing opinions, I love it!
Goes to show how subjective the world of recording is doesn't it?

I've decided to post the results NOW.


RESULTS:

Vocals 1: AKG 414
Guitar 1: AKG 414

Vocals 2: MXL v67g
Guitar 2: MSL v67g

I personally think that the AKG sounds SLIGHTLY better on vocals, but not worth $900 dollars worth of difference. In fact, in my car they sound identical, on my headphones they sound only slightly different.

On guitar I think the MXL is better, as everyone else did too to my suprise, seeing the 414 XLS was specifically tailored for acoustic instruments.

But when it comes down to it to me, they sound way too similar to keep the 414 when I have a v67g and when I could easily spend that money on something more productive, like some monitors or a better guitar (the one in the recording cost $99 from my local electronics store.....)

On a less related note, now that everyone has heard my voice, can anyone suggest a mic that would do nicely on my voice? I actually don't really like either one too much on my voice. Perhaps a tube mic? I've been keeping an eye on the Rode NTK.......
 
I think sometimes a pricetag or reputation of a mic influences one's opinion or perception of how good/bad the mic sounds.

For example, when I got the 414 in the mail, I was very excited to try it out, it is afterall a legendary thousand-dollar commercial-studio classic. I just KNEW it was going to sound fantastic, and when I actually tested it out, it DID sound fantastic. But after a few minutes of comparing it to my 99 dollar MXL, I realized that the MXL sounded just as good.

I don't think the 414 is a bad mic, no not at all, I think the MXL is an excellent mic, like the 414.

I bet if one were to test out 50 mics without knowing the brand or price, more often than you'd think the cheaper ones would be favorably chosen
 
antispatula said:
I think sometimes a pricetag or reputation of a mic influences one's opinion or perception of how good/bad the mic sounds.

For example, when I got the 414 in the mail, I was very excited to try it out, it is afterall a legendary thousand-dollar commercial-studio classic. I just KNEW it was going to sound fantastic, and when I actually tested it out, it DID sound fantastic. But after a few minutes of comparing it to my 99 dollar MXL, I realized that the MXL sounded just as good.

I don't think the 414 is a bad mic, no not at all, I think the MXL is an excellent mic, like the 414.

I bet if one were to test out 50 mics without knowing the brand or price, more often than you'd think the cheaper ones would be favorably chosen
Click to expand...

I noticed this when listening to samples on sites of very expensive mics and then noticing mine sounded better with mics not even a fraction of the price.

I've since been less inspired to buy expensive gear.

Whatever works, though. I just think technology has gotten to the point where we're able to make very great sounding recordings at a very low cost and some people haven't caught on to that yet. :D

I will get flamed for this, I'm sure.
 
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