Mic shootout: AKG C3000 vs. AT 4033
Loren Alldrin
large-diaphragm condenser mikes, the new AKG C3000 and the Audio Technica
4033. Thought you might want to hear the results of my head-to-head test.
In summary, the Audio Technica proved to be much more open and airy on
instruments and vocals. The AKG sounded smaller in comparison, less
"hi-fi." The AKG was a much slower mic, and tended to add some
compression to the leading edge of transients. The AT is more
versatile--it sounds awesome on almost everything you put in front
of it. The AT sounded much less colored than the AKG, which can be good
or bad, but I found myself using far more EQ with the AKG. I never had to
use EQ with the AT.
The details:
On vocals, the AKG's more pronounced midrange helped some voices and
really made others honk. Adding some EQ to the Audio Technica (about 2dB
@ 1200hz) made the two mics sound similar on my voice. Because of its
more present top end, I had more sibilance problems with the AT. Off-axis
response of both mics was good, but hats-off to the AT.
On acoustic guitar, both nylon string and steel, the AKG had a more full,
organic, woody sound. For a single instrument up-close in the mix, the
AKG was slightly more convincing. For that bright, percussive sound, I would
grab the AT.
On percussion, no contest. The ATs extended top end and quick transient
response dropped my jaw almost every time. On shaker, the AT sounded
heavenly. The AKG, on the other hand, made the shaker sound slurred and
dark. On latin percussion, rainstick and dumbeck, the AT sounded far more
natural.
The AKG has selectable cardioid or hyper-cardioid pickup patterns. The AT is
cardioid only. Both have a 10 dB pad. From my perusal of the specs,
they're similar in sensitivity and noise.
Though I wasn't able to put either of these mics head to head with
the Neumann U87, U89, TLM170 or AKG 414, I have used them all. Frankly,
I don't hear the $1000 difference.
You can pick up either mic for under $500 street price, which is an
amazing deal in either case. Listen to them both, if you can. But if you
can't, you may want to just buy the AT. I did.
Loren Alldrin
lo...@ecst.csuchico.edu
If this "mini-test" has been helpful to you and you would like me to do
more of them, please e-mail me. As Technical Editor for Videomaker
magazine, I test a lot of video gear--and some audio toys as well. Let me
know what you think.
David Josephson
>I had the good fortune to spend a few days with two inexpensive
>large-diaphragm condenser mikes, the new AKG C3000 and the Audio Technica
>4033. Thought you might want to hear the results of my head-to-head test.
Folks, the 4033 is not a large diaphragm mic.
--
David Josephson <da...@josephson.com>
Loren Alldrin
Loren
paul braunbehrens
a Groove tubes system 2, both 414's and a manlay'langevin vtl cr3a. The
langevin is 679$ at Leo's pro Audio, and it sounded better than all of
them except for the U87, which cost about 4 times as much.
Guess what I bought?
Paul.
PS I thought the AT anmd the AKG both sounded a bit too harsh in the high
end, the langevin uses fet's which have a much mellower sound than
regular transistors.
--
Mike Rivers
> I had the good fortune to spend a few days with two inexpensive
> large-diaphragm condenser mikes, the new AKG C3000 and the Audio Technica
> 4033. Thought you might want to hear the results of my head-to-head test.
[ Review deleted - go look it up if you're interested ]
Thanks for the comparison. Reading through it, I got about the same
impression from your work as I had when trying both of those mics.
Like nearly any mic, there are some things that they're better on than
others. In this price range, it's probably not unreasonable to buy
one of each. In general, I thought that the AKG had better definition
on something like a piano or acoustic guitar than the AT. Never tried
either on percussion, but it's nice to know where the AT shines.
BTW, the AT may be a "large" mic, but it doesn't have a large
diaphragm capsule, maybe a little larger than a C-451, but generally
"large diaphram" refers to an inch or more, and it's smaller than
that.
------------
I'm really Mike Rivers (mri...@d-and-d.com)
TroyNil
Vinmar1
lo...@ecst.csuchico.edu (Loren Alldrin) writes:
Appreciate your review. I've been using the AT in our commercial
production studio for voice over along side a Sennhieser 416, which
is a staple of major market v/o recording. The sound is very
similar, not $1000 different. I understand that AT is soon to
release a pattern selectable version for about $900. I can hardly
wait. Vince Werner