It is now a well-known fact that the first and fundamental link in every electro-acoustic chain is the microphone. A good part of the final quality of our work will depend on it and for this reason, in addition to personal artistic skills, we must be aware of the characteristics of both the material we are going to record and the instrument we will use to do it (therefore the microphone).
The knowledge of these parameters can help to become aware of the results we want to obtain. The test and comparison of very similar or different microphones, they want to provide readers with Age of Audio a pre-listening (in the best possible conditions), trying to highlight its peculiar characteristics thus constituting an archive from which to draw information on a specific model that we simply like or that we want to buy. Today the C414XLS and 4400a.
The first as many know it is a product of the famous Austrian brand AGK, a world standard in recording studios but also in the various fields of professional audio.
The second oneInstead, it is a much younger brand, born in China in 2000 and which in just over a decade has established itself in the field of microphones. It is a constantly growing company whose products have become fundamental elements of the electro-acoustic chains of internationally renowned recording studios. AKG C414XLS It is a large diaphragm condenser microphone suitable for both studio and live use. The recent reworking of the electronics has allowed for a further improvement in the relationship signal/noise which is very satisfying with a dynamic range of approx 134 dB. The microphone is equipped with a switch for selecting the directionality, for pre-attenuation (PAD) and bass attenuation. The choice of the polar diagram is indicated by a green LED placed in the front which has the double function of identifying even the shortest saturation peaks by changing its color to red. The bass attenuator on the back allows three choices: high pass filter (HPF) a 40Hz, 80Hz e 160 Hz. In the first two cases the attenuation is about 12 dB / octave, in the other case it is about 6dB / octave. Pre-attenuation features 6, 12, or 0 dB options that allow you to avoid distortion even when the microphone is very close to the sound source.
Technical Specifications
Polar diagram : omnidirectional, cardioid, wide cardioid, hypercardioid, figure-8.
Frequency response: 20Hz - 20000Hz
Sensitivity: 23mV / Pa (-33dBv)
Signal report/noise: 88db-a
Supply: Phantoms
Price: About 950 euros
SE Electronics 4400a
The microphone in question follows the sE Electronics tradition of artisanal production: the capsule is entirely hand-made and every single component is tested with extreme care. The external appearance has very high quality finishes and its shape allows optimal positioning even in situations that are usually uncomfortable. All this at very low cost. Like the AKG it is a condenser microphone in large diaphragm. The bass attenuator allows you to choose between options 60 e 120 Hz, while the pre-attenuation that allows you to work with high sound pressure levels is 10 and 20dB. The ability to select 4 options different patterns: cardioid, hypercardioid, omnidirectional e figure-8. It is a very versatile microphone and this is due to the fact that it has an almost flat frequency response with a slight emphasis around the 10.000 Hz and like most microphones a large diaphragm it lends itself well to the recovery of the sung but above all spoken voice. However, excellent results are obtained with more common tools such as piano or acoustic guitars or even with string instruments experimenting in this case with different positions of the microphone.
Technical Specifications
Polar diagram: Omnidirectional, cardioid, hypercardioid, figure-8
Frequency response: 20Hz - 20000Hz
Sensibility: 14.1 mv / Pa-37dB
Supply: Phantoms
Price: About 550 euros
The test:
The video highlights the capabilities of the individual microphones on the spoken voice and therefore of the possible fields of application in cinema, radio or television. For registration we used the software Pro tools HD 9.0.6 Registration is a 24 bit/48 KHz The converters are those of Avid The preamp is a API 512c which guarantees an excellent signal-to-noise ratio. The microphones are placed at a distance of approx Wide base. Conclusions The sound of the C414 XLS is warm and deep and retains the traditional characteristics of the C414 despite being slightly brighter than previous models. The 4400a has a much brighter and fuller sound. As we have said, the microphones were positioned at a distance of approx 50 cm but interesting results are also obtained by approaching 20 o 30 cm, also exploiting the potential of filters. I think it is an understatement to say whether one or the other is better. Personally I find AKG very suitable for some types of advertising voice in the cinema sector, however, we must take into account the lack of emphasis of frequencies between about 2Khz e 4Khz what we find more in the brother model AKG C414 XL II. The 4400a on the other hand has a brighter but warm sound at the same time and in some cases it passes more especially if we are in the television field (considering the media bandwidth). Finally, the price must be considered. There is, in fact, a significant price difference between the two microphones. So if what you are looking for is a large diaphragm microphone that is well made and you don't want to spend a large sum, the 4400a will certainly prove to be a good buy. If, on the other hand, you have a higher budget and are looking for a large diaphragm microphone that is also very versatile, then your choice can easily fall on the AKG C414 XLS or C414 XL II. By clicking on the links you can listen to the files in high definition (24bit/48Khz) in order to better appreciate the nuances of the sound.
Until next time ... Antonio Campeglia
