At a time when it turns out there’s a new call in the USB microphone market every week, it doesn’t hurt to be a call with a legacy that goes back 75 years. Founded in Vienna, Austria, in 1947, AKG enjoys this status, counting among its creations some of the most respected microphones in the history of professional recording. AKG’s C12 condenser microphone, which debuted in 1953, has become one of the most sought-after microphones for making a song and a favorite. by Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and many others. While those are shoes to fill for the AKG Pro Audio Ara USB condenser microphone, this lineage informs this concentrated microphone, which focuses on consistency for podcasting, streaming, gaming, or just chatting.
Markkus Rovito
The AKG Ara is the elegant sibling of the more beloved AKG Lyra ($122 MSRP). The two USB-C condenser microphones have a modernized and easy-to-use edition with AKG’s old taste camera (a single thing that makes the Lyra one of our favorites). Both are visually animated through some older AKG models, such as the C414 and C12, and then updated with features like built-in tracking with no latency and a built-in headphone output. However, the Ara has a lower maximum audio solution of 24-bit/96 kHz (compared to 24-bit/192 kHz in Lyra) and two detection models (polar) compared to 4 in Lyra. As a result, Ara’s value is less than $99 MSRP – the best price (and size) for a startup house studio or minimalist cellular platform.
AKG focused the MACA on a mixture of simplicity and sound. As a result, it’s simple to set up and use. It comes with a forged steel table stand with a padded back to protect surfaces. The base of the stand is unscrewed to reveal a standard-sized (5/8″) threaded gap to mount on a microphone stand or microphone arm. The case also includes a 5/8″ to 3/8″ adapter (the European standard) for mounting on other brackets and articulated arms. When I placed the Ara on a fundamental microphone arm from On-Stage Stands (pictured above), it was quick and painless to unscrew the back of the Ara bracket and mount the Ara on the arrow arm connector to place it. The Ara rotates back and forth on the mounting bracket and you can squeeze it into position or completely unscrew it from the brackets.
The Ara is slightly smaller than some popular streaming-oriented USB microphones, such as the Yeti or Yeti X Blue microphones. With a total weight of 1. 5 pounds, adding its stand, the Ara is a very portable microphone and looks strong in its most common form. steel case. . In its stand, the Ara is around nine inches tall, 3. 5 inches wide (at its widest point) and around 2 inches deep (at its innermost point), so it fits in narrow areas if needed and doesn’t take up too much screen area for YouTube or streaming games. At the same time, it has a retro-modern look that is inspired by AKG’s old microphones beyond and the existing line of professional studio voice microphones, making it a welcome presence on camera.
The AKG Ara has two docking ports at the bottom: a 3. 5mm analog audio output for connecting headphones and a USB-C port for connecting to the hardware. In the box there is a two-meter USB-C to USB-A cable.
Once connected, the Ara has a volume button down to the output point of the headphones. Press this button to mute and reactivate the microphone, and a red LED will tell you when the microphone is muted. When the microphone is active, you will hear the incoming signal from the microphone through the headphones, as well as the sound of any media on the PC or other connected device.
As a reminder, the Ara stands out basically for its simplicity of operation and the constancy of its maximum quality of virtual audio of 24 bits / 96 kHz. This is a superior maximum audio solution to the Blue Yeti microphones mentioned above, but equivalent to the solution of new USB microphones such as Elgato Wave:3. The Ara, however, doesn’t magnify any of the internal processing features that other newer USB streaming microphones have, features like a built-in pop clear out or a built-in limiter for virtual cropping.
The Ara has latency-free tracking of the microphone input from the headphone output. Most USB streaming microphones have this feature because if you are recording or live streaming, it is very useful to hear what is being said into the microphone in real time on your headphones. Without latency-free monitoring, you may want to use computer software to monitor your microphone and you can get extremely annoying holdup between what you say and what you hear in your headphones.
Because it has two internal capacitor pickups (the parts that capture sound), the Ara can offer two models of microphones, selectable from the most sensitive button: front and front and back. The frontal capture mode is also known as cardioid pattern; it focuses in particular on the sound in front of the microphone and is more suitable for recording a single person. Meanwhile, the forward and backward capture mode (also known as omnidirectional) selects the sound from the entire microphone, so you can also record two or more other people sitting in front of others or around a table, or an organization of musicians or singers. Having two microphone models gives Ara users a recording flexibility that some cardioid-only USB microphones (such as Elgato Wave:3) don’t have. (For more detailed information on the other types of microphones, see our introduction. )
The most AKG Lyra has 4 microphone capture modes: the same Front and Front modes
Lyra’s four-microphone models and superior specs could have faster appeal to musicians, while Ara’s moderate price and undeniable performance seem more suitable for podcasting, YouTube videos, gaming, or just the audio quality of a computer or mobile device for video. conferences. . AKG still caters to its classical base of musicians and music makers with Ara, which is reflected in its selection of included recording software.
Thus, amateur musicians with a small budget have the possibility to download Ableton Live 11 Lite that comes with a MICRO USB for less than $ 100. Although it is a bit devoid of the full edition of Live 11, it keeps all the unique and attractive features to the maximum. of the program, adding its real-time “distortion” of the audio draping and its dual-track perspectives that mix the classic recording of the timeline with a composition based on loops and clips that opens many possibilities to spontaneous creativity and / or live performances.
Live 11 Lite limits your sessions to just 8 audio and MIDI tracks, which is probably your maximum restriction. It also doesn’t come with the proper software synthesizers that come with the full version. However, it comes with sample-based software tools. and a giant collection of 40 tool presets, as well as 78 Drum Rack configurations, which come with over 1600 drum samples in total for creating beats. Whether it’s for making music or just for editing audio recordings, 15 audio effects can help modify the sound. , and over a hundred effect rack presets package audio effects into professionally designed signal chains that are in a position to be placed on voice, drum, and tool tracks. The 11 midi effect devices included can also be very convenient for composition, for example, converting undeniable MIDI notes into chords, making sure that all MIDI notes are played on a set musical scale, or converting notes or chords into rhythmic patterns with Arpeggiator devi Ce.
In addition to all the video calls and meetings I’ve had, I’ve used the AKG Ara to record spoken and sung voices, string instruments, drums, and percussion. I also compared the effects with Blue Yeti recordings. and the Yeti X, HyperX QuadCast S and Elgato Wave:3 USB microphones. By focusing only on audio fidelity, USB microphones in the overall value diversity of those being analyzed approach parity in terms of perfect detail reproduction, and differences can come up to very sophisticated differences.
The Ara captures very fine details. All the mouth noises, any and all guttural vocal textures and any and all slight inhalations or exhalations come out of the recording. As a 4K camera that can display the flattering glow of someone’s hair as much as it highlights the unflattering imperfections of their skin, the Ara will reproduce the slightest vocal idiosyncrasy in a recording for better or worse, especially when recorded in 24-hour solution. bit/96 kHz. Je considered to be a positive aspect overall. I prefer to take evil intelligently rather than sacrifice some of the intelligent. This transparency also works great for recording instruments. You will hear the key transients during the initial pinching or scraping of a string, and the effect of a drumstick or mallet on a drum, cymbal, etc. For its affordable price, the Ara is a full and slightly warm microphone. This can be the trick for almost any source that needs to record.
When it comes to comparing the Ara to other microphones, all of which play the audio main points correctly, it’s just a non-public preference for how a microphone handles your voice. Aside from the fact that the Ara has a superior maximum solution than the Yeti (16-bit/48 kHz max) and the Yeti X (24-bit/48 kHz), I simply liked the presence that the Ara pressed into my voice. Even when recording in the same solution as the Yetis, the Ara gave a little more authoritative weight to my voice that I liked. From this point of view, the Ara looked more like the HyperX QuadCast S and the Elgato Wave:3. However, the Ara had less noise of its own than the QuadCast S and dealt with whistles. larger than the Elgato Wave:3, which accentuates the “S” and “T” sounds a little more.
Like the other USB microphones I compared it to, the Ara’s recording sensitivity is very high. I found that the most productive position for recording a spoken voice overall was 8 to 12 inches from the microphone. Closer than might be a little too hot. And while moving further away than that temporarily reduces the recording point, the Ara still picks up all the sounds around it, such as papers and other lightly touched items, a computer fan, other people typing in some other room, etc. Even if you have the capture mode on the front instead of the front and back, it can still pick up the sounds, but not as loud. This sensitivity point can be smart for detailed recordings, but it can also frames opposite you if you can’t create a silent recording environment.
Even though AKG doesn’t mention that the Ara has an internal limiter that prevents the recorded microphone signal from being cut out, because the Ara handles strong signals up to 120 dB, it was tricky to get recordings from voice tools or strings to create an unwanted sound. virtual saturation when played. Even though loud screams, applause, or percussion tools caused the recording software input signal to turn red, audio playback rarely produced saturation, unless you recorded a full acoustic drum played at a very high volume with the Ara Microphone placed too close to it. However, even though Ara handles strong maximum signals very well, it is still not ideal for recording something so strong that it pushes the measuring point into red. So without input point control in the microphone, it will be mandatory to make sure to dim the access point in the recording software, or replace the volume of the recording and/or the distance from the Ara to the sou rce.
If you’re looking for a smart streaming microphone or an easy-to-use recording microphone at an affordable price, the AKG Ara offers an undeniable option that reduces some of the microphone jack models and additional controls that some USB microphones offer, but don’t skimp on audio quality. Its price is very competitive for a USB-C microphone of 24 bits / 96 kHz. There are many possible USB microphone options with exceptional sound for recording and streaming, so musicians can be influenced by the ability to listen to the Ableton Live 11 Lite software that comes with the Ara.
A notable limitation of the Ara, the lack of an integrated control to adjust the microphone input point, can be found on the AKG Lyra for a slightly higher price. The Lyra also adds two more microphone models and augments the 24-bit audio solution. /192 kHz. However, this audio solution point is not a must for a YouTube microphone or podcast and the Ara provides enough constancy to record vocals for self-produced music and content creation. Even if all you really need is a flexible microphone microphone to the audio quality of your devices, the Ara gives you that and more in an affordable, horny retro-chic package.
© 2022 Recurring. All rights reserved.