With good, affordable large diaphragm condenser mics within everyone’s reach, can you hear the difference up against a studio classic? Listen for yourself…
The affordable mic revolution has been quietly improving the quality of recorded sound for creators on all levels for all of this century and beyond. That said, the popularity of premium studio classics hasn’t gone anywhere, either by social media or YouTube imagery (spoiler alert: that’s not always their own studio) or actual ownership.
The Best Mic For The Job
With many affordable mics providing excellent performance, how do the classics continue to endure? Undoubtedly, studios know the differences (or lack thereof) between the workhorse gear and the exotic ‘client friendly’ choices whose visual cachet is just as important as their performance. The sonic benefits of using the ‘best’ can be justified by those who have used them with a basis for comparison, and popularity of these classics persists as a result.
This still leaves lots of room for the affordable options that make owning a ‘big studio mic’ a reality for most people, and these often present a valid choice for people working at all levels.
Fluid Audio Axis
Fluid Audio’s recently announced Axis large diaphragm cardioid condenser is the sole microphone offering to date from a company known so far for its studio monitoring solutions. Its centre terminated 34 mm diaphragm hits a discrete Class-A FET circuit featuring a transformer coupled output. Fluid Audio promises high sensitivity and low noise from this design. The mic’s full specs are as follows:
Large capsule (34mm) with gold-sputtered diaphragm
Sensitivity: 12.4mV/Pa ( -38dBV/Pa +/- 3 dB @ 1kHz )
Equivalent noise level: 16dB A-weighted
Max sound pressure: 136dB SPL ( @1kHz,1% THD into 1KΩ load )
Elegant and durable brass housing
Gold plated output connectors
The mic is bundled with a considerable amount of accessories, including an on-grille custom pop shield, woven XLR lead, and a custom shockmount that is one of the sturdiest I’ve seen on a mic at its $249 / €249 price point. The whole thing comes in a very usable black and silver camera-style case.
Affordable vs Expensive: Head-To-Head
When it comes to mic choice, the mic must always agree with the source. This is especially true with voices, so an A or B choice may get turned on its head for other seemingly similar sources. We decided to put the Fluid Axis up against another fixed cardioid LDC and established modern classic: the Neumann TLM103.
You will hear each clip below switch between Mic A > Mic B > Mic A > Mic B. There is no processing whatsoever on these examples:
To listen to another similar shootout you can also read our recent article on voiceover mics.
Which do you prefer and which microphone do you think is which?
What Do You Hear?
Expensive mics continue to earn their keep owing to their winning combination of client feel-good factor and visual presence, with superlative sound quality that has stood the test of time. Affordable mics can turn in comparable results which can even surpass those of the familiar studio favourites. Which sounds better on the examples above or in any other situation? You decide.
UPDATE: The true identities of the mics are as follows:
Mic A - Neumann TLM103
Mic B - Fluid Axis
Head over to Fluid Audio to find out more.