C414 XLS : Good Mic, Not Great

5 years ago

This is a very good mic. However I was planning on using it for vocals and I didn't like the way it sounded on mine. (I did end up finding another mic in the $500 range that represented my voice well) The XLii is supposed to be more of a vocal mic, but I didn't try that one out since I already have a c214 which is supposed to be the cardioid-only pattern version of the XLii. The c214 doesn't represent my voice well either, but that's just a personal thing, everyone needs to find a mic that fits their voice. Back to the XLS, I do love the many choices for polar patterns, which makes this thing a workhorse for instruments. I've used it on acoustic and electric cab and the results are very nice. When switching betwen some polar patterns there can be little pops which are annoying, but I don't think they are loud enough to affect anything adversely.

Image AKG C414 XLS

Technical Data

  • Manufactured by AKG
  • Released in 2010
  • Average price : $1030
Share linkedin post Tweet Share