AKG D5

[Doug Siddons]

Just done a search of the blue room and can only find one post about the AKG D5 from chris4monitors which is glowing,has anybody else used them and got an opinion?

 

Befor you ask, this is a general should I add them to my stock for PA hire vocal duties and specifically about the D5 mic. I already carry sennheiser e845's and 645's and sm58's for vocals and wanted to know how they stand up against this sort of competition in the bang per buck category

[Doug Siddons]

Guess I got my answer! nobody except chris4monitors has used them (121 people have looked at the post) now that begs a question about the power of advertising ..........

 

Thing is I'm curious so may punt some money and let you know

[Rob_Beech]

I've yet to use one myself, but I think they've got to do ALOT to knock the sm58 off its post. I'll be the first one to agree the SM58 sounds rather nasty, but at least we know where we stand, and if we have any nails need bashing in we can use it for that too.

 

The sennheisers, are better sounding mics than the sm58, these new akg's are suposed to be the same. I'd guess they probably are. But, how exactly is such a newcomer going to work its way onto the market?

[chris4monitors]

I was approached by Harmans to try the mics ( D5 and C5 ) with the main artist I work with about a year ago, and was very sceptical about it as AKG have made some realy bad vocal mics in the past . However AKG had been very helpfull with their advice and supply of a whole lot of C414's we had been using for some time, and I felt it was worth a try.

In my opinion for what its worth please try them, dont think back to rubbish like the D220 D230 's of 20 years ago.

Very good detail, fantastic feedback rejection, and sensible price.

I have used them now with many artists who have all said how good they felt about the way they sounded in the monitors !!

I have also used them for horns sax, trumpet and trombones with the same results.

[Bobbsy]

At the risk of diverting this topic, if you're serious about looking for an alternative to the Sennheisers and SM58 mics in your inventory, I'd suggest you have a listen to the Audix OM5/OM6 range (and perhaps the OM7 where you are in a situation with high ambient noise). As with other posters here I've not heard the D5 but I know the SM58 and some of the Sennheisers well and rank the Audix mics very highly against them. They're great in terms of feedback rejection, have a smooth, slightly warm sound and seem able to increase vocal clarity even in difficult situations. Build quality is darn near as tough as the SM58. To justify yet another set of mics I'd say you need to find something sufficiently different from your existing ones--and in my opinion the Audix mics provide this difference.

 

Bob

[No Longer A Member 210514]

I'm going over to the D5 for my main stock Vocal mic... where I can encourage the punter to hire it. Clarity, Feedback rejection, tone - all a massive improvement on the '58. Only negative, slightly 'thin' - lacks a little warmth in my opinion.

 

hth

 

Nick

[johndenim]

The frequency range certainly looks impressive on the high end, (20khz)

But I am not surprised it lacks the warmth, as the lower end is 70hz, as compared to 50 on the sm58.

 

I have heard a vocalist with the d5 and sounds very similar to the senn, though not quite.

I would also question it's " hammer substitute" properties, again compared to the 58.

 

After having used 58's for years, moving on to the beta was a big change for me.

No more "mic on lips" required, the beta has a lot better proximity range.

I am surprised that it has not superceded the sm58 yet.

 

Saying that at £65 for a supercardioid can't be bad.

 

John Denim.

[jamesperrett]

The big test is will it sound good through a dodgy PA? That's where the SM58 scores over all the 'improved' mics. It seems easy to produce a mic that sounds better than an SM58 in certain circumstances but no other mic works as acceptably in such a wide range of circumstances as the SM58.

 

Cheers

 

James.

[CharlieH]

Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but I am going to buy a few vocal mics after Christmas, and wanted to hear how the D5s have stood up to the test of time http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif

Are they rubbish through a cheap PA? DId they break after a year? And the ultimate question.....are they better than a 58 http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif

Cheers

[paulears]

Nothing has changed. I think the problem is that at the current price of £60ish you get a mic that some people like, but it's not common - and I can't think of a reason to buy it compared to a 58 or Sennheiser - that pretty well everyone knows about. On the other hand, it's not cheap enough to become popular for the value for money stakes. If people found it sounded similar to a 58, but was really cheap, there's a justification to buy some. It just sits at a difficult price point - and interestingly, nobody has got excited about them since this topic was first started - that also says something I feel.

[arobinsonaudio]

Ok the AKG D5's are good for women/people with higher end voices, this is the only time I find they work. give them to a man/person with lower end voice and it sounds horrible. so it''s really up to you if you want to get them. build quality aint bad though.

[Doug Siddons]

As an update never got to play with the D5 so stuck with Sennheiser added some 840's sufficiently different to 845's not in my opinion better just seem to have more presence, and personal favourite at the moment Beta 57 but its unforgiving so only use on people who can sing!

[chris4monitors]

Well my D5's and C5's are still doing well now after over 4 years use doing upwards of 100 shows a year world wide. I added some D7's about 2 years ago and they still look and sound the same as when I first got them. I still think they are well made and very road worthy, and all the artists I have used them with have realy liked them too.

[smalljoshua]

I like the D5, there are a few near me and I've got a couple now too. They've never given me any issues but do need 500Hz dropping a bit more than a 58 if used on Male vocal.

 

They seem rugged enough for me and have survived a few drops on the stage.

 

Josh

[S&L]

weird that I read this post now - 2 days ago a female fronted band were in my rehearsal room - they aren't one I mix for at present but were having problems operating the PA and setting up mics so I popped in and their female vocalist was using an AKG D5. I perceived a problem and set her up with a parallel test. SM58 gave clear and bright tone, a 58 with a vocal unit set up for another female vocalist sounded warmer (which is the intention) the AKG D5 needed lower gain for the same volume level and had a warm but muddy bottom end. the result was too muddy and had me reaching to cut bass on the desk which I guess ties in with what everyone above is saying. it DID seem like lower gain to give the same volume - I didn't test it for feedback rejection but the SM58's seemed more lively and feedback prone in that small room. I wouldn't add one to my collection for voice use because I would like more clarity than this mic can give but I guess if you were buying for a specific purpose - to warm and thicken a female voice AND offer better feedback rejection then this may be a mic to use.