AKG C414 XLS Review / Test

Today I review an amazing industry standard studio workhorse mic, the AKG C414 XLS. This is a multi pattern condenser with 9 polar patters, 6dBa self noise, and a max SPL 158dB. In my testing, this mic worked well on pretty much everything I through at it. It may not be my favorite on everything, but for an Austrian sounding mic, I think it’s outstanding.

Buy the AKG C414 XLS (Affiliate Link)
Amazon: https://geni.us/c414xls
Sweetwater: https://imp.i114863.net/c414xls

Buy the Focusrite 2i2 (3rd Gen)- Same Performance as 18i20 (Affiliate Link)
Amazon: https://geni.us/2i32rd
Sweetwater: https://imp.i114863.net/k6g4d

00:00 - Intro / Price / Disclaimer
00:24 - Setup
00:43 - What’s in the Box
01:21 - Build Quality / Walkthrough
02:44 - Specifications
02:25 - All 9 Polar Patterns Test (Tone / Rotation)
06:33 - Plosive Test
07:00 - Distance Test / Proximity Effect Test
07:21 - Background Noise Test
07:39 - Untreated Room Test
08:04 - Mic Mount Bump Test
08:22 - Mic Resonance Tap Test
08:37 - Windscreen Test
09:23 - High Pass Filter Test
10:22 - Button Press Noise Test
11:12 - Pad Test
11:53 - Intro to Comparison
12:06 - sE Electronics sE4400a Comparison
12:58 - Shure KSM44a Comparison
13:28 - Peluso P414 Comparison
14:25 - AKG C414 XLII Comparison
15:11 - Austrian Audio OC818 Comparison
16:01 - Neumann U87 Ai Comparison
17:03 - Music Test
18:09 - Pros & Cons
19:38 - Overall Thoughts
21:58 - Recommendation
23:44 - Outro