AEA KU5a Active Ribbon Mic Review / Test
Today I review a microphone from one of my favorite mics of all time, the AEA KU5a. This is a super cardioid active ribbon microphone that gives you that great ribbon sound without the issue of requiring a super powerful preamp. Additionally, it does a very respectable job at background noise rejection, has a built in high pass filter, and a 3M built in XLR cable.
Buy the AEA KU5a (Affiliate Link)
Amazon: https://geni.us/ku5a
Sweetwater: https://imp.i114863.net/ku5a
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
00:20 - Setup
00:41 - What’s in the Box
01:12 - Build Quality / Walkthrough
02:09 - Specifications
02:32 - Polar Pattern Test (Tone / Rotation)
02:54 - Plosive Test
03:05 - Distance Test / Proximity Effect Test
03:31 - Background Noise Test
03:50 - Untreated Room Test
04:03 - Mic Mount Bump Test
04:21 - Mic Resonance Tap Test
04:38 - High Pass Filter Test
05:12 - AEA Windscreen Test
05:47 - Intro to Comparison
06:01 - MXL R144 Comparison
06:50 - Shure SM7b Comparison
07:36 - Royer R10 Comparison
08:18 - Beyerdynamic M160 Comparison
09:25 - Music Test
10:41 - Pros & Cons
12:00 - Overall Thoughts
14:44 - Recommendation
16:27 - Outro
