AKG D5 Supercardioid Handheld Dynamic Microphone

Gigs have been cancelled for the foreseeable future due to the virus but testing at home sounds great.

I LOVE D5...

I've used a lot of different mics. SM58s are just too muddy for me. I tried the Sennheiser e835, and it was great with just me, but if someone else had a 58 they had to jack the highs up on the board and it would my the 835 feedback at high frequencies. I switched the OM2, and it was good, but the pickup pattern was a little too loose so and I would get feedback. I switched to the D5 and it sounds great, and the pickup pattern is tight enough to avoid feedback without being so tight that I have to be dead in the same spot to get my voice. There is still no side address on the mic. I am rough on gear. I put this D5 in it's bag with an SM58 as a backup because the SM58 is the "toughest tried and true mic there is." Every time someone would forget their mic I would let them borrow my 58. Twice at a show my 58 would not work. The capsule would have broken loose from the housing and the two wires attached to is would have snapped. This is of course my fault for how I throw the mic back in a case with other stuff then driver all over the place. So now 6 years of using he AKG D5 and it starts rattling. I have no backup because I didn't buy another SM58 last time it broke. The capsule is snapped in half, but the wires are still connected. So today I glued it back together and will use it for the weekend to get up enough money to buy another AKG D5 this weekend.

I have some very good mics...e945, OM7, PR22, ATM 10 condenser, and an older SM58 that fits my voice, but have read so many positive D5 reviews, I had to try it. First, let me say that I do acoustic music and am currently in an Irish/Celtic trio. My voice is in the range of Jackson Browne...high alto and not at all bassy. When I first set up the D5 with the sound system using two JBL MR825 mains (15" with adjustable horn attenuation), I was taken aback by the clarity and overall balance for my voice without much tweaking. A bit of rollback on the mids and bass got it dialed in. After hours of comparing, this mic is right there with the e945 with a slightly different sound 'personality' that I like, and is better than the PR22 and the older SM58. The OM7 is still in a sound league of its own (very smooth), but being low impedance, requires a lot more gain than my other mics, sometimes maxing out the gain on my system depending on the venue, in which case I switch to the e945. The OM7 is also hypercardioid which requires me to literally eat the mic, but it's a wonderful mic for many venues. Now i have another excellent mic with the great clarity and sound quality I look for, good SPL, gain, and gain before feedback. This is truly an excellent buy and as I said in the title, an excellent mic that's been flying under the radar and beginning to be noticed for its sound quality and value.

I've enjoyed this mic so much for live performances. I have a tendency to move around a bit when singing. It allows me to move a little and still have every note represented.

As a sound man for 20 years, I have heard and used a variety of microphones. The AKG D5 is the clearest vocal mic I've used. The very first time I put up against a Shure SM58, even non-musical people noticed and mentioned the difference. The vocals were crystal clear and I've never had feedback from even novice users. I recommend this mic to everyone I can.