AKG C214 Large-diaphragm Condenser Microphone - Matched Stereo Pair Reviews

I've owned three C214s for about 6-7 years without problems. I finally added a matched pair, to complete a deliquent quest for a five micropohone array with a little extra highs. These will be used across large ensembles.

I love the way these are voiced and sometimes I reach for the C214s over my C414XLS, especially when you need extra clarity in fuzzy acoustics. The little lift on the top end and the cardioid pattern helps focus and add presence to a choir or even a symphony orchestra when needed. Yes, they are very nice on strings!

Well made, apparently very rugged and reliable with a good track record. The earlier Austrian and later Hungarian sourced C214s appear identical in workmanship and sound.

I checked them against my older (Austrian) C214s and I can't tell a difference on voice, but on wideband music, the matched pair have awesome imaging with agreeable, useful colorations that you will enjoy and put to good use. (All microphones, even ones that measure flat as a "bookeeper's bottom", have some colorations, sorry ...)

Although not expensive, a world-class microphone, IMHO.

You won't be sorry buying the matched stereo set of AKG C214s.

Again, as always, Shelby came thru with the best advice and service!! Thanks Sweetwater!

I would recommend these mics to anyone that is looking for a great pair of LDC mics to record just about anything. I have been using these for drum set OH mics but I have also used these as literally my go-to LDC stereo pair for just about everything else. From various percussion instruments including: marimba, vibraphone, and basically any solo piece I have played the past few years.

I have also used one of the mics for podcasting and it sounds great with a pop filter! Plenty of low end without sounding too much. Also great for strings, brass, and woodwinds.

I've been using these for drum overheads in my studio. Sweet, accurate and forgiving. All my tracks sound great with very little EQ. The also sound amazing on acoustic guitar and vocals.

Yes, I got 2 of those AKG's and are very good for the price!

The upgrade from my old sterling mic's to the 214's is unmatchable the clarity of my drum set on playback is amazing the little ticks on the hi hats are picked up with out being individually mic'd, and the stereo sound of the drum set is amazing without any EQ help. Love this buy and would recommend it to anyone looking for a serious upgrade to their mic closet, without breaking their bank.

First off.... there are a few podcasts out there that discount matched pairs as a gimmick. They claim they are nothing more than two consecutive mics off the line, packaged at a higher price.... They would be wrong.

AKG matched pairs are frequency matched so they sound as close to each other as possible. You can check their site for more info on the process. No, I can't prove that they actually do it but mine sound identical and the serial numbers on mine were a few hundred digits apart. The stereo field sounds balanced with these, unlike my unmatched pair of sm81's; I love my sm81's but one of them is brighter and the stereo field feels lopsided above 10k. My point is that it's worth paying a few dollars more to get a matched pair.... even if it's not THIS pair.

All that said, these are great mic's, stereo or individual. They work on just about everything: Vocals, overheads, acoustic guitar, guitar and bass cabs (yes, they can take it.)

Pros:
Made in Austria
It uses the same capsule as the C414
Tough enough to fend off intruders
Sounds good to great on anything you would generally us a large diaphragm condenser on

Cons:
cardioid only

Bottom line:
If you don't have a matched pair it is worth looking into. If I was starting all over, this pair (along with a 57 or two) would be my first purchase. Great do everything mic's!

I must say looking for a stereo pair of mics for drum over heads in any budget can be a monumental task. But I was recommended these by a few people and I must admit I'd never heard of them. Now like most people I was aware of 414's and had used those before and of course they are amazing mics and a standard in most studios for a reason. But those were a bit out of my price range for a project studio. So I weighed my options looking at sm81's possibly rode nt5's or m3's even considering blue humming birds. All of which I tried out (except the humming birds) as I have access to a few studios with friends who work there and these mics. I'll be honest I didn't want to like these mics being a gear head like a lot of us we don't want the little brother of something. One of my studio friends even told me "don't buy those there just the cheap knock off of the 414's get something like a pencil condenser". I think its a mental thing where we want the 4x12 not the 1x12 but in all honesty, Id take these and put them up against the 414. Now they are not the same as the 414's obviously they don't have all the polar patterns and its a bit different components on the inside. But honestly I don't care because whatever AKG put in these made them sound crisp, clear, clean and warm all at the same time. Ive tried them through multiple preamps and I cannot make them sound bad no matter how hard I try. Plus they are versatile. I bought them for drum over heads which they sound incredibly well on. But I've used them on guitar cabs with an sm57 and they sound amazing. Even as a vocal mic these are killer! I honestly don't think these mics can sound bad on any source. They are now my go to for drum overheads even though I have access to a mic locker with higher end mics and more expensive ones these ones do just fine in a pinch. Buy a pair you won't be dissatisfied. Trust me.

I recently used one of my stereo pair of C 214's to record a young jazz vocalist. I simply used a reflexion filter, a Focusrite ISA, and the mic. I even went into my Zoom H6 and not a really heavy duty interface. The sound blew me away. I recorded the take in my bedroom and after some very little equalization the sound was amazing. Great gadget AKG! Keep up the awesome work!

Since receiving my matched pair of AKG C214s a month ago, I have been working a training program for opera singers age 20 to 30. The results I have gotten are outstanding. Even in concerts where the recording conditions are less than ideal, I have been able to make very solid recordings. In closed room, private recording sessions, the results have been amazing. From the ringing Soprano high notes, to the deep resonance of Bass-Baritones, the AKG C214s have been great. I am very happy, and, more importantly, my clients are very happy with the recordings I have made for them. As advertised, they capture every nuance of the human voice.

I love these mics. We have already used them in other situations. We did an acoustic set and used one on the lead vocal and one on percussion and they really sound great. The clarity and large pattern really are impressive. We also used them in a choir situation that has been difficult in the past because of the room design and general feedback problems common to this situation. The 214s worked great. We were able to get the volume without the feedback and without cutting a lot of the frequencies we normally would in order to reduce feedback. The crispy highs are also a great plus. I highly recommend the AKG C 214.

Hey Microphone Fans

A while back i purchased this mic. Top of the year to be exact. Got it home and i work in a small home studio environment with not alot of gear but gear im very familiar with. I do have a great set of event monitors so hearing well is half the battle.

So my group has been recording 1 track at a time for vox! I was very impressed with the openness of this microphone - sounds like you are just in the room.

Then as months went by i thought i should really get a 414 B-XL II because I thought it would go to the next level. And wouldn't you know it that mic went on sale locally.

So i've had both mics side by side. The 414's polar patterns are impressive - but for a mic right out of the box that has less guts to get to the true signal i must admit - id have to say the 214 kicks the 414's behind. I am very picky and feel i have been blessed with a good set of ears.

I read a review for the 214 in mix mag and it's available online. It said the mic was good but that it was no 414 and lacked bass response on a female vocal. It's one of the few times i've had to disagree with mix mag.

I'm sold on the C214!

I plugged them in and besides looking as amazing as they did they sounded incredible. Clean, crisp, articulate and every nuance rang through with perfection. But seriously they are really good mics. I was running them through my Focusrite 428 preamp and into the Tascam Dm 4800 with the Creation Rack Extreme and Sonar 8 Producer just to give you the jist of my equipment but any angle I put the AKG's on my cab sounded clean and full and warm. I barely had to put any eq to clean up my picking. When I used 57s in the past I would use at least 4 plugging this time just one simple 3 band, and "boom!"...perfection :)

These are an excellent match for my production studio. we do film and album music in a boutique setting. I had need of more vocal friendly mics, of decent tracking quality, that would accommodate two singers in the same room. These are exceptional for the purpose. They also match my other 414's extremely well.
A bonus use is as a second stereo pair for miccing my concert grand for solo recording- I use earthworks QTC 1's for that job, and usually put a 414 in the middle. I deployed these as stereo overheads, and their full bodied response is a perfect counterweight for the pristine QTC's.
I've also been using them on hand percussion- we're getting awesome stereo response with shakers, bongos, wood blocks and everything else!
These are now my most utilitarian pair. The bass cut is precious, because they are very full-bodied.
An excellent value, and very versatile.

Nice sound using my UA 4-710D preamps, not too bright. Using it as drum overheads got a very fat and balanced full drum sound.
Nice it comes with all you will need in the box, 2 shock mount , 2 standard mount and wind screens. Very low noise floor, very quite mics. If you are looking for soft and warm mics you'll be very happy with the C214. Low nice floor make it suiteble for acoustic and voice recordings.