AKG C520 Headworn Microphone Reviews

Can't believe how good this mic sounds performing.

Takes a minute to get used to it when you put it on, but after a bit you don't even realize it's there.

Sounds great, comfortable and practical.

I used it in a rehearsal studio for the 1st time this week.
It has plenty of power.
It is tight around the head but surprisingly, my head was not sore after rehearsal.

I front a big band as the vocalist ..from time to time I like to sit at the piano and do a number.
I tried a couple other versions prior to this.
Zack at Sweetwater was absolutely the best he pointed me towards this particular model.
I couldn't be happier not to mention Zach was an A+ person to deal with. SweetWater is fortunate to have him on board... he promptly returned phone calls and emails.
In this day and age, I must say , I was way taken back by how attentive he was..!!!
I'll always return to Sweetwater for my band gear.

This headset is terrific! I'm a drummer who sings lead, and after using a wireless headset for a couple years, struggling with battery and random feedback issues, and getting comments from our band's sound guy about how difficult it was to EQ and set gain levels on the wireless unit, I went looking for a great headset with a standard XLR connection. After trying a couple of other units, I found this mic had great reviews online. It has a standard XLR connector, so its easy to set levels, gain, and EQ at the board. The sound I get from it is incredible! Its extremely light, and fits comfortably and snugly to my head. I highly recommend this mic to anyone who has issues with wireless headset mics...you won't be disappointed! Requires phantom power to operate.

The sound quality of this rig is unreal. A little tricky putting it on and taking it off but once it's on it definitely isn't going anywhere!

After Covid shut down the Broadway Tour I was on I decided to make my own opportunities and start busking. I have this mic plugged into my JBL Eon 1 compact. The amp has phantom power, runs on a battery, has a huge frequency response, and fits under a park bench.
I get many compliments on my voice and I love not being rooted in front of a mic stand. The 10' cord allows plenty of freedom of movement.
AKG has been around forever and I still use 2 D2000 E Cardioids from the 70's in my recordings.

After doing a lot of research to find the best headset to wear over a face cover, I found the AKG C 520 with tons of help from Sweetwater. Whereas before I was getting a muffled sound from my mic, now I can be heard loud and clear. This is a sturdy, extremely comfortable mic and I highly recommend it for drummers whether you're singing lead or backups.

Great people to work with. Aaron is easy and accommodating person to work with.

I am a member of a gypsy jazz band where all 4 members sing. In this era of Covid-19 the job of marking each microphone and maintaining sanitation for each was getting crazy. We were using 58's and a beta 58. So, after a consult with Brendan at Sweetwater, the AKGs seemed like a good solution. And they are. They are very lively, comfortable to wear and do well if a mask is worn. Of course, this means I don't need to drag the stand bag around to gigs, which is good. Everyone keeps theirs with their own gear and the foam pop filter is easy to clean. They are condensers, but most boards now support that. The bass roll off switch works well.

Every thing is good as usual Joe is the best

I will say that I had a time getting it work with my PC but finally got it to work....it works wonderfully on my Mac.

I love the hands-free advantage so that I can record and conduct online tutorials simultaneously!!!

Great product.....thanks Greg and Sweetwater!!!!

I bought this mic to solve issues I was having as an old piano player with bifocals trying to read music while dealing with a conventional mic and boom stand across my field of vision. No matter how I configured the mic and stand, it was difficult to focus on the chart and/or the keyboard.

With the Headworn Microphone, all those problems went away immediately. Instant clear vision to charts and keyboard. I don't know why I waited so long to get this.

I chose the AKG C520 based on reviews, features, and price point. It is exactly as advertised, and worked perfectly the moment I put it on. Sounds great. Very comfortable to wear and easy to put on.

My biggest concerns about this mic were bleed and whether or not it would shift around too much. I've been told by audience members that my drums didn't muddy up and my voice was clear. The mic doesn't go anywhere. I was never worried that it was going to fall off or get knocked out of place. It is remarkably comfortable too. You might even forget you are wearing it.

I have two criticisms. First, I wish the cable was shorter and was replaceable. I don't know how long that flimsy 10 foot pigtail is going to last. I'd rather they make it like the headphones with a detachable cable. Second, I wish they would make the gooseneck a little longer. It has trouble reaching around my big fat head. It performs well though, so I guess that is moot.

Sweetwater came thru again for me. Wonderful company, some day I will visit.
The only problem, which is my fault, I wish it had a mute.

I bought this mic for recording use. I have a client who moves around a lot while he sings, and his recording level was wandering up and down as he moved. This mic solved that problem very nicely. It is not as great a sound as more conventional studio mics; after all it's main intended use is for the stage. But having said that, I was pleasantly surprised with the sound quality. It also comes ready to connect to preamps and interfaces using standard XLR connectors.

My Music Ministry does 17 gigs a month. That is a lot of setups I use the C250 on the input side of a TC Helicon Voice live play acoustic. The cable is long enough to use without needing an XLR extension. No transmitters as my old Samson wireless requires, so no power supply for that OR batteries for a fanny pack. I would give it five stars but my first one needed repair after 6 months. Thus, I bought a new one and the other is ready for use as a backup if it is needed. The mic boom needs another inch, but it IS just long enough to reach between nose and mouth where it belongs. The C250 is ready to go right away, so I have more time for the rest of the setups. Thanks Riley and Sweetwater for all you do for the Quiet Music Ministry.

I've been using this as a singing drummer for over a year now. "Live sound design has failed the singing drummer," as stated to me by a sound professional. My solution was this microphone run through an A/B footswitch (aka a cough drop pedal) which allows me to turn it on and off while playing. This means I can turn it on, sing my part, and turn it off to eliminate the bleed of live drums.

The mic itself is great. Sound is clear and full, and the unit itself is very light with a long enough cord to not cause tension on it. As for comofort, well, that's why it's 4 stars. The wire ear wraps, since they're bendable, should be a little bigger to allow for more comfort, or even just the reality of wearing glasses while playing.

Recognizing this unit needs phantom power means you have to really think of your full signal chain, but if you've got that figured out, this is a wonderful, smaller, and less invasive alternative to the Crown headset, and it doesn't look like you fell out of an `80s pop video.

I struggled over the years to keep a microphone in front of my face while I played drums. This great little mic solved all those problems. I had to back off the gain, as it really picks up my voice well. The only thing keeping it from a 5 star rating is not knowing how the light weight design will hold up over time. I would definitely recommend to my fellow drummers who sing.

I purchased this after some research as a singing drummer. The sound is crisp and clear, and the low-profile design has me wearing it all night without ever adjusting it. The over the ear wire harness is surprisingly comfortable and durable. The cord is long enough that you can get it settled on the floor with some slack so that it isn't pulling on your headset as you play. My only complaints would be that it requires phantom power (which, I mean, yeah) and that the mic can't be repositioned to the left side of your mouth - it's only on the right side. As a drummer, this concerns me over hi-hat bleed, but a little gate and you're good to go. It's been almost a year and this was a game-changer to my band, and even sound guys have said that it does a great job. Pair this with an A/B cough drop foot pedal and you'll never look back.

Overall I think this is a very good microphone. I only wish the arm was a little longer as the pickup only come to the corner of my mouth. The 10" cord is fine for my as I usually sit and perform from one amp for guitar and microphone in smaller venues. the cord is a little thin and it is yet to be seen how long it holds up, I am not pulling on it but my concern is that I am constantly packing and unpacking it.
I would purchase this product again given the limitations of what I am asking of it.

As a singer-songwriter, I really appreciate the freedom of movemement that this headset gives me. There is probably somewhat of a drop in sonic quality, but it is more than made up by the energy that I can put into a performance by not being locked into a box in front of a microphone stand.

I purchased this mic by reading an extensive review from another one of
Sweetwaters customers. They were very detailed and I figured this mic would fit my needs and budget. They were right on target. The AKG 520C was the answer to my prayers. Great sound and very easy to use. Really enhanced my vocal behind my drum kit and no more craning my next to a fixed mic on a stand. Since I sing most of the lead vocal in my band it makes it really easy to make eye contact with the audience thereby creating a better performance and experience for all :) My only minor complaint is they slide a lot when I sweat... and I sweat a lot when I play. I am working on adding a more grippy foam sleeve to the ear pieces.

I gave this mic a 4 because I have only used it once. It may well deserve a 5. I play keyboards in a hi-tech duo. The C520 allowed me to be free to adjust the mixer, look around, and overall have a ton more fun playing than when I was stuck in one vocal position. The mic is really hot so prepare to reduce the input gain. I did that acouple of times as I was overdriving the mixer input. But, once that was tweaked the mic was perfect. Great sound and overall I am very pleased. One thing that would be very useful would be a tap on/tap off mute feature.

The idea behind my setup is that I can control everything hands free. Results so far have been satisfactory. The mic doesn't feed back with drum mics all around me. Sound quality/comfort/ease of use is all there. My only two gripes are the unit not having a mute function and the wind screen is easily knocked off the unit. Currently in the process of finding a replacement as the last one was literally lost in the wind.

After watching many videos about the best mics for drummers and deliberating over how much I would spend, I decided the AKG C520 was the best option. As I would be sitting during any performance, I didn't need to go wireless and the XLR connection would be fine for my needs.
Putting it on felt a little awkward but I figured I would get used to it. I did not. The fit was a bit weird and felt uncomfortable. The wrap arounds dug into the back of my ear and although I did not wear them for no more than a couple of hours, I could see how any longer would start to be very aggravating.
The review videos said these would isolate the drum sound from bleeding into the mic and out the PA to an extent. Although the sound was clear and very defined, I found they were no different than the Shure set I had been using for the past 10 years. I realize there is no way to remove the drum bleed into a headset sitting right on top of the drums, but this set seemed to amplify them considerably, even more than my old Shure set which also has a directional mic.
This set would be awesome for an acoustic guitar or keyboard player, but I do not recommend them for a rock drummer.

I've been using this microphone for about 6 months as a singing drummer and it picks up way too much of the snare drum. At our last gig the sound engineer was really didn't know what to do. He said that every song I sung backing vocals on the mic picked up so much of the snare drum he'd have to dial the snare drum mic way back. It's so bad I've been considering going back to a Beta 58 with a boom stand and gooseneck, but that's just so troublesome. I mean it sounds great but it's supposed to be unidirectional, right?