Purchased this microphone to replace an older microphone that we used on our Rotary Club podium. Speakers had to stand against the older mic and raise their voice to be heard. Now they can comfortably speak from a few inches to a foot from this mic. We plug this mic into our JBL EON712 powered speaker. Using the JBL app on a phone, we can alter the channel input gain to accommodate various speakers. This microphone has great sound quality. We aren't audio experts. Our Sweetwater sales engineer has helped us make our selections.

A very good microphone, compared to the shure 58 ,the akg is very similar to the shure, the akg has a little more midrange to its sound as far as voicing.A good choice for a mic.The wind screen and mic casting are heavy duty and rugged which was a concern to me ,because we all know what a wind screen looks like after a mic stand is knocked over.

I really like this mic. Its great for vocals and snare drums. Really versatile microphone!!

Next to Shure SM58 and Sennheiser? They wish. AKG by a mile. Cleaner and clearer. And after 50 years, I have just about tried them all.

The package I ordered shipped fast and was not damaged whatsoever, the packaging was perfect and protected and Sweetwater did an amazing job on customer service. It was everything I looked for in ordering online and I would give more stars if possible.

Having been working live sound since high school, I'm now retirement age, I have had the pleasure of using a wide variety of mics over the years. A few years ago I added the D5 mics to my locker. They are now my go to for vocals and other frequency appropriate applications. I never hesitate placing a D5 in front of any performer I have encountered. Solid, clean, and responsive. And.... the price for a great mic is a plus

I have used AKG mics for recording and have always enjoyed them. I never tried any of their stage mics and needed to replace my aging Blue 100 microphone and thought I'd give this one a try. I perform at more than 15 retirement communities each month and I depend upon my diction and my equipment to insure that every word that I speak or sing is intelligible by every one in the room, everywhere in the room. I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the sound of this microphone. The highs were crisp without sounding shrill, the mid range is excellent, and the bass is full without being 'boomy'. Granted, I could make adjustments with my EQ but I only make adjustments when the room (the acoustics of the environment) calls for it. I encounter just about every type of room acoustics (small venue rooms) that these gigs can place you in and the microphone performs beautifully in every one of them! I have a full bass-baritone voice so I depend upon the mic to lift clean upper highs to the full resonance of my voice. Where some mic's proximity effect creates mud out of my lower register, this one keeps the low tones full but distinguishable. I was not expecting that kind of well rounded tone with my type of voice...! Very pleased with this purchase!!

Replaced my SM 58 with the D5
I needed less "instrument monitor" bleeding into my vocals

It is "clearer" and has a "tighter pattern" than the SM 58.

Is it as durable as 58? Not sure, I haven't had any issue in 3 yrs but it is always on a stand (not hand held)
(To me, the SM 58 has a smoother frequency response in the low end.)

The D5 is suited for Mid to High voices and has more clarity. Out put is good

I'd been to hell and back with my old SM57, hundreds of gigs, great to horrible, it took terrible punishment and abuse and kept on ticking perfectly until it was stolen with a guitar and my pedal/cord/mic bag. It's replacement was lack luster, lower output, like a different mic. Got sick of it and got the D5. Now, imagine the nicest 57 you've used - well it's very similar - just better!
If I want another dynamic - everybody should have at least two - I'm getting another D5.

Great microphone. Sounds better than a 58, for sure. Have found Stalewatter to be a bit of a pathetic dealer to do business with, especially with their biased reviews, so won't do business with them again. Great microphone!

Got this in black friday...
and was blown away. Mic has got great presence in the mids with some nice highs and adds punch to your vocals.

Wow! This is a very good microphone. My first impressions are that this microphone is louder and with more Extended lows and highs.
I did in a/b comparison with my 58 and my newly acquired D5. They both went into the same preamp with the same settings and both were recorded solo and in a mix.
The D5 had better cut and more clarity. It had more volume as well. Feedback rejection was just as good as the 58. Handling noise was very similar.

I bought this D5 and a Sennheiser e945 at the same time. Both are good options for vocals, and both have a similar flavor to them... The biggest difference I encountered was the pickup pattern. They both have a supercardioid pattern, but the Sennheiser had superior rejection to its sides. If that's important to you, like you're a singing drummer, than it's worth knowing. Otherwise, I found them quite similar. I would get another. Good sounding/behaving mic, for sure!

There's not any problems with it. I've used, as a church sound man, quite a few in this price range. This microphone, for male baritone/tenor, is my favorite. It is a softer, more pleasant sounding (to my ears) than most others… That being said, tenor (make upper tenor and female) and soprano vocals will have me going to Sennheiser e835- wider pattern, but I find compliments better for those ranges. If buying for a female or upper tenor male, I would probably save up and go ahead and get an e845 for that. But this is a great Mic for the buy and my voice.

If you mumble, this mic isn't for you. AKG's VariMotion diaphragm isn't marketing nonsense, it actually makes vocals more intelligible. In addition, its 600 Ohm output is loaded properly by modern PAs and recording consoles so no overring and wooly transient and bottom common to the 57/58.

Compare this to your favorite live vocal mic. Have someone listen. Bet you buy another. Its clarity also works well on reeds, brass and percussion. This mic will not 'crunch' like a 57 on toms or speaker cabs, though (that's caused by the impedance mismatch, btw).

Supercardioid mics will have a bit more proximity effect, easily trimmed at your preamp.

I just read Sweetwater's Metal Mic Shootout. Why isn't this on the list? It's as good as anything else out there and I'd take it over an SM7B or RE20 any day of the week (or is it 'weak' because of the 150 Ohm impedance mismatch with modern mixers and PAs?). Again, the clarity in a dense mix will surprise you—it sure did me.

Let me explain. A 150 Ohm dynamic needs a 500–1,000 Ohm input to be properly loaded (600 is ideal). A 600 Ohm output works best in the 1,800–3,000 Ohm input range (2,400 is textbook perfect).

I love these mics.

Much better than sm58 for Voice by far!!!!!!

I have been using AKG mics for over 10 years. We had D880 before the D5 came out. I like them better than SM58s. Nice warm sound with great presence. I have 6 of these and am phasing out the D880 as they've been discontinued a few years back. AKG rocks!

this mic is perfect for wont find much better for the money thanks to my sales rep sean geyer for helping me out with this mic

This mic seems to have a lot of low-mids in it. For many voices it would sound muddy, but for a male tenor voice that might be a little thin, it is perfect. I haven't heard it on a female voice yet, but I bet it would be really nice.

Its probably better than I think cause I am a little biased , I have been using Sm 58's for ever

This mic is made really great and it it great for vocals. Sweetwater had mic month and I got it for $74.00 and it was a great deal. I should of bought more. It comes with a case. It is worth the $99.00 price that it normally goes for.

I really like it. It works great for my voice. I have a seinheiser that I paid $170.00 for and it is a fantastic mic, but it is also twice the price. thsi mic for the price is a good deal. It isn't as strong of mic as the more expensive ones but does the job.

This mic is the best value I've found. I normally use SM57's and 58's, but this blows them away. The D5 performs more on par with the Beta 57 and 58, and for around half the price. It's a bit brighter than the Beta 58, which adds clarity and punch to the vocals without getting muddy in the low frequencies. I'm certain I will be buying more in the future.

I play in a 5 guy church band, using mostly church owned Shure Beta 58 mic's. They've been around for years and have some dings, so when this mic went on sale, I decided to spend some birthday cash and try it. I have a soft voice and even when I was close enough to lick the shure, it wasn't always heard in the mix, but now, even standing 4" from it, I am getting heard!

After using many different mikes for vocals over the years including Shure, Audio Technica, Audix, etc., we had our suitcase of mikes "borrowed" and were forcrd to replace all of our vocal mikes. I spoke with the friendly advisors at Sweetwater who suggested that for my needs of a general vocal mike, I might like the AKG D 5. All of the singers are really impressed by the quality and flat response of the mike. It is warm without being muddy and bright without being like crystal. It is substantially feedback free and does not require your lips to be up against the windscreen. It maintains its' qualities for bass, tenor, alto and soprano ranges and is an excellent choice for vocals.

Thanks for the heads-up Sweetwater.

This Mike has oustanding clarity and response. A great value for the price, especially from Sweetwater during Mike month!.
I think this Mike outperforms the Shure M58.I bought D5, but you might consider D5S with on-off switch.

Much better sound than the Shure 58 and other mics for live vocals. Can give this to anyone who had their "favorite" mike that they used and they come away wanting a D5. I have 4 of them so far, and will buy more. However, they don't seem to hold up to abuse as well as the 58, but then again, I am looking for a microphone, not a hammer.

Our band uses mostly SM58(s) and they are o.k., but the AKG D5 is everything I wanted in a mic. Diminished feedback, clarity and a great price. It is even better used on y solo PA. The Tech people at Sweetwater are very knowledgeable.

I have been doing sound for over 40 years and have found this mic to be a very solid performer that requires very little eq to make it sound natural. I have recently found it fo be a great mic for banjos, even though it is officially a vocal mic, I currently own 4 of these mics and WILL be adding more to my locker. Price to performance, these are and excellent choice.

Will you get higher gain before feedback? Most likely, but if there are acoustic problems in the practice space/venue, cover your ears--this thing can howl just as loudly as any other mic on the market.

Sound? I dig it. Has a good pleasant cut that brings softer voices out in the mix. As the reviewer for Mix Magazine said: it excels on female vocals, but it is not bad on male vocals at all.

Price? I think it's a steal. I'd be willing to pay another $50 on top of this, but we all know what the competition's prices are.

On top of it all, I used it in a pinch to mic a keyboard amp! I was pleasantly surprised by the results, too.