Warm Audio WA-14 Large-diaphragm Condenser Microphone Reviews

They sound great on everything that I have put them on - overheads, guitar cabs, acoustic guitar, and vocals. I have always loved the AKG C414, and these are a fantastic replica. To hear samples, and hear my full thoughts, check out my video review attached.

I needed a jack-of-all-trades type of microphone and this fit the bill! I've used it on everything from vocals, guitar, bass, and drums. No disappointment whatsoever! Thanks, Warm Audio and Sweetwater!

I owned some great condenser microphones before the WA Dash 14, but ever since I bought this mic, it has become my go-to mic for a variety of sources!

I bought two of them initially, thinking that they would be great for drum overheads (which they are, indeed!), but a friend recommended trying them on vocals. I tried it, and let me tell you, if you haven't tried it on vocals, you are missing out! The top end is present, but not harsh, the midrange is full and clear, the lower mids are tight and clean, and the bottom end was not overly emphasized.

So far, it has not met a sound source that it didn't flatter!

One of the Original pair of WA 14 Warm Audio microphones I purchased was defective and they were very noticeably unmatched and would distort after an hour of recording. Sweetwater assisted me in returning to Warm Audio and the replacement microphones are now working as expected and seem to be matched perfectly when used for drum overheads. I recommend the WA 14 microphones along with the WA 87 microphones and find them to be on par with my Neumann, AKG and other professional microphones in my arsenal.

A single AKG C414 B-ULS was the only good condenser microphone I and a close friend shared for the better part of three years. I grew to know that mic intimately; and while it was certainly better at some things, this most notable quality it exhibited is that nothing, I mean nothing, sounded bad when recorded with it. I grew to appreciate it as a veritable "Swiss army knife " of microphones. Jump to the present, I've been working for two solid weeks with the WA14, and I'm prepared to say that it exhibits the same qualities as the AKG. Nothing I've recorded with it sounds bad. It's superb on acoustic guitar, as a mono drum overhead, as a tom mic, and a vocal mic with certain singers. It's also the only condenser I like for a lot of percussion. If you're keen for the 414 sound, but don't want to spend the dough; here it is.

After doing research, I went down the Warm Audio route. Haven't used the mic a ton, but I'm very impressed with it so far. Compares well with a lot of higher priced mics and holds it own. Very happy with the purchase.

I love this mic. I used it on Brass, Voice over, Vocals both female and male, on Violin, Viola, 12 string and six string acoustic guitar. I even used it on a flute! It really sounds vintage and like the AKG 414! I run it through the warm audio WA-2A and a warm audio WA-73 EQ. Thats it! Needs nothing else. I add a tad of reverb from the LiquidSonics plugin or the Lexicon On entire mix buss. But nice mic! I treat my mics like a hot date! Dont knock them down, dont drop them, and dont spill drinks on them, tuck them in with a blanket when you put them to sleep. They will work for years. Thanks to Nick Church my sales rep at sweetwater! This mic is a steal at this price.

I've purchased quite a bit of Warm Audio equipment over the past months, for my home studio and have been very impressed with the quality of their products. By the way, I just spent some time at a high-end studio, doing some recording for a friend, and they used all Warm Audio pre's and compressors in their racks, which should tell you something about the quality. Pro quality gear at amazing prices.

This microphone is no exception. The quality of the build is outstanding. They include a couple of different mounts. In the short time I've had it, it has become my favorite vocal microphone. I also purchased Warm's version of the U87, which is also amazing, but I actually prefer this mic for my vocals. It's also a great all around microphone for acoustic guitar, electric guitar cab, piano, just about anything where you need a nice even sound that fits nicely into the mix. Highly recommended!

I purchased this mic about two years ago after much research for a first time purchase condenser mic for my home studio. I settled on this as my first because of the reviews consistently pointing out its versatility. With all reviews, you never really know for sure but I took the chance and boy am I happy. If funds are limited and you can only get one condenser mic, this should be at the top of your list for consideration. I have used this mic on just about everything and I have been very pleased in every application. It just never fails and sounds great going in. I recently used it on recording kick drum and was blown away. This mic sounds great on acoustic guitars, bass amp, electric guitars and vocals. Bottom line, this mic will never fail you. Buy it now.

The Wa 14 is a great throwback to the 70's AKG C414 with its own character.
Very smooth mic for vocals.
Great build quality
Works on everything
Can't beat the price for the sound you get

This is an excellent microphone. I primarily bought it to mic up guitar cabinets, which it excels at. I also used it for a vocal recording this weekend and the tone is fantastic. Would highly recommend this microphone!

Good clean sound without being to bright or muddy. Also has great off axes rejection, was able to almost completely keep the vocal out of the mic when micing an acoustic.

From somebody who has used BOTH an ACTUAL 414 and this cleverly crafted emulation for over 100 hours each, this is the best thing you can get your hands on for nearly half the price. I couldn't recommend a better budget microphone for... well... EVERYTHING. It captures crisply accurate depictions of the sound source with a frequency response that is hard to argue with. Buy this and you will never regret it.

I think this may be the most used microphone in our studio. It seems to work on everything!

You will find this to be one of the most versatile all purpose mics in your locker. Great sound and super accurate to the vintage model it recreates.

I"ve owned this mic for over a year now & I love it so much! I wanted something great for female vocals and it gives me a very smooth, consistent, & clean sound. It"s very versatile as well, I use it for guitars and my producer uses it on just about everything in the studio. Great price for what you get.

We've had this microphone for over a year now, we've put it to the test on just about anything you can think here at out facility and it has never disappointed us. The WA-14 truly does an outstanding job on reproducing the sound and characteristic of the most sought-after of all AKG 414s at a fraction of the cost. I HIGHLY recommend this microphone!

I have used the highly coveted original, and it's great. I bought one of these to use as a snare mic, and I was thrilled with the sound. There's a lot of debate out there about whether or not this sounds as good as the original, and that's just silly. It has some similar characteristics, but in general, it's a really good, really capable mic that sounds good on multiple sources.

I liked it enough that I bought a second one. I mic the snare head with one and the strainer with the other, through a Warm WA412 pre. Granted, the studio snare is a DW Collectors series Titanium shell snare, but the depth and impact of the sound we're getting is unreal.

I've also used this on bass cabinets, guitar and floor tom. The thing about these Warm mics (I have 2 of these and 2 of the 87's) is that you can have 4 of them for less than the price of the original, and they are remarkable microphones. And I own a U87, and a couple of Mojaves. These hang in that group. I think a lot of people are steamed that they paid for the real deal, and now there is a low cost alternative that's actually viable.

Well, I paid for the originals, and I love them. I love these too. And I don't worry as much about drunken drummers whacking one.... Just try one, you'll love it.

Many years ago, I worked at a production facility that had a few of the original 414s. They were smooth, clear, and added brilliance to anything they were put in front of, whether vocals, guitars, drums, or even strings. My fascination with microphones began with a 414. Throughout the years, and now with my own home studio and voiceover production facility, I've always wanted one but juts never pulled the trigger. When I learned that Warm Audio was making one, I was thrilled because I knew their reputation for amazing equipment was stellar. I called my rep from Sweetwater, Mike, and put in my order immediately. Since I received mine, I've been using it on vocals, voiceovers, drums, and it gives me the same spine-tingling chills of amazement as the first time I heard the real thing. Way to go, Warm Audio. Another winner in your arsenal.

Got this mic about a month ago, I needed a mono drum overhead for a tour as FOH for an indie rock band and decided to take a chance on this guy. So far I've used it as a mono drum overhead in live settings and one recording, on acoustic guitar and on vocals in recording. For the price I paid I'm very satisfied with this mic.

I bought the WA-14 and the Lauten Audio LA-320 and did A/B testing.
They both sounded great with the LA-320 allowing for more top end than the WA-14.
The WA-14, IMO, had a better build quality than the LA-320, however, the LA-320 came with an aluminum Flight Case where the WA-14 did not.
More importantly, was the fact that the WA-14 was a multiple pattern mic and the LA-320 was cardioid only PLUS, I did not have a condensor mic with Edge Terminated diaphragms in my small mic collection.
Based on past history with AKG, the C-214 and C-314 were out of the question and a pair of C414s were out of my price range .
I sold the LA-320 and bought another WA-14 giving me a (stereo) pair that allows for more recording style possibilities.
I have been a long-time fan of the sE Electronics Mics as they are built extremely well with a much better quality than most coming from Asia and I see similar traits with the WA-14s.

I've owned this mic for the better part of a year and used it in multiple recording sessions on multiple sources including drums, acoustic and electric guitars, and vocals, as well as other aux percussion instruments like tambourine, clave, etc. I have been very impressed by the quality of this mic. I've even had the opportunity to A/B it with a modern c414, and was very impressed by the comparison. I can't think of a better LDC at this price point, and can't wait for the day i get another one.

I've had the WA14 for a couple of months now. My studio is basically only used for our Country/American band. We're currently recording our album, and I bought this mic specifically for my wife's vocals. It was a roll of the dice. Thus far I've used the WA-14 on the back side of a Cajon with excellent results. It handled the Cajon's lows from the rear hole excellently. I've used it on Acoustic guitar, and it sounded great. Where this mic really shined though was on my wife's vocals. I've used a Shure KSM44, and a Shure SM7b on her vocals in the past. The WA-14 sounded fantastic. It isn't a hyped microphone. It's really smooth. It does take a bit more gain to get this mic up and running compared to any other condenser mic that I own. The build quality of the mic itself is great. I think they could have done better with the shock mount. Which is why I'm giving this a 4.5 instead of a 5.0.

I do wish Warm Audio would put the same level of resources into Production and Quality Control as they do Research and Development. I have purchased two Warm Microphones (the 14 & 47) and both sound terrific on a variety of sources. But as you can see in the attached image, the installation of the grill on the 14 is sloppy. And the 3-way switch shown in the image is at center setting, but not aligned with the labels. I feel like I paid full price for a B-Stock item.

Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to use C12's, C12a's, C24's and every variety of CK12 capsule microphone made by AKG. By far my favorite of the series are the brass capsule C414's. While a lot of publicity has been made that these microphones are a recreation of the brass capsule C414's, they are more like a faithful recreation that gets you closer than anything else but the real thing.

As someone that cannot afford the original issue, this is 90% of the way there and completely perfect for my budget and needs. These microphones really shine on overheads and percussion, you will not be disappointed. While I would give the WA414 a five star review, one of my microphones came with blemished logo. While I would go through the return process, my studio cannot afford the down time. The WA-14's are just that good and an integral addition to any studio.

I bought two demo units, they sound fine, but one picks up an insane amount of radio interference and is, consequently, unusable.

I spent time working with cables, trying to isolate the issue (even trying to isolate it to only one of the mics, though I swear they both pick up radio signals). It's usually one at a time that's bad... but you can always count on one of them giving you an unusable signal.

I would've tried to work something out with SW, but I didn't discover the issue until I moved houses (I didn't have this issue before I moved). Now it just feels too late. It's unfortunate because I don't know if it can be fixed, and it's not like I can really sell one (or both) of them second-hand if I can't guarantee they'll be noise-free in someone else's environment.

Just a word of caution... ultimately I wish I'd not gone for budget friendly clones when investing in a better stereo pair.

It has very low output and high self noise. If you turn the gain up, it is very noisy! You wont find the specs on the company's website but here they are. Sensitivity 6 mv/pa Self noise 17 db-A Its terrible! Lowest output (sensitivity) of any condenser I can find, and highest self noise

During a recording session for NPR the first time out of the box one of the pair of the WA14 microphones fizzled out, making a 2 hour recording session unusable. Unfortunately the Warm Audio WA14 microphone, in my horrible experience, is NOT a professional grade or quality microphone and definitely not on par with the microphones they are supposed to be modeled after. There is no comparison when used side by side with the AKG414, AKG314 or AKG 214 you definitely hear the quality of the AKG made in Austria over the WA14 copy that is made from inferior Chinese parts. I question the Warm Audio quality control and if individual microphones are being tested to specifications before letting a microphone this bad get out their door. Warm Audio provides no verified test data sheet to indicate individual microphones are actually tested to meet specifications before leaving their factory.
I also have AKG414 and also the less expensive 214 and 314 models which I would highly recommend for purchase as high quality professional microphones. Unfortunately the Warm Audio WA14 is just an inferior quality microphone that did not hold up to expectations and in the long run cost time, money and an initial failed session.
I would give it no stars if this were an option. Unfortunately it was beyond the 30 day return time before I had a project to use them on and we are now stuck with a pair of unusable inferior sounding, highly noisy low gain cheesy Chinese WA14 microphones. I'm now questioning the validity of Sweetwater's claim of an extra year extended warranty with products purchased from them and I'm now stuck hoping to get some kind of resolution and service over the phone with an 800# internet store with no local service.
Using this low quality defective microphone Warm Audio WA14 in a professional studio session cost me in wasted time, money and also hurt my reputation! I do NOT and will NOT recommend the Warm Audio WA14 microphone.