Recording - May 2012 - 34
B Y M I K E M E T L AY
AKG Perception 120 USB Microphone
Perception quality in a convenient USB format
AKG’s affordable Perception Series has been around for several years now; these Austrian-designed, Chinese-made mics are more affordable than the company’s flagship models built in Austria, but have done their part to turn our preconceptions of “cheap Chinese mics” upside down. Our review of the Perception 820 Tube mic in October 2010 described a mic that was a strong workhorse for the modern studio and that didn’t break the bank. With the Perception 120 USB, AKG has stepped into the world of USB microphones. What makes this offering stand out from the competition? Inside and out Different companies have different views of what a USB mic should do, and many offer a variety of models in all shapes and sizes for different uses. One mic might be a very compact design intended for portable laptop use, capturing interviews or quick acoustic demos in a room; another might combine a mic and A/D converter with a headphone output and D/A for a complete desktop USB audio interfacing solution; and another might be a larger and more “professional” design that could swap in for a conventional mic in a recording situation. The Perception 120 USB falls into that last category. Based on the already-established Perception 120 XLR mic, it is intended to be no more or less than a quality AKG cardioid condenser microphone that you’d use in any single-mic room recording situation—voiceovers, vocals, mono band rehearsal demos—with the difference of being able to connect directly to your computer without a separate preamp or interface. The Perception 120 USB has a 2/3" diaphragm, which means it leans neither toward the flatter frequency response and slightly higher self-noise of a small-diaphragm mic, nor the lower self-noise and very colored tonality of a largediaphragm design. This is a very good compromise for a mic that could be called upon to do just about anything. The frequency response suggests a similarly “condenser of all trades” character (see the diagram), with a smooth rolloff in the bass, a flat response from 200 Hz up to about 3000 Hz, and then a gentle rise to +4 dB at 10 kHz and a drop from there. The diaphragm and electronics, with an included A/D converter with 24-bit resolution and 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz sample rate and 128X oversampling, are contained in the familiar matte-blue-grey Perception body, with two good-quality switches
34
RECORDING MAY 2012
for bass rolloff filter (6 dB/octave with 120 Hz corner frequency) and attenuation pad (20 dB). The switches are backlit with a blue LED to indicate a good USB connection. The mic comes standard with a mic stand adapter, a small folding desktop tripod stand, and a 15' USB cable (!). Optional accessories include a spider shockmount, windscreen, and pop filter. In use I ran the Perception 120 USB through the usual tests of polar pattern, body and handling noise and resonances, etc., and then put it to work recording vocals, voiceovers, and acoustic string instruments in a small room environment... and loving the results. This mic had a very low noise floor and exceptional high-SPL handling in my tests (no specs are given), but has a very hot output and is sensitive to handling noise. The bass filter is a must for any serious use, and unless you have a very stable and noise-free place to set down the tripod stand (say, a solid concrete picnic table?), this mic truly needs a proper mic stand and shockmount to perform at its best. Think of it as needing the same sorts of accessories that a “real” XLR-connected condenser mic would need for quality recordings. (Before I forget, I should mention that the mic works fine recording to an iPad via the Apple Camera Connection Kit.) That same caution applies, somewhat less stringently, to using the mic with a pop filter for vocal work. While the mic’s internal pop screening does a surprisingly good job of taming plosives at the recommended vocal working distance of 8 to 16 inches, if your vocal talent likes to “eat” the mic for added proximity effect, a pop filter is vital—as is the 20 dB pad. Did I mention how hot this mic is? My tap tests revealed a quite noticeable body resonance, roughly an F#. While it was clear and fairly tonal, it was thankfully fairly well damped (“tink” rather than “pinnggg”), so I didn’t experience any ringing or drastically audible frequency response anomalies near the resonance in my tests. By the way, these sorts of resonances vary slightly from mic to mic and are smoothed out of the frequency response plots used to give general tonal characteristics, like the ones in this article. The polar pattern, as seen in the diagram, is what I would call a “wide cardioid” response, as in really wide. Below the presence peak (call it 8 kHz), the Perception 120 USB has very little off-axis rejection; at 90 degrees you hear your source nearly as loud as you do on-axis and with very little coloration. This uncolored wide response can be turned to your advantage, as the mic can quite happily capture, say, a bluegrass group or small vocal group/choir arrayed in front of it with few or no unpleasant tonal alterations to sources nearer the sides. I would say that the key points for working with this mic in practical recording situations are to guard against handling noise and rumble as much as possible, and to give the mic lots of room to breathe.
Recording - May 2012
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - May 2012
Recording - May 2012
Fade In
Contents
Talkback
Fast Forward
Lynne Arriale’s Solo—A Piano Solo Recording Of Note
Kel Audio HM-7U amd HM-3C Microphones
Fanny Franklin’s Get Wet—A Conversation With Producer/Engineer Jason Gutierrez
AKG Perception 120 USB Microphone
Miking Instruments: The Lost Art
Earthworks SR20 Microphone
SXSW 2012
Radial Engineering MC3 Passive Monitor Switcher
Readers’ Tapes
Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 5: Introduction To Microphones—Part Two (Directionality).
Miking A Symphony Orchestra For A Commercial
Audio-Technica AT4050ST Stereo Microphone
Alclair Reference In-Ear Monitors
RME Fireface UCX
Advertiser Index
Fade Out
Recording - May 2012 - Recording - May 2012
Recording - May 2012 - Cover2
Recording - May 2012 - 1
Recording - May 2012 - 2
Recording - May 2012 - 3
Recording - May 2012 - Fade In
Recording - May 2012 - 5
Recording - May 2012 - Contents
Recording - May 2012 - 7
Recording - May 2012 - Talkback
Recording - May 2012 - 9
Recording - May 2012 - Fast Forward
Recording - May 2012 - 11
Recording - May 2012 - Lynne Arriale’s Solo—A Piano Solo Recording Of Note
Recording - May 2012 - 13
Recording - May 2012 - 14
Recording - May 2012 - 15
Recording - May 2012 - 16
Recording - May 2012 - 17
Recording - May 2012 - 18
Recording - May 2012 - 19
Recording - May 2012 - 20
Recording - May 2012 - 21
Recording - May 2012 - Kel Audio HM-7U amd HM-3C Microphones
Recording - May 2012 - 23
Recording - May 2012 - Fanny Franklin’s Get Wet—A Conversation With Producer/Engineer Jason Gutierrez
Recording - May 2012 - 25
Recording - May 2012 - 26
Recording - May 2012 - 27
Recording - May 2012 - 28
Recording - May 2012 - 29
Recording - May 2012 - 30
Recording - May 2012 - 31
Recording - May 2012 - 32
Recording - May 2012 - 33
Recording - May 2012 - AKG Perception 120 USB Microphone
Recording - May 2012 - 35
Recording - May 2012 - Miking Instruments: The Lost Art
Recording - May 2012 - 37
Recording - May 2012 - Earthworks SR20 Microphone
Recording - May 2012 - 39
Recording - May 2012 - SXSW 2012
Recording - May 2012 - 41
Recording - May 2012 - Radial Engineering MC3 Passive Monitor Switcher
Recording - May 2012 - 43
Recording - May 2012 - Readers’ Tapes
Recording - May 2012 - 45
Recording - May 2012 - Recording Fundamentals. Chapter 5: Introduction To Microphones—Part Two (Directionality).
Recording - May 2012 - 47
Recording - May 2012 - 48
Recording - May 2012 - 49
Recording - May 2012 - 50
Recording - May 2012 - 51
Recording - May 2012 - 52
Recording - May 2012 - 53
Recording - May 2012 - 54
Recording - May 2012 - 55
Recording - May 2012 - Miking A Symphony Orchestra For A Commercial
Recording - May 2012 - 57
Recording - May 2012 - Audio-Technica AT4050ST Stereo Microphone
Recording - May 2012 - 59
Recording - May 2012 - Alclair Reference In-Ear Monitors
Recording - May 2012 - 61
Recording - May 2012 - RME Fireface UCX
Recording - May 2012 - 63
Recording - May 2012 - 64
Recording - May 2012 - Advertiser Index
Recording - May 2012 - 66
Recording - May 2012 - 67
Recording - May 2012 - 68
Recording - May 2012 - 69
Recording - May 2012 - 70
Recording - May 2012 - 71
Recording - May 2012 - Fade Out
Recording - May 2012 - Cover3
Recording - May 2012 - Cover4
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