Sounds very nice. Very similar tone to the AKG 420 and I loved that mic. Super nice that it has all those polar patterns for Cat Jingles. It passed the test and eith the Cat approval seal.
I think your voice sounds better with the LF roll-off engaged. I have a P220 which also sounds better on my voice with the LF roll-off engaged. Listening on Magnepan planar speakers... That P820 is a great sounding microphone and the figure-of-8 pattern sounds awesome if you can set your studio up to handle it.
Hey dude, wonderful video. Thanks for this review. I hope you're still reading comments on this 6 months later. I see a lot of mic comparisons that compare mics that don't directly compete with each other and it makes no sense to me... they're utterly unhelpful. As of October 2022 I'm aware of a few tube mics at the $5-800 range... not quite beginner but not exactly legendary either. If you could find a way to do the P820, Lauten Audio LA 320, Avantone CV-12, Avantone Pro CV-12 BLA, MXL Genesis, and MXL Revelation, I think that video would be a huge success. These mics are all intermediate tube mics within a similar ballpark but with distinct differences that I believe have yet to be properly evaluated. For me personally, I'm torn between a few of these and I'm certain I can't be the only one. I believe there are some Warm Audio tube mics within this price range as well that people may be interested in, however, I am not particularly drawn to them myself. I hope this gives some constructive food for thought. I really appreciated this video, thank you.
I have a P420 FET Mic and Looking to buy a P820 as an upgrade. Also, did some research (I mean I googled it LOL) and found out that it has very low warm-up time, around 5 mins. Plus, as a tube mic it's pretty VFM I think. So yeah, a win-win in every way. EDIT: I have ultimately gone for Rode NT1 5th Gen. The 4dBA noise floor with the voice texture of Rode is too irresistible. I'll hunt for a Lewitt Pure Tube eventually instead of P820, within a couple years :) :)
Very well done...but: did you notice the technical background using the -20dB-pad? Did you hear the difference lowering the voltage with tha switch to get a more neutral eq-curve? Or even your cat...?
Hello everyone. I have this microphone P820, when you touch the case it starts to sound strongly, hissing, who has the same problem, please tell me how to fix it.
I have Rode K2, also the NT1 5th Gen, both practically identical. At least on my voice. Yes, I watched some RUclips comparisons on the guitar and K2 was better, but my tests show basically no difference even if I measure them with the pink noise. The tube is mostly a gimmick, there are some mics that have it biased in such a way that makes the saturation noticeable, but most of them simply do not change or add anything to the sound, well nothing objectively as many people claim the tube gives some kind of 3D sound. Typical delusions.
I have this microphone but never liked it so it sat in my closet for years. I finally tested it on different instruments. Was not impressed. However It sounds amazing on my upright piano. So good that I want to eventually buy another one for a stereo piano mic.
I'm with you on this, but have you tried swapping out the tube? I stuck an EV 12ay7 gold pin in mine... made a big difference to the harsh tones I was getting from the junk that was in it previously. Now it's much more usable on vocals.
@@DarkCornerStudios curious as to why you left out dynacaster out of top mics for voice. I was trying to choose between lewitt 440 and dynacaster. What do you think?
@@jcap8391 440 anyday, the dynacaster is not comparable there due to the good large diaphragm detail & low end, its also more natural sounding than the dynacaster
@@agambhasin I actually bought both and used both for a couple months. I ended selling both. Ended up with UA sd1. I love it ✌️ That 440 sold in less than 5 minutes. The dynacaster took a couple weeks to sell.
@ut1004bp dude...a LOT of brands use China for production...and while there are some cheap productions there...there is also lots of companies use full or partial production in China...for great products Don't let stereotypes cloud your vision
@@DarkCornerStudios well we can keep it going until they send you one to review (and keep) Then you can tell the world that a $20 Chinese mic is better :-)
Sounds very nice. Very similar tone to the AKG 420 and I loved that mic. Super nice that it has all those polar patterns for Cat Jingles. It passed the test and eith the Cat approval seal.
I think your voice sounds better with the LF roll-off engaged. I have a P220 which also sounds better on my voice with the LF roll-off engaged. Listening on Magnepan planar speakers... That P820 is a great sounding microphone and the figure-of-8 pattern sounds awesome if you can set your studio up to handle it.
Hey dude, wonderful video. Thanks for this review. I hope you're still reading comments on this 6 months later. I see a lot of mic comparisons that compare mics that don't directly compete with each other and it makes no sense to me... they're utterly unhelpful. As of October 2022 I'm aware of a few tube mics at the $5-800 range... not quite beginner but not exactly legendary either. If you could find a way to do the P820, Lauten Audio LA 320, Avantone CV-12, Avantone Pro CV-12 BLA, MXL Genesis, and MXL Revelation, I think that video would be a huge success. These mics are all intermediate tube mics within a similar ballpark but with distinct differences that I believe have yet to be properly evaluated. For me personally, I'm torn between a few of these and I'm certain I can't be the only one.
I believe there are some Warm Audio tube mics within this price range as well that people may be interested in, however, I am not particularly drawn to them myself.
I hope this gives some constructive food for thought. I really appreciated this video, thank you.
I have a P420 FET Mic and Looking to buy a P820 as an upgrade. Also, did some research (I mean I googled it LOL) and found out that it has very low warm-up time, around 5 mins. Plus, as a tube mic it's pretty VFM I think.
So yeah, a win-win in every way.
EDIT: I have ultimately gone for Rode NT1 5th Gen. The 4dBA noise floor with the voice texture of Rode is too irresistible. I'll hunt for a Lewitt Pure Tube eventually instead of P820, within a couple years :) :)
I have the older AKG solid tube.
How does it compare to the 820?
Is the PSU rack mountable? Or at least, is it not too tall to fit on a rack shelf? Or a 2u half width rack?
It’ll be cool when you get the Lewitt LCT1040. That “remote control” for the tube would be cool. it won’t even be your best mic by then.
Yeah...I really want that mic...weirdly though...they didn't send me one...lolz.
Small fish don't get all the bait
I actually don't like desktop remote controls, I like everything to live safely in a 19" rack.
Very well done...but: did you notice the technical background using the -20dB-pad? Did you hear the difference lowering the voltage with tha switch to get a more neutral eq-curve? Or even your cat...?
Great vid. It’s far is to explore types of tubes; that’s where it seems confusing: different tubes plus the size of the tube n stuff
I've been waiting for this review!
Me too!!
Took me awhile to hunt this down
@@DarkCornerStudios I saw it was out of stock for awhile
@@Tomas.c yeah...and I wasn't convinced I wanted to buy it for the review...
Even took awhile for the distributor to get it in
Hello everyone. I have this microphone P820, when you touch the case it starts to sound strongly, hissing, who has the same problem, please tell me how to fix it.
That's a ground issue.
Call AKG and see if they can get it fixed
I have Rode K2, also the NT1 5th Gen, both practically identical. At least on my voice. Yes, I watched some RUclips comparisons on the guitar and K2 was better, but my tests show basically no difference even if I measure them with the pink noise. The tube is mostly a gimmick, there are some mics that have it biased in such a way that makes the saturation noticeable, but most of them simply do not change or add anything to the sound, well nothing objectively as many people claim the tube gives some kind of 3D sound. Typical delusions.
You had a link to this Mic suporte?
I have this microphone but never liked it so it sat in my closet for years. I finally tested it on different instruments. Was not impressed. However It sounds amazing on my upright piano. So good that I want to eventually buy another one for a stereo piano mic.
I'm with you on this, but have you tried swapping out the tube? I stuck an EV 12ay7 gold pin in mine... made a big difference to the harsh tones I was getting from the junk that was in it previously. Now it's much more usable on vocals.
A pair of P820 mics might work well as a mid-side pair.
Omni = most underrated polar pattern?
please can you do a plosive test instead of the 2 proximity tests? i mean the plosive test at a realistic talking distance?
Noted
@@DarkCornerStudios curious as to why you left out dynacaster out of top mics for voice. I was trying to choose between lewitt 440 and dynacaster. What do you think?
For voiceover I would almost always lean towards a condenser.
The rare exception would be the sm7b...though the dynacaster would be ok...
@@jcap8391 440 anyday, the dynacaster is not comparable there due to the good large diaphragm detail & low end, its also more natural sounding than the dynacaster
@@agambhasin I actually bought both and used both for a couple months. I ended selling both. Ended up with UA sd1. I love it ✌️ That 440 sold in less than 5 minutes. The dynacaster took a couple weeks to sell.
the best t-shirt in youtube
One of my favs...but jersey knit doesn't last long...its almost see through now
These p series, are they make in CHINA?
More than likely...a LOT of mics are made there.
Does it matter though?
No everything that is made there is crap
@@DarkCornerStudios yea, they main skill is cost and corner cutting
@ut1004bp dude...a LOT of brands use China for production...and while there are some cheap productions there...there is also lots of companies use full or partial production in China...for great products
Don't let stereotypes cloud your vision
Willy Nilly was my old college nickname.
It's still not as good as a U87ai! Where's your affiliate link? :-)
If I started that as a running joke for every video...gonna get called a shill...lol
@@DarkCornerStudios well we can keep it going until they send you one to review (and keep) Then you can tell the world that a $20 Chinese mic is better :-)
Bahahaha....just get everyone to petition them to send me one...
This is why cruise ships don't cater to cats. They simply won't adhere to scheduled dinner seatings.
They like to annoy me I swear!
@@DarkCornerStudios Well cruise ship companies can be like that.
To be fair the jingles sound great on a tube mic. The cat was doing you a favour.
The Jingle Test is coming
Stupid Loud is my current nickname.
Solidtube is best
Thanks for the video, but still dislike because of thumbnail "youtube face"