MadisonAV | RRP $479
The AKG C414 is synonymous with world-class studio recording. Even if you don’t know it by model name, you’ll recognise the golden grille. You’ll recognise it after having had it recommended at audio schools and universities worldwide, and you’ll recognise it from the mic cabinets of your favourite engineers. Much of AKG’s catalogue shares this fame, from the C12 tube condenser, the D12 and D112 ‘egg’ microphones, right through to smaller pencil condensers. But back to the C414, a tried and true design with a younger sibling following in its wake, the newly launched and very accessible AKG C114, one of AKG’s first new mics in eight years.
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The AKG C114 is a true condenser microphone, as opposed to an electret condenser, and as such provides much more accurate sound but requires phantom power. It has switchable polar patterns, much like the famous C414, allowing you to toggle between omni, cardioid and figure-of-eight patterns depending on your need. In the box you’ll find a robust and weighty mic cradle; not so heavy that it’s cumbersome, but enough to give you confidence that this mic ain’t movin’. The cradle is easy to manoeuvre with multiple pivot points, securing the mic via a bottom thread around the XLR connection.
The C114 uses an edge-terminated capsule that harks back to AKG’s legendary CK12 capsule—the very design that made the brand’s name. This translates to best-in-class performance in both midfield and farfield applications, with a level of musicality that punches well above what you’d expect from an entry-level mic. Being a condenser, the C114 requires phantom power to operate its internal electronics, but will accurately reproduce sound sources from 20Hz up to 20kHz with a maximum SPL handling of 145dB. This high tolerance makes it great for drum rooms or overheads (or both!), offering a detailed, crisp and accurate image of the entire drum kit— a pair of these definitely wouldn’t go astray. And speaking of pairs, AKG’s manufacturing process is so refined, with such minimal variance between units, that any two C114s can be considered a matched stereo pair. For engineers hunting for overhead options under $1000 that punch well above their weight sonically, this is worth noting.
An especially low-noise floor makes it great for string and orchestral recordings that require detail and accurate imaging, while folky, singer-songwriter style recordings can benefit from a mic like this that captures an acoustic space just as well as the source it’s pointed at.
Speaking of capturing sources, the adjustable polar pattern makes the AKG C114 a tried and true studio workhorse. In Omni settings, the mic will pick up everything at every angle, front to back and side to side in a circular pattern. Cardioid, a traditional polar pattern and very handy for more rejection, captures accurate sound at the front with a little extra on the sides, while the third and final polar pattern offers supreme rejection on the sides while accurately capturing the front and back of the mic. This can be used to great effect when stuck between a guitar and singer, for example, to capture the voice and guitar but reject the space around them, or as a trashy mic on a drum kit to capture the bottom head of a snare and the beater side of a kick drum.
Again, a pair of C114s really opens up a world of miking options, with cardioid and figure-of-eight patterns used to mic sources in Blumlein, Mid-Side, XY and more. Remember to check the phase and have fun.
Music aside, the C114 is equally as solid for speech, podcasting, talkback and more, offering detail and clarity, with unmatched isolation thanks to the included shockmount mentioned before.
The AKG C114 differs from the C414 in that it’s a transformerless design, the C414’s transformer adding a little more colour to the source. The advantage of transformerless design is the speed at which the transient detail of a sound is picked up and therefore recorded or amplified, while also producing a cleaner, less coloured sound.
In use, the C114 is stellar. Simple to set up and easy to get a great sound out of. Hell, even the back side of the mic in cardioid sounded decent. Up close on a source, the sound is detailed and true to source, hyping the high end in a beautiful way without becoming harsh. Switch to Omni, the source slips back into the image, the acoustic environment shifting to be more present in the resulting sound. The figure-of-eight setting offers the best of both worlds on something like an acoustic guitar—the detail and focus on the source itself as well as some of the back of the mic and the room blended in.
It’s worth mentioning that sustainability sits at the core of the modern AKG C-Series design. The mic bodies are crafted from 100% recycled PIR metal, and every aspect, from packaging to accessories, has been engineered for minimal environmental impact. It’s rare to see this level of consideration at this price point.
All in all, the C114 follows in the footsteps of a huge array of world-class microphones from AKG. Its bigger brother, the AKG C414, is one of the most widely used and famous mics in existence, as are the D112 and C12 from AKG, a stalwart of pro audio in both the studio and live world.
With three polar patterns, a single C114 can offer a slew of different miking options, while a pair opens up a word of sonic opportunities, with stereo miking or more advanced dual miking options for different sounds and sources. The world is your oyster, but the C114 helps to open it up. Included is a robust cradle to help isolate the mic from rumble, bumps and more, providing a clean and clear result. Being a true condenser, the C114 offers world-class sound from a company known for both reliability and accurate reproduction of sounds. A real addition to anyone’s mic locker.
Head to AKG to learn more about the C-Series, and here for local enquiries.
