AKG perception 170

[nilsemil]

I'd like to get some more feedback on this one.

Perception 170 - Press releases

[Tomer1]

The Perception is AKG's "chinies" line of mics hense the low price.

[statixx]

i had a preception 220 once. i can honestly say it was absolutely the best door stop i ever owned. That is until i traded it for a ksm27....best trade mic wise i ever made.

[Old Goat]

I have a Perception 200 and find it quite useable as a room mic or second vocal mic, FWIW.

[Javier Quesada]

I have a Perc 200 and I like it a lot for vocals, acoustic instruments and even guitar amps. It's quite flat and captures impressive detail for it's price.

[wirenut]

I don’t have any experience with the Perception SDC line like the 170 but I do own and like the LDC line. I’ve had a couple Perception LCD’s from AKG since 2005. They were designed and engineered by AKG in Vienna, and manufactured in China.

I still use them from time to time. Not a bad mic to have in your locker. I wouldn’t suggest them for the lead vocals or the all purpose go to mic however they do a great job on certain applications.

On one instance I had a guy come into the studio with a gorgeous Martin acoustic guitar. We tried recording with 414’s, SM81’s and also KM184s. Some reason we just couldn’t get the sound he was looking for. I tried repositioning the mics around and around and it was just ok. I had just got the perceptions from MF as a promotion thing and figured what the hell let’s try them. I was very surprised how well they sounded. It was just what that particular guitar needed to wake it up. The client loved it and that's the bottom line.

Even now when recording different acoustic instruments I don’t think twice about trying them. I’ve used them on brass and string instruments as well. I use them just as much as any other mic other than a 57 of course. They are on almost every recording for something.

Another Chinese SDC worthy of mention is the MXL 603s. I have a couple and like them also. There is some nice options available from Michael Joly if you want to take them up a notch.

Just because a mic is made in china and has a nice price tag doesn't always mean it's a piece of crap.


Wirenut

[Glamourati]

I usually use SM81's but didn't have access to them so I bought a pair of 170's and was happy with the results, which you can hear at:
http://soundcloud.com/brian-sullivan/one-day-haiti-creole-mix-live-at-water-street

Note: I used an ORTF configuration about 8 inches away pointing just above the sound hole and probably rolled off a little too much as I was concerned the low end might be muddy with such inexpensive mics, so in all fairness, they probably can handle more bottom.

BTW, the track is a poverty relief record to benefit Haiti, sung in Creole with a fantastic female singer from Haiti, Dominique Mathurin

[ramston]

I replaced this mics for 2AKG d5 vocal dynamic mic, we needed some condenser mics for a concert in the theater I work in.

Disaster...
If you use them for live sound, they will feedback like crazy and catch sounds from all around. they pick up sounds like crazy.

Their gain has a slight hush

Their wind noise is a thriller movie, just blow on them from a distance and they will create a bomb and fully clip your subs..

Trust me, they are a bad choice for live and performances, and you will end up paying your money on a go-to garbage or keep it as a never-to-use substitute.

Now it makes sense why the seller was so happy about trading.

If you thinking for a pencil condenser mic, go for the m-audio pulsar, oktava or the rode nt5, I read loads of good reviews on those, especially the oktava with its versatile interchangeable capsules, but for live use, stay safe and rode it.