AKG Podcaster Essentials, hands-on: A high-quality mic, headphones and software kit Review

The cameras developed into quite a few laptops are typically really fundamental, and this has led to booming income of webcams in recent months as millions of remote-operating company consumers have upgraded to a bigger-high-quality equipment for online video phone calls and shows. But online video high-quality is only a single half of the equation, and quite a few consumers also want to boost the audio side of their shows, vlogs and podcasts. 

AKG’s aptly named Podcaster Essentials is a detailed and affordable alternative for significant-high-quality audio function that bundles with each other the firm’s experienced-amount audio equipment with additional audio editing software package. Priced at $249, or £259 (inc. VAT) in the Uk, the Podcaster Necessities package features the AKG Lyra microphone, AKG K371 headphones and Ableton Dwell 10 Lite recording software package.  

The package is sold immediate from AKG’s web site in the US, while Uk income are by using the specialist Sound Technological know-how. 

The Podcaster Necessities package includes AKG’s Lyra microphone and K371 headphones, and Ableton Dwell 10 Lite recording software package.


Image: AKG

Style & features

The Lyra USB microphone is the centrepiece of this all-in-a single recording studio. Its retro structure appears to be quaintly aged-fashioned, but it houses a assortment of fashionable audio features, which include plug-and-engage in USB-Audio enter for Macs and PCs (with cable included). It can also be employed with Android and iOS cellular devices with a ideal adapter (not included).  

The Lyra is actually far more than a solitary microphone, as it features 4 separate microphone ‘capsules’ — left and proper, entrance and again – that permit it to history significant-resolution stereo audio up to 24-little bit/192KHz (in contrast to sixteen-little bit/forty four.1KHz for standard CD-high-quality audio), with 4 separate recording modes. The ‘front’ recording mode focuses on a solitary speaker sitting right in entrance of the microphone, while ‘front-and-back’ can cover two people sitting opposite each individual other. For two speakers sitting side-by-side there’s a ‘tight stereo’ mode, while ‘wide stereo’ extends the audio phase for much larger groups, or for people who could want to shift all-around for the duration of a general performance or presentation. 

akg-lyra-microphone-modes.jpg

4 separate mic ‘capsules’ permit the Lyra microphone to cater for different audio environments.


Image: AKG

Along with the Lyra microphone, the Podcaster Necessities package also features AKG’s popular K371 headphones. Designed for experienced audio recording, the K371 eschews the compromises of Bluetooth streaming, and opts for a classic wired audio connection, together with substantial, padded earpieces that present great audio isolation to support you concentration on your audio recordings. I’ve employed the K371 in the previous, and its significant-resolution audio is definitely extraordinary, many thanks to a frequency response of 5Hz – 40KHz that captures far more detail at the two the bigger and reduce finishes of the audio spectrum than standard customer-oriented headphones. 

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To provide audio enter and output with each other, the Podcaster Necessities package also features a copy of Ableton Dwell 10 Lite, a ‘streamlined’ version of the popular Ableton Dwell 10 audio software package. As perfectly as multi-track editing instruments, Ableton also features a assortment of developed-in audio outcomes and sampled loops that can be employed to generate history music. And, for newcomers to audio recording function, the package also features a totally free 4-part instruction program delivered by Berklee On the internet. 

SEE: IoT: Major threats and stability strategies for devices (totally free PDF) (TechRepublic)

The Podcaster Necessities package might be overkill for easy online video phone calls with colleagues, but it will be a handy upgrade if you want to history and edit on line shows and marketing and advertising materials, or produce podcasts and vlogs. 

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