Audio-Technica Condenser Microphone (AT899)

These are superb mics. Not even superb for a lav - they just sound great. Compared the my main desk mounts, Shure SM7Bs, these hold their own on quality. Perhaps a little less bass-y - which is odd as the other mics have the roll-off, but it’s almost hard to tell them apart if recorded together - unless you know which is which, you’d be guessing as they both put out great quality sound.I also compared them to A-T handhelds I have, I believe 2020USB or something like that, even though that’s a full size mic, these win hands down. What’s more, it comes through pretty loud and clear, meaning you won’t need a lot of gain. I’ll probably run these through a tube pre amp since I can EQ it, though if you have a good board or interface you could skip that step and not have a lot of noise, the level is good enough that you needn’t worry about clean gain. In fact, because of their design, the noise floor is actually less than my desk mounted Shures, which isn’t hugely surprising as they’re dynamics, but still a bit considering they cost more plus almost require an activator box as well.It’s also nice how this setup allows you to start using lavs without a wireless system, but can integrate into one. Another big plus over competitors is that the AA battery is only required when 48V phantom is unavailable - so mostly, you won’t need it, but should you have an device that doesn’t provide it at least there’s a solution.Not much else to say, these are great. Really blew away my expectations, especially after trying a set for $100 - despite good reviews, it didn’t come close. Only Sony seems to make mics that compete in terms of price, but the ones I saw required battery power and had worse reviews, I think unless you want to pay $600+ tbese are as good as it gets, and as good as you need. The audio seems good enough for broadcast television, so if you’re doing youtube vids / podcasts or giving a presentation / leading a sermon at church, etc., the quality will be there. I think for churches mounted mics are still preferable - these are not immune to the swishing of robes for example. They seem best for stationary subjects.Presentation is also great. Comes in a nice leather box with two windscreen styles, a clip, battery, XLR power converter thing, and of course the mic, along with mounting hardware for instruments and another clip. Very nice way to store these, makes you feel like you’re getting your moneys worth.Also, the seller seems cool, sent me a bag of coffee beans as a free gift. I don’t have a grinder or anything but it’s still nice to get a freebie gift. Also, sellers that do that sirt of thing tend to be very responsive, though these arrived in perfect condition so hasn’t been a need to try them.10/10 would buy again, I’m happy I picked these lavs. For no more than 1-150 extra, it’s pro level equipment, and still hundreds less than pretty comprable mics. Not a bad word to say.

Audio Technica knows how to make an amazing microphone, I've been using one of their USB AT-2020 microphones for over a decade now. I use this lav mic attached to a tascam recorder for wedding speeches and other video projects. My only gripe is the connector that houses a battery is *massive* and can get in the way of people being able to move around easily if they're hooked up. For the price, there really isn't anything better out there.

First off, I'm not going to go into the technical details about the audio quality. That topic is beaten to death, and I'm sure you can find a ton of others who can tell you how awesome it is. And yes, it's awesome. Otherwise, why would you even be here considering the lav mic?Anyhow, this has got to be the nicest lav mic I've seen. It's super well built. The accessories are plentiful. There are many many options available for you to choose how you want the mic to be mounted on the body. It even comes with multiple filters just in case you need a spare. Same with the windscreens. Everything is just nicely packaged and built with perfect precision and quality.Now to the downsides. The power supply is nice, but it's a giant stick that's 6 inches long. It also has a bit of mass. Why? It seems unnecessary. I'm not sure what to do with it when I'm recording. At this point, it's just laying on the ground because there's nowhere nice for me to mount it. No belt clip, no nothing. Kinda hard to stick in a pocket too. I can't exactly plug it straight into the XLR jack because it'll stick out too much. Second issue is that the microphone cable itself has very bad microphonics. Every time you move, shift, or even touch the cable, the mic will pick it up. Normally, you'd want the cable to be made of flexible, dense rubbery feeling thing (it's a technical term) to reduce or eliminate cable noise. In this case it's made out of some weird, lightweight, hollow-sounding plastic. Just me feeling the cable makes me cringe a bit inside.So as long as your subject doesn't squirm and can stay in one place, the microphone is outstanding. It does pick up sounds with great precision and detail flat across the frequency spectrum. Could AT do better? Yeah, definitely, but I'm still happy with the purchase. I won't go back.