Guess That Mic: Four Mics, Ten Listeners and One Surprise Winner

AP records the same voice through four very different microphones and sends the files around without revealing what they are. George, Robert, Robbo and a bunch of trusted audio ears rank them purely on what they hear.

Then the mics are revealed.

The result is a pretty good reminder that price, reputation and specifications only tell you so much. What matters is how a microphone actually sounds on the voice and for the job you need it to do.

And just to make the point beautifully, Robbo put the overall winner dead last.

LIBSYN FULL DESCRIPTION It's time to Guess That Mic.

AP started out making a sample of one microphone for someone. As tends to happen around here, that simple job turned into four microphones, multiple preamps, a pile of audio files and a blind listening test involving ten people.

The idea was simple.

Listen to four mystery microphones on AP's voice. Don't worry about the badge, the price or what you think you're supposed to like. Just rank them.

The result?

Almost nobody agreed.

George liked 3, 4, 2, 1.

Robert went 4, 3, 2, 1.