AKG P220 condenser microphone review: A great-value powerhouse

AKG obviously has a long history of building excellent audio equipment for the professional studio, but it also happens to make great gear for budget buyers too. The AKG P220 condenser microphone is a perfect example of that. The microphone is built for versatility, can be used on a range of instruments, and sounds pretty good for a microphone in its price range.

I’ve been using the AKG P220 for a while now to find out exactly how well it performs. Here’s a look.

AKG P220 review

AKG P220

The AKG P220 is a versatile and well-designed microphone that sounds bright and vibrant, and comes with a good selection of accessories.

Design

9.5

Sound

8

Value

8.5

Pros

Strong design

Nice hard case and shock mount

Clean and vibrant sound overall

Great value

Cons

A little too bright in some settings

8.7

BUY FROM

Amazon

Reverb

AKG P220 design

The AKG P220 has a black metal build with a silver grille on the top half. It looks more premium than you’d expect given its price range.

On the front of the microphone, you can find the AKG logo and model number along with a few switches that can help make it more versatile. For starters, there’s a low-cut filter switch which is set at 300Hz. There’s also a pad switch at -20dB. The XLR output is on the bottom of the microphone. Those looking for a microphone for tasks like podcasting should keep in mind that this microphone does not have USB connectivity and is instead built for studio use.

The microphone comes with a solid selection of accessories. There’s a pretty nice shock mount in the box that’s easy to use and relatively strong — and you’ll get an extra shock mount elastic in case you break one. On top of the shock mount, you’ll also get a nice hard carry case, which isn’t necessarily all that common in this price range. The case is strong and should allow the microphone to survive any use on the road if that’s how you plan on using it. The case also has space for both the microphone and the shock mount, which is handy.

AKG P220 performance

Of course, more important than the design of the microphone is how it sounds. Thankfully, the AKG P220 sounds very good for a microphone in this price range. That said, there are a few things to note about the overall audio performance of the microphone.

I generally found the microphone to be full-bodied and natural sounding, again, for a microphone in this price range. I did find that the microphone seemed to prioritize high frequencies a little more than the rest of the frequency range. That’s not necessarily a bad thing by any means, though. In fact, I really liked this effect on most instruments. It helped make acoustic guitars sound brighter, while giving shakers and other percussion a little more cut in the mix. Some of the brightness changes are mixing changes that I would have made anyway after recording on a microphone that isn’t as bright as the P220.

Its use on vocals may vary slightly depending on the tone of the vocalist, but some may find that it’s slightly too sibilant. I didn’t really have too much trouble with this, but I did occasionally find it a little too high-heavy on a vocal.

Generally, the AKG P220 performs quite well, especially for a microphone at this price point. Some may prefer something a little less prominent in the high end, especially for those planning on using it as a do-it-all microphone for vocals and instruments alike. But again, I found that it was able to handle different situations with performance ranging from good to great, not from bad to good.

Verdict

The AKG P220 is a solid large-diaphragm condenser microphone. It’s very well-built, comes with a good selection of accessories and a hard carry case, and sounds great. It may be slightly bright for some situations, but even in a worst-case scenario, it sounds pretty good.

Is the AKG P220 worth buying?

Yes, the AKG P220 is a great microphone in this price range.

Does the AKG P220 need phantom power?

Yes, the AKG P220 does need phantom power to operate. You can supply phantom power to the microphone from most audio interfaces or from an external phantom power box.

What do the switches on the AKG P220 do?

The AKG P220 has two switches on the front. One of them is a low-cut filter that cuts frequencies below around 300Hz. The other is a pad that reduces audio by 20 decibels. This is useful for recording louder instruments to ensure that you reduce the risk of your audio clipping.