AKG Pro Audio Lyra Ultra-HD USB C Microphone for Recording, Streaming, Gaming, Podcasting, ASMR on PC and Mac, Condenser Mic for Laptop or Computer, Adjustable Stand, Plug and Play – Blue and Silver

Short and to the Point Review:Devices do what the manufacturer says. Good value for the price especially if you get it on sale. I am pleased with my purchase.Long and Rambling Review:First off, I got my combo package as a two-for-one price. Individually the mic and headphones would be twice the price separately, so I saved about $150. If you are patient, you'll see this deal again. The box came unopened from overseas, and everything was packed well, no damage and both mike and headphones worked out of the box.I already had the Audio Technica M50x from the last Amazon sale to replace one of my 30-yo cans. It's a great headphone, well built, great sound. I wanted to replace the second 30-yo can and wanted the AKG version.The AKG K371 phones sound a bit better than the M50x but you can't go wrong with either of them. I listen to recorded vinyl at 192Khz/32-bit float. I have the 50th anniversary remaster of The Beatles Red/Blue vinyl along with the 50th anniversary Wings 'Band on The Run' 1/2 master for comparisons. (See my reviews on both). I can hear a bit more detail with the K371's but I'm probably splitting hairs. The K371's are lighter and a bit more fragile than the M50x. The K371's coiled cable is not as thick or as long as the M50x. If I had to wear either of these all day in the studio, I'd pick the K371 for comfort. For longevity I think the M50x wins but time will tell. Fortunately, I only use either of them for enjoying music at home. I am very satisfied with the K371 headphones.Now for the Lyra microphone. This is a hard one for me as I didn't purchase it for podcasting. I have 24+ mikes already and like anything else, each has its strengths and weaknesses. I was intrigued by the "four selectable microphone focus patterns." Lots of complaints about the construction of this mike. Not from me, mine is a massive, heavy mike and larger than I thought it would be, which I like. Having worked for 30+ years with all sorts of plastics and composite materials, I think it was constructed extremely well. Lots of metal also.I recorded one of my acoustic guitars on various settings playing/recording the same tune over and over on my music computer. It takes a bit of testing (what doesn't) to get the right sound without clipping. I then plugged the guitar directly into 192/32. The difference is pushing air at a mike as opposed to pushing electrons thru a bridge piezo mike is that air sounds better to me. Of course, I could have plugged another mike in to record the guitar but already knew what that sounded like. This mike is extremely sensitive and will pick up all background noise, including the hound in the other room. Reminds me of some 1960's era Akai mikes that I have. Sometimes you want that. For podcasting in a quiet room with other people present I think it's a winner and the setup is extremely easy - just plug it into your Windows computer or android phone. I can't vouch for the Mac experience. Frequency response appeared to be as advertised. I plan on using this outside playing guitar when I want natural sounds in the background.I plugged it into my Pixel Pro 7 and it recorded fine. Remember to unplug it on playback from your phone as your phone speakers will probably be cut off. If you have headphones plugged into the mike, you'll hear it.One of the kids has a small recording studio and has mikes placed around the room to pick up the band in addition to the individual miked instruments and voices. I think he has 24 channels active when desired. This Lyra mike might be another approach to pick up the band as a whole.Overall, purchasing these two devices separately for $125-$150 is in the same league as other headphones and mikes in this price range and ability. I paid $139 for the combo package last month and it's well worth it. If you need only one of these items, the individual price is reasonable. If you want the best price on the combo, stick it in your wish list and monitor the price. Prices can vary daily.Retired Military Aerospace and Industrial Manufacturing Engineer

I am so pleased with this microphone. For starters, when I decided to buy a USB microphone for playing virtual D&D during the pandemic, I wanted it to be one that I could use to do some non-professional music recording with as well, since I play a handful of instruments and I sing. I don’t have my old setup with condenser mics, XLR cables, mixer with phantom power, etc., but I knew I wanted something that was going to provide good quality for it being USB and that would work well with my MacBook, as well as any other device I might want to use it with.Having worked at Guitar Center for many years and being musician who previously helped run a studio, I was really partial to Blue microphones and Shure microphones and thought for sure that I’d be going with one of the Blue Yeti microphones. I already own a Blue Snowball but wanted something more versatile and higher quality.After looking at the Blue Yeti mics, I realized that they don’t play all that well with Apple products, which is a major issue for me. I noticed this AKG mic on the search results and decided to do a little research on it. Turns out, it was exactly what I was looking for!I knew AKG was a high quality brand like Blue and Shure, so I felt confident that I wasn’t being duped. You may think it’s snobby, but if I don’t see a brand sold at Guitar Center or find it on the Sweetwater page, I generally will shy away from it. There are a lot of low quality makers of music supplies that love to take advantage of people who don’t know any better. Beware.Anyway, I ultimately decided on buying this particular microphone out of all the ones I saw in my price range. It arrived a few days later and I was ecstatic. The sound quality is amazing. If you’re a beginner and you don’t know much about microphones but you want a good quality for recording interviews, podcasts, or making some solo artist music that sounds great without throwing thousands into a recording studio, this is a great little setup. I could see an acoustic guitar playing singer/songwriter making a nice demo with this. You don’t need to know the microphone pattern names like cardioid, bi-directional, omni, hypercardioid, etc. This mic uses simple names and they are easy to switch through.I obviously recommend this mic and am happy with my purchase. 😉

This USB mic picks clean and clear, feels built very solid, several different recording patterns to choose from but the unique one would be the 4 directional recording with individual capsules good for podcasting or maybe a quartet. Vocals sound nice. The headset is impressive with quality drivers that are not overly large as to still allow use on lower ohm rated interfaces or sound chipsets. I have had 2 of these already and they sounds good as a monitor for Daws and I also have used them for pc gaming and they sound excellent. My last AKG headset like the one I bought here lasted years of heavy use. I highly recommend trying this headset and Mic

The AKG Lyra provides a good platform to get into recording. The feature combination I value most in its price-range and compatibility is that it has adjustable gain _and_ USB compatibility. I can record from my Android phone and my iPad anywhere, turning down the gain to deaden background noise. I’ve not noticed any hum or distortion that plague many USB mics. The stand is stable and there’s a socket so you can mount the mic to a mic boom.The USB interface can be a little clumsy in that the mic usually hijacks sound output, so you’ll want to use corded/stereo-mini headphones for playback, setup, and monitoring. The USB and headphone jacks are placed between the mic and its stand swivel restricting flexibility of the mount.The mic seems bulky to travel with, so I wish I could find a case to keep it travel-scar free.