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M-Audio LUNA Condenser Mic Review
Andrew Williams
Joined: 29 Jul 2002
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Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2003 10:57 am Post subject: M-Audio LUNA Condenser Mic Review
M-Audio LUNA
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The nice man from Midiman lent me an M-Audio Luna microphone and a Tampa pre-amp to review. This is a step up in
class for my reviews. The Tampa’s reviewed elsewhere: I’ll tell you about the Luna here.
If you’ve read my previous reviews, you’ll know I’m not the man for technical stuff. Read my profile elsewhere on this
site to see the angle I’m coming from. If you want the full spec of the mic, go to www.midiman.com. Briefly, it’s a single
pattern cardioid condenser, with a 1.1 inch diaphragm and class A FET electronics. It costs £149 from Inta-Audio.
First, looks and presentation. This is a beautiful object. There are loads of large diaphragm condensers around these
days under the £200 mark – some way cheaper. I have a couple (my everyday mic is an AKG C3000). Others include the
Rode NT1 and, at the lower end, the Behringer B1. They tend to look alike. The Luna is different – it’s a ‘lollipop’ style
with a heavy solid brass capsule. It comes with high quality carrying case (‘flight case’ styling) and a way-better-than-
average shockmount. Build quality looks and feels excellent (I didn’t take it apart to check) The whole package, you’d
guess at least twice the price and you’d believe far more.
Far more important – the sound. I tested it in a limited way - I haven’t got a battery of equipment to try it against. I
used it through my usual JoeMeek preamp, and through my cheap’n’cheerful Behringer Tube Ultragain. And – with
enormous pleasure – through the Tampa mentioned above. I used it for vocals (male and female) and acoustic guitars,
and compared it with my AKG and Stagg condenser mics – but most of all I just used it and listened to the sound I was
getting.
First impressions. It seemed to need a bit more gain than the AKG. It doesn’t have the same brightness in the higher
registers. So, as I played, monitoring through headphones, I thought it was a bit dull muffled, and underpowered.
Playing back, I changed my mind. The key thing about its sound is ‘musicality’. I can’t define what that means: it’s a
combination of warmth, sweetness and balance. It doesn’t aggressively push a particular frequency range: the sound
you get is vintage smoothness, with a top end that’s detailed and clean without being over-bright.
All condenser mics add in harmonics that give them a characteristic sound. The Luna sounds ‘analogue’. My hearing and
technical knowledge aren’t good enough to tell you what the harmonic ‘signature’ is, but it isn’t intrusive. Recordings
with the Luna are easy on the ear. Beautiful recording a rather harsh-sounding Ovation guitar, and a nylon-strung
classical. Male vocals (my own) sounded a bit dull – probably the fault of my singing. Female vocs sounded great –
balanced, smooth and spacious. Add pre-amp/compression, especially a valve pre-amp, and you start to get that
burnished ‘American’ studio sound – keeps that warmth and balance, and adds plenty of detail. Even improved my
vocals. I tried all my mics through the Tampa pre-amp, and it makes a great difference…but that’s for another review.
The Luna seems less sensitive than my other mics to bottom-end background noise (eg footsteps in the next room) that
home recordists with large diaphragm mics will be familiar with. That might be the heavy casing or the good
shockmount.
Downside? Single pattern – rival mics will give you different pickup patterns including an omnidirectional mode, good if
you want to pick up a particular room sound or cluster a load of people round the mic. How often do you use ‘omni’? If
frequently, this isn’t the best mic for you. It’s best suited to a single sound-source recording from a fairly short distance.
No low-frequency roll-off, which most rivals will have. Usually, though, you’ll go through a stage with EQ – your desk or
pre-amp – before the sound’s ‘printed’. It wouldn’t be critical to me, but think of your own recording set-up. From close
range, eg recording a vocal from a couple of inches away, and singing directly into the mic, I found it very sensitive to
pops from plosive (‘p’ or ‘b’) sounds. Easily solved with a pop shield. And the angle of address to the mic is very critical
to the sound – a slight change in angle (eg move your head a bit while you’re singing) causes a very noticeable change
in tone. That could be good or bad: experiment with it and you might find some nice effects.
Would I buy one? I grew excessively fond of it over the week or so I had it. And at that price it’s hard to resist.
_________________
Andrew Williams
http://www.inta-audio.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=219
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