MXL AC-404 Review – How a flat surface microphone frees the desktop and not only makes streaming easier

Special features for room acoustics

Even though the desktop is almost fully covered with a XXXL pad, the room itself is an acoustic nail in the coffin with its height and L-shape. It’s hard to suppress the reverb, more carpet stuff and curtains don’t work. It is still an office or test room and not a living room. So I have to live with this bomb, but unfortunately so do my colleagues in the meetings. The MXL AC-404 seemed to me as an alternative and remedy quite well suited, but of course you can not completely avoid the reverberation, unless you use a headset or neckband microphone. But I don’t want to get into any kind of dependency.

By the way, the microphone has a thin felt pad on the underside, which doesn’t play a big role acoustically. But it is helpful for the slip resistance, because the part stands like glued. That’s all I really want. Which finally brings us to the most important thing: the practical use! You don’t need any drivers, just plug it in and go, that’s it. Ok, in the respective program you should still select the source, if you have not crowned it in the Windows settings to the standard device. Then leave everything on default.

Sound comparison of four microphones

Let’s first start with yesterday’s actual state and the horrible webcam. Apart from the fact that the frequency response was cut at the factory, you also have annoying traces of distortions and far too much compression including noise on the ear in addition to the dull sound character. It sounds like a cry for help from an old barrel.

Now let’s start the contrast program with the new MXL AC-404. Yes, the reverb is of course undeniable, but for my interlocutors this is already a difference like between night and day.

For comparison, I use a good USB vocal microphone (T.Bone SC450 USB) with the same distance. And lo and behold, it reverberates significantly more, which may also be because the cardioid is not quite as pronounced. Yes, it sounds quite good, but it doesn’t reach the quality of the AC-404 at the same distance.

So what does the Screamer X from Cougar do? Well, it noises a bit, is also constantly in the way and covers a corner of the screen.

So there you have it. Bottom line, all the comments were right too, right down to the buyer at Thomann who even wants to have recorded music with it and thought it was good. At least for my taste, the MXL AC-404 is the clear test winner here and I will of course keep the part and not use a revocation. Why also? My counterparts at meetings and calls will hopefully thank me. Money well spent.

 

Summary and conclusion

It was an investment that really paid off, especially since the retailer even offered the best price. The big A was significantly more expensive. Although the reverberation in the room is not eliminated, it is acoustically no longer so dominant audible at the conversation partner. So far, there has been no criticism, but on the contrary, praise throughout. Who wants to talk to Diogenes in the barrel when there’s also Igor at the desk? And a microphone on a swivel arm from above or a table stand are out of the question.

In the end, there’s nothing more that can be written about such a microphone, except that it does what it’s supposed to do: namely work perfectly.

The test object was purchased by myself, there were no dependencies to manufacturer or store.