Podcaster Essentials Kit

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

The AKG Podcaster Essentials Kit has elevated my podcasting setup to a professional level. The microphone's sound quality is crisp and clear, with minimal background noise—even in a regular room with no soundproofing. Installation is quick; plug-and-play means I can go from box to recording in minutes. The bundled accessories are thoughtfully chosen—the headphones are comfortable with surprisingly deep bass, and the included cable and stand feel sturdy and reliable. What sets this bundle apart is the balance of features and cost. Getting studio-level audio, isolation, and comfort for this price is impressive. The headphones block out distractions, and the mic lets vocals shine in both live streams and pre-recorded sessions. For remote interviews, voiceovers, or music, this kit performs beyond expectations. Whether you're a beginner or upgrading, this kit ensures great results with minimal fuss. Highly recommended for solo creators and anyone looking for premium sound without breaking the bank!

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

A great sounding headphone with superb comfort + a fairly versatile medium-capsule-sized microphone that also works on mobile makes for an amazing podcasting or just general use combo, keep in mind headphones may be a tiny bit fragile but otherwise absolutely recommended, PS. these go for as long as 150-120$, dont buy them at a higher price :)

Poor sound quality for podcasting

Great value for the kit. Be mindful of mic placement and gain when setting up.

First of all, the AKG Pro audio podcaster essentials kit is terrific if you want something you can open up, plug in, and start using immediately. My Windows PC had no issue recognizing the headphones and microphone, and there's only one USB connection. The headphones plug into the microphone and comes with a splitter so you can have two headphones on. The headphones are sharp looking, and they feature great sound. The microphone is amazing. You can have it a foot away from your mouth and it sounds like it's really close. Plus there are settings to do one sided, or dual sided mics. The biggest issue is that this has SO MUCH packaging material. Everything comes in a seperate box that is filled with foam. I spent more time opening this up than actualy setting it up. Bags, black foam, boxes big and small abound. Other than that one issue, this is the perfect kit to get someone who wants a professional sounding kit, and they want it all in one package even if that package takes a half hour to get through.

Everything arrived well and both the headphones and microphone sound fantastic although the microphone is pretty sensitive to background noise. Other than that, getting both the legendary harman tuned k371 with a solid mic for the price of just the headphones is a no brainer.

The microphone delivered great sound recordings but unfortunately, the headphone socket for self-monitoring was working very inconsistently. It was nearly impossible to get any response from AKG customer service who were sending me from pillar to post until I had enough and decided to return the item. Which I did on 6 April. It is now 16 April, but according to the records for that particular order I have not sent the item yet. So I will end up without a faulty product and with the money down the drain, I guess. Needless to say, I'm not happy.

Excelente producto a un muy buen precio. Desde que lo compré todo funciona muy bien. Gran calidad.

Los audífonos se escuchan excelente, aunque prefiero audífonos abiertos, después de algun tiempo, comienzan a cansar, pero eso pasa con cualquier audifono cerrado. En cuanto al micrófono, aún no lo he probado, así que no puedo opinar.

They call these headphones? The build quality is worse than my $10 plastic toy. The pads are literally unusable, almost empty under the so-called leathers. AKG is a joke.

Does exactly what I bought it for. No complaints!