Malcolm Owen
Audio electronics producer Apogee has revealed the Mic Plus, a compact studio-grade cardioid microphone that can connect to both iOS devices and Mac desktops, with the professional-quality microphone going on sale in Apple stores starting from Wednesday
The Apogee Mic Plus features an updated design compared to its predecessor, the Mic 96K, with improvements made to the sound quality and dynamic range. Using a sensitive cardioid capsule, it is claimed to produce a sound similar to a studio condenser microphone with a high-end mic preamp, using its built-in preamp and A/D converter.
Like the original, the Mic Plus is capable of recording 24-bit audio at up to 96kHz, with 46 decibels of digitally controlled mic preamp gain. New to this model is a stereo headphone output on the base which can be used to monitor the audio without latency, with its controllable Blend function allowing users to balance between the live feed from the Mic Plus and the audio playback.
The input gain control is now a digital encoder knob instead of an analog version, said to provide a more precise gain setting than in the previous model. The gain adjustment can also be used to silence the microphone completely, with its push-to-mute function.
Three cables are included with the Mic Plus, allowing it to be connected to a Mac or PC via USB Type-A and USB Type-C, as well as to a Lightning port on an iOS device. It is also claimed to be easy to set up with little in the way of configuration, with users needing only to connect the Mic Plus with a cable to the host device, followed by selecting it as the audio interface before recording.
Supplied with all necessary cables, a desktop tripod stand and a microphone stand adapter, the Apogee Mic Plus will be available to purchase from November 15, priced at $249. Alongside existing dealers for Apogee products, Apple will also be making the microphone available to purchase from its stores at launch.
According to Apogee's website, the Mic Plus is compatible with the iPhone 5, the fourth-generation iPad, the 5th-generation iPod touch, all iPad Pro models, and newer hardware, running iOS 9 or later. It will also work with Intel-based Mac desktops equipped with 2 gigabytes of RAM and running macOS 10.9 or later, as well as PCs running Windows 10 with 4 gigabytes of RAM.
Charles Martin
Marko Zivkovic
Mike Wuerthele
Andrew Orr
Christine McKee
William Gallagher
9 Comments
What's the frequency response 20-20KHz?
This is interesting. Has there been an audio device produced yet that will connect to USB and iOS just by switching the cable? Certainly none of the headphones I've seen so far allow this. The devices I've seen are usually analogue inputs with the different adapters built into the cables, though this does not seem to be the case here? If so, this is the first device I've seen that basically transfers audio via USB or Lightning, making it compatible with a Mac or iPhone with essentially an adapter (cable).
This has just been added to my Christmas Wish List.