AKG D5 Supercardioid Dynamic Vocal Microphone

AKG D5 Supercardioid Dynamic Vocal Microphone

The AKG D5 is a handheld dynamic microphone for lead and backing vocals, designed to deliver a powerful, crisp vocal sound on loud stages. Its frequency-independent supercardioid pattern holds its shape across the range, keeping pickup focused on the singer and giving the engineer maximum gain before feedback. At the centre of the design is AKG’s Laminated Varimotion diaphragm, the first microphone diaphragm whose thickness varies across its diameter, tuned during manufacture without extra resonators.

Key features

• Dynamic handheld microphone for lead and backing vocals
• Supercardioid polar pattern for maximum gain before feedback
• Laminated Varimotion diaphragm with varying thickness
• Frequency range of 70 Hz to 20 kHz
• Handles 147 dB SPL at 1% THD, 156 dB SPL at 3% THD
• Dual shock mount eliminates mechanical and handling noise
• Rugged body in a matte grey-blue finish with 3-pin XLR output

The Laminated Varimotion diaphragm

Conventional dynamic diaphragms have a uniform thickness, and their response is shaped afterwards with tuning resonators. AKG’s Varimotion deep-drawing process varies the diaphragm thickness across its diameter, so the diaphragm itself is fine-tuned during manufacture. The result AKG aims for is a crisp, detailed vocal character that cuts through a dense live mix while staying natural on quieter passages, with a sensitivity of 2.6 mV/Pa (-52 dBV) that suits standard mixer preamps without excessive gain.

Supercardioid pickup and feedback control

A supercardioid pattern is narrower than cardioid at the front and rejects more sound arriving from the sides, which is where stage monitors and backline instruments usually sit. Because the D5’s pattern stays consistent with frequency, that rejection applies to the full sound of the band rather than only part of it. Good practice still applies: keep the microphone pointed at the singer’s mouth, keep monitors out of the pickup axis, and use the proximity effect deliberately, working close for fullness and backing off to thin the sound out.

Dual shock mount and stage build

The capsule sits in a dual shock mount that isolates it from mechanical noise travelling up the stand or through the body, so hand movement, stand bumps and stage vibration stay out of the vocal channel. The body is finished in matte grey-blue, weighs 340 g, and measures 185.2 mm long with a 51 mm diameter. This is the D5 version without an on/off switch, so there is nothing to mute accidentally mid-performance; AKG’s D5 S variant adds a noiseless switch for applications that need one.

Connection and everyday use

As a passive dynamic microphone the D5 needs no phantom power and connects with a standard balanced microphone cable to any mixer, interface or stage box. Its impedance is 600 ohms or less, with a recommended load impedance of 2000 ohms or more, which every normal microphone input satisfies. The equivalent noise level is 18 dB(A), and the very high maximum SPL means the microphone will not be the limiting factor in front of a loud singer.

For singers, venues, rehearsal rooms and rental stock that need a vocal microphone voiced to cut through a loud stage, the D5 pairs AKG’s Varimotion capsule with the isolation and feedback control a supercardioid pattern provides.