Vintage Neumann U87 vs Avantone CV12 - $4,000 vs $500 Mic Shootout 

Hardware will always bring out the best in your mic. I’m not surprised by the results at all. A friend of mine and I did a shootout between his U87 AI vs my UT twin 87 on an Avalon T 737 and we had a hard time telling them apart from the other. Appreciate this video cause as a producer/engineer no matter what level u are it’s easy to get caught up in feeling like u want the best or u don’t have enough to compete when in reality it’s about preference and skill. It’s always great to have multiple tools in ur arsenal but it’s what u can do with what u have that is the 🔑

good job dude.. i couldn't tell at the end.

Honestly, I like that the Cv-12 is a little different from the Neuman. It added a lush mid character that the Neumann subdued a bit. More tools in the locker is my thing.

Thanks for the best comparison on RU-vid! As a singer, I find microphones are like guitars, they all sound different and you never know which one will fit the song you're working on until you try several different ones. Therefor you can never have too many. I have dynamic, condenser and ribbon microphones, but didn't have a tube microphone but I've thought about getting one for a long time. In most of the comparisons and reviews I've seen and heard, the CV-12 actually does sound pretty close to the U87 to my old and abused ears. Your blind test at the end was science at its best! Bravo! Well done! (Yes I did buy a CV-12) It's nice to have mic in my quiver that sounds like a classic vintage tube mic without breaking the bank! And congratulations on your U87! It's gorgeous and sounds as good as it looks!

i'm surprised at how similar the mics sounded. The differences were very subtle. Nice to know the avantone sounds as good as a 3-5,000 dollar mic considering I've been wanting to get one for a while now.

Great review, and she has a great voice!

A - the Neumann U87 all the way. I'm listening back with the video set at the highest resolution, through a pair of Genelec's, and the A/D is a Lynx Hilo, so I'm pretty confident I'm hearing as much as possible. The Neumann has more dimension, nicer, fuller chest resonance, and sweeter, clearer top end. To my ears the 87 is the clear winner, with it's distinct character. I appreciated the comparison - thanks for posting this.

A comparison between Telefunken TF29 coperhead vs Avantone CV12 would be great! Awesome video btw!!! U87 projects those mids like waves so smoothly 👌 🔥 But avantone does NOT disappoint!

Is room sound good!

I just upgraded my cv-12 to a telefunken. The avantone is good, but same as I found in your vid, the mids are just way more pleasing on more higher end mics. I find that true for most mics in the sub $1k range. Cv12 is really great if you don't have the budget to make the jump into something higher end. Also having a better mic really made me realize the details I was missing before that I just didn't perceive.

The Avatone sounded more airy the u87 was abit more rounded and full sounding they both are remarkable you seriously can’t tell 🔥

The difference was very clear. U87 its so amazing... Avantone is a great mic too...

You're so cooool!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I knew from the start the u87 was mic a, however at the end I don’t know which is which, but I think I heard more of the Avantone at the very end of her singing. The cv 12 will need to be gain staged a little lower in the mix and you would never know what mic it was recorded with. You’ll just love the sound. Just got me a used cv12 for 250

Taylor use one with different tubes I doubt it’s same one. U87 is original I like it will be standard for future comparison so couldn’t go wrong with u87. The airy sound is the tube but u will need to switch it out for better ones.

so happy I liked the less expensive microphone.

At first it was easy to hear the u87, much harder to tell at the end. Hardware must have really made a difference!

sound is almost same but not same I feeled in in start of video, in cheaper mic low freq is not smooth. Mic give some additional vibrations and sound in this case in not same natural as from neuman.

They sound very similar, but microphone B has more ear-piercing sibilance. I hoped that A would be the cheaper one, but it wasn't :D

I guessed correctly and liked the U87 a bit better, but the difference was really subtle. Yeah, YT compression, but I don't have 4 grand to blow on a vintage mic so ...

Now I’m looking Mic A

I don’t really think anyone listening as an end user would ever care about the differences. However the vintage U87 really does sound albeit subtlety better in truly hd and pleasing ways that you won’t get out of the Avantone. Still the Avantone is one of my all time favorite mics I’ve owned. It’s the lower mid clarity the 87 offers and for a lot of mixes many will cut those frequencies out to compete less with other instruments.

I had an Avantone at one time and was disappointed. It sounded very mid range compared to my top shelf mice and even some good sounding budget mics. It sucked on upright bass and I was expecting good deep tube warmth and punch.

Is that CV12 BLA or the old CV12 ??

B took it to me

Taylor used a different power supply

I’m leaning towards Mic B

is this mic good for rapping?

I preferred B 💯 cuts through and sounds wetter

I’m surprised, I barely heard a difference

That Avantone sounds really gritty. The U87 has far more detail. The Mojave MA200 is a great mic and far less than the U87.

I'm using my favorite word today for this mic shootout (SNAKE OIL). I own the CV12, and I love that mic because I love my MOJAVE MA 300, which sounds just as good as both of these mics mentioned, if not better! This becomes not apples & Oranges but (PRICE) both mics do the same thing; the only thing that is better with the expensive U87 (You get the bragging rights) that's it the Avantone will take you down the same audio vocal road with professional results as the U87!

Taylor Swift use CV-12 to record one of her album.

"B" to me presented more sibilence that I can hear . Still a clean mic , but I prefer MIC "A". Both mics sound very close to me

Neumann is more colored. Cv12 is more neutral. I own a u87ai but I wouldn’t be afraid to use the cv12

My tip: Save your money on mic and invest to a good sound chain.....500 bucks mic is awesome... My humble opinion as a pro 🙂

I'm a trumpet player/recording engineer. I heard no difference. I guess I'm effed.

I'm watching on a TV, so it's not ideal, but... I literally can't tell when you switch. I'll grant the speakers on my TV aren't the best, but most people won't listen to your music on much better

Miley Cyrus bought the Avanton cv 12 too

U87 sounds better.

if you suck it doesn't matter, you are still gonna suck, if you can sing like Taylor Swift it doesn't matter, still gonna sound like Taylor Swift. Splitting hairs, worry about your music and technique, not the price of your mic