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Shootout: New Audix Fusion Series VS Audix D-Series mics!
Hey guys, here's a shootout that I think will interest a lot of you. As some of you may or may not know, Audix has recently revamped their Fusion series mics. The new Fusion mics are all modeled after their D-series equivalents. Right out of the box they look fantastic, and when you pick them up and handle them they feel like solid, expensive mics! They're even heavier than the D-series mics. A far cry from the old Fusion mics, which felt and sounded like really cheap mics. My friend Andy just bought a pack of these new Audix Fusion mics, and we thought it would be interesting to compare them with the D-series mics we have in our mic locker at the college recording studio.
So, there is the F6, which is modeled after the popular D6 kick mic:
The F2 is modeled after the D2:
There is no F4, but in my shootout I chose to compare another F2 with the D4 on floor tom:
The F5 is modeled after the i5 snare mic:
And for overheads I used a pair of CAD Equitek e70 small-diaphragm condenser mics with cardioid capsules:
This was recorded at the Clackamas Community College Recording studio. I work there as the music tech lab assistant. The kit that was recorded is an Allegra MasterCraft Custom drum set. It has 6-ply Keller Maple shells, which Allegra custom orders - the plies are compressed at 1500psi, instead of the standard 1000 psi, which results in an extra thin shell. The sizes are 10X8 rack tom, 14X14 floor tom (clear Remo Emperors over clear Ambassadors) and 20X16 bass drum (clear Remo PS3 over Evans EQ3 reso). The snare is a 70's Ludwig Acrolite 14X5 aluminum snare (coated Evans G1 over Hazy Ambassador, Puresound Custom 20 wires). The drums were played by yours truely while my friend Andy operated ProTools for the tracking.
The signal chain was: All mics -> Mogami Starquad XLR -> Digidesign PRE Preamp for close mics/True Systems Precision 8 for overheads -> Digi 192 I/O -> ProTools 8.4 HD. I did my best to match the output levels for the bounced tracks, so you can best objectively compare the clips. No EQ or effects were added. All the audio is 16-bit, 44.1k WAV format. The best way to compare them is to download and import all the files into your DAW. And now the goods:
A halftime shuffle for the kick mic test with and without overheads.
F6 (solo) |¦| F6 (+overheads)
D6 (solo) |¦| D6 (+overheads)
A long roll plus some hard rimshots for the snare mics.
F5 (solo)
i5 (solo)
A heavy fill featuring the toms with and without overheads for the tom mics.
F5+F2+F2+F6 (solo) |¦| F5+F2+F2+F6 (+overheads)
i5+D2+D4+D6 (solo) |¦| i5+D2+D4+D6 (+overheads)
A short segment of a drum solo to feature all the drums so you can get a feel for each series as a whole.
e70 Overheads Alone
Fusion Series with Overheads
D-Series with Overheads
Individually, the F5's cost $79, the F2's cost $79 and the F6 costs $139. The FP5 pack, consisting of an F5, three F2's and an F6 costs $329.
Individually, the i5's cost $99, the D2's cost $129, the D4's cost $169 and the D6 costs $199. The DP5-A pack consisting of an i5, two D2's, a D4 and a D6 costs $659.
As usual, I will refrain from commenting until later, so you guys can make the comparisons and let me know what you think! How do you think the new F-series stand up to their D-series equivalents? Is the price difference for the D-series mics justified? Please post your thoughts!
Hey guys, here's a shootout that I think will interest a lot of you. As some of you may or may not know, Audix has recently revamped their Fusion series mics. The new Fusion mics are all modeled after their D-series equivalents. Right out of the box they look fantastic, and when you pick them up and handle them they feel like solid, expensive mics! They're even heavier than the D-series mics. A far cry from the old Fusion mics, which felt and sounded like really cheap mics. My friend Andy just bought a pack of these new Audix Fusion mics, and we thought it would be interesting to compare them with the D-series mics we have in our mic locker at the college recording studio.
So, there is the F6, which is modeled after the popular D6 kick mic:
The F2 is modeled after the D2:
There is no F4, but in my shootout I chose to compare another F2 with the D4 on floor tom:
The F5 is modeled after the i5 snare mic:
And for overheads I used a pair of CAD Equitek e70 small-diaphragm condenser mics with cardioid capsules:
This was recorded at the Clackamas Community College Recording studio. I work there as the music tech lab assistant. The kit that was recorded is an Allegra MasterCraft Custom drum set. It has 6-ply Keller Maple shells, which Allegra custom orders - the plies are compressed at 1500psi, instead of the standard 1000 psi, which results in an extra thin shell. The sizes are 10X8 rack tom, 14X14 floor tom (clear Remo Emperors over clear Ambassadors) and 20X16 bass drum (clear Remo PS3 over Evans EQ3 reso). The snare is a 70's Ludwig Acrolite 14X5 aluminum snare (coated Evans G1 over Hazy Ambassador, Puresound Custom 20 wires). The drums were played by yours truely while my friend Andy operated ProTools for the tracking.
The signal chain was: All mics -> Mogami Starquad XLR -> Digidesign PRE Preamp for close mics/True Systems Precision 8 for overheads -> Digi 192 I/O -> ProTools 8.4 HD. I did my best to match the output levels for the bounced tracks, so you can best objectively compare the clips. No EQ or effects were added. All the audio is 16-bit, 44.1k WAV format. The best way to compare them is to download and import all the files into your DAW. And now the goods:
A halftime shuffle for the kick mic test with and without overheads.
F6 (solo) |¦| F6 (+overheads)
D6 (solo) |¦| D6 (+overheads)
A long roll plus some hard rimshots for the snare mics.
F5 (solo)
i5 (solo)
A heavy fill featuring the toms with and without overheads for the tom mics.
F5+F2+F2+F6 (solo) |¦| F5+F2+F2+F6 (+overheads)
i5+D2+D4+D6 (solo) |¦| i5+D2+D4+D6 (+overheads)
A short segment of a drum solo to feature all the drums so you can get a feel for each series as a whole.
e70 Overheads Alone
Fusion Series with Overheads
D-Series with Overheads
Individually, the F5's cost $79, the F2's cost $79 and the F6 costs $139. The FP5 pack, consisting of an F5, three F2's and an F6 costs $329.
Individually, the i5's cost $99, the D2's cost $129, the D4's cost $169 and the D6 costs $199. The DP5-A pack consisting of an i5, two D2's, a D4 and a D6 costs $659.
As usual, I will refrain from commenting until later, so you guys can make the comparisons and let me know what you think! How do you think the new F-series stand up to their D-series equivalents? Is the price difference for the D-series mics justified? Please post your thoughts!
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.....but the d2 will undoubtedly make the smaller toms sound deeper and fuller....as will the d4 on a floor tom....i use a d2 on the floor and im very satisfied. however, i would bet a d4 would be that much better because it's tailored to the floor tom frequency .....
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