MXL AC-400, AC-424 & AC-360-Z USB
Web Conferencing Microphones
By Gregory Rushton
Up for review this issue is a pair of USB web conferencing microphones
from MXL, a division of Marshall Electronics.
AC-400 USB Gooseneck Mic
Until receiving this product from MXL for this review, I had never come
across or even thought about a USB gooseneck microphone. The mic
functions exactly as expected, and the audio out for headphones
really hits a home run.
This product is not ideal for fixed installations in corporate envi-
ronments; however, I can see it used extensively for portable/remote
applications, such as for legal depositions, podcasts, and soft codec
phone/public address systems.
As far as I’m concerned, there is little to improve on this device
beyond the addition of locking connectors, or perhaps a dip switch to
make the mute button a push- to-talk button. Speaking of the mute
button, it is worth noting that it is not completely silent; however, it’s
also not audible enough to be too much of a distraction.
AC-424 USB Boundary Mic
The form and use case of this microphone is quite versatile, and it
does sound good. I would consider adding it to my day bag for web
conferencing when travelling, or while on a job site. It is identical in
operation to the gooseneck microphone; however, the mute button
is slightly more audible than that on the AC-400.
The unit does come with a cleaning cloth, but I really feel a nice
pouch would be much more useful to keep the cable and mic together
and protected considering its inherent portability.
Summary
It seems as though MXL is seriously pushing into the USB web confer-
encing mic market with some great and robust products.
In addition to formally assessing the AC-400 and AC-424, I also had
a chance to put the company’s AC-360-Z V2 360-degree conferencing
mic through a short test and, like the others, found it to be well-built
with a rugged, industrial quality to it. I also found it handled speech
pickup very well, even from a respectable distance, and think it would
be a great fit for on-the-go applications like college and university
facilities, interview and interrogation rooms, and construction site
offices.
In my experience, this generation of products is stable, consistent,
and provides a solid offering of USB mic options for various applica-
tions. I’m curious to see where the development team takes this series
going forward, and how they will position this line, especially within
the corporate sector.
AC-400
AC-424
Gregory Rushton is a vice president at Mulvey & Banani Audio Visual
Inc., a Toronto based consultancy. www.mbii.com.
PROFESSIONAL SOUND 23