For those who are singing to the microphone, Avantone CV-12 Vs WA 251 are large-diaphragm microphones with relatively affordable price. Microphone is the start of your recording and different people may need a different microphone to complement their voice. These microphones are versatile for almost any type of recording but they don’t sound identical. If you wonder which model to invest on, let’s see what they can offer below.
In this comparison, we are going to talk about:
- Which Microphone to Buy
- What are Avantone CV-12 and WA 251
- How are the Build Quality of Avantone CV-12 and WA 251
- How is the Setup of Avantone CV-12 and WA 251
- How are the Sound Characters of Avantone CV-12 and WA 251
- What are the Features in Avantone CV-12 and WA 251
- How are the Performance of Avantone CV-12 and WA 251
- Avantone CV-12 Vs WA 251
Buying a New Microphone
The purpose of a microphone is to capture your sound or voice if you are a vocalist. The best microphone will be the one that faithfully reproduces the sound or a voice for the next steps to come to work together. However, people’s voices vary and the microphone used by a popular singer is not always going to sound good for you. Many of us have personal preference on how our voice sounds to other people and the microphone can help you in this particular step.
Unfortunately, there is no other method to know which microphone will complement your voice best without trying them and listening to how they sound. Technically there are so many factors that can affect how the microphone captures your voice beside the design and specs of the microphone itself. One of them is the distance from the sound source and microphone. If you prefer a realistic voice reproduction, position it off to one side of the mouth, pointing the center of the mouth.
The correct use of a microphone will help your singing voice a lot. Another example is pulling the mic away when singing high notes so we don’t have to strain our voice while keeping it audible along with other instruments. Singers will also need to readjust the position of their microphone several times during high register or belting out a lyric to avoid overwhelming the microphone. On the other hand during low notes it is suggested to draw the mic closer to increase volume.
| Avantone CV-12 | WA 251 | |
|---|---|---|
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| Product Dimensions | 17 x 13 x 6 inches | 8 x 18 x 24 inches |
| Shipping Weight | 2.73 pounds | 1 pounds |
| Shop now at Amazon | click here | click here |
About Avantone CV-12 and WA 251
Finding the best microphone for your voice is not easy but we can always work our way by trying various options that fall in your budget. Budget matters a lot for most of us because not everyone is willing to spend the same amount for a single or a set of equipment. For those who are concerned about both sonically high-end products but also want it to be pocket-friendly, the Avantone and Warm Audio microphones can be great alternatives to consider.
Specifically the Avantone CV-12 and WA 251 which are equally popular among budget shoppers who are ready to invest more for their studio microphone. Avantone CV-12 is famous for being a Taylor Swift microphone and if you love her voice or are trying to sing like her, then this microphone may be a good start to the journey. On the other hand WA 251 is a similarly famous vocal microphones. We have seen it compared to other well-known options like Flea microphones or even Neuman 67 that cost way much more.
The main difference between Avantone CV-12 and WA 251 is their sound character which is not identical. Both are good as a vocal microphone but probably not for everyone, especially the Avantone CV-12 which brings further the mid-range of your voice. Depending on how your voice sounds or how you like to hear it, it can pronounce the nasally sound and we heard some people dislike this part. On the other hand WA 251 is a bit more well-distributed without the nasally sound issue.
This microphone is excellent for both male and female vocals. For the other purposes outside singing both Avantone CV-12 and WA 251 are also impressive. We have seen them in a studio for recording guitar amps and they sound great. Other things we love from these microphones are added features because you don’t just get a single polar pattern but different modes to match the application. Read also: Avantone CV-12 Vs TLM 102 here.
Avantone CV-12 and WA 251 Build Quality
Before checking what the Avantone CV-12 and WA 251 can offer, let’s take a look at what comes in the box. Starting with CV-12, this microphone comes in an aluminum carrying case and inside there is a small wooden case where you can find the microphone in. You will also get the power supply which is made with steel housing. A pretty long cable with 7-pin XLR to 7-pin XLR, a cable to power the power supply, and a shock mount with two rubber bands
These are also what you will get with the WA 251 including the shock mount, XLR cable, and power supply. Unlike the Avantone, most of this equipment comes out of the case because only the microphone has a dedicated wooden case. Their power supply is somehow almost identical including the ports and knob and switch. Build quality-wise both microphones are made of sturdy metal and there is no flex even on the grill but they are pretty long compared to many modern day microphones like AT2020.
Avantone CV-12 and WA 251 Setup
Before listening to Avantone CV-12 and WA 251, you will need to hook these microphones into another equipment. They are condenser microphones so we will use power supply or phantom power to make the unit work. The package of CV-12 includes the supply so you can plug it and connect it somewhere else. The WA 251 also supplies the power box but depending on where you will connect the microphone, most of us will probably still need an interface.
Avantone CV-12 and WA 251 Sound Characters
Now for the most important part, the Avantone CV-12 and WA 251 actually sound quite similar to each other. They are what people call a vintage sounding microphone with plenty of mid-forward character that can be good or not depending on your vocal. They are slightly warm and full but we don’t think most people will recognize the difference especially in a mix. The WA 251 does have a more open top and strong on the air frequency which is great to give your vocal a lively presence.
However the CV-12 is not lacking at all and gives almost the same quality. We think it can be highly dependent on your voice because we feel like CV-12 is more mid-forward that is not suitable if your natural voice is already prominent here. The strong mid can introduce nasally sound especially on some male voices. This is not a concern for the WA 251 because we think this mic is more balanced so it is not as prominent in any frequency.
Many users also seem to rely on these microphones for recording acoustic guitars and we can see why. Acoustic guitars will sound amazing with microphones that can capture its brightness but in our opinion the CV-12 is slightly weaker on the low-end. This may not be an issue in a band or with bass guitar in the mix but for recording solo the lack of depth also reduces the body and fullness of the sound. But overall we like how they sound for recording acoustic guitars.
Avantone CV-12 and WA 251 Features
Next we also want to talk about the features in Avantone CV-12 and WA 251 because they have some interesting offerings here. Starting from CV-12, this microphone comes with a built-in high pass filter switch and a -10dB pad. The power supply also houses a feature to adjust the polar pattern of this microphone. Its preset is on cardioid but you can change it into figure eight or omnidirectional. This polar pattern selector is also available on the WA 251 but it doesn’t have other built-in features.
Avantone CV-12 and WA 251 Performance
Lastly for the overall performance, the Avantone CV-12 and WA 251 are pretty good but not perfect. The mics are not the best for rejecting plosives when you are speaking or closer to the grille. In a moderate distance this should not be a problem but depending on the setup we highly recommend adding a pop-up filter. The sound characters are very similar across polar patterns so it should not be a problem. The omnidirectional does have a slight coloration for sound coming from the sides of these mics.
The off-axis rejection on cardioid and figure eight is good but they are not completely silent too. If you will be using the mics for streaming or typing on the back, expect to record some of the keyboard noise too, especially when the mic is directly in front of it.
Avantone CV-12 Vs WA 251
Both Avantone CV-12 and WA 251 are good microphones for vocals and instruments. They sound very similar to each other but the CV-12 is more mid-forward. Depending on your voice, some people like how they sound in this type of microphone or not. If your voice is already heavy on the mid like some male vocals, the mic may cause a nasally sound which in our opinion is less attractive. But, many people also sound beautiful with CV-12. On the other hand WA 251 is more well-distributed.
It is open and not very prominent in any frequency making it versatile. The guitars also sound fuller when recorded with WA 251 but subjectively we love the guitar sounds from these microphones. Performance-wise they are very reliable and we recommend adding a pop up filter to handle plosives.
Conclusion
There are many good large-diaphragm microphones like Avantone CV-12 and WA 251. We will recommend the WA 251 because it sounds more versatile for a wide range of users, especially vocals. It is also very useful for recording guitars and comes with an adjustable polar pattern.