M-Audio Luna

The Luna microphones from M-Audio is designed to combine classic vintage tone with modern clean sounding technology. The microphone is built in China to keep the price down, but apparently an all-American design!



The Luna is a fixed cardiod, large diaphragm condenser microphone powered by 48V phantom power. M-Audio have intentionally left out a low-cut filter and pad to further reduce the cost of the mic. I often prefer mics like this as there are less moving parts to break and with a good pre-amp I find the additional features unnecessary. The Luna ships with sturdy shock mount and hard case, however the case only accommodates the mic itself and not the shock mount.

The mic's visual appearance may not appeal to everyone, and even though you can’t hear what a mic looks like, it does have an impact on your artist, although I generally found this to be a positive one.

Put to the test

As a vocal mic the performed well, producing crisp recordings with both male and female vocals. Compared with a much more expensive mic there was little difference, other than the high end mic sounding a bit more open. As is the case with a lot of professional sound equipment, you can pay 10 times the price for only a 5-10% improvement in quality. Having said that though, a 5-10% improvement on every piece of gear in a studio is what can make the difference between a professional and a project studio.

With acoustic instruments the mic also worked well, particularly with acoustic guitar giving a rich, warm tone and clear top end.

The Luna is a great sounding and very solid mic, but may be a little pricey for the average project studio.

Specifications
Capsule	1.1” True Condenser
Sensitivity	16mV/Pa
Frequency Response	20-20 000 Hz
Equivalent Noise	14 dB-A
Polar Pattern	Cardioid
Max SPL	130 dB (SPL)

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Review by Jaime Lopes for Headroom Productions