Have you ever been to a live performance of a favorite band or artist and been left a bit disappointed with the gap between their recordings that you know so well and the live sound that has plenty of energy but lacks a certain finesse or clarity? If you have experienced that, then you are not alone. It’s just as frustrating for the artists who want to produce the best live performance they can.
One of the problems with live sound is the microphones that are used on stage often capture far less nuance than the large capsule condenser microphones used in most recording studios. However, the problem with studio condenser microphones is they are far too sensitive to use on stage and they are delicate instruments. A condenser mic would pick up far too much sound and probably blow the amplifiers with an endless howling loop of feedback. So, what’s the answer?
Lots of live acts will use the trusty old Shure SM58, a microphone that’s been around for more than half a century. It’s not very subtle but it’s built like a tank that will take a lot of punishment. But is there a way to get the subtlety and nuance of a large-capsule condenser microphone in a design that can reject bleed from other instruments but still pick up and convey the nuances in the singer’s vocals?
Lewitt thinks it’s possible and it has made a microphone to do just that. The Lewitt MTP W950. This flagship condenser microphone has the benefits of a dynamic microphone and it can be used wired or wirelessly. If you can only afford one good microphone that has to work for live shows but still has the sophistication and sensitivity for recording, then the Lewitt MTP W950 could be the one for you. Stevie Wonder certainly thinks so and he has an W9 capsule (the capsule is designated W9 while the mic’s handle is an MTP50) on his wireless mic and three MTP W950 wired microphones at his separate keyboard stations. Great praise indeed.
Lewitt was founded in 2009 by Roman Perschon. His aim was to shake up microphone design using the latest innovations to create audio gear that would make life easier for beginners and music professionals alike, so they could reach the best audio quality, whether performing live or recording in a studio.
The Lewitt range is extensive and underscored with a series of industry awards for its innovation. As a microphone brand, Lewitt claims to be one of the fastest-growing companies in the market. The company’s design HQ is based in Vienna, Austria, with manufacturing centered in China, where Lewitt takes an unusual approach to making microphones. Instead of shipping components halfway around the globe, the company sources what it needs where its products are made, enabling an outstanding price-to-performance ratio.
With teams in Europe, China and the U.S., the company has built an international network that enables it to be close to users but still able to take advantage of advanced and cost-efficient manufacturing processes. To ensure the highest quality levels, Lewitt invested a lot of effort into an automated quality control system, which can be used to measure and test every single microphone that comes off the production line. The system enables sensitivities to be adjusted to produce microphones and other audio equipment that are consistent and reliable.
The Lewitt MTP W950 answers the prayers of artists and engineers. What they want is the best sound quality while solving common issues in a live microphone that would be easy for vocalists to use and able to withstand the punishment of life on tour. The company employs some experienced live sound engineers, so it has the knowledge to tackle those issues from experience. In a rehearsal room, there often isn’t the space for setting up a full wireless mic system so a wired setup is often used instead, but that could mean using a different microphone to the one that will be used on stage. That can destroy much of the effort that’s been put into the rehearsal.
For this reason, Lewitt decided the MTP W950 should be able to be used wired and wirelessly, enabling artists to seamlessly transition from the rehearsal room to the stage. The MTP W950 uses a 1-inch, true condenser capsule that is capable of studio-quality sound beyond the kind of performance that most stage mics can reproduce.
The aim of the microphone’s design is to let the audience hear every detail in a singer’s voice, just as you would in a recording studio. Because artists move around on stage or might get too close to the drum kit or guitar amplifiers, that noise can spill over into the vocal mix, totally messing up the overall sound balance. To eliminate this possibility, Lewitt designed the MTP W950 to reduce the sonic bleed and spills to a minimum thanks to an industry-leading 90% rear rejection.
Another common performance issue the MTP W950 addresses is cupping. The more a singer cups a mic in their hand, the more the initial cardioid pattern will turn into an omnidirectional one which can quickly create feedback problems. Lewitt uses a cupping-safe design so the artist can hold the microphone very high on the basket before it begins to change tone. In addition, a natural barrier is added to the head basket to resist the tendency for the artist to grip further up, which is something rappers often tend to do.
The designers of the MTP W950 put a lot of work into drop testing the mic because the last thing you need during a live performance is for a microphone to slip out of the vocalist’s hand. The MTP W950 is designed to withstand at least six falls from a height of two meters on each side, rotated 45 degrees each time, plus two more falls against the front and back. Sounds more like it was made for a wrestling match.
The output of MTP W950 is relatively high compared to many dynamic stage microphones because of the use of studio condenser technology; therefore, it doesn’t need huge amounts of gain to produce a great sound, unlike a lot of dynamic microphones.
The MTP W950 has already gained some big-name followers. Caleb James is a professional audio engineer and CEO of Stay Faded LLC, a corporation taking care of the sound engineering for many big names in the music industry.
“For a recent Victoria’s Secret fashion show,” says James, “Rapper Lalisa Manobal of Blackpink planned to perform using her usual custom microphone. However, when she stepped on stage, the mic proved unusable due to poor vocal isolation. The venue, which resembled an old and abandoned warehouse is notorious for problematic audio reflections which aggravated the issue. The sound quality was simply not up to par.”
“Fortunately, I had the Lewitt W9 capsule on hand. We quickly swapped it in and adjusted the polar pattern to super-cardioid under the grille to enhance vocal isolation. The difference was remarkable—Lisa’s vocals stood out in the mix and delivered exceptional clarity. Despite the challenging acoustics of the room, the Lewitt W9 truly saved the day.”
Another name that James works with is Stevie Wonder. The great man has an MTP W9 capsule on his wireless mic and uses three MTP W950 wired microphones at his separate keyboard stations. Then there are six W9 capsules for his background singers’ wireless mics.
“I love the many built-in switchable options under the grille of all these Lewitt capsules, which includes a 12db pad, low-cut filter and cardioid/super-cardioid polar patterns. All the capsules on stage are set to super cardioid with low-cut and the 12db pad engaged. This allowed us to lower the noise floor from the stage bleed into the capsules, which provided optimal vocal isolation. The setup worked flawlessly and delivered exceptional audio clarity even with Stevie’s full band, choir and a 12-piece orchestra performing together on stage,” says James.
“Switching gears a little with the artist Lil Yachty, the Lewitt W9 shines once again. I use the 12dB pad to handle the extreme SPL levels coming from his excited rap vocals. The capsule performs exceptionally well with its mic-handling technique as well. He tends to cup the mic a bit and even while doing so the response curve of the vocal isn’t drastically degraded as it would from most other microphone capsules.”
Verdict: The Lewitt MTP W950 is truly a mic for all reasons. It’s unusual to see a condenser microphone on stage that can also shine in the studio. And yet, because it is priced competitively, artists don’t have to pay a fortune to get the best of both worlds. The combination of Austrian design an engineering, along with cost-effective manufacturing and a workforce that seems fanatically dedicated to music making, suggest the MTP W950 has a long and bright future ahead which could see it become as ubiquitous as the evergreen Shure SM58, albeit with a bit more nuance as well as the benefits and subtleties of a classic condenser microphone.
Pricing & Availability: The Lewitt Audio MTP W950 is available now from the Lewitt website priced at $689 / £689 / €689.
Tech Specs:
- Type: Condenser, externally polarized.
- Acoustical operating principle: Pressure gradient transducer.
- Transducer Ø: 25.4 mm, 1 inch.
- Polar pattern: Cardioid, Super-cardioid.
- Sensitivity: 8.1 mV/Pa, -41.8dBV/Pa.
- Self-noise: 21dB (A).
- Max SPL: 140dB SPL (0.5% THD).
- Dynamic range: 119dB (A).
- Signal-to-noise ratio: 73dB (A).
- Attenuation: 0dB / -12dB.
- Low-cut filter: lin, 120Hz.
- Internal impedance: 217Ω.
- Supply voltage: 48V ± 4V.
- Current consumption: 7.5mA.
- Connector: Gold plated 3-pin XLR, Capsule thread: 1¼-28UN-2A.
- Microphone dimensions: 51 x 183mm.
- Weight: 397g.
