Live Sound International's Craig Leerman tested the 2028 Handheld Microphone on five different gigs that spanned House of Worship, corporate events and live music.
Test #1
"The first stop was a visit to a colleague’s church to deploy the 2028 with a praise band. We decided to try it with a female vocalist who sings loud and is known for hitting some very high notes during performances during. She sounded great, and with little to no EQ, and she commented to me how good it sounded in the floor wedges. For his part, my colleague also noted the sonic quality as well as his appreciation for the tight off-axis rejection – there was basically nothing but vocal signal in the channel on a small and loud stage."
Test #2
"Next up was a corporate gig where we deployed the 2028 as my VOG (Voice of God) announce mic at front of house. Unfortunately, we needed wireless headworn mics for the presenters so we couldn’t use the 2028 on stage, but I got to say exciting things like, “Ladies and Gentleman, please find a seat and silence your cell phones, the program will begin in five minutes” through the mic. I think this was among the more pricey VOG mics I’ve ever used, and certainly never sounded better in the role."
Test #3
"A more suitable application followed when we utilized the 2028 as I had a for a corporate band playing a company party at a casino ballroom. We put the mic on the male lead vocalist; no surprise, there was an excellent result. During sound check, he asked if it was OK to play his harmonica into the mic, asking first because he didn’t want to inadvertently damage. I replied that as long as he kept the volume under 160 dB, we were good. (As you might guess, that resulted in a quizzical look from him.) For this application, sonic quality was dialed right in, and in my role as the mix engineer for the event, I quickly developed deep appreciation for the mic’s off-axis rejection."
Test #4
"Another stop was a corporate event where the 2028 served as the mic for the announcer introducing the presenters and the recipients of awards. He had a deeply timbered bass voice and held the mic close to his mouth, and at the console, I backed off a little bottom end and it resulted in a great sound."
Test #5
"Finally, we returned to the church where we started, this time to utilize the 2028 for a holiday event. It featured the same praise band, but this time we provided the mic to a male vocalist who has a nice tone but doesn’t sing very loudly. We had absolutely no trouble bringing his level up over the energetic band, and I mostly attribute this (again) to the offaxis rejection. In my view, it’s this mic’s best feature, allowing singers to stand next to loud amps and/or wedges while delivering almost nothing but vocal that’s easy to place above the sound of the band."
Conclusion
"The DPA 2028 vocal microphone is a winner. To sum up, it offers a smooth frequency response with little coloration and there’s the aforementioned off-axis rejection. On top of that, it’s rugged with great looks, has a very good feel in the hand, and comes with exceptional pop and noise filtering. Anyone looking for a premium vocal solution, particularly on loud stages, as well as a great-sounding and exceptionally consistent mic to have available in a rental inventory, should have it at the top of list."
