Beyerdynamic's TG V90r is a flagship model in the company's massively broad Touring Gear line. After having years of spotty presence in the U.S. market, German pro audio manufacturer Beyerdynamic burst back onto the scene a year or so ago introducing several new wireless systems, ear buds and the new Touring Gear series of microphones, which consists of a wide range of options, from low-end, sub-$100 mics, to condenser mics for instruments, and a wide range of vocal mics using dynamic, condenser and ribbon elements.
Beyer may be best known for its ribbon vocal mics; Beyer says it's the company's specialty. I remember using them in the early 1980s in live sound applications. They were rather widely accepted, though some were wary of their durability.
The company scored a major credibility coup by being the primary vocal microphone on the Eagle's famous 1994 video DVD that launched their “Hell Freezes Over” tour.
Sitting near the top of Beyerdynamic's Touring Gear microphone series is the TG V90r (List Price: $499), a ribbon mic the company says is designed to deliver smooth, clear, natural sound. Beyer says the TG V90r is the only ribbon microphone in the world that can stand out even with live vocals on loud stages.
The mic comes in a unique, padded, clear plastic tube. No standard faux leather pouch here. This is a storage container that I'd have little problem tossing around with no worries about damage or dings. A mic stand holder, and a printout of the frequency response of this specific microphone (including the serial number), evaluated and printed at the factory are also included.
The flat response from the TG v90r presents a clean palette for sound engineers, instead of trying to do their job for them.
While we can't attest to the mic's long-term durability (we only had it for a few weeks), we can report that it's a very classy looking mic with a brushed silver—almost brass-looking finish. It's relatively heavy in-hand, and produces very little mechanical/handling noise.
The mic offers a cardioid (directional) pick-up pattern and high output, and is designed for live applications. The specs show the mic has a usable frequency response of 50 – 14,000 Hz, but a look at the polar pattern shows the 10 dB down points at more like 80 – 14,000 Hz. It offers flat response from about 400 Hz to 2,000 Hz, a 3 dB bump at 3 kHz and another rise of nearly 5 dB between 7 kHz and approximately 11 kHz.
We listened to the microphone in a typical church live sound situation using a Yamaha CL5 digital console—flat EQ and no effects. The loudspeaker system consisted of left and right arrays from QSC's Wideline Series and a WorxAudio center array.
The mic was evaluated in comparison with a lower-end, $100 dynamic vocal mic, and a higher-end hand-held condenser vocal mic. To our ears, the Beyer TG V90r exhibited a full, beefy, almost masculine low- and mid-frequency response. The highs were, well, flat.
The output of the TG v90r was about the same as the other dynamic mic in our line-up, but as expected, it was somewhat less than the hotter condenser mic.
All three mics held together well with P-pops, bursts or ‘plosives.
We wish we had a soprano vocalist on-hand during our evaluation, or a singer with a thin, high voice, as in its flat (non-EQ'd) state if could complement that situation.
Considering the German heritage of the Beyerdynamic TG v90r dynamic ribbon mic, we couldn't resist the comparison to automobiles. German cars tend to have a heavier feel than Japanese or certain American cars. This heaviness is intended to give the driver a better feel for the road. Certain Japanese cars have such a light feel, they leave the driver feeling more isolated. These cars tend to want to drive themselves.
Similarly, certain vocal mics have such a characteristic sound that they tend to want to drive themselves. The TG v90r does not follow that line of thinking. Instead of providing a “shaped frequency response,” which gives its own interpretation of what the source “should” sound like, this mic offers a full-range frequency response that varies 5 dB (or less). The flat response from the TG v90r presents a clean palette for sound engineers, instead of trying to do their job for them.