AKG D3800
A hypercardioid stage vocal mic with a floating magnet, a triangulated body, and a price that put it in working-band territory.
Overview
The D3800 was the middle model of AKG's Tri-Power Series, a line of four vocal and three instrument microphones unveiled at the January 1992 NAMM show. The launch got treatment rarely given to dynamic mics - full-page ads, custom binders, color brochures, slides, even buttons. Mix (June 1992, p.87) noted the promotion was impressive in its extravagance and, more surprisingly, that the line was actually worthy of the hoopla. The D3800 listed at $279. That put it above the budget D3700 and D3700S and below the flagship D3900 at $319.
The capsule is what separated the D3800 from its cheaper siblings. The D3700 and D3700S shared a lower-tier design. The D3800 and D3900 used AKG's high-end capsule, and the D3900 added two deeply recessed microswitches for low-cut and high-boost contouring. The D3800 has no such switches. Electronic Musician (undated excerpt) put it plainly: the D3800 does not include frequency contouring and exhibits a 40 Hz to 21 kHz range.
The headline technology was AKG's patented Moving Magnet Suspension, or MMS. The transducer's magnet floats on a suspension tuned to match the mass and compliance of the diaphragm. When the mic body takes a physical shock, the magnet moves the same direction and distance as the diaphragm, which cancels the resulting noise. Mix (June 1992, p.87) came away convinced. The reviewer reported that the D3800 and D3900 could be shaken, swung, and rudely palmed without excessive rumbling or scratching. The difference against the conventional D3700 was immediately obvious, with the greatest attenuation in the low and low-mid region. AKG's own advertising claimed a 10 dB improvement over conventional designs, and EQ (April 1992, p.19) repeated a figure of at least 10 dB beyond the latest competitive technology. One Mix piece went further and cited a claim of as much as 20 dB quieter than previous designs. Treat the exact number as marketing arithmetic.
The polar pattern is hypercardioid, and rejection is the D3800's other strong suit. Mix (June 1992, p.87) reported that feedback simply wasn't an issue at a loud club gig with a half-dozen wedges and sidefills. The reviewer also called the sound rejection on the AKG hypercardioids among the best he had experienced - fingers snapping a few inches off-axis barely registered. The same review measured a broad, roughly three-octave +6 dB presence peak centered at 5 kHz.
The Tri-Power vocal mics used a triangulated body in black with a discreet green stripe and white logo. The shape keeps the mic from rolling off a table and, according to Mix, makes it a bit more comfortable to hold. They still fit standard mic-stand clips. The windscreen assembly is heavy-duty steel and removes with a press-and-twist motion like a child-proof cap. Under it are a two-layer foam screen that can be plucked out for cleaning and a resilient plastic cage protecting the capsule. The shell is what AKG marketed as RoadTough construction, and the D3800 also carries a hum-suppression coil to fight radiated fields from nearby wiring.
Mix (June 1992, p.87) used the D3800 for backing vocals and found it fine, while the D3900 took lead duty. The reviewer described the high-end Tri-Power tone as sharp but intimate, the sort of tonality usually reserved for good studio condensers, and in a separate handling test found the D3900's character frighteningly close to a C414. Studio Sound (May 1997) characterized the D3800 as unashamedly a PA microphone whose presence is hard enough to cut through most things but stops short of harshness. It contrasted the D3800 with the supercardioid D880, which offers a fuller sound and a wider range of uses, missing the D3800's up-front poke.
The Tri-Power line stayed in the catalog long enough that AKG later listed the D3800 capsule among the interchangeable heads for its PT 4500 wireless handheld transmitter, per Mix (July 2009). Period advertising in the UK trade press touted the series as a "Best Buy." The mics turn up used at modest money. A $279 list price in 1992 puts the D3800 in working-band territory, not collector territory, and that's how the market treats it. Expect cosmetic wear on the steel grille, and check that the foam windscreen hasn't crumbled with age, since it's a serviceable part rather than a sealed assembly. The switchless design means there's little to go wrong electronically.
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