DPA 2028 Vocal Mic Review: A Supercardioid Condenser Mic For Singers and Performers

Choosing the right vocal mic can be difficult, as every singer and performer needs something different. This is doubly so when it comes to living performance microphones since variables such as venue acoustics, band members, and more can all add more potential hazards to the sonics of the vocal performance.

DPA’s Supercardioid Handheld Vocal Microphone is one such live performance microphone that promises the most faithful recreation of vocal performance, little to no feedback, and many other features that touring musicians dream of.

So let’s find out if it measures up to its promises by taking it out into the wild and seeing how it holds up during sound check in a large venue.

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What Is The DPA 2028 Vocal Mic?

The DPA 2028 is an industry-leading vocal mic designed to deliver a faithful 1:1 reproduction of almost any vocal performer.

It is a supercardioid handheld mic whose flat, off-axis response allows for consistent and smooth pickups regardless of the singer’s and vocalists’ dynamics. A supercardiod micro is incredibly directional, meaning it is most sensitive to on-axis sounds, allowing the vocalist’s sound to shine through without picking up the noise of the band or other performers.

This mic continues DPA’s legacy of industry-standard performance mics suited for all types of vocals, be it singing, beatboxing, speakers, and lecture.

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Best Features Of The DPA 2028 Vocal Mic

I took this mic out on the town over the weekend and did some testing before a friend’s gig during sound check. Honestly, I was super impressed by the laundry list of attributes. Here are the three best features that stood out to me when sound testing this mic in a live environment.

Its Durability

Right out of the box, it’s easy to see how road-worthy the DPA 2028-B-B01 is. Its solid build and tight design feel solid in your hand and holds its own in the hustle and bustle of a live performance.

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During testing, I even accidentally dropped this mic on stage during soundcheck. Because of the build, I hardly even worried about it being damaged. It lives up to its name as a touring and performance mic, but that’s just the start…

Because when I dropped this mic, something even more surprising happened. Often there is a harsh thumb when a mic is dropped of comes in contact with another surface due to the strong plosives. But not in this instance! Granted, it wasn’t the hardest of drops, but this mic’s plosive control was unflappable and didn’t produce short pops and thumps! Which was damn impressive.

Is Clarity

This mic prides itself on a faithful recreation of inputted sound (your voice). As such, the frequency response is flat and predictable in the best possible way.

Often vocal mics have built-in frequency bumps in the upper mids to help bring out the clarity in the vocals. But this mic omits those and sounds all the better for it.

What’s better is that I didn’t notice much vocal degradation as I moved the mic around during the sound check. Vocals still sounded clear and present when my lips were as directly against the mic’s grill as when the mic was held a bit outstretched.

Its Lack Of Feedback

Having created this thing specifically for live performance, DPA has gone to great lengths that borderline on wizardry to include some of the best feedback rejection I have ever seen in a mic.

No matter how you point this mic or what you point it at while singing, I never once got the screeching feedback typical of other performance vocal mics. I wish I were smart enough in microphone design to dive deep into what exactly DPA did to achieve such a feat…

Check Out These Free Plugins For Vocal Processing.

What I Wasn’t That Crazy About

Overall, I was pretty impressed by this microphone and would struggle to find any broad-sweeping gripes to complain about. But if I had to find something to complain about, it would be…

The Price

More and more microphones are entering the competitive field, each offering something flashy that they believe nobody else can achieve. As such, there are a ton of competitors for live performance vocal mics, many of which can be snagged for a cheaper price tag than this mic.

These mics have been around for a bit, so you can certainly do some digging and find ones ranging from $500-$700; the lesser end of the spectrum is wholly justified, but $700 can go a long way if you’re looking at some other options.

I would recommend doing some digging when purchasing this mic, as you can often snag a deal on them and buy this excellent one for far less than MSRP.