Page 4 - Conclusion
The Neat King Bee II may have a number on the name, but there has clearly been an overhaul in its physical appearance. With a more slimmed down body and modernized looks, the King Bee II integrates well into any setup with a clean look. The physical body is quite solid with a metal enclosure, large shock mount, and a pop filter included. The whole unit is quite a hefty one, adding to the durable feel, but you will need a sturdy stand to ensure this unit stays in place. As for its recording capabilities, the King Bee II truly shines. Its large diaphragm capsule was capable of capturing a full sound, in both the trebles and bass, while keeping a relatively neutral lower end. This fullness allowed the mic to be excellent in all sorts of applications. It was also good at rejecting plosive sounds. For professional recording of any kind, this is a versatile option. For home PC usage such as gaming or streaming, there are a few things to keep in mind. For example, it will pick up background noises like keypresses on your keyboard or clicks on your mouse, but this is expected of any condenser microphone. Unfortunately, there is also no option to change the polar patterns, either. Finally, I would have liked to see a bit more dampening between the shock mount to avoid resonant vibration noises when tapping on the plastic inner mount. Even so, I still think the Neat King Bee II is a really solid microphone. At the time of the review, this product is priced at $170 USD, which may sound like a lot, but it punches well above this mark with its capabilities. As such, the Neat King Bee II is an excellent choice for any sort of application.
Neat Microphones provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH:Renewal Award | APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 7.9/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The King Bee II is Neat Microphone's latest hit for a flexible jack-of-all-trades XLR microphone.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Recording Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
