i5

All-purpose Professional Dynamic Instrument Microphone

Designed with a cardioid pickup pattern for isolation and feedback control, the i5 all-purpose dynamic instrument microphone is equipped with a VLM™ diaphragm for natural, accurate sound reproduction. The i5 is used for stage, studio, and broadcast applications and is able to handle SPLs in excess of 140 dB without distortion.

The i5 cardioid microphone can be used to microphone a wide variety of musical instruments, guitars, and bass cabinets as well as vocals and speech. The i5 instrument microphone is sturdy, compact, and easy to position. With a wide frequency response of 50 Hz – 16 kHz, the i5 provides clear sound reproduction without having to rely on EQ.

Designed, assembled, and tested by Audix in the USA.


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Where To Buy i5 – All-purpose Professional Dynamic Instrument Microphone
Transducer Type Dynamic
Frequency Response 50 Hz – 16 kHz
Polar Pattern Cardioid
Output Impedance 280 ohms
Sensitivity 1.6 mV / Pa @ 1k
Capsule Technology VLM Type B
Off-Axis Rejection >23 dB
Maximum SPL ≥140 dB
Power Requirements None
Connector 3-pin XLRm
Polarity Positive pressure on diaphragm produces positive voltage on pin 2 relative to pin 3 of output XLR connector
Materials / Finish Zinc Alloy / Black Finish
Weight 248 g / 8.7 oz
Length 141 mm / 5.6 in
Download Spec Sheet

1x i5 Instrument Microphone
1x MC1 Microphone Clip
1x P1 Carrying Pouch

Media Reviews

“Sometimes for demo scratch vocals, singers like to sing with the monitors blasting. The i5 is now my first choice for this use–it beat both the Shure SM57 and Heil PR20 UT in rejecting the most sound coming into the rear of the mic. As a way to control feedback, this is an important consideration when buying the i5 for live stage work.” Read more:
-Barry Rudolph, Music Connection

“I’m really digging using the i-5; I’ll be buying the review mics I was sent if that tells you anything!”
-Larry Crane, RecordingHacks.com

User Quotes

“On the road, I use it for The Dead and Phil Lesh and Friends, at home, it mics every 12-18 yr. old musician in the county. From the top to the bottom, for me, this is a new standard mic.”
-Ian Dubois, Front of House Engineer

“I’m in the studio with P.O.D and lovin’ the i5 on guitar cabs. Great punch in the upper mids and perfect for heavy guitars that need that special drive. Also fantastic on the snare – it can sure handle some serious SPL’s!”
-Travis Wyrick, Producer, Engineer, Mixer – P.O.D., Charlie Daniels, Pillar

” So how does it sound? In a word, impressive. …and on snare drum, it rocked hard. Overall, there’s a clarity and openness to this mic that you don’t hear from a lot of dynamics …”
-Phil O’Keefe, EQ Magazine

“Audix really delivers with the i5. Performing well in about every application on which I tried it, the i5 does justice to many sources both onstage and in the studio.”
-Karen Stackpole, Electronic Musician

“During our recent tour, I was very pleased with the results using the i5 on guitar cabs. The sound was smooth and clear with great presence in the mix. The i5 is rugged and solid. It qualifies as THE all-purpose dynamic workhorse in any mic collection.”
-Gary Hartung, FOH – Crosby, Stills & Nash

“The i5 is an awesome utility mic—it is much tougher and sounds better than the ‘old faithful’ I am now able to replace.”
-Dave Rat, Rat Sound

“I’ve used the same mic on the snare drum for recording and live sound applications for 30 years. I’ve tried other mics from time to time but always returned to the old favorite. Recently, I tried the Audix i5. No matter what style of music, the i5 sounds great and now has become my new choice for snare drum.”
-Tom Edmonds, Engineer – Lenny Kravitz

“I have dreamed of this day — I can now retire the last of my SM57’s. Now that I’ve been exposed to the future, why would I want to live in the past?”
-Eugene “Gino” Mulcahy, Lead Audio Engineer – Mohegan Sun

“This mic is slammin’! And if you’re tired of having the cap of your snare mic being blown into pieces from a heavy stick hit— you’ll love the i5!”
-Anthony Roberts, Monitors – Tower of Power

“The i5 is very impressive as a bass mic. It handles the SPL’s and captures the clarity of the notes while still maintaining the warmth of the low end. It’s a great new tool.”
-Deanne Franklin, FOH – Tom Waits

“With the i5 on my snare drum, there’s just no going back. I’ve just started using it on guitar with very good results there too. The i5; it’s my new little weapon.”
-Neil Citron, Head Engineer – The Mothership Studio, Los Angeles

“The i5 is truly a multi-purpose microphone. It sounds great on a wide variety of sources, but it particularly shines on thesnare drums and toms…Sounds like a winner in my book.”
-Mark Parsons, Modern Drummer

“The i5 is more than an impressive upgrade to my usual snare and guitar cab mic — it’s a big leap forward.”
-Ed Tree, Studio Engineer -The Spencer Davis Group

“Who needs a condenser when you can get this sound out of a dynamic. Audix has again come up with a winning microphone.”
-John Gatski, Pro Audio Review

“The best thing to happen to snare drum since Charlie Watts!”
-Paul Hagar, FOH – American Hi-Fi

“We wanted to commend you on your new i5 microphone. It proved to be the crew’s favorite for the Young Scientist MusicChallenge, constantly adapting to anything we could throw at it. We used it in a variety of situations – recording vocals, overhead miking of drums, to reinforcing the Theremin amplifier. We found that it provided us with a very clean sound in every situation despite the difficulty of recording in a very noisy environment. Overall, the i5 is an excellent all-purpose microphone that we’ll be using in future projects.”
-William White, Project Coordinator – The Discovery Channel

“The i5’s arrived, and I tried them out at practice last night. They’re freakin’ awesome! Seriously, I think we’ll be using these instead of SM57’s and 58’s for general purpose, workhorse mics. I like the rugged construction and the slightly smaller size, and they sound fantastic. They handled the complex bass sounds of my Didgeridoo and the crisp metallic highs of my Meinl Spark Shakers with ease.”
-Ron Rice, Lead IA/Usability Engineer, Musician’s Friend

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