What is it?
Thomann’s t.akustik brand produces a wide variety of affordable audio products including some very practical room treatment options. One of these is the Vocal Head Booth, which we found to be a very effective ambience reducing option for voiceover and vocal recording. Even so, its size once constructed means you’ll need a decent storage solution when it’s not in use. The new Vocal Head Booth Mobile aims to resolve this with a device which is similar in concept but that can be quickly dismantled and stored.
Built from the same kind of PET panel material, the mobile option comprises four main 25mm thick panels that slot together with cross lap corners. A further thinner half panel slots in behind your head. The whole unit is mounted using a standard 35mm tripod. This isn’t included, although you can buy a suitable stand from Thomann or buy one bundled with the booth. Note, a regular mic stand is not suitable. Much like the original version, additional features include a pop shield mounting post, headphone hanger, table top height adjustable mic mount, mic cable access hole in back panel, magnetic battery powered LED light and magnetic sheet clip. Alas, unlike the original version there’s no access point in the bottom panel for a regular mic stand.
The Vocal Head Booth Mobile comes in a reusable suitcase-sized cardboard box with carry handle. At 7.1kg and 770mm x 590mm x 170mm it’s certainly not light or particularly compact, but it will fit in most car boots and is considerably more mobile than the original head booth. Significantly, you can also build and dismantle it as required.
Performance
Assembling the booth took us about 20 minutes. It’s made almost entirely from 25mm 3000g/m3 grey PET boards, and construction involves slotting together the various panels. Once all side panels are assembled the cross lap joint design is reasonably sturdy, although the very visible joints don’t look as slick as the original version.
The booth is designed to improve the quality of your recordings, particularly where you have tricky acoustics and limited options to remedy that. What it’s not designed to do is offer isolation. This is an important distinction. Much like the original version, Vocal Head Booth Mobile impacts the sound your mic captures, reducing the overall ambience for a tighter sound. As explained, it does not noticeably reduce any extraneous sounds, so for best results you’ll still need a reasonably quiet room. The close proximity of the booth panels does affect the low mid frequencies, boosting them a little. It’s a trade off and one you might want to tweak with EQ. Even so, your source recording will have less ambience, which is what the booth aims to do. Meanwhile, from a user perspective the enclosure is quite claustrophobic. For vocal rather than voiceover tasks we think you’ll want to remove the panel behind the head to allow a bit more movement, and this does increase the room sound a little.
Finally, a word about dismantling. This took about 10 minutes and although reasonably straightforward, you do have to be careful not to pull too hard on the hook aspects of the panels. Included in the box are some shiny paper tabs, which you can slide in between the joints and this helps considerably with pulling them apart.
Verdict
They may not look particularly appealing and can be a little claustrophobic, but there’s no question t.akustik’s vocal booths are very handy. And although they don’t provide isolation from extraneous noises, they do help you achieve a less reverberant recording. The mobile version is also quick to build and dismantle and packs away for storage or travel.
Hands-on demos
t.akustik
Alternatives
Specifications
Price |
£309 / €355 / $412 |
Key features |
Simple slot together assembly Adjustable back plate that can be pushed upwards or removed Table top microphone mount with 3/8” thread |
Accessories |
Headphone hook, pop shield mount, magnetic paper holder, LED light |
Material |
PET polyester panels |
Mounting |
Requires a tripod with 35mm diameter tube |
Dimensions |
550(w) x 620(h) x 71.5(d) mm |
Weight |
7.1kg |
Contact |
