The Mic Capture Mic Mode knob located on the back of the mic sets either: Front, Front & Back, Tight Stereo or Wide Stereo pick up patterns.

Like a recording engineer, by carefully setting up a mic's position and pickup pattern you'll achieve the best overall sound for the particular recording job at hand.

Lyra is great for bloggers, live streaming, podcasters, voice over artists, and for recording vocals and musical instruments. The Front capture mode sensitizes the mic to only sounds coming in front of the mic and tends to reduce unwanted room tone and extraneous background noise.

The Front & Back capture mode is useful for "one-on-one" work where you (the interviewer) face the interviewee. Tight Stereo is for two people sitting side by side in front of the Lyra and Wide Stereo capture mode is for a wider stereo pickup pattern with more ambiance.

I tried Lyra using Audacity freeware audio software. Lyra's AKG C44 interface automatically comes up in the software for both the stereo input and output devices--there is no need to download any driver or use an extra USB interface.

Lyra has an internal self-adjusting shock mount to minimize contact noise, while a built-in sound diffuser and AKG's proprietary Internal Element Overload Prevention automatically reduces noise, reduces pops and improves signal levels. The mic comes with a desktop stand that works great but you can also remove it and thread the mic onto a mic stand just like any professional microphone.

I started overdubbing guitar and vocals over a backing track. I plugged a pair of AKG K371 Headphones into the headphone jack underneath the mic next to the USB-C jack. Front mode was great for most recordings but there was a chance to try the other modes when more singers showed up to sing backing vocals. I used a Y-cord to connect a second pair of headphones at the same time. A second, paralleled headphone jack might be a good update.

Sound quality was excellent and there was plenty of gain to record quiet instruments such as acoustic guitars. I liked the front mounted Mute button for muting the microphone only, as headphone audio is always active providing zero-latency playback. There is plenty of headphone volume and its volume control is right on the front of the mic where it should be!

Lyra is compatible with Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices and comes plug n' play with an USB-C adapter cable and minimal instructions because you don't really need any.

Lyra includes Ableton Live 10 Lite recording software, and works fine with just about any modern audio and video production software and online platforms. The AKG Lyra USB Microphone sells for $149 MSRP.