Live Vocal Microphone Comparison featuring the Shure SM58, the Sennheiser e835, the AKG D5 & the AUDIX OM2 Live Vocal Mic Comparison and Review.
Hey all, This is Matt from the Sonic Sense Resource Center.
Right now we’re gonna check out 4 popular handheld vocal mics and hear audio samples of each one. We’ll hear AKG’s D5, the OM2 from Audix, Sennheiser’s e835, and the SM58 from Shure.
This is just a small sample of the many mics you can listen to at the Sonic Sense Resource Center.
You can also hear each mic on a variety of sources, along with downloadable samples of everything from Studio Monitors to Interfaces.. Make sure you check it out.
Okay, before we hear the microphones, let’s quickly go over a few key features.
The OM2 from Audix is a dynamic microphone with a hypercardioid pickup pattern.
This one utilizes Audix’s Very Low Mass™ diaphragm, promising clean, clear reproduction.
The D5 from AKG is a dynamic mic with a supercardioid pickup pattern. AKG states that their laminated Varimotion diaphragm produces a crisp sound while the internal dual-shockmount minimizes handling noise.
Sennheiser’s e835 is a dynamic, cardioid microphone. Sennheiser states that this mic provides minimal proximity effect for clear bass, and is also voiced with a slight presence boost to help cut through loud mixes.
Shure’s SM58 was introduced in 1966 and it’s still a common choice among live sound engineers.
Yep, the good ol’ 58 is famous for it’s nice blend of useable sound, legendary durability and affordability.
Alright now let’s hear ‘em…(countdown appears)
Be sure to turn your annotations “on” for optimum functionality.
(…3…2…1…listening)
That was just a small sample of our audio comparisons. Now, visit the Sonic Sense Resource Center for hundreds of audio product samples, demos, comparisons, and tutorials in a format like you’ve never experienced.
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Price:
Shure SM58-CN BTS Stage Performance Kit with SM58 Microphone, XLR Cable and Mic Stand
The complete set for on stage performers The Stage performance kit combines the world's most legendary microphone with an XLR cable and robust mic stand to give you all you need for performing live Perfect for Vocalists (as of November 18, 2020 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Price: $349.00
Shure BLX24R/SM58 Rack Mount Wireless Microphone System with SM58 Handheld Vocal Mic
(4)
Price: $299.00
Shure BLX24/SM58 Wireless Microphone System with SM58 Handheld Vocal Mic
(160)
Price: $349.00
come on they all sound exact the same
The Audix is by far the most open and natural sounding, with the AKG being a close second. The Sennheiser has the worst mask of them all. The Shure is a great mic, but needs a bit of air and presence added by EQ to compete with the natural tone of the Audix and AKG (this is coming from a guy who uses 58s 90% of the time in live situations). The downside to the Audix is that it naturally shows more sibilance. Maybe not a big deal to everyone, especially not those with a deesser in their rack/on their console. Anyone have some durability details on the Audix and AKG mics shown here? Have used both, but never owned them. Curious to know how well they’re made.
thanks
Audix OM2 sounds a bit better from examples of both singing, just because it’s got a nice crisp sound, the softer first singing really sounded fine with each but the louder singing seems to have suffered the least on the Audix OM2. At least maybe the SM58 is clearly overrated from this example.
Sm58
A K G (D5) the most open airy, beautiful ,sounding mics and the d7 is even better. next is the sennhieser e835 for an ever so slightly lower bottom end. but mics that are lower than say 70 hz can start to feed back and make the ‘plosives’ sound louder under certain conditions. But it’s how you the vocalist, actually use the mic in technique for the live stage or recordings etc…. regarding the female vocalist she was singing too hard into these mics only for this test and her vocal sadly showed no control or warmth for any of the mics only sheer volume. ‘loud and dynamic’ which she has so i would say the sm58 is best suited for her vocal because she needs more warmth and a lot less top on her voice..(p.s) all microphones shown here today and many others between £100- £300 or $$$ are insanely good for the money. Manufacturers have come on leaps and bounds over the coming years and honestly i don’t think you can buy a bad mic these days. Also buying a decent warm mixer with nice reverbs etc… makes a massive difference. peace!
GUYS SELENA GOMEZ USES THE SHURE SM58
Sennheiser e835 Wins!
SM58 blows away ALL of those other mics for the first performer’s voice. hands down.
KCMO ????!
me gusto mucho el sennheiser e835..!! The best!!
I totally noticed the difference of the audio samples. worlds appart for sure
WOWWWW 3:25 the OM2 produces BRUTALLY shrill highs….. my AKG 144s were on my head at max volume almost gave me tinnitus
It’s all subjective…
58 !!
What’s the song the woman is singing? Thanks in advance!
love the format of this video!
I guess because these are meant for live use, a pop filter wasnt used? I think a pop filter should be used to give people who want to use these mics for recording use a better picture of the results they can achieve. I had an akg d5 which was excellent but the plosives and pops were hell until I added a pop filter and it took care of that pretty well
All of them sound great.
differences in sound are almost negligible. All sound just right.
what really makes a big difference between them is durability. For instance, you can drop a SM58 a thousand times on a hard floor and you only get a bump in the grille, while dropping a D5 will result in a complete detachment of the grill at the very first time.
……so… 2 tenor range singers….. useless since, you know, ……baritone….. might as well have been a falsetto comparison.
Although all great mics, I think the mic with the least clarity won this particular competition.
The venerable SM58.
From a plain test like this it’s not that easy to pick one. Every mic has its own sonical pros and cons. SM58 and e835 exhibit a cardioid polar pattern which makes them perfect for performers using IEM. The cardioid pattern sounds just more natural and less sensitive to off axis deviation. If I had to pick one of these mics I’d go with either the Sm58 or the sennheiser. The sennheiser offers more detail and at the same time its response curve is more flat. It’s important to note that for a mic to sound great in a live performance it would respond well to EQ. I have used D5 and D7 for many years and absolutely love them, though it’s not easy to find a proper EQ setting for them in most situations. These are high resolution dynamic mics and you don’t want to apply to much EQ on them. It’s not necessary. That being said want to make clear AkG dynamics are much clearer than any other dynamic mics I’ve tested so far IMHO
Какие этой девушке тесты. Как она поёт уши вянут.
I currently own 6 audix mics and never a regret. No bad habits withany of them. The audix ohm2 is a stellar performer for the price. I’m an audix believer / Akg is also excellent. Sure and Senn? not so much.
The woman’s voice is hilarious
Sooooo…there’s this thing for $10 called a “pop filtre….”
I listened several times in my studio through my monitors, blind, just calling them 1, 2, 3, 4 so wasn’t influenced by brand name.
Male vocal: 1-too much low mid. 2-I liked it the best of the bunch. Nice and clear without too much of those low/mids that can muddy a lead vocal. 3-Nice, but maybe a bit too much in the 1000-1800 range.4-Dead, no highs. Nice in the mid range tho.
Female vocal – mics were more neck-and-neck here: 1-Low mid not as flattering to this particular vocalist. 2-3 – both seem pretty close, and work well with her voice. 4-oops-where did that high end go? Yuk!
I would buy #2 or #3, use #1 in a pinch, and avoid #4 like a bad smell.
Sennheiser is the only brand worth buying.
Anyone that can tell me what song it is that this woman is singing??
That Lady sings horrible
Unfortunately, gain before feedback is never mentioned.
Vocal man => Sennheiser E835
Vocal women => Sennheiser E835
Defitnitly the AKG D5
All crap buy a beyerdynamic tg v 70, i used a sm 58 for years got one of these taught i got a new rig not exp about 160e
hi..which mic is used on the first (announcer-adv) voice?
I think sm58 is the best to use with some Eqing the low 🙂
I have used the Sennheiser and the Shure sm58 both in a live performance. The Shure sounds much much better, and survives falls. Recently, a Shure and a Sennheiser were being used in stage, and were knocked into each other. The Shure worked perfectly but the Sennheiser broke and now won’t work at all. The Shure sm58 is a much better mic for the price.
I have an sm58, it’s ideal for my little studio where I need a mike that doesn’t pick up so much of sounds outside.
….wow…sennheisser kicked ass (male) …. great vid
surprised how deep and pronounced the plosive is with the SM58 compared to the others, which is a big downside for me – can’t stand that ghastly popping noise coming through in speech and quiet acoustic music. The AKG is best at suppressing the plosive, the e835 a close second, the OM2 a distant third only slightly better than the SM58. Overall sound wise they sound slightly different from eachother but cannot say clearly any one sounds “better” or “worse”.
shure sm58 has awful sound. since i bought line6 it seems my ears were creared. i campared shure with sehheiser (845 or 945? dont’ remember), audix, EV – shure sucks.
sorry for bad english
pop filters please, my cat just imploded.
Рабочая ссылка на микрофон http://ali.pub/sdn4u отличный микрофон !