Behringer XM8500 vs Sure SM7B $25 Microphone Vs $400 Microphone - cheap mic vs expensive mic
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- Опубліковано 11 лип 2023
- Behringer Ultravoice XM8500 geni.us/BehringerXM8500
Sure SM7B geni.us/SHURE_SM7B
Behringer XM8500 vs Sure SM7B $25 Microphone Vs $400 Microphone - cheap mic vs expensive mic
Call this example what you will, a $25 microphone vs a $400 microphone, a cheap mic vs expensive mic, an amateur microphone vs a professional microphone, a budget studio microphone vs a professional studio microphone. Whatever!!!
The one thing that is very obvious is that comparing a Behringer Ultravoice XM8500 against a Sure SM7B should be a very unfair comparison. But is it?
Both of these microphones are XLR microphones. They both have a great build, with full metal bodies. They are both dynamic microphones and they both share other similar characteristics. However, they are poles apart when it comes to price.
By rights, the Behringer XM8500 at $25 should sound obviously inferior to the $400 Sure SM7B in many ways. But the reality is that the main thing that will probably define the difference between these two microphones is your personal preference, because the XM8500 is not a million miles away from the SM7B.
Shure (pun intended 🤣) the SM7B may have the edge in certain ways as far as tonal quality is concerned but this, once again, is really down to personal preference.
My personal opinion is that the XM8500 is the best budget microphone available. While it is easily good enough for professional voice and dialogue use and is also a great all-round budget studio microphone for anyone with professional audio production experience. It is definitely an awesome option for anyone new to microphones and audio and is also a great starter microphone for anyone getting into making UA-cam videos or podcasting and vlogging.
It's also worth noting that the XM8500 has a louder output compared to the SM7B, or what many people call sensitivity. This means that you do not need to amplify and gain the XM8500 as much as the SM7B. And you most certainly do not need to use an in-line preamplifier such as a Cloudlifter or Fethead to pre-gain an XM8500, as you do with a SM7B. Which therefore makes the XM8500 an even cheaper option.
You can even connect the XM8500 directly to the input of a video camera using an XLR to 3.5mm microphone cable and it will still enough output level to drive the input on a video camera. Here's a video where in the first par I'm doing that exact same thing. Seriously this has to be the best budget cheap dynamic XLR microphone you can buy - BEHRINGER XM8500:
• Is this the best Behri...
Anyway, who cares about what I think? What do you think?
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GoPro Hero 11 geni.us/GoProHero11Black-USA
DJI Action 2 geni.us/DJI_Action-2
Microphones & Preamps:
Sennheiser ME64 with K6 geni.us/Sennheiser-K6-And-ME64
Shure SM7B geni.us/SHURE_SM7B
Various RODE Microphones geni.us/Rode-Microphones
Triton Fethead geni.us/Triton-Fethead
Behringer U-Phoria UMC2020HD geni.us/BehringerUMC202HD
HDMI Capture Device:
Atomos Ninja V geni.us/Atomos-Ninja-V
Elgato 4K60 Pro MK2 geni.us/Elgato-4K-60-Pro-MK2
Elgato 4K60 S+ geni.us/Elgato-4K60-SPlus
BlackMagic Ultrastudio Recorder 3G geni.us/UltraStudioRecorder3G
Computer & Software:
Apple MacBook Pro M1 Max geni.us/MacBook-Pro-M1-Max
Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Studio geni.us/DaViniciResolveStudio
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I’m David Harry. Thank you very much for watching this video, take care and goodbye now.
Cheers,
Dave. - Навчання та стиль
Behringer Ultravoice XM8500 geni.us/BehringerXM8500
Sure SM7B geni.us/SHURE_SM7B
$25 Microphone Vs $400 Microphone
Call this example what you will, a $25 microphone vs a $400 microphone, a cheap mic vs expensive mic, an amateur microphone vs a professional microphone, a budget studio microphone vs a professional studio microphone. Whatever!!!
The one thing that is very obvious is that comparing a Behringer Ultravoice XM8500 against a Sure SM7B should be a very unfair comparison. But is it?
Both of these microphones are XLR microphones. They both have a great build, with full metal bodies. They are both dynamic microphones and they both share other similar characteristics. However, they are poles apart when it comes to price.
By rights, the Behringer XM8500 at $25 should sound obviously inferior to the $400 Sure SM7B in many ways. But the reality is that the main thing that will probably define the difference between these two microphones is your personal preference, because the XM8500 is not a million miles away from the SM7B.
Shure (pun intended 🤣) the SM7B may have the edge in certain ways as far as tonal quality is concerned but this, once again, is really down to personal preference.
My personal opinion is that the XM8500 is the best budget microphone available. While it is easily good enough for professional voice and dialogue use and is also a great all-round budget studio microphone for anyone with professional audio production experience. It is definitely an awesome option for anyone new to microphones and audio and is also a great starter microphone for anyone getting into making UA-cam videos or podcasting and vlogging.
It's also worth noting that the XM8500 has a louder output compared to the SM7B, or what many people call sensitivity. This means that you do not need to amplify and gain the XM8500 as much as the SM7B. And you most certainly do not need to use an in-line preamplifier such as a Cloudlifter or Fethead to pre-gain an XM8500, as you do with a SM7B. Which therefore makes the XM8500 an even cheaper option.
You can even connect the XM8500 directly to the input of a video camera using an XLR to 3.5mm microphone cable and it will still enough output level to drive the input on a video camera. Here's a video where in the first par I'm doing that exact same thing. Seriously this has to be the best budget cheap dynamic XLR microphone you can buy - BEHRINGER XM8500:
ua-cam.com/video/3Ary9fHjrs0/v-deo.html
Anyway, who cares about what I think? What do you think?
Cheap microphone vs expensive microphone.
Cheap microphone vs professional microphone.
Please give a thumbs up, share, sub & click the bell for notifications.
The stuff I mostly use to produce my videos
Cameras:
Sony FDR-AX100 geni.us/SONY-FDR-AX100
Sony ZV-1 geni.us/SONY-ZV-1
Sony A7iii geni.us/Sony-A7-iii
GoPro Hero 11 geni.us/GoProHero11Black-USA
DJI Action 2 geni.us/DJI_Action-2
Microphones & Preamps:
Sennheiser ME64 with K6 geni.us/Sennheiser-K6-And-ME64
Shure SM7B geni.us/SHURE_SM7B
Various RODE Microphones geni.us/Rode-Microphones
Triton Fethead geni.us/Triton-Fethead
Behringer U-Phoria UMC2020HD geni.us/BehringerUMC202HD
HDMI Capture Device:
Atomos Ninja V geni.us/Atomos-Ninja-V
Elgato 4K60 Pro MK2 geni.us/Elgato-4K-60-Pro-MK2
Elgato 4K60 S+ geni.us/Elgato-4K60-SPlus
BlackMagic Ultrastudio Recorder 3G geni.us/UltraStudioRecorder3G
Computer & Software:
Apple MacBook Pro M1 Max geni.us/MacBook-Pro-M1-Max
Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Studio geni.us/DaViniciResolveStudio
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases when you use my Amazon Affiliate links.
If you would like to support my channel please use my Amazon links when buying from Amazon. Using my links to buy anything, not just the linked products, still gives me a small commission.
Amazon commissions don't cost you any extra, the commission is part of Amazon's selling price.
You can also send me a coffee donation via PayPal www.paypal.me/DavidHarry
My UA-cam equipment & recommendations:
Amazon USA amzn.to/3g2Oi3i
Amazon UK amzn.to/2ZR6IOV
My Amazon Shop links:
Amazon USA www.amazon.com/shop/davidharry
Amazon UK www.amazon.co.uk/shop/davidharry
My global Amazon links:
Amazon USA: geni.us/Amazon-USA
Amazon UK: geni.us/Amazon-UK
Amazon Deutschland: geni.us/Amazon-Deutschland
Amazon France: geni.us/Amazon-France
Amazon España: geni.us/Amazon-Espana
Amazon Italia: geni.us/Amazon-Italia
Amazon Canada: geni.us/Amazon-Canada
Contact me for product reviews. I DO NOT RESPOND TO VIEWER QUESTIONS.
UA-cam@DavidHarry.com
www.DavidHarry.com
I’m David Harry. Thank you very much for watching this video, take care and goodbye now.
Cheers,
Dave.
#DavidHarry#LiverpoolTV
The SM7B is a nice mic that is easily the most overhyped mic on the market. So many comparison videos show this. And it doesn't end at the price of the mic. It won't work without an interface, and it won't work well without a pre-amp. Anyone can get a cheap mic to sound like an SM7B, which means it isn't worth the price, in my opinion.
that was great deal! could not really tell the difference between the 2 but I'm no expert!
Alright, Tone. Yes, I got really lucky on the kit. However, the mic on its own is a stupid low price anyway. You say you're no expert but I didn't hear much in it when listening back on my iPad, which has OK speakers. Then again, my ears are totally F..... so what do I know 🤣 Cheers, Dave.
Two years ago on Amazon the XM8500 was getting 1ct cheaper every hour - no idea if this was an error or a weird kind of promo. However, I got mine for 8,43-€ (it went down to 6,99 before it finally jumped back to it's usual 20 to 25 € price point) ... is it as good as an SM7b or an RE20? No, it isn't. But I'd say for your first 100 Podcasts, or until you have your 10k subscribers on YT, it totally does the job. And for this ridiculous price, it's just a fantastic option, especially if you're just starting out with your microphone addiction.
Yes, I've seen some insane prices for the XM8500 on Amazon in the UK. Although, 7 to 9 Euros is absolute madness 🤣 At one point it was £13, so I bought a few of them. I like to mess about and modify microphones and put together microphone capsules inside different microphone bodies. For these microphone modifications, the XM8500 is absolutely amazing as its body is really well built and its classic hand held design is never going out of fashion. While the likes of the 7B and RE20 have certain advantages, you really do pay a lot for that. However, and as you said, for someone getting into something like podcasting etc. The XM8500 is just a ridiculous price. Cheers, Dave.
I've had the same XM8500 for a dozen or so years, I've used it on everything and it's fantastic. I started looking at the SM7B and I have yet to find any comparison videos that can justify spending the money. If anything I might just get another XM8500. 5:35 if there's buzzing b/c of the camera's power supply, can it be an accurate comparison?
Simply said, I prefer the sound of the Behringer XM8500 🙂
Hi Dave hope you're well. For what it's worth, I couldn't tell the difference between the two mics while listening on my Samsung tablet, not the ideal audio platform I know.
Best wishes stay safe Jon.
Alright, Jon. Listening back on a tablet is a fair thing to do as it's more representative of what most people use as most people watch UA-cam on portable devices, with the biggest device being phones. Even on good headphones, the difference between these two mics is going to be down to personal taste as the XM8500 is a good sounding mic for what it is. And for £25 it's an absolute no brainer, although, the SM7B does come off as terrible value for money. Hope you are well buddy. Cheers, Dave.
The smb is not 15 times better for you tube said it before people are listening on a phone while the tv is on in same room so yhere not analysing sound and the 25 mic is more than good for the job .
Side note dont be like me and not check the cheep china wireless lav mic is working and get shite sound from the gopro media mic that you then have to noise reduce im a muppet dont be like chris
Hope your keeping well 😊
Alright, Chris. Yes, for 15 times the price, there's nothing in there to justify that price difference. As you say, most people are listening back on devices that simply won't show the differences anyway. That said, even on a good pair of headphones, while there are differences, I think those differences become personal taste anyway. Even if the 7B was only twice the price, I think it would still come down to personal taste anyway, as the XM8500 isn't a bad mic. Forget being a muppet with a cheap Chinese wireless mic, I can go one better 🤣 I've been out a few times with expensive self powered mics and not recorded their output because the power wasn't switched on 😂 The lesson there, just because your camera's audio meters are showing a signal, it doesn't necessarily mean that the signal being indicated is from the mic you are supposed to be using. That's because as well as the external mic not being switched on, I'd forgotten to switch to the external mic anyway in the camera settings and was using the built in ones. What a clown 😂 Hope your'e well buddy. Cheers, Dave.
@DavidHarryUncut feel better it's not just me I'm working hard to improve the levels thanks bud for all the info support and fun 👍 have a cracking weekend
neither. these are both the gopro-s of voice recording. i know it's not exactly a stellar comment. or is it?
the following are all nicer, at least to my ears they are:
adk 51
stellar x2 (it is a stellar comment! technically)
monoprice lc100
sound sleuth's condenser microphone build on TSC-2 capsules
anything from lewitt
neat worker bee ii
sennheiser me62 you have
even the sennheiser me2 lavalier although the list is getting whacky here
countryman b6 lavalier why not
wildly different prices. most of the really offensive recording mistakes happen in signal processing anyway; some people are just deaf. you even see a lot of clowns somehow managing to turn out utter dog-shit even with real time monitoring, while others record blissfully clean audio with a blue yeti
Hi, Mark.
Both these mics are dynamics and their tonal responses are very representative of what to expect from a typical dynamic. All the mics you've listed are condensers and they will sound and respond quite differently.
While I do prefer condensers myself, I'm yet to find anything that's manufactured consistently that gets close to the price of an XM8500 and its usefulness, especially for someone wanting to try out something that they're not used to.
As for some of the offensive dog shite that you can find on UA-cam. This is going to happen with any mic if the person doing the recording/editing is a complete tool and not a Pro Tool 🤣
As for processing etc. pre or post. The worst of that is all those f@@king clowns claiming to be audio experts who do a really good job of showing people how to destroy the characteristics of their mics with a bunch of BS "advice". I especially find it aggravating when some dickhead is doing a "review" of a microphone's ability and is clearly using tone control.
I hope you don't mind but I may pilfer something you said, as it was one of the best things I've heard in a long time as a description. "The SM7B is the GoPro of voice recording" That was f@@ing hilarious 🤣 I wonder, does that mean that "The XM8500 is the DJI of voice recording" 🤣
Anyway. For £25 and sometimes considerably less. The XM8500 is a no brainer for someone wanting to test the waters. And the SM7B is an overpriced and overhyped mediocre microphone at best that needs far too much assistance to do its job properly.
Cheers,
Dave.
i'm glad you like the line @@DavidHarryUncut one more thought. they are problem solving tools, right: one creator i like went from the sure sm75 to the sony c100 to help him with noise cancellation, flimsy walls, noisy neighbors, untreated room, that sort of thing. i've never seen this microphone in real life but through the video seems like a wonderful microphone. he didn't like it and returned it shortly after, so not much of a story, and i don't even know the exact reason. i think the moral of the "story" is if it doesn't make the job easier, it doesn't matter that it's a mile better by every metric under the sun
Yes, far too many people get all bent out of shape with microphones and thinking that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. What makes that worse is the fact that most people don't know what they are doing. Not that you have to have audio experience as a prerequisite in order to get into something that involves microphones. For complete dickheads like me who have had decades of professional experience in audio and music production etc. I think it's OK to have a laugh and good mess about with mics, especially if it entertains others. But for regular users, they should just concentrate on what they can afford and put their efforts into what they are doing, podcasting, vlogging, YT videos etc. and not get so bent out of shape about the mic they are using. The simple fact is that once you get past a certain point with a microphone, they are all good and if you don't get something good out of it, then it's you that's the problem and not the mic. For professional studio work etc. Where certain mics work well with specific instruments etc. And the balance of mics for live multiple sound sources is a technical dilemma. Then yes, getting all bent out of shape is almost mandatory. But for simple, single voice recording, in a controlled environment, even if that's your bedroom, like I record in. It's not rocket science and most nearly any OK mic will give a result. Many people seem to forget that it's what you are saying and/or the message that your'e conveying or how you entertain people, that's the most important thing and not the technology used to do it. Anyway, I look forward to making another pointless microphone video or comparison that feeds into the UA-cam frenzy 🤣 Or, for anyone who gets what I'm about, something to have a good laugh at and hopefully a few minutes of what I hope is entertainment. Cheers, Dave.