sE Electronics VR2 Mic Test / Review (vs. SM7b, M160, KU5a, NTR)
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- Опубліковано 3 сер 2024
- HQ Audio Of Review: podcastage.com/rev/vr2
Podcast with VR2: • Everything Has Been a ...
Today I review the sE Electronics VR2 which is an active ribbon mic with a healthy sensitivity and a nice extension into the treble and air frequencies. I think this is a great option for adding to a mic locker if you want a ribbon mic in your mic locker.
Buy the sE Electronics Voodoo VR2 (Affiliate Link)
Amazon: geni.us/sevr2
Sweetwater: imp.i114863.net/vr2
Buy the Focusrite 2i2 (3rd Gen)- Same Performance as 18i20 (Affiliate Link)
Amazon: geni.us/2i32rd
Sweetwater: imp.i114863.net/k6g4d
00:00 - Intro / Price / Disclaimer
00:19 - Setup
00:38 - What’s in the Box
01:22 - Build Quality / Walkthrough
01:53 - Specifications
02:33 - Polar Pattern Test (Tone / Rotation)
03:00 - Plosive Test
03:20 - Distance Test / Proximity Effect Test
03:45 - Background Noise Test
04:03 - Untreated Room Test
04:24 - Microphone Mount Bump Test
04:42 - Mic Resonance Tap Test
05:01 - Intro to Comparison
05:25 - MXL R144 Comparison
05:54 - Shure SM7b Comparison
06:22 - Royer R10 Comparison
06:52 - Beyerdynamic M160 Comparison
07:21 - Rode NTR Comparison
08:01 - AEA KU5a Comparison
08:30 - Neumann U87 Ai Comparison
08:58 - Music Test
10:29 - Pros & Cons
11:21 - Overall Thoughts
15:23 - Recommendation
16:20 - My Customer Service Experience
17:59 - Outro
#RibbonMic #Essentials #MicReview
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DO NOT contact anyone on Telegram that is claiming to be me. I am not giving anything away. They are scammers trying to steal your money and data.
Ah! I got several such messages from a fake Curtis Judd.
Thanks for heads up!
I don’t have anything constructive to comment, but I just wanted to tell you that I enjoy your videos immensely and I think you’re absolutely awesome! ❤
Vr2👍
Bandrew rocks
this is definetely one of the best sounding mics you have ever reviewed. Really enjoyed this one
I also think so.
Ribbon mics in general, sound amazing. They just sound more 'natural'.
@@hxhdfjifzirstc894 what is a ribbon mic? I’ve never heard of one. Is it different than a condenser or dynamic
Really. It sounds so amazing.
The music part is what sold me, if I ever have the budget for a thousand dollar mic, it's figure 8 which is good and it sounds so natural on the guitars
I own of pair of the VR2s. Definitely two of my favorite mics (even better than my condensers costing more than double). Completely a home run by sE. Quick fun fact for you - Audio electronics legend Rupert Neve collaborated with sE on the design of their more expensive ribbon mic. It's a beautiful design and it's the first and only time Rupert has ever partnered with a company on a mic design. His contribution was key in developing a ribbon mic technology that preserves the high frequency content that ribbon mics are known to lose. Subsequently, the owner of sE who is also an electronics wizard found a way (using nothing but various metal combinations/spacing/hole design etc) to essentially produce almost the identical top-end frequency gorgeousness of the Rupert Neve ribbon design but without the cost of any additional expensive electronics to achieve it (amazing!!)
Also, ALL passive ribbon mics (like the sE VR1) are completely reliant on the impedance of the mic pre to determine the sound you capture. An extremely high impedance is required in order for the thinner-than-a-hair-on-your-head ribbon to have the proper flexibility/sensitivity. Some engineers use this as a back door way of being creative with shaping the response of the mic during recording. Some upper tier preamps actually have adjustable impedance which is great for experimenting with how a ribbon will sound at various impedance input levels. The other need a passive ribbon has is for insane amounts of clean preamplification. This is because the the level of electrical signal being produced by the minuscule vibrations of the ribbon need A LOT of boost to reach a recordable level.
There are preamps actually made just for ribbon mics but they are a little pricey because of the cost of providing the high impedance and high gain levels.
The cool thing sE did with the VR2 is they put the expensive initial preamp gain/boost and matching impedance electronics INTO the electronics of the VR2. That's why the body of the VR2 is bigger than the VR1. It's like they jammed a custom impedance cloud lifter inside. The electronics to boost the gain and impedance add a little to the cost of the VR2 compared to the VR1 but now I can power those added electronics in the "active" VR2 with any phantom power capable preamp and the mic will basically perform well on pretty much any decent preamp. Even with a zoom H6 field recorder type device for all those battery powered recording sessions you do out in nature that you've always wanted to use a ribbon mic for.
For me the coolest things is being able to buy two VR2 for less than what I would have spent on 1 Royer ribbon (historically one of my all time favorite ribbon mics) There are several other great ribbon mics out there (Beyerdynamic, Coles, RØDE, AudioTechnica, Shure and a couple others), but if all the ribbon mics out there were free, I'd still pick up the pair of VR2 (as I did) because of the sound. They are the only mic company in the world that doesn't lose the upper frequency response. To my ear they perform like a condenser mic in terms of frequency response, but sound "natural" vs a condenser which sounds "pristine" .
Lastly, ribbons are historically electronically boosted in the low end to account for the loss of low end sensitivity when placed at a distance from the source. The boost helped warm things back up. Great when used at a distance, but OVERY boomy when used in a more normal placement. Historically, the original ye olde RCA ribbons had a jumper that could be placed to eliminate this boost when used close to the source. If you are using a ribbon mic at a far distance, we have amazing, clean parametric EQ options in our DAWs that can help bring up the low end.
Also, the new generation of ribbons are more durable than the super fragile RCA's because we have neodymium magnets now rather than weak rare earth magnets so we can use these new ribbons super close to insanely loud guitar amps and brass instruments and they'll take all the gain you can dish without issue.
Great video and great review style!
PS, I've also experienced lag time when communicating with sE directly. But for anything service related. I personally but my gear from Sweetwater because when things go wrong they handle all the replacement type stuff with manufacturers which has saved me countless hours over the years!
Look into Samar ribbon mics based out of Salt Lake City Utah; very high end state of the art equipped w great top end full response. Really cool small company I came across recently, everything is made in-house.
This is a very good comment, I feel like I should've paid for this info.
😁
OH YES! The one above that one... still pondering on saving up for that...
Their RNT condenser is a beautiful microphone too. It's somewhere between a U87 and a Sony C800G imo.
I never expected to prefer the sound of a ribbon to the U87 Ai at the end! I had no idea you could get such a natural sense of a room from a figure-8 ribbon - the VR2 sounds so natural. The other ribbons are very dark in comparison. Great video Bandrew!
The band I play in uses three of these, two as overheads and one on my amp. They've been on the road with us for several years and are holding up just fine. We love them!! Thanks for doing this one!!
Never heard of a touring band using ribbons, let alone for a long period of time 😳 congrats on keeping them alive that long 🙌
I bought a VR2 about a year ago and am absolutely blown away by it every single time I even look at it. It's probably the heaviest feeling thing in my entire studio, sounds just incredible, and looks stunning. I have yet to record something on it that didn't exceed my hopes.
Have you checked out any of the sE Tube mics?
Hi, May you offer any suggestions on a good interface to go with this? I got recommended the Presonus Quantum Thunderbolt but it's prohibitively expensive.
I bought this mic as my dream mic (on paper I actually never even listened to it until today 😅). Is the Clarett by Focusrite or something else a great interface to use with this microphone? Any guidance and personal preference(s) is appreciated 😊 ideally I don't want to spend more than 600 for more accessories and the interface.
The VR2 sounds great, to my ear. It seems like good value for money. I won't be surprised to see you come back to this one again and again. Great review, Bandrew.
Yeah, I liked it better than the Hello Nuemann
Agreed. It makes the U87 sound cheap. 😳
Out of all of these, the VR2 definitely sounds the best, with the NTR and U87 being close seconds. This is probably in the top 5 for the best sounding mics you've ever reviewed, amazing stuff!
Yessssss. I have had the passive version of this for a while, and it's my favorite. It just sounds perfect on everything, especially vocals.
Nice... sE Electronics seems like a great brand. Seems like they're on fire. I just recently ordered my first "proper mic setup" which includes the V7 (thanks to you and others). It'll be my first XLR microphone ever, first audio interface+mic arm as well.
Unsurprisingly it makes the guitars sound amazing. Proximity boost is enormous, as expected. Your point about mid-forwardness is fair, as that's why you'd commonly get one in the first place. Luckily there's other benefits like the true figure-8. I really liked this microphone compared to others, maybe the beyer is even nicer.
I honestly believe you have the perfect voice for mic reviews!
First off, great video as usual........in regards to customer service. I had the exact same issue with a shock mount but had the exact opposite situation with customer service. They responded super fast and sent me out a replacement ASAP. Just thought I'd share my experience. Keep the videos coming.......
She's a keeper. I just picked up a pair of VR1s and am itching to get a pair of these as well. What lovely tone. One of the colleges we work with has a couple of VR2s and they are impressive.
Thanks, Bandrew
Ngl this is probably the best sounding microphone I've heard you put you voice through
Beautiful sounding Microphone from SE as always. I really like how it looks as well. Thank You for the review Bandrew
finally there is a straight comparison between the VR series and the M160!
I am here for the songs!!! The reviews are a bonus 😁😁
This microphone sounds incredible!
I know what microphone I might get when I need / want one.
In my opinion it also crushes the SM7b easily.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the Rode NTR!
I'm loving the SE and I'm loving the price compared to the competition.
I love your song man! :) And thank you for all reviews! They are amazing!
If you like his song, you'd probably love Weezer.
Great video. Damn that thing sounds incredible
Yay!!!!! I’m soooooo happy for this review!!!!
Your voice sounds super huge with this mic- it's so crazy. I would love to get this mic. In my opinion it blew the other mics away. Strangely Ive had a similar experience with SE Electronics in the past. I do love their products though.
To echo everyone, you’re awesome. I’ve had this for a few years and agree with you, great mic. Wouldn’t even dream of selling it!
I used to use the VR1 all the time in studio, it's fantastic. Couldn't help but buy my own when the studio closed with everything else
This sounds incredible. Only got $500..this is in my bucket list when it goes on sale!
Nice video, nice cap and congrats for the 300K!
I wanted to buy a microphone about two years ago. I like your reviews so much that I'm not buying the microphone yet...lol
Regarding the customer service experience... I had a V7 that went bad. I contacted the local distributor, and had it replaced within a week from when I first contacted them. Always go to point of purchase, or local distributor first. Manufacturers are usually not setup to deal with warranty claims from the general population.
Extremely good mic for acoustic instruments, too!
Recently used VR2 to record flute. Never used ribbon before. Very different to my mid price caps. Needed a a lot more gain and a huge low mid to end roll off to sound natural and be positioned very close to pick up high end air. But one dialled in damn it sounds bloody good.
Very nice. sE Electronics is making some great products. Love this, and my DynaCaster.
:) the song test was good, thanks for the chuckle!
Woww honestly the sounds is soo good,
Thank you for your review,
I use these as main overheads on my drumkit in my homestudio. They sound fantastic🤩
Your microphone videos are the best and I do like your lyrics. Maybe next time you can sing about stickers? 😂
Really good sounding ribbon mic. 😎👍
I have a VR1 + Cloudlifter CL-Z, and later got a M160 too. Says a lot about the sE ribbons that I like the VR1 even more than the Beyer (which is an all-time great, especially for recording guitar amps).
best sounding $500 mic I've heard in a long time!
this is the perfect mic for homemade documentaries, perfect for the interviews
i think imma buy this microphone i love this review
This VR2 sounds awesome!
“Try” would have been a better rhyme my man. Haha love ur content, im not a musician/content creator, just a casual gamer, but you sparked an interest in me for mics. Got a samson c01 in a yamaha mg10xu due to budget-constraints, lovin it except for the noise floor. Would love to try those sweet mics someday. Thanks man! Keep em comin!
BTW, i know you aren’t impressed with the samson C01 but i got these for cheap from a friend, so there you go. 😆
The Pallet Cleanser Is Key Keep Up The Great Work ! Thanks ! Mic Tests On Drum Over-Heads With "Crash" Riding. Would Be Next Level ! Thanks Again
That really means a lot. I would LOVE to be able to provide a drum test and an overhead test, it's unfortunately not possible for me at this time. I hope one day I'll be able to get a space where I can add those tests to my review though. Thanks for the comment and the suggestion.
Love your videos, very informative, even like your silly song lyrics 🤣 I bought the sE Voodoo VR2 mic at the beginning of the pandemic to record violin (classical/acoustic), because I couldn't afford a pair of Beyerdynamic M160's + an external preamp for ribbon mics. Most recording studios and performance venues like to mic the violin sections with Neumann KM 184 ($1,500/pair) or Schoeps CMC6-U ($3,500/pair) pencil condensers. However, for $499 a piece, the VR2 is so friendly to classical violin. The high trebles are not shrill or harsh and add so much natural warmth and body compared to expensive condensers. Being an active ribbon, the VR2 is so convenient for any USB audio interface. Have not compared it to more expensive ribbon mics from Royer or AEA or even the Audio-Technica AT4080 ($1,000). The MXL R144 is junk that should be melted down into staples and thumb tacks. The VR2 is not just a very good relatively inexpensive ribbon mic. It's simply a very good ribbon mic, good for many applications and especially for violin, strings and piano. Highly recommend! Totally agree with everything Bandrew covered on this review. I like the sticker too 😉
I love the sound of that mic. It really likes your voice too. It would benefit quite a bit from a suspension mount. I kick myself for not buying M160s when they were a few hundred dollars. One of best ribbons ever. We hear them daily in big, BIG records. Every guitar on Jimi Hendrix’s records was an M160, sometimes with a Sony C48, also a nicely un-hyped microphone.
Will you review the sE Eletronics DCM3/6? I’m just waiting on your review to decide if buy this model or stick to buying a SM57… by the way, great video as always :D
I have one in the studio and love it....
Amazing, you should also review the Se 2300
Suggestion: have someone who can use your mics on drums too. I love these vids but I play drums too and just having some added info on that would be good. Keep em coming.
That microphone sounds wonderful. I have a Superlux Ribbon-mic lying around, but if I was going to get a new mic, this sE Electronics VR2 might just hit the spot...
Ribbons have that awesome smoothness, and the new super-thin ribbons have a really open top-end as you say. You can thank Royer, Mesanovic, and Samar for figuring that out and revolutionizing the ribbon market.
With that said, ribbons break and I wouldn't want to have to work with sE to deal with that. That's why my ribbons are a pair of Samar VL37s. The 37 is only warranted for ribbon replacement in the first 2 years, but at least I can get hold of them.
Got two of these. Great for overhead or room.
Nice surprice. It's one of the nicest sounding microphones for spoken word.
Great mic, very useful for drum overheads and electric guitars. An active ribbon mic with a better high end frequency response. I find the Royer R-121 sounds boxy in comparison, albeit great for some tasks.
The VR2 is the best one in the comparison. The M160 and U87 come close but others seem to have a boomy, unrealistic feel to them. Some other favourites of mine are the akg c414 and aston origin. You can't argue with pretty much perfectly realistic audio though, especially if you like to use passthrough or want to save time in post-processing.
That AEA KU5a sounds great.
WTF this mic sounds like another level 😍
Eyo? That actually sounds really good without any post on it and it is quite affordable. Putting that one on the wishlist~
The biggest takeaway from the mic comparisons was that this mic sounded so natural compared to even the U87. So many of the other mics sounded either muddy and muted in the top end or overly nasal-y.
The VR2 makes the U87 sound cheap (artificial sounding, honky) by comparison.
Wow! Nice review! Gotta use my vr1 more! Haha
Thanks for adding the customer service (or lack thereof) comment.... important in a world with less and less customer service every day....
Strange thing... just before watching this, I was trying to remember the name of the first graphics card I ever owned back in the day, but just couldn't remember. Started the video and "SE Electronics *Voodoo* VR *2* ". My brain short circuited for a second because you answered my question. 3DFX Voodoo 2 was the name of that graphics card.
301k!!! I like that mic a massive quite a bit lot for sure yes.
Dear Mr. Bandrew. Would you please consider reviewing a few of the Golden Age Ribbon mics? More specifically the (Golden Age Project Premier R1A) or the (Golden Age R2 MKii). Thanks, and have a super happy New Years.
the Royer R10 sounded sweet but I do like the VR2 sound as well.
Hard to get used to the idea that phantom power needs to be on for a ribbon but this is the one I would get. The only drawback is no patterns other than figure 8.
VR2 slayed them all!
The 4 feet away test sounds shockingly okay.
Wow the VR2 sounds so rich !!
I like the sennheiser song you made ("i swear im not a shill")
this mic sounds great
Thank you! For your very honsest. Appraisal of vr2 se ribbon mic. I think its too new and too expensive and as you say no customer service. Many thanks for your in depth toil!
After those mics the Neumann pierced my ears haha
Holy crap the VR2 sounds awesome on your voice through my iPhone!
How did you connect VR2 to your iPhone?
@@tamayeseruysal7405 I meant to say that listening to his voice on my iPhone speaker sounded great
You're incorrect Andrew, on any new review I start by listening to the comparisons (to decide if I like it enough that I want to watch the whole video) and then secondly I go to your music test because your songs are great. I appreciate your lyrics
I've used both the VR2 and VR1; they are both quite good.
I've checked out the NTE too.
Perhaps you can test the Shure KSM313, Beyerdynamic M 130, and another sE mic, the RNR1.
Hi, I’ve been enjoying your content and just purchased a Scarlet solo. On one laptop, the mic audio sounds great at only 50% gain. On other computers the audio level is really low unless I put gain on 100%. I know a lot of people say you need a cloud lifter but I got it working great on one computer without cloud lifter so do you have any idea why the audio level is so low on the other computer? Windows audio settings are the same on both. It’s driving me crazy.
Do the front snd back sound exactly the same quality wise? In your video review it really does sound super close 🙂 I wonder if this mic would be fun for interviews with a person on each side of the mic
I had the royer and did not like it. It was way to dark like a mic used for kick so I sold it but I had no idea the se sounded that balanced and to be fair its also active verse passive. I will take the Neumann lol. I'll give you my address lol. Great video thanks for the review.
Not too long ago, I bought my first "expensive" condenser microphone. It came with two stickers. At first, I was happy about it. But as time went on, as cool as I thought the stickers were, I couldn't figure out where the hell I was supposed to actually put them. I ended up sticking them both on a notebook. So, I think I definitely get where you're coming from.
My aversion to them is: "Hey thanks for spending hundreds of dollars on this equipment. How about you advertise for us now too!"
I know that's an incredibly jaded way to look at things, but it's why I'm not the biggest fan of them. Most people just like stickers because they're a fun way of sharing what you're interested in.
@@Podcastage Lol nah I definitely hear you - especially since you do more promoting for them on your channel than any sticker could hope to accomplish. Speaking of the channel, it's amazing stuff. I've been down a rabbit hole lately watching a bunch of them. Shameless request, would love to see a review/opinion of the JZ V67 - that's the mic I bought and I freakin love it!
dang, this mic sounds awesome! but the fragility and rejection "issues" are probably a bit much for me (not enough to change out my SM7B), but dang it sounds amazing!
Given the figure-eight pattern, I'd guess that room treatment makes a huge difference in the performance of this mic.
OMG!!!! THE STRAT!!!
Any idea how this compares to the VR1? Are they the same recording element, just without the active booster? All things being equal, I think I'd rather have the passive version and add my own preamp.
Hahaha. " And this is fine" proceeds to light the sticker.. hahaha. Classic
I like this mic, it reminds me of the Pokemon Centiskorch.
the side rejection on this seems fantastic, is that a ribbon microphone thing? or something more specific to this one?
It’s definitely a figure 8 polar pattern quality however many people feel that the nulls are deeper and cleaner than on a condenser mic in figure 8
Oh My, OK, adding it to my sweetwater wish list !!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As always-- I'd love to see how Mike D of Booth Junkie fame sounds on this -- !!! Thank you!!
The only mic you need is the amazing VR2
I had a great customer service experience with sE Electronics (note: this was probably 2 years ago). They quickly put me in touch with the North American distributor and sent me a brand new microphone, even though my issue was almost more cosmetic than anything (a $400 sE2300). Maybe they're inconsistent, or perhaps a negative change over the last couple of years?
That’s a WOW mic!
Sad that you didn’t include the JZ V-11 in the shootout - only because it is so dark.
Most sibilant ribbon that has earned your recommendation.
for me the beyerdynamics m160 is the best choice for the price. Love the clarity and the mids on the VR2, but the highs have a little too much harshness, you can hear it specially on the esses
welp.... sold my 103 and my solo edge modeling mic + my wa73..... Got a se v7 and enjoyed it on my id22 with analog obsession. Curious about this mic now. SE seems pretty nice. Been using that dynamic in my whisperbooth. You think this would work fine in there?
Folks should be aware that a figure of 8 can be a tricky issue. Most live recordings with more than - let´s say three instruments are problematic with that polar pattern. In the studio it´s a different story of course.
Yes. Figure-8 in a less than ideal room can be a big problem. If you're near some hard surfaces, it's not uncommon to encounter comb filtering from the reflections hitting the rear of the ribbon.
I'd prefer if you'd start the comparisons beginning with the Neumann.