The fact that in some cases the Fake SM7B sounds better than the real one makes a strong case about the importance of choosing the right microphone for each voice. Some voices will pair amazingly with the darker frequency response of a genuine SM7B, while others might benefit from the top end boost of a fake, or different microphone. Great comparison/analysis. 👏
Seems to me that China is trying pretty hard to give us an exact copy of these mics for 1/4 of the cost. If they master the Unidyne 3 capsule and pneumatic shock mount, I'm not shure it would be worth buying a real one. If you want your patented designs to remain exclusive, don't have anything made in China. None of this was an issue for Shure when they had their mics built in Mexico.
Years ago I acquired some Unidyne capsules made in Mexico for $40 each. The Chinese knockoffs are not as good and certainly not sonically equivalent. They have done a great job of mimicking the hardware and the packaging.
Thanks for the video. I just bought two fake SM7B's from Ebay. I was replacing two units that were flooded in Hurricane Ian, so I was tempted buy the price. It turns out they are fake! I did not realize they were fake until I used them on a podcast next to two real ones. I had tested them on a stand when I received them and they sounded good. The atrocious handling noise during recording was what made me look into it further. During the recording, if you so much as rubbed the desk you could hear it through the mic. Also the paint on the fakes that I bought is different, much shinier, almost glossy black. The audio cartridges under the wire guard was not straight in either unit, they were almost touching the wire guard/pop filter. Other things that I noticed: the rubber grommets were loose, the wire was longer than the originals, the colors of the internal wiring was incorrect. The back plate was painted on the back and sides (should be bare metal on the sides) The packaging looked good but the bags were zip locked (not correct), the box was shrink wrapped (not normal). I have asked for a refund from Ebay, waiting for a response
I recently bought 2 one from Amazon and one from ebay. They are virtually identical. The older videos show the inner wiring where the real one is gold/brass and the fake is silver and the backpate has a R trademark. They fixed all of that on the one I got from ebay. Your video helped confirmed that ebay was indeed the fake one with the longer cable, easy to remove cable hole, and grey-ish filter. Everything else is identical
I listened to this review on my KRK Studio monitors. I couldn't really tell a difference between the two SM7B microphones except for when the review gave audio queues to distinguish which one was active. For the price, it seems like a good deal when compared to the OEM option. When you compare it to the more common options - headphone mic, usb mic, etc. It's still a dramatic upgrade.
apart from the handling noise it isn't... a real one is better but the fake ones don't sound bad, I just got one for 57 euros shipped from ali express! the handling noise is terrible though so I'm hoping of working out some sort of modification to improve that... otherwise the fake maybe sounded slightly better on my singing voice but the real one (I have an SM7 not a newer B model) sounded much nicer and fuller on my speaking voice.... not bad for 57 euros though really
I'm not against knock offs, but they honestly didn't have to make it a 1:1 clone and try to sell it as a real SM7B, they could have just changed a couple things and marketed it differently and sold it for $150, loose all the ethical issues and new streamers and podcasters trying to save some money but have a clean aesthetic would have ate this up. I'm sure tons of people will buy them. I honestly just did the SM58 mod and that has worked great for me and all built was around $150 but this would skip much of the nonsense for sure. thank you for the video.
I got one from ebay that was perfect in every aspect except the cable was slightly thinner, the paint was slightly rougher and the foam was slighly lighter color. I was convinced the differences were due to manufacturer tolerances till I compared the sound. The counterfeit was more open and the low end was leaner. Every detail other than that was exact. Another year or two they'll fix those differences and make the spund exact. I just don't understand how they got so many details so perfect.
They have fixed all the normal clues. I was so convinced I had the real thing till I compared sound. My reference mic was purchased from Sweetwater for $430, the ebay mic was purchased for $175. I could see in some songs the counterfeit being the better option. No more used SM7b mics for me. In one year they'll get it exact.
I'm a recording/touring artist. I have had a few sm7bs over the years and I really never liked them for recording. Now you got me wondering if I had fake ones.
Hello, bought a preowned SN7B and i've gone threw all your devices and i have a question:on the bottom of the xlr plugin is written SHURE. Maybe also a Difference between fake and original?
I just bought a fake SM7B for $146 USD from ebay. It's getting so good that it's REALLY hard to tell. The filter is identical, I opened it up and the wire colour is almost identical except a red wire but it's got the other green, yellow etc. It's also really sturdy if you tighten the side things. I haven't tested the sound yet, but this is an extremely good fake. Considering reals are $500 here, it's crazy how close they are. I was going to try and fight for a refund, but now I'm curious.
@Bronjames67 I can't tell what version of fake this is, but it's modeled after the newer versions of the Shure SM7B and was on the more expensive side if that makes a difference ^_^
I bought and use a fake, and you couldnt tell, its my firm belief they come from the same place, a factory in china, someone was smart enough to make extra than shure has contracted them for and sell it online
Desh5161 but from what it seems 99.9% of the sm7bs on eBay are fakes of they’re priced in that “too good to be true” category. I’d avoid eBay all together.
Thank you Juts bought SM7B of eBay £180,, sent it back as the robber Grommets where coming out,, got full refund,,, Your Video was a massive help and confirm my thoughts it was a fake,,, but never thought it was possible ,, Fake SM7B,, Have learnt a lesson Thank You
It's not bad! But the handling noise is a non-starter for me. Any slight vibration comes through on the audio. I've since returned the fakes to the Ebay seller.
All the stuff you listed is good, but the problem is, with fake SM7Bs there's no consistent production traits, therefore they can hit and miss, its very difficult for the average person to tell, the only way to combat these fakes, is do what Shure recommends, buy from an authorized dealer. My suggestion is, if you're buying used, make sure to ask for the bill of sale. Question, can you show us what the inside looks like?
I've since sent these mic's back so I can't show you but I did look inside and it appeared to be identical to my real SM7B's including the color of the wires which I've seen other mention can be different.
I bought a real SM7B to get the better bass response than the SM57. The published response curves tell the story. Thanks for the tip on the handling noise.
The real one sounds better more details in the sound, I think I ordered a fake one on accident also the seller is writing me personally that it's a real one but we will see, because he is Chinese and he can't say the brand name but is saying it's a real one.
I just bought a fake one from EBay by mistake. I actually starting thinking that it was probably fake after I paid for it, but before it was delivered. I hate to say it…it sounds good. It also looks the part which was one reason why I wanted one. Wouldn’t buy another, though.
i just watched a video before this and found out my sm7b is fake. it sound great though and I have it paired with a GoXLR. sounds fine. I'll eventually upgrade to the sm7db tho
Thanks man. Your video just saved my 200$ to buy the fake one. Maybe it is not bad, but I was planing to buy it from Ebay thinking that it was original.
GENIAL.... Hey have you thought about SHURE MV7 I got one for my wife and it doesn't sound like shure mic... And also on every touch we make on it it sounds terrible
Also, now I know how to spot a FAKE one easily. With my $300 Headphones I can instantly tell the amount of noise is way too much but I feel like even with cheaper $50 headphones I could easily spot it.
As you know, Shure has had its factories in China for some time. These SM7B coming from Chinese factories, even though they are original, sound bad. The ones produced in Mexico had a much better sound.
I can't believe ppl are buying fakes for full price, i got one for 40 dollars and i've mostly been using it for meetings😂 got an audio interface for 50 and have spent 80 dollars less than my rode usb mic that i bought 4 years ago
You're paying for the product and this is how pretty much every industry operates, you shouldn't be wearing any pair of Jeans as Levi's was the original creator of the apparel then.
@@Mccreed17 This anal logy doesn't work, other jeans brands don't tell you that you are hereby buying Levi's... Are you seriously actively suggesting that what's printed on a particular product is what counts and nothing else? I must wonder what's more a practical epitome of "ostriches put their heads in the sand" than this.
You flip back-and-forth so fast people can’t keep up with the difference and you can tell from the comments people are getting confused which one is the real one and the fake one
I love it. Now you can get a decent looking, camera-ready fake that sounds pretty good. I mean, if we're all going to be "monkey see monkey do," might as well beat the system. I think Shure will be fine in the long run. Oh, and anyone buying one of these fakes, thinking they are getting a new "real" one for a hugely discounted price, is simply flaunting their ignorance. If you know anything at all about gear, how could you really think you are getting a new one for that cheap. Lastly, it's just a mic. You sound fine, speaking English and everything!
The fact that in some cases the Fake SM7B sounds better than the real one makes a strong case about the importance of choosing the right microphone for each voice. Some voices will pair amazingly with the darker frequency response of a genuine SM7B, while others might benefit from the top end boost of a fake, or different microphone. Great comparison/analysis. 👏
Seems to me that China is trying pretty hard to give us an exact copy of these mics for 1/4 of the cost. If they master the Unidyne 3 capsule and pneumatic shock mount, I'm not shure it would be worth buying a real one. If you want your patented designs to remain exclusive, don't have anything made in China. None of this was an issue for Shure when they had their mics built in Mexico.
"not shure it would be..." I see what you did there
@@kevinldaniellol im dumb i didn't even notice. mine says made in mexico, and seems to have better build quality than a fake sm7b review i saw
Years ago I acquired some Unidyne capsules made in Mexico for $40 each. The Chinese knockoffs are not as good and certainly not sonically equivalent. They have done a great job of mimicking the hardware and the packaging.
@@djtommykeys the mic i just got is insane, the packaging is nearly 1:1
Thanks for the video. I just bought two fake SM7B's from Ebay. I was replacing two units that were flooded in Hurricane Ian, so I was tempted buy the price. It turns out they are fake! I did not realize they were fake until I used them on a podcast next to two real ones. I had tested them on a stand when I received them and they sounded good. The atrocious handling noise during recording was what made me look into it further. During the recording, if you so much as rubbed the desk you could hear it through the mic. Also the paint on the fakes that I bought is different, much shinier, almost glossy black. The audio cartridges under the wire guard was not straight in either unit, they were almost touching the wire guard/pop filter. Other things that I noticed: the rubber grommets were loose, the wire was longer than the originals, the colors of the internal wiring was incorrect. The back plate was painted on the back and sides (should be bare metal on the sides) The packaging looked good but the bags were zip locked (not correct), the box was shrink wrapped (not normal). I have asked for a refund from Ebay, waiting for a response
I recently bought 2 one from Amazon and one from ebay. They are virtually identical. The older videos show the inner wiring where the real one is gold/brass and the fake is silver and the backpate has a R trademark. They fixed all of that on the one I got from ebay. Your video helped confirmed that ebay was indeed the fake one with the longer cable, easy to remove cable hole, and grey-ish filter. Everything else is identical
yeah but does it give the same quality output? no one ist talking bout that
I listened to this review on my KRK Studio monitors. I couldn't really tell a difference between the two SM7B microphones except for when the review gave audio queues to distinguish which one was active. For the price, it seems like a good deal when compared to the OEM option. When you compare it to the more common options - headphone mic, usb mic, etc. It's still a dramatic upgrade.
Here in Chile the difference on price is abysmal. The fake one costs 20% of the original. I can't hear the original being five times better.
apart from the handling noise it isn't... a real one is better but the fake ones don't sound bad, I just got one for 57 euros shipped from ali express! the handling noise is terrible though so I'm hoping of working out some sort of modification to improve that... otherwise the fake maybe sounded slightly better on my singing voice but the real one (I have an SM7 not a newer B model) sounded much nicer and fuller on my speaking voice.... not bad for 57 euros though really
I'm not against knock offs, but they honestly didn't have to make it a 1:1 clone and try to sell it as a real SM7B, they could have just changed a couple things and marketed it differently and sold it for $150, loose all the ethical issues and new streamers and podcasters trying to save some money but have a clean aesthetic would have ate this up. I'm sure tons of people will buy them. I honestly just did the SM58 mod and that has worked great for me and all built was around $150 but this would skip much of the nonsense for sure. thank you for the video.
I wasn't planning on buying a microphone at all but I watched all of this.
Very professional review.
Thanks, helpful vid, seeing a lot of what must be fake ones on ebay
I got one from ebay that was perfect in every aspect except the cable was slightly thinner, the paint was slightly rougher and the foam was slighly lighter color. I was convinced the differences were due to manufacturer tolerances till I compared the sound. The counterfeit was more open and the low end was leaner. Every detail other than that was exact. Another year or two they'll fix those differences and make the spund exact. I just don't understand how they got so many details so perfect.
They have fixed all the normal clues. I was so convinced I had the real thing till I compared sound. My reference mic was purchased from Sweetwater for $430, the ebay mic was purchased for $175. I could see in some songs the counterfeit being the better option. No more used SM7b mics for me. In one year they'll get it exact.
one of the reasons i didn't buy my SM7DB on amazon and chose to buy from Guitar Center. Great mic
I'm a recording/touring artist. I have had a few sm7bs over the years and I really never liked them for recording. Now you got me wondering if I had fake ones.
Hello,
bought a preowned SN7B and i've gone threw all your devices and i have a question:on the bottom of the xlr plugin is written SHURE.
Maybe also a Difference between fake and original?
I just bought a fake SM7B for $146 USD from ebay. It's getting so good that it's REALLY hard to tell. The filter is identical, I opened it up and the wire colour is almost identical except a red wire but it's got the other green, yellow etc. It's also really sturdy if you tighten the side things. I haven't tested the sound yet, but this is an extremely good fake. Considering reals are $500 here, it's crazy how close they are. I was going to try and fight for a refund, but now I'm curious.
Lmaooo
Update: Tested it, sounds almost identical to a real shure sm7b so that is definitely a massive problem
@@MissGloriosa yesss!! What version? The fake new one the what one? I wanna invest in this problem cause I’m broke
@Bronjames67 I can't tell what version of fake this is, but it's modeled after the newer versions of the Shure SM7B and was on the more expensive side if that makes a difference ^_^
@@MissGloriosa that makes sense
I bought and use a fake, and you couldnt tell, its my firm belief they come from the same place, a factory in china, someone was smart enough to make extra than shure has contracted them for and sell it online
Where can i buy the Fake one?
What was the name of the seller on eBay so I can be aware?
Desh5161 but from what it seems 99.9% of the sm7bs on eBay are fakes of they’re priced in that “too good to be true” category. I’d avoid eBay all together.
Thank you Juts bought SM7B of eBay £180,,
sent it back as the robber Grommets where coming out,, got full refund,,, Your Video was a massive help
and confirm my thoughts it was a fake,,, but never thought it was possible ,, Fake SM7B,,
Have learnt a lesson Thank You
Your fake SM7B sounds great!
It's not bad! But the handling noise is a non-starter for me. Any slight vibration comes through on the audio. I've since returned the fakes to the Ebay seller.
Where did u buy the fake decent one... Link pls.... ❤❤❤❤❤
The fake one sounds less muddy, buzzing!
All the stuff you listed is good, but the problem is, with fake SM7Bs there's no consistent production traits, therefore they can hit and miss, its very difficult for the average person to tell, the only way to combat these fakes, is do what Shure recommends, buy from an authorized dealer. My suggestion is, if you're buying used, make sure to ask for the bill of sale.
Question, can you show us what the inside looks like?
I've since sent these mic's back so I can't show you but I did look inside and it appeared to be identical to my real SM7B's including the color of the wires which I've seen other mention can be different.
Alright, I wanted to see if they started fixing the wire colors. Nevertheless, thanks for replying.
I bought a real SM7B to get the better bass response than the SM57. The published response curves tell the story. Thanks for the tip on the handling noise.
The real one sounds better more details in the sound, I think I ordered a fake one on accident also the seller is writing me personally that it's a real one but we will see, because he is Chinese and he can't say the brand name but is saying it's a real one.
Did you think amazon sell fake too? I bought it for $399 happy christmas eve
I just bought a fake one from EBay by mistake. I actually starting thinking that it was probably fake after I paid for it, but before it was delivered. I hate to say it…it sounds good. It also looks the part which was one reason why I wanted one. Wouldn’t buy another, though.
i just watched a video before this and found out my sm7b is fake. it sound great though and I have it paired with a GoXLR. sounds fine. I'll eventually upgrade to the sm7db tho
thank you for this information !!!!!
Link oF the fake??plis❤
Please don’t buy it.
@@thedavedillon❤ ok 👍
Thanks man. Your video just saved my 200$ to buy the fake one. Maybe it is not bad, but I was planing to buy it from Ebay thinking that it was original.
If you're buying fake make sure you pay the right price. These shouldn't cost more than $100 max.
@@thedavedillonbut you said they were around $180?
GENIAL.... Hey have you thought about SHURE MV7 I got one for my wife and it doesn't sound like shure mic... And also on every touch we make on it it sounds terrible
I tried it, I didn't like the sound compared to the SM7B.
Get the sm7b pop filter from what I’ve physically heard fixes the plosives and makes the audio sound direct vs the sound waves bouncing around
Great video thanks!!!!
am I the only person who would buy the fake one just to get a similar sound as the real one?
So that you can hear background noise and pay top dollar for an inferior product? OK....
@@aidyleemusic300 You can always use filters to make it sound better, It works on any microphones even budget ones.
@@aidyleemusic300 half price is top dollar? Ok
@@immortalsteel631 How much do you think it costs to make a fake? Clue, its considerably a lot less than half price.
dont, these fakes arent worth more than $100. Do yourself a favor and search for mics that'll probably be much better for cheaper than $200
The best and easiest way to test is connecting cloudlifter. It just won't work on fake one.
Huh? Still worked on these fake ones. Cloudlifter has no idea what's connected to it it's just boosting the signal.
What boom arms are those, please?
Acculite Podcast Pro
is it me or every time im looking at a fake shure review the pop filter looks faded 🤨
Mine says it was made in Mexico. Is mine real or fake??
The fake ones can say the same thing. Genuine Shure mic's are made in Mexico, USA, and China.
After countless UA-cam reviews and videos, my shure sm7b is indeed authentic.
Thank you for your video 🎉💪🏽
The noise from touching the mic is way too damn much for me personally on the fake ones. Now I know to get them from a reputable reseller.
Also, now I know how to spot a FAKE one easily. With my $300 Headphones I can instantly tell the amount of noise is way too much but I feel like even with cheaper $50 headphones I could easily spot it.
Yeah, Ebay got me also. SMH I drank the Kool-aid.
As you know, Shure has had its factories in China for some time. These SM7B coming from Chinese factories, even though they are original, sound bad. The ones produced in Mexico had a much better sound.
I can't believe ppl are buying fakes for full price, i got one for 40 dollars and i've mostly been using it for meetings😂 got an audio interface for 50 and have spent 80 dollars less than my rode usb mic that i bought 4 years ago
This is totally ruining the second hand market I hate it
Yikes, don't set out on buying a fake on purpose, that's active participation in this naughty business.
You're paying for the product and this is how pretty much every industry operates, you shouldn't be wearing any pair of Jeans as Levi's was the original creator of the apparel then.
@@Mccreed17 This anal logy doesn't work, other jeans brands don't tell you that you are hereby buying Levi's... Are you seriously actively suggesting that what's printed on a particular product is what counts and nothing else? I must wonder what's more a practical epitome of "ostriches put their heads in the sand" than this.
why! why would someone fake a microphone :...( im not even sure half the stuff i own is original
Simple... Money!
You flip back-and-forth so fast people can’t keep up with the difference and you can tell from the comments people are getting confused which one is the real one and the fake one
I love it. Now you can get a decent looking, camera-ready fake that sounds pretty good. I mean, if we're all going to be "monkey see monkey do," might as well beat the system. I think Shure will be fine in the long run. Oh, and anyone buying one of these fakes, thinking they are getting a new "real" one for a hugely discounted price, is simply flaunting their ignorance. If you know anything at all about gear, how could you really think you are getting a new one for that cheap. Lastly, it's just a mic. You sound fine, speaking English and everything!
69 likes let me fix that
🙏
I love fake stuff