You want to buy a Shure SM7B? Watch this video first!

The SH SM7B is likely the most overhyped

microphone on the market, and in this

video, we'll give you five reasons why I

would never buy one.

Roll the intro. Obviously, this is a bit

of a cheeky intro, but there are

actually five really good reasons the

SM7B might not be for you. Starting out

with number one, it's a noisy

microphone. I know everybody talks about

that you need a good preamp with this

mic, but the reality is that the SM7B

itself has quite a bit of noise, even

when paired with ultra low-noise

preamps. Now, I know that some of you

are already typing in the comments,

"Dynamic mics don't have any active

electronics, and they don't produce any

noise on their own." Wrong. Might sound

strange, but dynamic mics produce noise

because of electrons wiggling about in

the voice coil simply due to

temperature. This is so-called thermal

noise. I've made a whole video where I

compare the noise of a condenser mic to

a dynamic mic, which I will link below.

But in short, dynamic mics can actually

have more self noise compared to good

condenser mics. The reason is simply

that even though the noise of the SM7B

is very low, the signal it puts out is

also very low. And when you amplify

that, the noise can become apparent.

Adding to that, you need a preamp that

adds minimal noise on its own.

Otherwise, you will end up with even

more noise with the SM7B. Now, depending

on what you do with the SM7B, the noise

will be insignificant or might become

relevant. As an example, if you record

loud sounds, like interviewing a jet

engine, the noise is pretty much

negligible. But if you record quieter

sounds, and I count normal dialogue into

that, then there's a good chance that

the noise floor becomes audible even

with ultra low noise preamps. As I have

the mic up right now, let me be quiet

for you to hear the noise of this

particular setup.

Not the end of the world, but definitely

audible, especially with headphones. And

by the way, this is the sole reason I

own an SM7B, to use it as a worst case

scenario in my preamp and audio

interface tests. By the way, if you're

interested in these tests, I highly

recommend to subscribe as I will

continue to review all kinds of audio

gear. Okay, let's move on. Reason number

two why you might not want to get an

SM7B, it's a real chunker, both in terms

of weight and size. If I put it on the

scale, it comes in at 830 g and roughly

1.8 lb. That's one heavy microphone. And

while the weight alone isn't a huge

issue, it still makes the mic more

difficult to position and lug around if

you want to take it anywhere. But the

biggest point is that because of the

size, it can get in the way. You can

quite often see podcasters or streamers

using the SM7B right in front of their

mouth, completely obscuring their face,

which I personally really don't like.

Then again, you're kind of forced to

have the microphone closed to get low-

noise recordings because of the low

output of the SM7B, which I've already

mentioned in point one. So, this is just

kind of how the SM7B functions. Number

three, I noticed that when trying to

mount the SM7B in different positions,

the XLR port is quite close to the mic

stand mount. In many cases, this is not

an issue, but I have encountered it a

couple of times where my mounting

solution was blocked by the XLR port or

vice versa. This again limits your

options in how and with which hardware

you can mount the SM7B, an issue that

other mics just don't have. Number four,

it's a dark mic. And I'm not saying that

because it's painted black, but because

the sound signature of the SM7B is quite

bass heavy with subdued high

frequencies, especially if you use the

microphone very close to you. Again,

0.1, you kind of have to to get low

noise recordings. The proximity effect

of the microphone will add to the

already bass heavy sound signature. Now,

I know for some people this is the prime

reason to get an SM7B as it tends to

give this a larger than-l life bass

heavy voice. If you want that, that's

totally fine, but you have to ask

yourself, is this always the sound that

you want to go for? Especially already

bass heavy voices just tend to sound

super muffled with the SM7B. And funnily

enough, I see it quite often that when

people work with recordings from an

SM7B, they either boost the highs to

increase intelligibility or cut the lows

when it is too bassy. And to be honest,

why you would use a mic with that kind

of a sound signature and then try to

revert it in post is beyond me. If deep

and more muffled sound is your style,

then by all means, go ahead. But it's

important to note that the SM7B heavily

influences the sound. It is far from

neutral and does not necessarily sound

good on all sources. Last but not least,

for number five, hits expensive. Yes,

the build quality is pretty good and

all, but for the price you can get, for

example, a three or four SM58 or 57s for

the letter and the Behringer XM8500, for

example, I've done a video on how to EQ

them to sound surprisingly similar to an

SM7B. So, you have to ask yourself the

question if the SM7B is really worth it.

I also think that the shortcomings of

the SM7B are often brushed under the

carpet because of its history and

legendary status, but this just leads to

bad buying decisions. Now, I'm not your

dad, and I'm not here to tell you to buy

or not buy an SM7B. I just get the

feeling that many people who ended up

buying an SM7B did so because they saw

their maybe favorite streamer or

podcaster or whoever using the

microphone and just went with it.

Granted, the mic is very recognizable

and gear acquisition syndrome is a very

real thing, but I must say that there

are many great microphones out there for

considerably less money, which on top of

that might even have a sound signature

that you prefer. So, I think it makes a

lot of sense to look or better listen

around to find your preferred microphone

instead of just blindly buying an SM7B.

Okay, with these points out of the way,

I'm genuinely interested if you're

planning on buying an SM7B or if you

think that there are better alternatives

out there. Let me know in the comments.

See you all in the next one.