greetings earthlings today I'm back with a review of another condenser microphone from
sure that microphone being the KSM 32 and if you are interested in this microphone it will cost you
around $500 like always I'll throw some links down below and for this review I have the microphone
connected directly to the Focusrite 18 i 22nd gen my gain is set just at around one o'clock I will
not do any kind of post-processing but I may boost it in post so check the doobly-doo to see what I
did Lee did and now let's talk about what comes in the box first you will get a leather storage
case you'll get the microphone a microphone mount a 5/8 to 3/8 inch microphone stand adapter some
documentation and then as far as build quality sure just build some of the best and most sturdy
feeling microphones on the market and this is no exception the microphone has an all-metal body
as well as a very sturdy metal grill it weighs in at 490 grams on the back of the microphone you'll
find a 3-way high pass filter switch as well as a negative 15 DB pad and on the bottom you
will find the XLR port then as far as the specs this mic has a cardioid polar pattern a frequency
response of 20 Hertz to 20 kilohertz a sensitivity of around negative 36 DB an impedance of 150 ohms
a self-noise of 13 DBA a max SPL of 154 DB and a phantom power requirement of plus 48 volts now I
am spinning around the KSM 32 to 90 degrees to show you the off-axis rejection and coloration
will continue around the microphone to 180 degrees show you what it sounds like here continuing
around the microphone to the second 90 degree angle and then we will rotate and end at the front
of the mic now let's go ahead and test the plosive rejection of this thing please bring Pizza pronto
please bring Pizza pronto please Pizza pronto now I am right on top of the microphone to demonstrate
the proximity effect on this thing about three inches off of the mic with a pointed at the
corner of my mouth and here is how it sounds about one foot away from the microphone two feet away
from the microphone and about four feet away from the microphone now I am typing on a keyboard with
cherry MX blues to see how much of my voice versus how much of the keyboard it picks up and for you
elite gamers Here I am typing on the sad W keys here's how the microphone sounds in a well treated
room and here is how the microphone sounds in a completely untreated room next I'll go ahead and
tap the microphone to see if there are any kind of resonant frequencies now to see how effective
the provided microphone mount is I am bumping the desk to see how much of that it rejects and I will
bump the microphone arm to see how much of that it rejects now I am right on top of the microphone to
really accentuate the proximity effect I do not have any high pass filter engaged right now and
here is how it sounds I have now turned on the very first high pass filter and this is how it
sounds you can start to hear a little bit of the lower frequencies rolled off and clearing up a
lot of that muddiness and now I have switched to the most aggressive high-pass filter on the
microphone and here is how the audio compares to the other two examples that I just provided
you now I want to do a quick comparison between the KSM 32 and a couple of other microphones on
the market so you can see how this compares to its competition first up we'll start with the
KSM 32 and I am about 6 inches away from the microphone with my gain on the 18 I 20 at 1
o'clock and here is how the audio sounds and now I am speaking into the audio technica at2020 I
am 6 inches off gain at 1 o'clock this is a $100 condenser microphone and here is how it compares
to the sure we are back on the KSM 32 so you can hear how this microphone sounds Before we jump to
another sample next we are on the road and t1 at the exact same distance with the exact same gain
setting this is a $270 condenser microphone and here's how it compares to the sure good gosh you
wouldn't have guessed it but we're back on the KSM 32 and here is how the microphone sounds before we
jump to another one so you can compare the sounds next I am on the Noi mantilla LM 102 which is a
$700 condenser microphone I am at 6 inches away gain at one o'clock make sure to check the lower
third or the dooblydoo to see how much I boosted it in post because I may have to boost each of
these microphones slightly differently but here is how the Noi Minh sounds compared to the KSM 32
you're never ever going to believe this I have a crazy story for you we're back on the sure
KSM 32 6 inches off gain at one o'clock here's how it sounds let's jump to another microphone
now I am speaking into the Austrian audio OSI eight one eight I am at the exact same distance
with the exact same gain setting this is a $1000 condenser microphone and here is how it compares
to the KSM 32 know Ozzy Osbourne and I aren't on speaking terms sorry oh hey we're back on
the KSM 32 here is how the microphone sounds six inches off of it gain at one o'clock let's jump
to another mic now I am on the NOI mantilla LM 103 I am at the exact same distance exact same
gain setting make sure to check the dooblydoo this is an 1,100 or $1,300 condenser microphone
and here is how it sounds compared to the sure hey there Phoebe Bridgers I am I'm back sorry
I think I'm funny that's all fit that's all that matters I'm back on the KS m32 I am six inches
off of it and my gayness Dilla one o'clock here's how the microphone sounds let's jump to the last
microphone we're comparing it to and lastly I am is speaking into the Noi Minh you 87a I at
six inches away with my gain still a one o'clock cardioid polar pattern no filters engaged and
this is a 32 to $3,600 condenser mic and here's how the audio compares to the $500 sure KSM 32
I'll be the first one to and my songs all sound the same but if you get every week your songs
would also come out late just just saying the truth every single week ride them up record them
out toss them down whatever not gonna be gold in every single week deal with it I do all righty so
this may not be a particularly exciting sounding microphone but gosh darn it if it doesn't have
a very pleasing and smooth tonality to it and first up in terms of pros the proximity effect
on this thing is just incredible it is so warm and fluffy and I just I love it and then the
top end is smooth and detailed and completely sibling free I love how the top end on this
microphone sounds but then in terms of cons the polar pattern is not very forgiving in terms of
background noise rejection or rejection of the reverb in the room and the off-axis coloration
of this thing got a little bit unpleasant when we got to around 90 degrees so if you're in a
room with a lot of reverb that may start to affect your recordings so what are my overall thoughts of
this microphone on the electric guitar I thought the low end was a little bit loose and undefined
a little bit messy and muddy down there so I wasn't too impressed the mids were neutral and
nothing really popped out as bad and then the top end was just incredibly smooth and pleasant even
when I got to the upper register of the guitar then on the acoustic guitar I found it to be very
full-bodied the mids were nice and articulate and the top end was crisp but it didn't get harsh at
any time then for singing I absolutely loved it for this application mainly because it has such
a smooth and airy sound to it but it avoids any kind of sibilant frequencies and it doesn't end
up sounding dark or dull or dead it is just very well balanced and enjoyable for singing
so I loved it for that application and lastly for spoken word I actually think it's kind of a
boring sound but because of that it is incredibly easy to listen to it that smooth and airy top-end
but at no point does any siblings come out making it harsh or fatiguing to listen to I would almost
call it soft sounding but what I really love about this microphone is when you get about
three inches off of it and start to really engage that proximity effect it just sounds incredible I
love how it sounds when you eat the microphone so would I recommend a VKS m32 both yes and no
we'll start with a know if you are looking for a microphone to use in an untreated room with a
lot of background noise and you're looking for a mic to reject as much of that as possible I
don't think this microphone will fit the bill because it is not forgiving in that department
and I think there are other microphones out there that would serve you much better but
on the other hand if your budget is around $500 and you're looking for a condenser microphone
that doesn't have that typical over boosted somewhat harsh top-end with a little bit of
siblings to it then the KSM 32 is a great option and if that's the sound you're going for I think
it would serve you really well alrighty I think that's gonna wrap up for today but I would love
to hear from you in the comments down below like always of the microphones in that shootout and
comparison which one did you like best did you like the KSM 32 are you a fan of the u-87 the
TLM 103 or the at2020 let me know down below if you found this video fun interesting or helpful
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until next time please be safe if you need anything let me know I'll talk to you later bye