greetings earthlings today we're putting the two most popular broadcast microphones up against each
other to see which one is the best so today we're comparing the shure sm7b to the electro voice re
20 which have been staples in recording studios and radio stations for decades for this comparison
I'll have both microphones connected to the 2i2 2nd gen and I will indicate what gain as well as
how much I boosted each microphone and the lower third down below and I am fully aware that there
are better preamps than the Focusrite but this is just such a common interface than I thought this
would be the ferrous to use but before we get into the tests let's very briefly talk about the build
quality of the microphones and the differences in features both of the microphones have a full
metal construction and they feel incredible which they sure as hell better given their price tags as
you can see on the sm7b it's foam windscreen is on the exterior and it also comes with an even fatter
windscreen that you can replace it with while the re 20 has an internal windscreen to help curb the
plosives both of the microphones do have mounts included with them but you will be stuck with the
SM 7 B's mount the re 20 on the other hand will afford you the opportunity to spend $100 for a
replacement shock mount as far as switches the re 20 has a single high-pass filter and that is
it while the sm7b has a high-pass filter as well as a presence boost but we won't be using any of
these during the comparison now let's jump into the tests right now I'm speaking into the shure
sm7b which will set you back around $400 this thing has a cardioid polar pattern a frequency
response of 50 Hertz to 20 kilohertz a sensitivity of around negative 59 decibels and an impedance of
150 ohms and now I'm speaking into the re 20 which will set you back around four hundred and fifty
dollars this thing has a cardioid polar pattern a frequency response of 45 Hertz to 18 kilohertz
a sensitivity of approximately negative fifty six and a half decibels and an impedance of 150
ohms now we're at zero degrees on the sm7b we'll move around to 90 degrees to show you the off-axis
coloration and then move around to 180 degrees to show you the rear rejection and rear coloration
moving back around to ninety degrees and then we'll continue back around to the front starting
at zero degrees on the re twenty we will rotate around to ninety degrees to show you the off-axis
coloration and rejection we'll move around to 180 degrees to show you the rear rejection and
rear coloration we'll move back around to ninety degrees and then we will continue back around to
the front now I'm typing on a keyboard with cherry MX blue to see how much of my voice versus how
much of the keyboard the sm7b picks up now I'm testing the background noise rejection of the
re xx with the exact same keyboard right on top of the sm7b to demonstrate the proximity effect right
on top of the re xx to demonstrate the proximity effect about one foot away from the re xx
I really love these mics they're both really tight they really aren't that cheap but you're
buying them for life which of these mics do you like and the winner of this versus series was
insanely insanely difficult to pick but I had to go with the shure sm7b and simply put it's because
I think it's a slightly more versatile microphone so in my opinion the sm7b just sounded better on
the electric guitar in the acoustic guitar even though it didn't have as much air as the re 20
and I think that's because the flatter midsection of the sm7b just makes it sound more natural this
sure also does have a slightly wider polar pattern meaning it will pick up more ambient
noise but that also means it will sound slightly more realistic like you're actually in the room
with the instrument or the vocalist but then when we get to spoken-word and singing I think
it gets a little bit more murky and it comes more down to personal preference first up the
re 20 gives you that more typical radio sound because it has a more prominent low-end which
allows you to get that authoritative tone it also has more prominent treble and air
frequencies which gives you better clarity while you're speaking and it also has minor cuts in the
mid frequencies which will further accentuate the bass and the treble frequencies while the sm7b on
the other hand just provides you a more natural and smooth sound they cut a bit out of the lower
frequencies to help keep things tight and avoid any kind of muddiness the flatter mid section
just gives you a more accurate representation of what you're recording and then the cut to the air
frequencies helps avoid a lot of harshness but it also deadens the sound quite a bit which I
think a lot of people dislike so in summary I chose the sm7b because it's a more versatile
and natural sounding microphone in comparison to the electro voice re 20 in my opinion now this
is in no way shape or form me saying that the re 20 is a bad microphone this is a staple and
podcast studios and radio stations for a reason and that reason is it's an amazing microphone I
just personally prefer the sm7b a little bit more alright guys that's going to do it for today that
was really draining and difficult on me I didn't want to have to pick a favorite between these two
microphones but this series decrees that I do it that's why I picked one because it's decreed I
want to hear from you guys so which camp are you in are you in the sm7b camp or are you in the re
20 camp let me know in the comments down below if you enjoy the video or got anything out of
it go ahead and give me a thumbs up if you hated the video give me a thumbs down if you want more
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server I'll throw a link in the description and I will see you all later thanks for watching bye