Shure - SM7B Vocal Dynamic Microphone

i used a blue yeti microphone for 6 years, it did everything i needed it to and lasted me so long, the only reason i ditched it recently was simply for an upgrade. The blue yeti is a fantastic affordable microphone, i just recently upgraded to the Shure SM7B because I could finally afford to upgrade the quality, and i'll likely be using this mic for years and years to come

A little pricy, but the Shure SM7B is the industry standard for a reason. Don’t forget to get a Cloud Lifter.

The Shure SM7B is fantastic, so since your current mic is dying, I could recommend this mic. In regards to the ambient noise, here are some other tips to battle this: I’m assuming the sound from the environment is lower than your voice directly into the mic (if it isn’t, you’re insane for even trying lol), so nothing that a noise filter couldn’t handle. Obviously you need to tweak some settings to hit that sweet spot (where your voice doesn’t get cut off, but also where it doesn’t pick up ambient noise. Second, just in case the noise filter isn’t sufficient, I would add a (small) room divider, preferably covering it in heavy cloth. Place this directly between your mic and the direction the noise is coming from (the tv). You can position the room divider out of frame, and when you’re done streaming you can store it somewhere it doesn’t bother anyone. Solving your specific issue with *just* a different mic is practically impossible.

In all honesty, I can’t possibly think of a situation where a room divider wouldn’t be a viable option, with the exception of *maaaaaaybe* you need to have visual contact with what’s happening in front of the tv - for example a child you’re supposed to watch. In case of the latter I’m a bit of an asshole and say “don’t stream when you’re supposed to watch a kid” 😜 Anyway, you’ll have reasons, so I’m not prodding anymore than I already have - I would simply suggest you to reconsider: there’s a very good reason more people suggest this as an (extra) solution. In regards to you other question, I’m a bit confused as to what you mean exactly. Yes, I recommend the Shure SM7B. There could possibly be other mics out there that might do the trick, but I only have experience with the SM7B, and since I have a *very* positive experience, that’s the mic I’ll recommend to practically everyone who needs a good mic for vocals. Since your current mic is dying, you’ll need to replace that old mic anyway, so why not an upgrade to the SM7B? There’s a reason it’s considered to be an industry “standard”* * There are a lot of “professional mics out there, and granted, the marketing of Shure has ensured their position within the streaming/podcasting/radio markets, but if it was a shit mic, you wouldn’t see it being used that much. You can hear for yourself (countless podcasts, Youtube-videos, Twitch-streamers, even some radio shows) the quality is good. However, even with the SM7B you still need to apply a filter, the noise gate. Eventually, whether you *really* need it or not (reading your situation, you *REALLY NEED* it), it wouldn’t hurt. For example: I stream from a *acoustically treated* music studio (that’s what my stream is about), so the sound here is already pretty good. However, I have an air purifier running constantly, plus I live at a fairly busy road, close to a hospital. If I wouldn’t apply the noise gate, chances are big (but not a guarantee in my particular case) that you could hear traffic, sirens, and the purifier. With the noise gate applied, you only hear my voice. That being said: you could probably do with a mic of lesser quality, but still apply the filter, and not worry about the background noise. The noise gate is an absolute necessity, in my opinion. Feel free to ask if you have questions!

Not a problem! And I understand how a wife "works" - that's why I only stream once a week, and that was a well fought battle haha! So this is my setup: **Mic**: Shure SM7B **Audio interface**: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 **Pre-amp**: Triton Fethead **Cable**: random XLR-cable (don't fall for the "you need really expensive XLR-cables!"-trap) You plug the Fethead in the mic, cable in the Fethead, cable in the Scarlett, Scarlett in the computer. Now, what is what, and why? **Mic**: Self-explanatory. **Audio interface**: You can't plug the SM7B directly into a computer, you need an audio interface (or alternatives, like a mixer of sorts). To keep it simple: the audio interface "translates" the incoming signal from the mic to the computer, so the computer knows what to do with it. I personally use the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, because it suits my personal needs. If you're only ever intending to use just one mic, you can look for slightly cheaper alternatives, like the Focusrite Scarlett Solo. I vouch for this brand, but that's my own experience. Other people will recommend other brands, you can't go wrong really if it's 'just' for streaming (I work with audio and do VOs professionally, so I can't really fuck around). **Pre-amp**: Even though the Scarlett is a good interface, it lacks a bit in power. The Shure SM7B is an amazing mic, but it needs a bit more "oompf". So, without an extra pre-amp, your mic will sound less loud (up to the point maybe that it's actually really quiet), and you'll need to crank the input for the mic all the way up, which can (and probably will) cause a bit of 'hissing'. To give a simple example: record 'silence', play it back, but turn up the volume; all of the sudden the silence becomes hissing, like white noise. That's what happens when you crank up the input; it will add some hiss. A pre-amp, like the Triton Fethead, is a weird little thing: it basically tells the interface "You know this audio that the mic is giving you? Yeah? Nice, just crank it up 15dB." And then the interface does exactly that, oddly *without* adding the hiss. This results in you needing less input, thus keeping that cleaner audio. **Cable**: So you need an XLR-cable (male to female) to connect the mic to the audio interface. It really doesn't matter which cable you get, honestly. Most interfaces come with a USB-cable to connect to a computer, so don't worry about that either. Now, typing this, I can hear you think two or three things (maybe even four): 1. "Fuck me, can't I have something that I can simply plug into the computer?" Short answer: yes. There are USB-mics (even Shure has one, I think it's the Shure MV7) that you can plug in directly into your computer. I personally have no experience with these, so I can't rightfully recommend this. I'm sure it works just fine - but I can't vouch for it :-) 2. "So wait, if I *don't* use the Fethead, and crank up the input, I'll hear a hiss. But if I *do* use the Fethead, *which cranks up the input itself*, I *don't* hear a hiss? But why?!" Short answer: No clue, it just does, embrace it lol

So as I have no personal experience with the SM7dB, and my current SM7B doesn't need a replacement, I never looked at the reviews/comparisons between the two. I have now. [Here's a review mic where he talks about the differences.](https://youtu.be/4O_yCjaE55Q?si=rHi7ze00EoqdGmEi) Now, this video smells a little bit like it's a paid promo, but it doesn't appear so - I never watch paid promo videos, because *of course* that product will be superduper fantastic amazing... That being said, with my knowledge about what he's talking about, the SM7dB sounds like the upgraded version of the B - I think if I were to get a new setup now, without having a mic already, I would probably go for the dB, but not with full conviction tbh. My thought-process: \- The B is older, yes, but it's also proven. There's a reason it's the industry standard. \- The dB is from late 2023; but we're two years down the line and *still* everyone is talking about the B, instead of the dB; why is that? It makes me wonder. Are peole simply holding on to the concept of "The B worked just fine, don't need no improvements"? \- The B is from 2001. Yes, it's *that* old. The original (Shure SM7) is from 1973, and in 1999 they finally released an update (Shure SM7A), which they quickly replaced with the Shure SM7B in 2001. The model hasn't had the need to get updated for almost 25 years; it's *that* good. Granted, the mic was amied for professional use, so the "issue" of needing more power and not having a built-in pre-amp was not an issue: professional studios, radiostations etc had mixers with enough power to utulize the B to perfection. The "need" for the pre-amp became evident when streaming and home-studios became more accessible for Regular Joe; now that you and I could build a studio at home (and with "studio" I mean "a laptop and some speakers" in 99% of the cases) they faced the issue that the interfaces/mixers the consumers (like you and me) were using, weren't professional grade, and lacking the power needed. \- Okay, so the B is older, pretty old. We don't know when it's going to be end of life (so when support stops), but my educated guess is that you still have a loooooong time before this happens. \- Why isn't everyone raging about the *HUGE* quality difference in the audio between the two mics?! The dB is almost 25 years older, it *MUST* be better? Right?! Well, you don't hear anyone about this, because there just isn't that much difference. The audio quality is very much alike. \- The dB is initially a bit more expensive than the B. Though, if you need the pre-amp for the B (which you do), the difference isn't that much. \- I'm never a big fan of newer device being crammed with all sorts of different technology (I'm old fashioned lol). Now, in this case I'm fairly positive it won't impact the mic as much, but let's say you have the B with the separate pre-amp, and the pre-amp breaks down, you can simply replace it. If it's built in, like with the dB, you have to bring your mic back to the store/manufacturer and have it replaced/repaired. If you're out of warranty, you need to buy a complete new mic, setting you back more than if you just had to buy a new pre-amp. So for me personally, the advantage of having the dB be the same size *as the B without the pre-amp, and thus smaller than the B WITH the pre-amp*, doesn't outweigh the disadvantage of having to replace the entire mic if the internal pre-amp in the dB malfunctions. So all in all I would still prefer the B over the dB. I would say, if you're concerned about future upgrades of the *external pre-amp*, yeah, the B is the way to go. With the dB you're kinda 'stuck' with what they made.

Hard disagree. It’s not a brand thing it’s a brand model thing. AKG is not the company it once was, the modern mics have nothing to do with their old legendary microphones.  Shure SM7B should have made the list, it’s my favorite shure mic. I have so many models. KSM8 is good if you have vocal cord damage and it suppresses those frequencies. I know of no studio sennheiser for vocals. They make good handhelds for live music though.  Similarly Neumann TLM103 is overly bright and harsh and great for foley and perhaps modern narration but not necessarily good for singing 

The way I see it is RE20 is the euro version of SM7B as it became more popular there. RE20 is definitely a nice mic and I recall Kerim Lechner (Krimh) call it the elephant dong. Definitely nice to have. I noticed SM7b works better with lo-z capable preamps as that surprisingly causes the volume to jump up 5-10dB!

Sorry I fixed a typo, I meant SM7B works better with lo-z not sm57 lol. old habits of typing sm57 over and over die hard. Guess how many SM57s I have :)

SM7B is definitely very smooth but I think the trick is to play with the EQ settings in the back to get it to "neutral" vs. dynamic neutral. But funnily enough for my last cover of punk rock music, I chose the 58a over the 7b because I wanted it to be not smooth at all :)

Shure SM7B. Once you get serious it's WELL worth the upgrade from USB to XLR.

I disagree, I think they’re more than “just ok.” I think a lot of people just think they work great on everybody, I disagree with that. I think an sm7b is more versatile. But when a U87 works great, it works pretty great. I have 2 regular studio spots, one has a real U87 and one has a clone. The U87 fucks

I mean the SM7B is the top of the line so as far as quality you aren’t going to get any better. I have a b.a. in music technology and don’t know of any mic below $50 that will get you a comparable quality. What video editing software are you using? Premiere Pro has an auto sync feature and I’m pretty sure most editing softwares do. I would try to figure out how to streamline your workflow so that you can make using the SM7B easier. I can’t remember which one(it’s probably in more than one) but in a Colin and Samir interview some creators were talking about how audio quality is more important than even the video quality. The gist was that you can look past bad visuals, but bad audio is nearly impossible to look past. So, if it were me, I would take the extra time to setup the SM7B to make sure I’m getting the best audio recording I can. Best of luck!

Yes, I use a Shure SM7, and I work much better.

More accurate. Also read this to find the right app for you! [https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/1lg4wyj/comment/mytncm1/](https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/1lg4wyj/comment/mytncm1/)

Would absolutely recommend you skip this then and go straight to a Shure SM7B that's basically the king of this style mic

Shure SM7B, or MV7, or if your budget does allow it The AT2020 USB, this mic is truely bomb... Please don't go for a blue snowball, or blue yeti 😭 Also look up the different between a dynamic mic and a condenser mic, background noise is a big difference. Sm7b is dynamic, zero background noise. At2020, picks up everything, because it's designed to be in a studio, to pick up everything.