You totally nailed it in this review. I did a side by side a few years ago with these mics and came to the exact same conclusions. XM8500 sounds better for voice (even better than sm58 to my ears) but the SM48 sounds better for instruments and has better plosives and handling noise. I will say the 8500 still sounds great on a stage even with the plosives and handling.
I used XM8500 and SM58 together during a small college concert as an A/V guy. The XM8500 held its own, though it has a darker sound (which tbh I like especially on male voices).
XM8500 was my first microphone and I didn't realize what a great choice it was until I bought several mics many times its cost later. You can't go wrong with it.
I use four Behringer XM8500 mics for my weekly Open Mic Nights. Affordable, quality build and reliable. Absolutely worth the money if you just need a mic.
If you're singing rock stuff with screaming high end, where you want to get over the band, the SM48 would do the job. If you're crooning, and want a full sound, the XM8500 would be a better choice.
@@KenTeel This is quite wrong. if you're doing screaming vocals or other harsh, aggressive things, you want less high end, and a warmer mic, not the opposite.
@@whatskraken3886 Yes, it is proof of something, because if what you said is true about screamers wanting to use mics that are warmer in tone, then the SM58 would not be used by them, and we all know that they are used by them. So, much for your theory.
I use the XM8500 plugged into a PreSonus AudioBox USB 96 and I love how it sounds. I use it for doing the voice over on a weekly radio show and it works perfect for what I do. I highly recommend this mic for anyone looking for a budget mic.
I use the same setup but I can't get a usable signal without cranking up the gain to max and that makes it too loud and hissy. It is really bad and unusable for me
I love "versus" and I love "budget" so I love this one twice as much! I like Behringer more, somehow sound was better imo. and them keys weren't as loud.
Behringer sounds like ass for instruments but yeah it wins on voice. Shure just sounds like it's heavily compressed and unnatural and Behringer's faults can probably be fixed with a little reverb and balancing the mids.
Im glad I bought The xm8500. I was about to buy the Sm48 but it was to Expensive for My budget. But the Xm8500 Sounds better than Sm48 for Voice at least.
I've been gearing up to do a video all about the SM48 for entry level podcasting - I feel like it's such an under appreciated and under talked about mic. Especially if you're doing mobile podcasting, traveling or flying, and want something less expensive than your studio mics in case of damage. Great stuff as always!
For less than 90,- I got: - XM8500 - Microphone arm set with windscreen and popfilter + cable management stuff - UCM22 - XLR Cable 6M Definitely better than getting a Blue Yeti condenser mic since my room isn’t treated well and I hate background noise :)
I own both, but I have 4 XM8500 mics. I use them for field, multi-speaker podcast recordings and for open mics. I agree that the handling noise was pretty awful on the XM8500s, but I use them in boom mic stands, so that isn't an issue. I think they are great value mics, and I recommend them all the time.
I own the XM8500, I quite like the sound. I also have a Rode M2, which is a nice handheld condensor mic and a AKG D5. All mics are good and have their strengths and weaknesses, but I like the XM8500 on male spoken word. I think it is good to have a few different mics to try out on different sources.
The explanation of the sensitivity of the XM8500 is much appreciated. I was quite confused by the “-70dB” when I saw it on the data sheet on the Behringer website. And I couldn’t find an explanation when searching around on Google. So many thanks for the help with that.
Some notes on the XM8500: It does sound great on guitar. First off, you don't just place it wherever and complain about the boominess. Just move the mic around to a few spots until you hit a good location. It's the same with any mic. Second, eq the thing, if you get more low-end because the mic is giving you more, just cut some if you want. It's not a worse mic because it has a more complete eq curve. For vocals, the only negative I have on the mic is that the proximity effect is more aggressive and transitions more awkwardly than an SM58. It's not a deal breaker, but you have to work harder during singing vs a 58. Personally, I wouldn't buy the 48 for any reason. The XM8500 is overall a better mic in terms of detail. Buying a 48 is a step down. If you want something slightly nicer get a 58.
@@---pp7tq Yes. I have better mics, and when recorded right, the acoustic guitar is hard to tell which mic is better. If I show you 3 recordings, one the XM8500, the others a $200 mic and a $300 mic, you might be able to pick them apart but it would take serious listening several times in solo. In short: You can definitely get good guitar recordings with the XM8500. Good placement, and DAW treatment are more important.
Just got myself a XM8500 for voiceover after my backup mic - EditorsKeys Sl150 started to fail. I went with it over the Shure SM48 because of my main mic RODE Procaster has made me a fan of darker sounding microphones
Sm-48 for me. I’ve had both and my shure is still around. Enough said. Behringer for to me is always just ok. And their prices reflect that. (I’ve tried a ton of their products anywhere from guitar amps, to “pro audio interface equipment “ ) you get what you pay for. Amazon has the sm-48 for $30 worth every penny of the extra $10 to me. Great video.
This is a great review i keep looking at other reviews of more common microphones like the snowball ice from blue microphones and the last thing they do is show how it sounds when you are typing on the keyboard with the microphone, i dont have a mechanicle keyboard so the noise is not an issue but im always worried about the vibrations running through the desk. So yea this review gets a like from me.
Wow now I know that I can talk into the side of the mic to sound like I'm on old radio instead of using noise filters, this is more fun than I thought.
I'm shopping around for a mic, exclusively for podcast needs and I'm glad I watched this as I was super curious @ how the XM8500 sounded. Really glad I tuned in. Thanks for that and that was a great review. Cheers
basically agree with pretty much every point. For podcasts or streaming on a budget, the Behringer XM8500 is really nice. If you record other stuff, take the Shure.
Gotta love a content creator who sub-ironically goes 2 seconds over 10 mins to shame those that only go 1 second to grab that dough from 2 ads rather than one haha. I clicked like before 5 seconds in... I always do, as this is a good, honest and entertaining channel with the right balance of loads of things!
As many people have already commented, the XM8500 has a warmer tone and is much more suitable for spoken word, so for those who are after an affordable podcast setup, the XM8500 is the better option. Just don't forget to add a much needed pop filter to your cart. The SM48 sounded better for the guitar because of its brighter, sharper highs, but it sounded too thin and "metallic" for spoken word.
Many thanks for the great review - I completely agree with your review regarding the sound of the Mics. My ears registered the same as yours (XM8500 a fraction more mellow/deeper and the SM48 a little more shrill). I have an XM8500 and please with it.
Nooo.... The SM48 is officially my least favorite mic outside of the "obvious garbage" range. It just has this harsh, gritty, cheap sound that I can't stand. Makes voices sound grainy and made the electric guitar painfully shrill. It really sounds like a $10 junk mic to my ears... not sure if there's something wrong with my ears, or if people just assume it's good because it says Shure on it. (I'd LOVE to see it go up against some other cheap-o mics in a blind test). The XM8500 sounds nice and smooth but is lacking in the "oomf" department. It sounds like a mic they'd use at a corporate seminar or something. Still, I'd much rather work with a boring corporate mic than one that sounds like sandpaper. (angry typing fingers lol)
Ha! The SM48 was MILES better than the XM8500 here in guitars!! The XM8500 sounded dull and dead, but SM48 was very fine. Both did fine on vocals thou. At 4:53 anyone with ears can hear how the sound changes from airy and rich to something recorded with a 5$ computer mic, lol!
xM8500 had scooped and clouded sound, the sm48 sounded close to sm58 flatter and fuller with more air. I'm listening on Yamaha studio monitors in a treated room.
This review was awesome! I've never seen a reviewer test microphones so thoroughly in so many different situations identically, I love it. I think the XM8500 sounded better for vocals, but the SM48 sounded better for instruments. The SM48 might also be better for handheld situations but the XM8500 is better for if you have a proper mount.
Terrific versus review as always! Gotta give a big thumbs up for Bandrew's "Rambling Thoughts", great guitar playing, and so so singing, just saying............ :)
Хорошее сравнение. XM8500, действительно неплох. Использую пару в студии для репетиций и он действительно справляется и звучит весьма ровно и сбалансирован. Что касается Инструментальных миков, то я нашел очень интересную альтернативу SM57-му - JTS в аналогичном оформлении. Звучит очень близко к 57му и натурально, в отличие от китайской реплики 57-го, которая режет верхами и достаточно плоская.
If you filter out some of those boomy lows on the guitar for the Behringer with an EQ, and then boost it to +6 like you had it before, it will tame some of that dark, muddy character so it actually sounds BETTER than the SM48. I may or may not know from personal experience that a rolloff around 150 to 200 Hz is perfect, and should honestly be done globally to your guitar bus in studio, anyway, to help things sit in the mix. Separating the bass, drums, and guitar a bit does wonders. I own 2 XM8500's. I use them for a second mic in combo with my SM57 or my e609 on guitar cabs, or paired with an SM57 as a second mic for pairing with my 57 on acoustic guitar. I record studio vocals by double mic technique with a condenser, and use it on a desktop stand for VOIP. Only complaint is that it doesn't make bacon pancakes. The SM48 sounds grainy, low fi, and less articulate in the mids and upper mids by comparison.
Great job on all of the videos. I would like to hear these budget microphones running thru the Rodecaster Pro. The XM8500 might be perfect for the guys that need to purchase 4 mics.
I'm not a Behringer fan, but damn, 15 euro mic that sound pretty decent. I was considering buying SM58 (i need one for some interviews), but now I'll probably buy that XM8500.
You nailed it. Though I personally use and SM-58 for singing, I keep a bag of microphones to mike up other performer. I own both of the mikes tested here and have had the best overall results with the Shure SM-48, only getting out the Behringer for the pastor or the MC's use for spoken vocals. One thing you never touched on is the rap or hip-hop music genre where the Behringer may prove very useful too. At that low price it's worth the try.
I don't know I felt the XM8500 sounded really nice and not as shrill as the Shure SM48 even on the guitars, now it could be I am under the weather but I do prefer a deeper tone in microphones. Even the handling noise sounded about the same....again though my head is really plugged up so I might be missing a lot of sounds.
Hey, I'm interested in you reviewing that freakish ASUS ROG Strix Magnus gaming mic, which supposedly has some nifty "environment noise cancelling" which can even defeat the obnoxious Cherry MX Blues key stomping noise during lively gameplay. You are the perfect guy for testing its capabilities.
I just ordered the shure sm48 $39 just got a focusrite scarlett solo 3rd gen $120 and a Alesis V25 $60 my first home studio I upgrade it takes time to learn all of Ableton live 11 it does a lot I'll stay with it the stuff I got is great and the price you should do a video on the Alesis V25 it's was my choice cause the keyboard is better the a lot of others
Feedback: Your reviews are so good, but in pretty much every one, if I'm not prepared, I literally have to take off my headphones when the guitar part comes on to avoid hurting my ears (or just skip that part, or lower my volume). Have you considered reducing the volume of those parts? They're shockingly loud.
I don't know if RU-vid does some sort of audio compression on the videos uploaded , but even without using headphones just hearing on the desktop speakers , I would say the SM48 sounded more crisp and clearer . The audio out of the XM8500 sounded like those Bass Boosted headphones where as the audio out of the SM48 sounded more like a flat sounding headphones like the Shure SRH440 , maybe . My 2 cents .
RU-vid does volume normalization. Right click and find "statistics for nerds" and it will tell you how much, or rare cases it's not on and will show 100%/100%
This is exactly the video I needed for my tiebreaker. Since I just want to use a vocoder I'll be getting the XM8500. As far as recording my accoustic guitar, I do agree with your assessment. Though I am partial to the warmer tone of the XM8500, I like bass and I will be going into the "Voice of God" territory.
Have you checked out any of the mics from Thomann's Music? I'm hearing mixed reviews, but I suspect brand bias has been an issue. Thanks for all the hard work and great reviews!!!!
The SC400 condenser is kinda cool for it's price, although I think the best cheap Condenser is the Superlux E205. The ~200 eur T.bone Tube mics also sounded pretty interesting, although I only heard online comparisons.
Sadly for Behringer, microphone sensitivity is perhaps the most widely accepted standard in all of audio. The quoted figure is ALWAYS the electrical output referenced to 1V RMS (hence dbV) for an acoustic input of 1 Pascal, which happens to correspond to 94dB SPL. There is no other standard. Adhering to this standard enables preamp and converter designers to optimise headroom for real world situations by simply subtracting the Max SPL number from the Sensitivity number to derive the expected maximum microphone output voltage.
Well, I'm a fan of making the 6th chord a major or ending on the 1 chord of minor key and turning it to major, which is common in Asian modern music especially Japanese.
Great review as usual, i mostly agree with you but for me Xm 8500 is the winner cause here in Chile Xm 8500 cost 30 USD and the Shure sm48 Cost most than double the price , 75 USD . I already bought 2 xm 8500 and its the best bang for the bucks. i also own two cases of 3 Behringers 1800 , and they are quite good. But in this price Level i Prefer Samson Q7.
Great demo. I love your method. You cover all the bases.. But I prefer the Behringer hands down for all applications, for the same reasons you didn't. The Shure was obnoxiously shrill on most things and had a weird mid ring around 800 hz on one of your spoken word tests. The XM8500 was smoother with just enough presence boost. I need the proximity boost in the lower register, because though I can hit those notes, I don't have a lot of power there. I thought the XM8500 blew the Shure away on the acoustic guitar. The Shure was tinny and grating. The XM rich and full. I own the XM8500 and would use it before an SM58 even. I just don't like the top end on most Shure mics. I own several better microphones, and my go to is a Sennheiser e835. I also gave an EVPL76a, several various EVn/d series, and a couple Audio Technicas. I chose the e835 over an SM58 years ago with no regrets and it is my workhorse. It is more accurate overall and the top end is much smoother. But if I'm in a rowdy bar where there might be trouble, or hosting a jam and need a guest mic, I don't hesitate to use the XM8500. It cuts just a little more than the e835, too. A little hotter and more present. So I may use it on a noisy stage.
The XM8500 is an astonishingly good value podcast mic. When it comes to buying an XLR mic for podcasting, I’d say it’s hands down the best choice under $100.
Rands Zzob I said under $100, as in you’d need to spend $100 to get a better mic and I stand by that statement. Going upwards in price from the XM8500 you hit the Samson Q2U and ATR2100 which are both good sub $100 XLR mics but aren’t worth the extra if you don’t need the USB option they offer. It’s only when you start getting to the $100 price point and the likes of the Rode Podmic or Shure SM58 that you see any leap in quality but even with those mics, the Behringer can hold its own. I’m recording a podcast at the moment with a remote co-host. I’m on my Podmic and they’re on an XM8500 and it’s sounding great.
both great mics but i went with the EV RE320 for my podcast or my videos bit of a price difference, i think i went with it cause i recently found the h3h3 podcast channel and just binged watched their videos, yep I'm a fan, i watched ur video on the EV RE320 vs the rode pro caster and loved the sound of the EV RE320 so i Amazoned it up and spent £300 oh and a cloud lifter, dude as someone who has been watching ur videos since you were at like 6k subs i think really grateful that there is someone like you doing your vids so someone like me knows if i shud buy a mic or what i need to get so i dont get frustrated btw i still drink coffee while watching Bandrew says episodes,
maybe blending the XM8500 with a SM57 would sound great for high gain guitars, since the 8500 seems a bit dark and the 57 is quite a brite mic. Im gonna try this out myself, pretty interested in the results.
With my experiences the xm8500s just didn't last as long as sm58 (ik your reviewing the 48, but I've never used one) just with doing karaoke, the xm8500s dont hold to abuse (being dropped and getting a little wet) near as well as the shures did. I am biased twords shure because they have always produced great products. The xm8500 is a good mic, I'll always say that. However i'll always stick with shure products.
Didn't seem like a difficult choice to me. The SM48 sounds more natural and relaxed, less boomy. As I'm looking for a decent $50 mic for use on the very noisy HF amateur radio bands, it'll be great.
wow. behringer much better for speech here. your voice sounds buttery on the xm8500 while the 48 has quite a bit of honk. it sounds like they were going for the clarity of the SM58 by adding the amusing effect of a passing Canada Goose.
I bought the XM8500 per your recommendation in another video and I can't figure out why I have to be right next to the mic for it to pick up anything. We're talking mouth on the mic. Even with the gain on the preamp all the way up, with everything turned off in Windows that's usually recommended in the videos and articles explaining how to fix low input volume. I've since given up and went back to my HyperX Cloud 2 headset, which is sad because there's no way that mic should perform better than the Behringer.
Sir thank you for your reviews with Beringer xm8500... Would it work with Zoom H6... I consider to have an economic microphone for my future street interviews. I don't want it gets all the ambiance voices around. O i consider buying this one. Thank you in advance...
Some tests don't require any expertise. You just need to pay attention. The XM8500 performed better in the off axis test but did worse than the Shure in the handling and plosives. But the voice and the guitar are rather subjective and I for one saw no significant difference. If anything, the Behringer is better for voice and here is the thing: I believe this mics will be used mainly to record voices , people talking. You can do a paid job, a news interview, for example, with the Behringer or the Shure. But any recording of music and singing will request state of the art microphones if it is a paid job as I see it. I think this is one important factor to be considered. You will be paid to shoot an interview? Would you use the Behringer XM8500? You will be paid to shoot a professional singer singing . Would you use the Shure Sm 48?
Do you have any interest in looking at field recorders for podcasting? (e.g., TASCAM 60D mkII, Zoom H4 or 5, etc.) A versus would be dope, as the kids used to say!
