Neumann U87 vs Blue Kiwi | Voice Over Mic Comparison 

It's best to listen to this in headphones and at 1080p quality!

Blue kiwi is more forward in the upper-mids while Neumann is even and smooth. I prefer kiwi in a musical context since it places the vocals in the front, but Neumann for VO

"but today we just decided to focus on the male voice" -the media, every day, probably 😂 Kidding aside, this is a great vid...both sound fantastic! I didn't realize blue had high end offerings like the Kiwi

Great comparison, I own a TLM-103, and contemplating a slightly used Blue Kiwi on Reverb. In this shootout, listening through a great Schitt chain and Stax electrostatic cans, I hear a very polite, slightly recessed, yet warm U-87. It had no real distinctive elements, the sign of a great mic. The Blue was much more forward, had a half octave more on the top, yet did that all without sounding aggressive or too sibilant. Have 15 mics, including Mojave and Telefunken tubes, and the Kiwi is something I was buying for live streams, the others are for fully produced and EQ'ed videos. The Blue also has some visual appeal, and since my talent will have their mic visible, it will help them stand out in a sea of SM7B's and EV dynamics. Another consideration is the Blue will just have an Audient id44 pre-amp/ USBinterface, with a bit of Reaper plug-in magic via vst and OBS or vMix. So, the forward will punch through any music bed we mix in. I like the Blue, you made them a sale, albeit in the used market!

I looks like the U87 makes a small bump around 600Hz. But sincerely, when I close mu eyes, I could be fooled...! Both sound very great !

U87 is clearer with more voice detail and picks up nuances great. The Kiwi is more mid focused, but very good as well. I bet the Kiwi would be great for rock vocals.

Very well done comparison. Very easy to hear the differences. After personally trying over 20 different mics on my voice I chose the Blue Kiwi as the best mic for me and the tlm 103 came in second so I bought both because they were quite different and served different uses. I can confirm the Kiwi through a high quality preamp really needs very little to sit my vocal in a mix perfectly as several commentators suggested. The TLM 103 isn't as perfect in the mix for my voice. I have unfortunately not had a chance to try a U87 on my voice but this comparison certainly helped me get a sense of it.

Neumann doesn't have as much high end and has a bit more of warmth to the sound. The Blue Kiwi is impressive though. Sounds nice for voice overs.

The low end on the Neumann is much more noticable but they both sound great

that is a very good voiceover room.

The blue kiwi is the winner!

I feel like hte u87 has a more vintage warmer sound that fits a smoother profile but I LOVE the kiwi so detailed on everything. for music I would choose the kiwi, for VO i would be able to get the sound I wanted out of both.

I think the U87 is closer to the real voice and the other mic sounds a little brighter than what we normaly rear from someone talking...like if we've added some EQ on it.

I'm a lover of the kiwi 🥝 🎤 but Nuemann tops it everything to real which is what you want

While I like the 87 more just listening to the raw track, I have a feeling the Kiwi's more forward nature would be easier to mix into an ad. Either way you cant go wrong, and if you cant afford an 87 the Kiwi is a very worthwhile sub. For reference I'm listening through a pair of KEF LS50's midfield.

I want to know how you got your blue kiwi to be stable on that boom stand! I bought a kiwi and the shock mount it comes with can’t even support the weight! I had blue company replace it. Same issue! Do you use a method or different shock-mount???

Both are excellent.

Hi,excuse me for my english,the diference is not for the brands,both capsules are the same,but the components have time distance of decades,olders Neumann Like "U" serials run with capacitors,resistances,transformers and vaccum tubes out of industrial market today. The Capacitors are so important in the final sound,the capacitors present several changes with the time and notice the reduce of mids highs and high HZ .The Blue Mic sound like the Neumann when was New back in the Fiftys an Sixties.

Was this testing done on a vintage U87, or a new(ish) U87 ai?

That Kiwi has some fat saturation going on. Better for that vintage broadcast sound if you are looking for that.

blue sounds better for me

Neuman all the way

can you compare the MXL 990 and the at2020? Like I know they aren't anywhere near as high caliber as, say, an at4040 or a tlm102, but it would be quite interesting in a set like that.

Sound identical on Schiit Stack + Introprose Connectors + DT1990Pro.

kiwi is awsome

i hear no difference beyond the emphasis in his voice. Kiwi definitely sounded brighter, crisper early on, until later when he spoke more consistently softly and could not tell the difference.

Kiwi classic and clean but lacks the body neumann more body lack of top end

Compare blue spark sl with blue kiwi

Kiwi is much more sibilant

no comparison, the 87 wins in my opinion.

Hate the Kiwi.