Shure MV7 Review (WIP)
🌱 This post is in the growth phase. It may still be useful as it grows up.
First Comparison
This test was run to compare the natural sound of the Shure MV7 compared to the Shure SM7B.
Every mic has a different sweet spot.
But as a first step, I set this mic up in the same position I set my SM7B in — pointed at the corner of my mouth, at a 45 degree angle, with the capsule about 4-5” away.
Here are the results:
MV7
SM7B
Takeaway
To my ear (using ATH-M40x headphones) the MV7 is noisier than the SM7B.
I’m using the same preamp for both.
So I suspect this is electromagnetic interference noise.
The SM7B is exceptionally.
The MV7 doesn’t seem to be.
The Mv7 sounds very “metallic” to me.
There are a few words where you can hear a resonant, metallic, ringing — which is my least favorite sound in a mic.
It’s not nearly as warm as the SM7B — one of the most desirable characteristics of that mic.
This is understandable, given the smaller capsule.
But either way, you’re not getting that classic low response.
Compared to the best sounding USB mic I’ve found
Last year I one a one page resource of my favorite hybrid (USB/XLR) Mic, the Samson Q2U:
http://shutupandstarttalking.com
I take the Q2U with me every time I’m away from my home studio and might need to record.
It’s sounds way better than it should for a pre-COVID price of $60.
Attached are samples of it compared to
Shure MV7
Samson Q2U
Takeaway
The Q2U makes the MV7 sounds thin and metallic — to my ears (using ATH-M40x headphones).
So metallic, I could taste it under my tongue.
The capsule is clearly no Unidyme III variant (SM7B, SM58, SM57) but it doesn’t even sound like as balanced as a generic dynamic to me.
This is super disappointing.
Now, for positives, the wind screen deed do better that the Q2U’s included screen.
The MV7 is WAY better looking than the Samson Q2u.
And It’s getting harder and harder to find this mic for less than $100.
Add to that an internal shock mount (not great), cool stand adapter and software which seems to eq the sound at capture time, and the new MV7 has a lot of potential for a practical difference of maybe $150.
But, it’s sad that a $250 mic from Shure doesn’t sound as balanced — out of the box, to my ears, for podcasting — as a $60 mic from a 3rd rate electronics brand.
MV7 USB vs XLR
The MV7s USB and XLR interfaces sound SHOCKINGLY different on this mic.
Because most of my testing to this point was with the XLR, I was very unimpressed.
But the USB input is much fuller.
While I find the low mids to be a little woofy and undefined, I’m sure it could be fixed with a slightly different mic position or an adjustment to the ShurePlus MOTIV companion app.
First checkout the wild difference between the two interfaces on this mic:
MV7 via USB
No software eq or compression enabled in ShurePlus MOTIV app.
MV7 via XLR
Takeaway
This really isn’t intended as an XLR mic.
It’s a cheap capsule that’s been tuned in the in-built interface to sound better than it is.
It’s best to think of this as a really nice USB mic, with a chance to explore XLR-based gear in the future.
Unfortunately, it’ll be a pretty sharp cliff as you won’t be able to easily get back to your familiar tone without diving into eq.
This makes it hard to recommend as a “hybrid”.
Misc
- This mic isn’t heavy enough to work with my favorite budget stand for podcasters, the Podcast Pro by Accu-Lite/O.C. White ($89).
- The in-built headphone amp is clean but not powerful. I’m at 100% all the time and regularly reaching for more volume.
- The ShurePlus MOTIV app is does a tremendous job of reducing very technical concepts to a few toggles and sliders. This will be huge for folks without A/V backgrounds
Disclosure
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