The Shure SM7B is without a doubt one of the most iconic microphones of all time. This historic cardioid mic has an instantly recognizable sound signature, and has been used for everything from capturing the vocals on Michael Jackson's album Thriller to recording guitars, drums, and your favorite podcasts.
There's just no beating the versatility of the SM7B — but it can also be quite a difficult mic to set up and use. You'll need an audio interface to run the XLR connection directly to your computer, and the SM7B's levels are so low that you often need to boost it with a Cloudlifter, yet another expensive purchase to make. That's where the newly released MV7 comes in.
Shure hasn't reduced the price of the MV7 for Black Friday; unfortunately, it's just too new to already see a discount. But in the two weeks or so that I've had it, I've come to appreciate just how many features have trickled down from the SM7B this mic is based on, all while adding new features that make this microphone far more accessible for recording artists of all kinds.
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Shure MV7 | $250 at various retailers
$250 at Amazon $250 at Best Buy $249 at B&H
The MV7 takes direct inspiration from Shure's wildly popular SM7B cardioid microphone, while adding modern conveniences like a USB connection, along with on-device gain controls and headphone monitoring.
The MV7 has a smaller capsule than the SM7B, meaning you won't get quite as wide a frequency response range, but it still sounds fantastic, and can be run through either XLR or USB — or even both at the same time. This allows you to capture redundant takes for backup, or simply bypass the need for an XLR interface, and while the mic unfortunately uses the older Micro-USB standard, it comes with a Micro-USB to USB-C cable in the box along with a Micro-USB to USB-A cable.
There are touch-sensitive controls at the top of the mic, allowing you to quickly adjust gain levels or even mute the mic without the need for physical dials or buttons, which would be far more likely to transfer sound into the recorded audio. On the back, there's also a 3.5mm headphone jack for directly monitoring your recorded audio without any latency.
Using the ShurePlus MOTIV app on your computer, you can also adjust settings like EQ presets, compression, and auto-gain, saving you time in post and making it easier to avoid unwanted clipping or overly boomy sound. The MV7 may not be on sale during Black Friday, but just like my favorite espresso machine, it's absolutely still worth buying, even at full price.
Source: androidcentral