Behringer XM8500 Professional Microphone

BEHRINGER XM8500 PROFESSIONAL MICROPHONE

            There is certainly no shortage of entry level microphones on the market to choose from today. Obviously, that does not mean that they are all good choices. The simple fact of the matter is that many entry level microphones do not sound very good at all, and choosing the right microphone for the right job is not an easy choice, especially for a beginner. Many of the more advanced level and/or more expensive microphones, sound quite good. In that case, when one is contemplating a purchasing decision, the task is to try to get the best microphone to do the job at the best price.

            However, it is a quite a different story when one starts looking at the crop of entry level choices. It actually takes as much discrimination, and possibly even more, to make a wise purchasing decision when buying an inexpensive microphone as it might take to purchase an expensive one. As such, when one takes this fact into consideration, there actually is a shortage of "good quality" entry level microphones. With this in mind, I have chosen today to review an entry level microphone that is growing in popularity. I hope my review of the Behringer XM8500 Professional Microphone will be of help to you the next time you are discerning a purchase of a new microphone.

            The Behringer XM8500 Professional Microphone has a list price of $29.99, but it can be had from most reliable Internet merchants and large musical instrument chain stores for as little as $19.00 in some cases. Since most readers who are considering a purchase of a Behringer XM8500 Professional Microphone are apt to be either beginners or people with limited knowledge of microphones, I shall attempt to explain in this review some of the distinguishing features of this microphone which differentiate it from other microphones, as well as reviewing some of its similarities and sonic attributes as compared to others.

            The Behringer XM8500 is a "Dynamic" microphone with a "Cardioid" polar pattern. Allow me to explain what these terms mean. A "Dynamic" microphone is a very sturdy and simple piece of electrical equipment. As you may recall from your high school physics class, when a magnet is moved closer to a coil of wire, a minute electrical current is generated which travels through the wire. Keeping this simple electrical principle in mind, a dynamic microphone uses a diaphragm which is attached to a coil of wire located in close proximity to a magnet. When sound pressure waves strike the diaphragm, the diaphragm moves or vibrates forwards and backwards past the magnet. This movement of the diaphragm in proximity to the magnet results in the generation of a small electrical current. It is this current which carries all of the information which describes the sound that is causing the diaphragm to vibrate. This current is then retranslated back into sound, and is able to be captured and played back through some type of amplification system which uses loudspeakers. Simply put, that is an explanation of what a "Dynamic" microphones is, and the principles by which it operates. Unlike a condenser microphone, a dynamic microphone does not require an external power source for it to operate properly, and in general, dynamic microphones are very sturdy and durable.

            As I mentioned a bit earlier in the review, the Behringer XM8500 Professional Microphone is a microphone with a "Cardioid" polar pattern. A cardioid microphone is most sensitive to sounds emanating from directly in front of the microphone, and it tends to reject or be less sensitive to sounds that are originating from the sides or back of the microphone. This is a very important feature to have in a microphone that is being used for live performances, and it is also an especially good feature for a microphone to have that is being used in a recording situation. Being a microphone with a cardioid pickup pattern, this means that the Behringer XM8500 is better able to capture the sound that is being generated and to isolate it from other sounds that might be simultaneously going on at the same time. This makes controlling or shaping of the sound an easier chore for a soundman working the mixing board or recording board, and in the cases where there is no soundman, it makes it easier to control what sounds are being picked up by the microphone. Because it is good as isolating sounds, a dynamic microphone with a cardioid pickup pattern, is also very good when it comes to reducing the likelihood of feedback.

            In general, dynamic microphones typically do not have the same type of wide flat frequency response as their cousins, the condenser microphones. In general, a dynamic microphone's frequency response is usually tailored to some specific recording or sound reinforcement purpose. The Behringer XM8500 Professional Microphone is certainly no exception to this. The frequency response of the Behringer XM8500 is from 50 Hz. to 15,000 Hz. This is obviously not a microphone that can be used for all purpose recording, as many musical instruments have a frequency range, including overtones, that far exceed these frequency parameters. Actually, the thing that the Behringer XM8500 Professional Microphone is tailored for is to amplify or to record the sound of the human voice, and it is billed by Behringer as being a vocal microphone.

            When I first saw the Behringer XM8500, I at first mistook it for a Shure SM58, which is possibly the most popular lower priced vocal microphone in use today. I examined the spec sheets on both of these microphones and noticed that they not only look alike in person, but they are quite similar on paper, and both have a frequency response of 50 Hz. to 15,000 Hz. However, one should not jump to the assumption that because they share the same broad frequency response, that both microphones will sound alike, because to my ear they do not.

            Well how does the Behringer XM8500 Professional Microphone sound on vocals? I am a strong believer that one usually gets what they pay for in this world, and that a microphone that sells for under $20.00 should not be expected to sound very good. I guess that there are exceptions to every rule, and the Behringer XM8500 is one of these. Typically inexpensive microphones that claim to have a tight cardioid pattern, often have somewhat less than that, and they typically are more prone to feedback as a result. This microphone had very good feedback resistance. It is also common for an inexpensive microphone to suffer from excessive handling noise. Once again, this was not the case with the Behringer XM8500, and the microphone's integrated shock mount system kept handling noise does to a surprising degree. Most inexpensive microphones skimp on pop filtering, and suffer from the undesirable effect of "plosives," which are the popping sounds that occur when a singer gets too close to a microphone, resulting in wind noises and unwanted breath sounds emanating from their lips. Once again, the Behringer XM8500's pop filter did a good job at blocking the sound of "plosives."

            O.K, how about the weaknesses of the Behringer XM8500. For one, this microphone sounds very thin when it is held about 12 to 14 inches away from a singer's lips. On the other hand, it seemed very bassy and had a muddy low end when a singer's lips are very close to it. This is what is known as the "proximity effect," and it manifests itself as a relative magnification of the low end frequencies the closer the microphone gets to the sound source, and a relative diminution of the low frequencies the further the microphone is from the sound source. To my ear, the overall tone of the Behringer XM8500 was just nowhere near as rich, full, and resonant as a Shure SM58, which is a microphone that it is often compared to. However, the Shure SM58 costs 5 times as much as the Behringer XM8500, and that is certainly a serious consideration when one is a beginner who is going to be making a purchasing decision.

            The bottom line for me is this. The Behringer XM8500 is one of the absolute best inexpensive microphones available on the market today. At just under $20.00, this microphone is an incredible value for the money. However, to compare it to a Shure SM58 the way so many other reviewers seem to do, just does not make sense to me, and there are obvious sonic differences to my ear. If you are a beginner who is on a very tight budget, the Behringer XM8500 is a very good choice to consider. If you have deeper pockets, there are certainly better sounding microphones available on the market, but it is going to cost you.

            Well I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my review, but now if you will excuse me, I must get back to my practicing.