Shure MV7 Microphone Review - Testing with male and female voice

Nov 20

As a podcast producer, I’m acutely aware of how crucial it is to have a reliable and high-quality microphone. As an avid user of microphones for over 15 years, first as a musician in the studio, and now in podcasting, I feel it’s my duty to give you some guidance and stop you from buying trashy equipment

In this review, I will walk you through my experience with the Shure MV7, touching on its build quality, sound performance, and overall suitability for different recording scenarios.

Build Quality:

The Shure MV7 boasts a solid build quality. It features both XLR and USB inputs, making it versatile for various recording setups. However, I must mention a rather lack-lustre feature - the pop filter. While it reduces some plosives, it lacks the thicker foam and I’ve noticed you need to have the microphone positioned off-axis quite considerably to reduce the plosive issue.

Sound Performance:

When it comes to sound performance, the Shure MV7 didn’t overly impress me with its ability to handle plosives, but the sibilance was well taken care of. I tested it with both XLR and USB inputs, and the difference was minimal, with both options delivering excellent sound quality.

Female Voice Test:

As a female voice, I wanted to assess how the Shure MV7 captures and portrays different vocal ranges. Off-axis positioning proved to be key, as that's where the microphone offered the best sound quality. When I sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," the microphone faithfully reproduced the subtle nuances in my voice, providing a balanced and pleasing sound.

Male Voice Test:

To evaluate the Shure MV7's performance with a deeper voice, I enlisted the help of our Lead Designer, Alex. His sentence "Please provide a stinky sandwich" allowed us to gauge how the microphone handled lower frequencies, plosives and sibilance. The Shure MV7 captured his voice with clarity and precision, showcasing its versatility across different vocal ranges. He sounded better on this microphone than I did, producing a richer tone.

Proximity Effect Analysis:

One common mistake many creators make with microphones is placing them too far from their faces. The Shure MV7 excels when used in an off-axis position, about a fist's distance away. The proximity effect, which enhances bass frequencies, is prominent when the microphone is too close, resulting in added breathiness and interruption. It's important to strike the right balance for optimal sound quality.

USB Input Considerations:

When using the Shure MV7 in USB mode, there are a couple of important setup steps. You'll need to select the microphone as the input source in your computer's sound settings, ensuring it's recognised properly. Additionally, you can adjust the microphone's input level both in the computer settings and on the microphone itself. There is also a desktop app that you can download to tune your settings further to your liking.

I quite enjoyed playing around with the Motiv desktop app, and encourage you to download it, to get a more customised result.

What’s My Take?

Looking at the overall performance of the Shure MV7, I find it to be a solid microphone choice for content creators. Its compact design and dual XLR and USB inputs make it an attractive option for beginners and more experienced podcasters alike. While I encountered some minor gripes, such as the positioning of the LED lights and plosive issues, the Shure MV7's excellent sound quality, effective noise reduction, and versatility outweigh these drawbacks.

Ultimately, the Shure MV7 offers a reliable, user-friendly, and durable solution for anyone seeking a high-quality microphone. Whether you're starting small or aiming to take your content creation to the next level, the Shure MV7 will deliver satisfying results. I am of the opinion that this microphone will suit those with more complexity in their vocal register.

Transcript:

[00:00:00] Brianna: Today we're bringing a review to you, this microphone right here, the Shure MV7 I did a podcast Battle between the Shure MV7 and the Rode PodMic. They have the same inputs. They're about the same price point. And I wanted to do a review of this one by itself as well, so that you could have a listen to it. If it's a microphone that you're really looking at potentially buying, or you have it already and you want some advice on how to use this one effectively. the Shure MV7 is a dynamic microphone that has both the XLR and the USB input. I'm going to try both of those things on for size today so that you can listen to the difference of both of these inputs stay tuned because I'm going to give you my advice, my feedback, my recommendations.
[00:00:45] And we're also going to get a male voice in here as well, so that you can see how it handles a duper voice versus a high pitched ish voice, The pop filter comes off really easily, Popping the popcorn You can probably hear that there's a lot of pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop sounds. That's plosives in this microphone. So you definitely need this. But the thing I will say about this is I don't think it's good enough. It doesn't feel foamy enough. That's kind of a weird thing to say, but it just doesn't feel very like, uh, sturdy, you know? So it comes on and off really easily, which is fine, but I just don't think it's that great. So let's jump into a few tests that I like to run with microphones. First thing we're going to test is how it handles plosives and how it handles s's, sibilants. whether there's like a high frequency that's kind of annoying and how it handles those poppy sounds as well. Popping the popcorn and sizzling the sausages. You can see it's off axis here as well. Now if I bring this around to the front, Popping the popcorn and sizzling the sausages. Popping the [00:02:00] popcorn and sizzling the sausages.
[00:02:03] How did that sound for you? Okay, so that's in the XLR input. Now we're going to sing a little bit into the microphone off axis.
[00:02:11] Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high. And then There's a land I heard in the la la Someday I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the skies are far behind me. Where troubles melt like lemon drops, way above the chimney tops.
[00:02:48] That's where
[00:02:54] me. is Alex. I've provided him with a lovely sentence. So, here it goes.
[00:03:04] Please provide a stinky sandwich. Please provide a stinky sandwich.
[00:03:12] then now I want just like, I don't know, uh, whatever you give me a stinky sandwich. Now we have it plugged in via the USB input. There are a few little things that you need to make sure that you set up when you first plug in the microphone in the USB format. Namely making sure that the right input is selected for the computer. so you have to go into sound settings of your computer, PC or Mac, and you have to find it in your inputs, once you've plugged it in, select it, and then it will work.
[00:03:52] You can also adjust the level of it within the sound settings on your PC or Mac if you have a slider that you can change,[00:04:00] but you can also adjust the level of it. On the microphone itself,
[00:04:04] now I'm going to do my plosive and sibilance test, popping the popcorn and. Sizzling the sausages. Popping the popcorn and sizzling the sausages. Popping the popcorn and sizzling the sausages. the popcorn and sizzling the sausages. L is for the way you look at me. Oh, is for the only one I see. V is very, very extraordinary.
[00:04:43] Okay, so that's that. Now we're going to get the male voice back in.
[00:04:53] I need Please provide a stinky sandwich.
[00:04:57] Please provide a stinky sandwich.
[00:05:00] Please provide a stinky sandwich.
Record the Shure Mv7 App on desktop
[00:05:03] Brianna: Please provide a stinky sandwich. Ding! I'll make a sandwich come All right. So this is where I would have to have the microphone. It needs to be on an off axis about here. If I get much further away, It doesn't sound very good, does it? And this is what a lot of the mistake that people make with microphones is that they put them too far away from their faces. Now, if we do almost on top of it here with this one, this is creating the proximity effect, which is actually quite intense for this microphone.
[00:05:33] It's going to give me a lot of bassy bottom end, and some people really like that sound A lot of that ASMR vibe is going to come from being really close to the microphone, but you have to make sure that the microphone can handle it. This microphone is not good in that setting.
[00:05:48] Can you hear that there is a lot of breath? it's like every time I have a T or a B or a P or an S, there's a lot of extra interruption with the microphone. So I don't suggest using a [00:06:00] microphone like this if you want that really close vibe, because it just sounds a little bit shmeh.
[00:06:05] I'm off axis so that the pop isn't a big deal.
[00:06:08] It's still a little bit of a deal. But it's not as bad as it is if I'm on like this, and then I'm popping the popcorn, popping the popcorn. So it's a little bit less brutal on the side like this. Let's go through my overall recommendation for this microphone and how I feel about it. what do I like about this microphone? I like that it's compact. I like that it has XLR and USB input. I like that it has an app that means that you can adjust things yourself in there, which is fantastic. and it's not hard to set up.
[00:06:41] It's easy to get going. It's great for a DIY podcaster.
[00:06:44] I don't like that it sounds a little bit muddy. I have to get it in like the perfect spot for me to not sound a little bit too low end. I also don't like the placement of these lights and the way that you have to touch them to make it move I just find that kind of silly that it's there. Okay, here we are back in XLR mode, because of where this is, it's actually quite a big chunky ass thing, right? So I can bring it up, I have to adjust where this mic is sitting, That's okay, but there's still like a massive focus on this all up in my grill there.
[00:07:20] And I don't love the placement of that. especially because I have to be off axis, it's just like a bunch of shore and a bunch of cable. I think the design of that could be a bit better personally. I think that it's fantastic for those that are looking for a microphone that can have longevity. Maybe you start with USB and you work your way up to the XLR format, but it is not my favorite microphone.
[00:07:44] I've definitely recommended this microphone to some of our clients, depending on the type of voice that they have and the recording environment. I can recommend different microphones for different people and they sound great with this microphone as well. I have other reviews that I've done on other microphones. If you want [00:08:00] to engage with any of that content, go to our channel and you'll see it all there. If you like this kind of content from me, please hit the subscribe button, the like button, leave a comment. What did you think of this microphone? Did you like it for me?
[00:08:12] Have you got it yourself? What are the challenges that you've come across with this mic? And I would love to hear from you. Thanks for joining me. And I hope this was helpful. Bye.