[0.85 lb] For several years I've been pretty outspoken about preferring (any) Sennheiser handheld (835/45, 9, MD etc).. over their Shure counterparts. I've got a deep voice, but there's a significant amount of fry and rasp that comes through. (I do voice over/podcasting/comedy.. not a singer.. just to clarify).

But going back to what I was saying, the classic SM58 for example, its a good and solid mic, but for my voice.. it turns into a tug-of-war trying to tone down some of the really harsh tones that no one wants to hear for voice over, podcasting etc..

So I was pretty skeptical of the SR117.. I knew there was a lot of hype about it's flat response being extremely easy to EQ, but I've never owned a handheld condenser.

Now.. I'm never looking back. No background noise cleanup. It picks up my voice and only my voice even in a room with quite a bit of ambient sound, but it even seems to TAME some of that same uncomfortable grit/rasp/fry I was previously talking about. I don't know if it's because there's finally balance between the lows in my voice with that fry, or if this mic is just great at cutting back on sibilance.

But in either case, the amount of EQ needed to get this thing to the same ear-friendly experience as my go-to Sennheiser 945 was mind blowing effortless. I genuinely cannot believe Earthworks considers this to be a budget option, and if you're needing something for live or studio, I'll gladly throw my vote in for the hype of this microphone.

I haven't used it in a live setting, but when I turn on all of the fans, lights, computers etc in my studio.. the ambient room levels are extremely high, and if it's rejecting ALL of them with ease, I can only imagine it would handle the same feedback rejection in a live setting where the vocalist doesn't need anywhere near the amount of gain I use for just talking.

[0.85 lb] Superb both on stage and in the studio. Clear, crisp, takes EQ like a champ.

[0.85 lb] The Beta 87A plays well with live spoken and sung voice when a sound system is in use, and sounds good for recording too. My only criticism is that the optional foam windscreen lets too many pops through--but there are other choices for that which will work better. This is a high quality mic, with an extended, clear top end, good overall balance, low noise floor and plenty of headroom for loud sound sources. And it is very reasonably priced--a real bargain.

[0.85 lb] The SR117 was marketed on its strength at rejecting plosives. ...It's not great at it, at best it's as good as a standard stage dynamic. SO there's no special sauce. However, you might be able to mitigate with aggressive use of a low cut. However, beyond that, I really like this mic because it is very much a blank canvas, it can take EQ extremely well and can give you some of that studio mic tone in a handheld.

[0.85 lb] The SR117 was marketed on its strength at rejecting plosives. ...It's not great at it, at best it's as good as a standard stage dynamic. SO there's no special sauce. However, you might be able to mitigate with aggressive use of a low cut. However, beyond that, I really like this mic because it is very much a blank canvas, it can take EQ extremely well and can give you some of that studio mic tone in a handheld.

[End Address] Works well with our Sennheiser Evolution Plug on Transmitter.

[Solid-State] Using this for lie performance as one of my best microphones.

[0.85 lb] Outstanding clarity on vocals. Fantastic resistance to proximity effect. Need to mic an acoustic? Slap it right up there and go. This mic is great for male and female vocals, along with various sundry uses as well. If you need to upgrade your SM series mic to something better, this is your choice. This is my GO TO vocal mic.

[Phantom Power] I am using this for speech in HAM radio transmissions. My shack' is hard-surfaced and I got reports about a tin-can sound. I went with the e845 because of the 'popular price' and supercardioid polar pattern useful to reduce this effect. It worked! Of course mic-to-mouth positioning becomes more important. The net result for me is that I am getting many favorable 'signal reports' from HAMs I speak with. Several have asked about the mic and have ordered one for themselves. BTW, this replaced a Shure SM7B, and the e845 has worked better for my application. Less EQ is needed to get a balanced sound for my voice (actually, no EQ at all is working). Specifically the e845 is plugged into a Kenwood TS-590SG HF transceiver. Very happy with the e845.

[End Address] Let me try to break this down as short as I can. I had been saving and dreaming of acquiring a u87ai for years. Recently I had clients not pleased with the colorization my mojave audio 201 fet mic was giving my vocals for narration duties. So I started thinking of buying a tlm 103 after having returned it a year ago because it was just to harsh for my voice. Although it was silky and extremely detailed, It just was to sibilant for me and sounded harsh in the higher frequencies for me. So researching I came across Gefell and how it is actually the Neumann family still in charge of Gefell while modern Neumann mics are made by senheisser. So I took a chance, and ordered the m930. Wow oh wow. It takes the best of the tlm 103 and does it even better. It's just as silky, and much more pleasing. I think of it actually closer to the u87ai but without the boxy midrange that mic is notorious for. It sits between the u87ai and tlm 103, but sits closer to the u87ai. I think my u87ai desires have been put to rest with the m930. It's so clean, clear, and silky. My voice has a lot of natural color, so the m930 works wonderful not adding any more and actually makes my voice sound much more pleasing. I wish I would've gotten this mic sooner when I first started doing voice work. It's compact, with a big open natural sound. I'm extremely happy with my purchase.