Beyerdynamic M160 Ribbon Mic Review / Test (Compared to SM7b & AEA KU5a)
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- Опубликовано: 4 авг 2024
- Today I review a double ribbon mic from Beyerdynamic, the M160. This is a warm and smooth sounding mic with a surprising amount of detail for a ribbon. The top end maintains a very articulate sound that can compliment an electric guitar, but really shines when capturing more intimate acoustic instruments. I also think it works well for spoken word and singing if you want to get a robust low end with a good amount of articulation in the top end.
HQ Audio Of Review: podcastage.com/rev/m160
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00:00 - Intro / Price / Disclaimer
00:19 - Setup
00:37 - What’s in the Box
01:03 - Build Quality / Walkthrough
01:30 - Specifications
01:45 - Polar Pattern Test (Tone / Rotation)
02:10 - Plosive Test
02:30 - Distance Test / Proximity Effect Test
02:52 - Background Noise Test (Keyboard Test)
03:09 - Untreated Room Test
03:22 - Microphone Bump Rejection Test
03:42 - Mic Resonance Tap Test
04:06 - Beyerdynamic M201TG Comparison
04:36 - Shure SM7b Comparison
05:09 - AEA KU5a Comparison
06:05 - Music Test
07:09 - Pros & Cons
08:07 - Overall Thoughts
10:33 - Recommendation
11:19 - Outro
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Some additional information about the M160 if you want to see what it actually looks like with the grill taken off, and some info on the history of it. So cool seeing this: ruclips.net/video/S_ypWT7nPpY/видео.html
It is in fact made in Germany, completely assembled by hand. This can only be done by specialized workers as it takes over 4 months training to place the 1.8 microns ribbons over each other without touching the magnets in any way.
One of the most thorough and actually useful mic reviews I've ever seen/heard! Tested every angle and distance. Bravo!
I think this is some of my favorite guitar playing you’Ve ever done in a review. Sounded great!
The sound of this mic is so beautiful. It's great on your voice, it's sound amazing when the three guitars are mixed together and that is one of the best sounding acoustic recording I've ever heard.
This has got to be the best electric guitar sound of all the mics you've tested. It sounds amazing!
I like your unbiased reviews of mics. It has saved me a lot of money!
best review I have seen on any microphone. well done!
Phantastic review about the Beyerdynamic M160!
I also love the sound of the ribbons. When I was a child, I can remember my father doing all his audio recordings with a Grundig GBM125 (internal term M160!). Greetings from Germany :)
love the review as always! I'd love to see your take on some other ribbons, like the Golden Age R1.
I was thinking exactly the same thing about the acoustic. The softer playing is reproduced so delicately but it isn’t thin. A really great sound. 👍
Hoping for a review of the AEA KU5a in the near future!
Ever since I started using this mic on guitar cabs as a live touring engineer, I haven't looked back. Pairing it with a dynamic and blending them together creates an unbelievably satisfying guitar tone in a live setting that just sounds like a studio sound. It's probably my favorite mic right now.
It's a lil beauty isn't it. I love mine on cabs with a 57 too
What an amazing sounding microphone. Thanks for the review.
This is amazing, I'm from Mexico, and your videos are so helpful, in our country we don't have some one that to the same as you.
This mic sounds awesome
M160. Super smooth on your voice. Great tone. As a recording engineer and re-rcording mixer, half my job would be done with this mic(for your voice). Impressively smooth.
Oh, I see your guitar playing is improving, thats awesome 🤘keep rocking 🤘
I love the sound of this microphone. It has really transformed your voice.
The M160 is such a great mic, and even though it's popular in recording studios it seems to still a bit of a secret treasure. I thought your voice sounded excellent with it, and it was definitely my favorite of all the ones you compared it to. It does sometimes require a bit of EQ, as you mentioned, but ribbon mics tend to respond to EQ in a very pleasing and predictable way, and the M160 is no exception. Excellent review, by the way! I really enjoy these, and I find them to be very helpful and informative
Have to admit, I rarely need to reach for the EQ when using the M160. Especially in comparison to my vintage Oktava's which are really really dark - They sound lovely with an exaggerated high shelf
this has been my 'secret weapon' mic for electric guitar cabs for years now, one of my favourite mics, I have used it for vocals with hardware EQ on the way in, it takes EQ very well.
Dam, this mic sounds very nice. Very smooth but still catching all the nuances, so balanced! I’ll definitely think about buying one.
Thanks for these interesting and informative videos. I would love to see a review and comparison with the Rode NTR.
This was one of the most pleasant mics on your voice. I've been a ribbon convert for a long time. The AEA seems much better for vocals with very pleasant highs. Thanks.
Just a few tips for ribbon lovers: Never ever blow into it. Don't put it on a kick drum, especially at the hole. The tone will slowly change over the years due to ribbon fatigue, and there's nothing you can do about it short of a new ribbon. Always position a Beyer ribbon with the red dot either up or down, but not sideways, to help keep the ribbon centered in the magnet -- and store it that way too. Don't clap your hands near the ribbon! ;-) And finally, as a friend of mine found out the hard way, you can use it to record a firecracker *exactly once.* Great review, Bandrew! And thanks!
Guess the mic cracked.... sorry. had to. Hopefully he got it replaced!
@@dkijc LOL! It was the radio station's mic, and they sent it back to RCA for a re-ribbon. It was not cheap, and the ribbon snapped clean in two. Thanks for your...crack! ;-)
You can fart into the microphone too and it will be ok. Just don’t hand it back to the singer
This m160 is the Best mic for your voice for sure! 👌Damn! I had already decide after your ksm32 review that the shure was my next all purpose mic. But now you put this video and this is the new winner I think...🤔😅
Most thorough reviews on RUclips! Have you reviewed budget ribbons?
The M160 sounded great with your voice, it added some lushness to it and worked really well. I purchased an M160 recently to record sax and woodwind it's been the best I've experienced for my particular sound and instruments, and it's taken a while for me to get one, it's especially awesome for flute. For your voice the AEA sounds awesome, really classy, wow!! and I'd say the best for you - its a bit more transparent than the Beyerdynamic but keeps the lushness - If the SM7b and the M160 got together and had a child the AEA would be it, the best of both worlds!! BUT if budget was an issue I'd go with the Beyer, it does sound awesome!! It's down to your personal taste and what sound you wanna present.
Picked one up a year ago. Used it as a mono overhead on drums recently. Great mic.
Love how this mic sounds, the difference in detail and "warmth" when you went to the Beyerdynamic dynamic mic was night and day.
As a multi-instrumentalist, I got one of the BEST tenor sax cuts ever on the M160. The track had a polished, smooth, almost compressed & polished sound. I bought another!
I just used one of this guys yesterday, what a beautiful piece of equipment .
Good job! The mic M 160 is excellent. I use it for my instrument, Persian hammer dulcimer. It works quite well. Moreover, I believe the main purpose of this mic is not to be used for podcast but for musical instruments.
Thank you for the fantastic review
I can confirm your voice vibrated the heck out of my sub!
Thanks for your work...it is greatly appreciated
wonderful sounding mic P:) I love it!
Hi Bandrew, I like the M160 best the sound is amazing. I don't think I heard a ribbon mic before, if I did I didn't know it. Thank you for opening my ears, stay safe and keep well...
Saw your comment on Audient EVO 4 on Krauss`s channel- Came over - Funny dood! Good and goof tests and you can actually play. Enjoyed...Looks like I got a few videos to get through here lol.....Be lucky - Subbed
Sounds great on voice, guitar, drums...it's probably cool on strings and horns too. Legend
Great video bro!
Thanks so much Chris. I hope you’re doing well.
Hello please this mickey needs phantom ? I have read that the last ones on sale already have electronics inside that need phantom.
Great job man.
Had a couple of these back in the 70’s. They were great for live vocal performances with floor monitors because of the tight pattern. They also came with globe shaped pop filters.
Understatement of the year by Bandrew: "I may be a weirdo".😂 Nice mic & great review....👍👍😉😉🎤🎤🎤🎤👍👍
This mic sounds great.
The mic sounds great and you're a good guitarist too xD
Sounds amazing. Looking forward to also putting this on Guitar cabs and curious about it's ability to mic a high hat.
The M160 sounds great! But, the AEA KU5a is absolutely awesome on your voice! My favorite of all the mics you have used even though you haven't reviewed it on Podcastage. I loved the 3 episodes of BSP using the AEA KU5a.
Getting one of these this week. Cant wait try it on drum OHs and guitar amp.
I'm just here to watch the box die
Also, I think this may be the only channel on RUclips where the automatic captions actually reflect what is being said over 90% of the time, so kudos for the clarity and enunciation
Best sound so far for spoken word. Wow!
This ribbon... with acoustic sound. Is mindblowing. Did not even know that it picked up those beautiful backpanel vibrarions so smoothly.
Damn this mic sounds great. I was excited when I saw ribbon mic in the thumbnail since I really want to get one, but that price haha. I still prefer the KU5a. Might save my pennies up for that one still.
Could you do a test of the M160 and an M130 for Mid/sides? Also I would love to see any reviews of Grace and TRP pre-amps with any passive ribbon mics.
What video recording device do you use? Do you use any special lighting? I like the video quality as much as the M160. Thanks for posting this. I really enjoyed it.
Ah, the video I waited for. Sweet.
I'm not bothered by the increased low end at all. It would ass more - dare I say it - balls to sources that might need it. The top end is actually really great in this, like you mentioned. In that regard, SE makes a ribbon in conjunction with Rupert Neve that boasts response up to 25k, which I'm super interested in trying, should the stars ever align for anything that isn't a worldwide tragedy. Although, it's currently hurricane season here in Florida, so we probably need to get that out of the way first.
But still, if it's too much, EQ it out. If it's not there in the first place, and you need it...uh...504: Frequency Range Not Found.
You sound great on this, and I think it's honestly becoming of your voice. I'm a bit worried about the issue of damaging the thing, with you being so close to it. Granted, my own mic usage is typically 2-6 feet away, depending on what's happening, but I still hide my ribbon from even my own prying hands when it's not in use. Shit happens, though, and I've dropped plenty things I never meant to. The last thing I need, is to have 3 car payments explode on the sidewalk when I have sweaty hands.
There are a couple ribbons out there which are meant for more rough usage, like the "live" versions of Royer mics they designed after Aerosmith used the normal 121 and 122 models on a bunch of tours (and supposedly only broke one, but I call bullshit), but I haven't met anyone with them to confirm what kind of abuse a guitar amp does to them, and it's uncommon for me to hear somebody used a Royer on vocals, where it'd be executed in public square within the first 3 songs.
Like I've said before though, I enjoyed using one of these myself. My experience has been toward the larger end of the distance scale from the mic with them, but I'd be curious of how it might sound when I'm not consistently blasting out 130dB of noise toward a $700 mic that looks like something I plugged into a boombox as a kid to record myself saying dirty words.
If you ever decide you hate the mic, though, you could always do a Mythbusters-style test on exactly what it takes to blow it out. Mind you, we'll all be disappointed if you use anything less than ballistics gel and a 50 caliber machine gun in the experiment.
A small shout-out to the mention of using a Fethead or Cloudlifter, for anyone interested, too: the Fethead seriously helped with gain on the ribbon I use, and I'd wholeheartedly recommend it. Short of that, if there's an active version of a ribbon someone's eyeballing, it also solves the issue. If it come down to cost, just gauge whether it's cheaper to buy the Fethead plus the passive ribbon, or buying the active version of the ribbon without the Fethead outright. Bear in mind, the Fethead also works great on dynamic mics, and for me, it makes a world of difference.
The proximity effect is great on my M130
I love it
This mic sounds amazing.
I love how you throw those boxes
hey Bandrew i have a question..when we record vocals, we eventually cut off the lower frequencies while mixing the vocals with the tracks..so considering that, is it better to turn on the high pass filter of the mic while recording in the first place or is it better to record with the pad off and do everything in eq?
big fan of your work
In most cases, I’ll record flat and then EQ in post because then I have a lot more control.
@@Podcastage thank you
Years ago I used a M160 in the studio. To this day it is the best mic I've used as a vocalist. And this includes a host of high end classic mics.
im surprised more people dont use it for vocals
@@UndetectableBomber we've been using it as our main vocal mic on a project lately, and it has been incredible.
Love the 160! Its the secret weapon to jimi and zepplin's guitars, bonham's drums, and adding texture to bowies voice (berlin era). Needs a cloudlifter though!
It sounds VERY nice with the guitar amp. I really liked it.
Awesome Mic!
Love the song and the guitar nice rythim to the guitar
That's the best song everrrrrrrr so far i've ever heard about mic, better than others mic review video.
You love ribbon...
You hate stickers...
And..
I love you man, cheers 🤘
haha. Thank you so much Leonard. I really appreciate that so much.
Bandrew, that is a spectacular mic. I want to change up my podcast sound from traditional dynamics (Shure Sm7b, RE20--which I love.) My main concern is the pattern in an untreated room. Now, I run through the Rodecaster Pro so it has decent pre amps and there's a good gate and compression setting that helps, but do you think I'm gonna get killed in an untreated room with this? My dynamics do great in the room, as a comparison. Wondering if I should just wait until I'm in my cups one night and spring for the KU5a.
Ribbon microphone when you blow into it with no pop filter:
👁️👄👁️
It's a ripping microphone then :3
Loool
Sounds great for classical music recordings and choruses.
I use the M160 for quite some time. It´s a great mic although it needs some attention. Never in front of impulsive instruments, always handle with care. It´s a fragile mic but it rewards you with a very unique, nice sound. I mainly use it for classical instruments, sometimes for acoustic guitars. Even for grand pianos it´s a outstanding mic.
Dude do you actually own all these mic's you review? You are crazy. Btw have you done a full review on the Mojave 201fet? I saw it in your U87 video but I didn't find a full review would really interested in that if you got the time! Thanks for the content as always it's awesome
What sort of a preamp would you suggest for the mic for doing voice work in home conditions? I really love the sound of the ribbons - both M160 and KU5A are outstanding. I'm just wondering what to pair them with for the best results.
All the microphones sound great for spoken word, I was very impressed the M201 TG. Have you any updates on the Samson Q9U? It seems to have disappeared.
This mic is phenomenal as an overhead on drums.
I was wondering if you have ever tried the se electronics voodoo vr1 or vr2?
New subscriber! Thank you for the review. Would you recommend this for recording a yidaki, or didgeridoo? I've heard high end ribbon mics are best but also a huge group of didge players say DCM mics. The confusion is real.
That AEA is sweet.
Am I able to use a xlr to USB adapter for the rode procaster, and If so, which adapter and stuff would you recommend?
Mad guitar skills
Will you review the tracer studio pro mic?
thank you!!
That M160 sounds really great but it seems too fragile. I wonder if @bandrew would prefer this or the Sennheiser MD441-U dynamic mic instead?
Also, what shock filters would work with this mic?
Can you do the mxl cr89 @Podcastage????
Mmmm, sounds nice. Its a toss up between the Beyer and the AEA for my ears and your voice.
Yeah. The AEA changed my mind on ribbons, and the Beyer solidified that.
beyerdynamic is sooo good though
@@Podcastage We need a review of the Bumblebee RM-6!
Probarias un microfono de Sterling Audio?
Hi there, really curious about the Shure MV88+ Video Kit ... Looking for something small, mobile and portable mic.
Great review! I need to boost the gain a lot on my preamp with the M160. Would it be beneficial to use a cloudlifter with this mic?
Cloudlifters are perfect for this. I sometimes use fetheads with the m160, but for some guitar amps, the gain is actually too much (cloudlifters provide a bit less gain than fetheads)
it sounds VERY good.
Gotta love the XLR cables jus hanging from the door
M201TG sounded so clear, technical etc when switching from the M160. Probably sounds great on it’s own but the jump in sound profile was very sudden and confusing. I think I slightly preferred the KU5A, which makes me a bit happy as I’m supposed to receive one in the mail today. But the M160 would make many people happy, if I had known about it I might have considered it as the KU5A price is a bit high in my opinion.
The KU5A looks awesome. Maybe I am silly, but the visual design is important to me. I really appreciate mics like KU5A and Super55 etc where the mic visual add something to the room it’s in. Had been thinking on the Heil Finn for similar reason, bling that makes you happy :)
I recently tested the Beyerdynamic MM1 for voice over and I think the results are very interesting. Maybe you could review it ?
I love this channel so much I've just subscribed also with my second account.
I really liked the M160, at the moment my only ribbon is a Cascade Fathead and I'm deciding if getting an M160 or save for a Coles.
The M160 (also the M130) is one the "legendary" Beyer mics, used extensively back in the day by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix etc ect
Oh the coles is on my list too. I want to try that one so badly.
@@Podcastage Hope you'll do it, it will surely be an exhaustive review and a pleasure to watch (and listen). The only "minus" I can think of is that the Coles's (s's?) review would really benefit of a drum micing demonstration/comparison but there are already plenty of them on youtube anyway
THIS IS THE MIC I WAS SEARCHING
Great taste!
goat overhead mics
A lot of M160s are gonna be sold because of this video; lord knows I'm looking to buy one now!
Would you please make a comparison between "Shure Sm58" & "Stagg SDM50" 😉
Your reviews are so helpful. Do you think you could do a review of the Yamaha MG10XU mixer? Thank you!
Just wanted to mention that the Zoom L series mixer/recorder/usb might be of interest to check out also. Our podcast have been on L12 for years, using it as a recorder mainly, and very happy about it. Great preamps and a number of mixes possible.
But I haven’t tested the MG10XU nor have the audio ear and range of experience Bandrew and other reviewers have.
@@randomgeocacher Thank you for the suggestion. I am not sure if that is in my price range though...
OGViolinist ah, I didn’t know the pricing difference. The L8 version is about twice the price of MG10XU I see. For a smaller setup the L8 is maybe even more interesting since it includes a sound pad (sample player), and battery powe option. For some uses it really declutters a recording room, having sound pad + mixer + recorder + usb in one device. Similar to Rodecaster but the L8 is more similar to a traditional mixer in how you interface it. But instead of promoting gear I’m interested in, maybe I could ask what your main use-cases are?
Thank you for input. My use case is RUclips streaming and voice over. I have a gaming channel, The Phantom 86, I am looking to upgrade my audio gear despite the low sub count of 122. The Mg10xu has built in Fx which could be fun to use on stream.
OGViolinist ah. If you want to do Fx on voice but have clean game audio, check the details on the mixer Fx support carefully. Many cheap mixers only send the master (pre-fx) into the Fx, instead of allowing you to Fx only selected tracks.
Hey bandrew can u do some more broadcast headsets?
Sounds better than SM7B to me, fuller and more pleasant. Excellent video, as always! 🙂
It is an absolutely fantastic sounding mic. Love the M160.
Excellent review!
Bandrew I have a question, how far from the microphone can the proximity effect be considered?, or that will depend on each microphone, thanks
Most frequency response are measured at 1 meter. So closer than that and you’re going to start to get an increased bass response. On the graph for this mic, they provide the bass response at different distances of 10cm and 2cm.
@@PodcastageOkay, thanks for your reply dude