Shure SM4 Review / Test (vs. NT1, LCT440, SM27, U87)

[@Podcastage]

UPDATE: The spec sheet that I captured for the Signal-to-Noise ratio appears to be incorrect and Shure's website now lists a S/N ratio of 79dB and a self noise of 15dBA (2dBA lower than what I mentioned in the video). This is still 8dBA higher than the LCT440 and 11dBA higher than the NT1 so my statements on self noise remain unchanged. Source: www.shure.com/en-US/docs/guide/SM4 Also if you wanna pick up the mic here are some affiliate links. I earn a small fee from purchases and it doesn't cost you anything extra. I use that revenue to fund this channel and buy the gear that I review. It's also cool if you don't want to use the links too. Peace out! Buy the Shure SM4 (Affiliate Link) Amazon: geni.us/smfour Sweetwater: sweetwater.sjv.io/sm4 B&H Photo: bhpho.to/3XCPsuI Thomann: www.thomannmusic.com/shure_sm... Buy the Focusrite 2i2 (3rd Gen)- Same Performance as 18i20 (Affiliate Link) Amazon: geni.us/2i32rd Sweetwater: imp.i114863.net/k6g4d B&H Photo: bhpho.to/42lcWDF Thomann: www.thomann.de/intl/focusrite... NOTE (FULL DISCLOSURE): As an associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info check my FAQ page links below.

[@notalongname9817]

Hey Podcastage Ive watched a lot of reviews of the fifine k688 and the am8 most of them recommend the am8, but Im wondering if you are going to review the am8 and do a vs with it against other mics like the k688, samson q2u etc.

[@notalongname9817]

also should I get the fifine t669 or k669 (not the dynamic version) or the Am8

[@thomastvedt8370]

Thank you again for yet another wonderful review. One request: I can see why you don’t read out loud all the specs of the gear that you’re reviewing. However, for those of us who are blind or visually impaired, it would be great if you did that. We can obviously find the info online elsewhere, but it would be great to have that read out loud in the video. Hope you’ll consider this. Thanks again for the wonderful work.

[@Podcastage]

@@thomastvedt8370 Thomas thanks for the feedback. Over the last 9 years my videos have just gotten longer and longer and I have tried to streamline them and cut out information that I can provide in another format. Is the inclusion of the specs in the description insufficient?

[@mavericks2730]

Why you didn’t compare Shure SM4 to Elgato Wave 3?

[@PAR33401]

The mellow sound of Acoustic Brunch with Bandrew returns triumphantly. Sweet.

[@Podcastage]

Thanks so much Par!

[@artysanmobile]

@@PAR33401 Yes! Phenomenal harmonies.

[@MarineX]

That musical arrangement slapped and i can tell that took some effort 🎉

[@Podcastage]

Thanks so much X. Appreciate ya!

[@raddydydy]

that music section was lovely af

[@ScottGrammer]

That thing sounds great on the acoustic! Yours is maybe the fourth review of the SM4 I've heard, but nobody else tried it with an acoustic guitar. It really shines there.

[@Podcastage]

I agree, it worked well on the acoustic. Thanks as always for checking out the video Scott!

[@AmericanIndianGames]

Mannnn, I had an eargasm holyyyy moly, the music section was amazing, especially the guitar part, mannnn, you rock!

[@ObscureMics]

So many options, so hard to choose

[@travsmac]

Thanks for the review Bandrew! I feel like it isn't as clear as other condensers, but like the SM7B, you could listen to it for a longer period than other mics.

[@Podcastage]

Thank you Travis, it's always wonderful to hear your thoughts on mics. PS: What mic are you using now?

[@travsmac]

@@Podcastage Ole reliable... SM7B.

[@Podcastage]

My dude!

[@kennethbailey7105]

Patiently waiting for Bandrew to review the sE electronics T1👀

[@billlord4203]

Something about the mids on voice bothers me about this one. Definitely the 'esses' drive me bonkers. But I do like how it sounds on both electric and acoustic gtr. Dude, seriously, you need to release some of your songs. They are so much better than 80% of what I hear being played these days.

[@oskarwroniewicz]

That music section was absolutely lovely!

[@tylerv8349]

Man that MUSIC TEST was something else!

[@HubertTheMad]

😂2:37, who would've known that untreated room sound tests are a fantastic way to get a killer leg workout!

[@NaaimSiddiqi]

I wonder if in 30 years we'll be talking about the SM4 as a classic like the other SM mics

[@VanStein277]

MUSIC TEST -- holy sht !!! music is so good )))

[@Podcastage]

Thanks so much Van!

[@An0n_Ym0us_79]

I love your dry sense of humor. 😂 Was about to purchase the Lewitt 440, but this is it giving it a run for its money. Decisions.

[@maui99z]

what did you end up buying? is sm4 great or you bought the lct 440?

[@An0n_Ym0us_79]

@ I haven’t purchased anything yet but I’m pretty sold on the earthworks ethos

[@tjzuppe]

Every time I hear the MK4, I’m like dang that sounds lovely. But then I go back to forgetting it exists. I know the price range is crowded, but it’s odd how far it flies under the radar.

[@DapperDanLovesYou]

Always happy for more Bandrew! You do such an amazing job covering microphones and gear! Thank you for consistently providing us with awesome content!

[@johnheiser2604]

With exception of the Lautern, SM4 and Hello Neumann, I have all of these mics and love them all. For me the sleeping giant is the MK4 even if more expensive. If you could save your pennies I would go for the Sennheiser. But any one of these mics will serve you well. Thanks Bandrew, another great video.

[@cyberapocalypse]

I got this mic on the weekend. Have no complaints with it. Will post some videos of it soon.

[@TSGEnt]

As always, came for the mic review, but stayed for the music demo. I would really like "no taxes". For the price, I kinda liked the SM4 sound. Noise? well, yeah, that can be an issue for quiet sound sources. Thank you for the presentation.

[@Oddzey]

Not super impressed? I'm a little disappointed by Thure. This mic definitely feels overpriced. It feels like it's competing with 100$ mics like the P120, AT2020, and X1-A, yet it's priced at a competitor of the NT1 and LCT440, I would honestly rather the X1-A over this mic. Though this and other Thure mics have insane build quality. So if you prioritize that this may be a better option but if that's your concern I'd just say grab the Beta-58a

[@coreteam8389]

Thanks, man. I always appreciate you reviews.

[@nikolasnavarro4161]

Damn, what a beautiful arrangement in the music section. Good one, Bandrew!

[@Dracomies]

Imo this doesn't beat the NT1 Signature at $169. I"d even say the SEX1A was even better than the Shure. But these reviews save all of us money and I'm thankful it's here. In my opinion, very much a yeah, let's move on. Nothing to sing about here.

[@crazygreek6341]

I think it sounds really good on your voice, but damn I forgot how good the X1S and the Mk4 sound

[@JoshColletta]

Can't say I love that response curve. It sounds okay on your voice, but I'm not sure why there's a bump at 4k. That's getting into lower sibilance territory. 2.5k to 3.5k would make sense for articulation, but there's only a slight rise across that spectrum. It's not so flat there as to be detrimental, but it's definitely lacking. My ears had to adjust coming from the SM7B (with presence boost on) that was being used in the previous video I watched. The top end boost sounds fine, though; roughly similar to how I EQ any flat mic. Not bad, but I would definitely be EQ'ing that 4k bump out and adding some 2.5k.

[@Histio]

I love this channel and have already bought 2 microphones thanks to you. I'd love to see a video for a few different things. LIke the SE Electronics relexion filter, the warm audio wa8000 and warm audio wa73

[@MaxMuccini]

Hi Bandrew many thanks for your Tests and specs,so important. As Default I click always a "like" to your YT Video, best wishes Max from Italy

[@ilyabudaev8026]

Beautiful music in the end, thank you

[@fbon_perso]

thank U for the final laugh ! (I use a NTG3 and LCT440 after your tests, so reliable !)

[@tonythearchitect]

That "sss"! Once you hear it, you can't unhear it.

[@thebreakfastmenu]

Thure made their own AT2020, wowie

[@bingobango5377]

I bought this mic and was waiting for this review. Very happy to see it. One question, in my DAW, I see the waveform when I talk, and it just seems blockier. Compared to something like the Lewitt 240 Pro or CAD e100SX I have. And that self noise is definitely higher like you mentioned. Im still very much an amateur with audio work but I was wondering why the waveform seems different compared to other mics and also the best noise reduction settings that might help with self noise?

[@Artec619]

Is the input VU meter in your DAW reading the same value when you change the mics? Maybe at the same settings the SM4 is hotter into the PC than the others and that would maybe make the waveforms look blockier. As long as it is not clipping it should be okay and the visual aspect of it should not really matter

[@bingobango5377]

@Artec619 they are about the same, I believe. I don't touch the gain or anything or monitor levels. I just switch mics and they look different. I think they sound correct. I was just curious if the blockier waveforms meant something significant.

[@Artec619]

@@bingobango5377 It's probably that then, I should check the spec sheets of the other mics you mentioned but it's possible that they have different output impedances, which means they drive the preamps on your interface differently

[@bingobango5377]

@@Artec619 Thank you for the information. I appreciate it.

[@APorTodas]

Love the Thure mics! This one's pretty nice!! And from now on, Thure it is!!🎉

[@SteveEricJordan]

here we go. so basically the shure nt1.

[@simplyhard]

Reminds me of the AT2035 I used to have a few years back.

[@MXJIA]

I picked up both this and the AT2035 and I feel like there’s more dynamic range on the AT2035 (haven’t looked at the specs comparison). But just from blind testing, AT2035 gets more volume easily without noise, and the SM4 does sound more mix ready.

[@Moonsong]

I am getting my first mic with a budget of $114 and it is mostly for voice acting. do you have any recommendations?

[@dynastes4938]

I will engage with this surely great review before even watching it. Keep up the great work.

[@toxicpiano8166]

I liked the last 3 music more and more, pretty good

[@kyrahello]

Can you please consider reviewing the roswell mini k87

[@roadtonever]

It sounds really nice, clean and warm. Should be making waves.

[@WaltervanDusen]

*QUESTION* Please. Could you record a video for those of us that have loud and booming voices? Asking for a friend (me 😂) Examples of my loud booming voice on my channel.

[@esoesjeff]

How does this compare to the Sony c80? 🤔

[@DJAultric]

Hey I got another review suggestion for ya bandrew, check out the Shure sm31fh, it’s a fitness headset and it’s super underrated not gonna lie, I use it for my content and it’s super comfortable and lightweight, you can also compare it to the sm35 as well since they’re the same type of form factor

[@techmed-rainer]

Thank you for this nice review and comparison. This latest Shure mic is okay, but nothing more to me. I find it even a bit overpriced. If I had to choose, I would consider the much more balanced Sennheiser MK4 which is sold a Thomann Germany for 319 Euro (incl. Tax).

[@Podcastage]

The MK4 sounds great. At 319 Euro vs 266 Euro, that might be my pick as well. It sounds a bit more refined (for lack of a better word)

[@NebulonRanger]

The only thing with the MK4 is that it doesn't include a shock mount, which is an additional US$99. It *is* a great mic, though.

[@billlord4203]

That is what I was thinking as well - I was kind of underwhelmed and definitely the asking price is too high in my opinion. As @Oddzey mentioned, this seems to be more in line with mics that run around $100 USD. And yes, I am an MK4 fan as well. Lovely mic that is under-loved.

[@doublef3278]

the off axis rejection seemed to me to be quite good!

[@yashbansalaudio]

Would you recommend the beyerdynamic m70 pro x now that it's under 100 dollars?

[@soramittenpaw2127]

I believe what Shure is going after with SM4 is Sony C-80 because both of these mics employ dual-diaphragm design even though they are single-pattern mics. The secondary diaphragm on the back is said to block low frequencies to make the mics more omnidirectional in that region so that proximity effect is not as pronounced as that on single-diaphragm mics. From that viewpoint, SM4 pricing has a competitive edge over C-80 (SM4 comes with a pop filter, which C-80 doesn't, but C-80 has -10dB pad and high-pass filter switches and is made in Japan).

[@Podcastage]

I haven’t tried the c-80 yet but if I ever do I’ll def compare them. Thanks for the info!

[@simonbarth3181]

Ah that is very interesting! Maybe thats the reason why it sounds so nice on the instruments!

[@jeffrose1854]

This immediately came across as extremely bright and thin sounding! I had to lower my headphones. Still, I nice deal for the price if you're looking for something super articulate like that.

[@ZachariahConnor]

I like how clear it is for speech! A condenser SM7b it is not

[@Tarkov.]

Yeah it definitely seems like it's lacking on the low end. It's crazy how flat it sounds even when doing the proximity test.

[@yinYangMountain]

17dB of self noise? Yeah, no way on this one!

[@yuranival]

might not be thure's best mic but it shurely is a decent option in the price range

[@techmed-rainer]

Danke!

[@Podcastage]

Rainer - You are an absolute legend and I appreciate you so much.

[@willcarter7079]

That guitar solo though

[@PROzra4nij]

I would like to get inside of this mic to see if there is a transformer, like that one could be found in AKG P220/420 circuitboard schematics😮 That would be a fair point to see if this $200 affair worth it 😂

[@thracorr9687]

Bro. You got another Channel. For watches. Am i right? Whats the Name of this channel? Greetings from Germany✌️

[@Podcastage]

@@thracorr9687 yeah. I haven’t done anything in a long while because this channel has been taking all my free time but it’s called Watchcastage if you want to check it out.

[@rickywatersmusic]

Great Video Bro

[@7171jay]

Not shure where you found the self noise number on the SM4 as Shure seems to be hiding this quite well... doesn't seem to even make the actual spec sheet. This lack of info makes me not want to buy Shure products. A 17dBa self noise is fairly lousy so I guess their plan is to try and hide that. I assumed with such a lousy self noise the SM4 is an electret mic but the spec sheet does claim it has a one inch diaphragm and is a true condenser microphone but most of the descriptions of the mic seem to even skip these details. Not being forthright about important details of your product looks pretty shady... this is unfortunate as I have always liked Shure as a company and many of their products for decades now. Sucks that they ditched all the old info on discontinued mics as that used to be quite a treasure trove of information. Sad to see this company seeming getting crappy.

[@BandrewScott]

They provided Signal-to-Noise ratio and explain that this figure is the delta between 94 dB SPA and the A-weighted self noise. So because the Signal to Noise ratio is 77dB, that means: 94dB - 77dB = 17dB A-weighted.

[@7171jay]

​​@BandrewScott Hey Bandrew, I checked the Shure website again and under closer inspection see that the PDF user guide does list self noise at 15dBa (I thought you said 17dBa) so anyway I'm correcting my earlier statement that it is nowhere to be found. However, the PDF spec sheet does not list self noise, it's not in the details of Shure's description of the mic and a few websites of companies I checked who sell the mic also don't list this so I still say they are being somewhat shady by not clearly offering this info to buyers. BTW... Excellent review (as always) of the mic. The SM4 seems a bit smoother and nicer sounding than the popular budget mics like the AT2020 as well as the brighter somewhat more expensive ones. Tough call if it is worth it as you said the self noise is a bit high so it comes down to just how important that might be to someone as well how much they value that somewhat smoother but still bright articulate sound. Keep up the good work !!! Also... Your guitar demos have really improved since I first started watching the channel, your guitar playing has really matured a bunch !!!

[@Podcastage]

I did say 17dBA which was based on the screenshot I provided. It must have been updated or I made a big mess up and somehow screenshotted the correct polar pattern, and frequency response graph, but somehow jumped to another random mic and captured the 77dB Signal-To-Noise Ratio. I guess I'm going to have to start capturing entire pages and backing that data up for reference in this type of situation, because I look I don't know how to read a checking spec sheet.

[@lalocura1828]

Nt1 has that nice bottom end the rest don't. Everything else like the mids can be fixed in post.

[@artysanmobile]

Shure reserves those single digit model names for anticipated big sales. They get the tough things right. It has a nicely consistent polar pattern which means so much more than most know. It makes both 27 models sound like a mistake. The 4 has a nice hi mid response where many of those you chose for compare are peaky in that critical area. You’re right to point out Rode and Lewitt. They have a similar sound on your voice. Shure clearly made this for voice.

[@cyberapocalypse]

You're right about eveything you say. This mic offers things the others don't. I think it beats the NT1 on almost all things.

[@artysanmobile]

@@cyberapocalypse I don’t buy microphones like this. That doesn’t mean I don’t admire them. I just have a strong preference for flat top end, getting rarer all the time. They are much easier to use. Too many times, I’m deep into the mix before I realize the presence boost is a problem and solving it is the last thing I want to be doing at that point. With a smooth HF, an equalizer is dead simple to use.

[@OlexanderZnaharenkoUA]

Greetings! Watching. Samson c03u - has loud noise. And a loud piiii, piiii, while writing. Maybe squeaking? My friend sent it to me. 😊

[@KrissFighta2]

09:36 We can call them that, fo' thur!

[@Taijifufu]

Not bad, but not compelling vs the NT1.

[@IrenESorius]

👍‍‍🌟👍‍‍

[@PlayKore]

6:20 lol

[@mikebauer6917]

Are there more models of mics than there are mobile phone models? There sure seems like there are a lot more mic models than there would be a market for them… Oh wait, is the market because the few who buy mics also buy a lot of them?

[@HellaDisjointed]

They've also been around for a lot longer than mobile phones.

[@nobirdsnomasters]

Hotel pizzafornia

[@monstruoperro]

At that price it's not worth it.

[@willcarter7079]

He apparently used Australian money to pay for this

[@John-oi8mt]

Shure are becoming a joke! In need of a de-esser??15DBA??? $250?? Look elsewhere! 🤦‍♂️

[@jamesr141]

Muddy. AT2020 rolls it up & smokes it. The X1a has more clarity, too.