Better mic than behringer xm8500?

[CarlToft]

I am looking to buy a cheap audio interface M-Audio M-Track Solo, i want to know if their are any better options for mics than Behringer xm8500 for max $100.
Is gonna be used at a close distance mostly for discord or streaming.
I live in europe.
Thank you ahead
https://www.thomann.de/dk/m_audio_m_track_solo.htm#bewertung

 

[Killingbeans]

I'm using an Audio-Technica AT2020 USB+ that I bought used for ~$100. Total overkill for Discord and no need for an interface.

 

[dr0ss]

I use an xm8500 for making videos for my students. It is very directional, and relatively low gain, but you can adjust for the latter with any decent audio interface. The Sures of which it is a copy might be marginally better, but the Behringer is pretty good, especially for the price.

 

[Blumlein 88]

If you don't want the Shure SM58 for $99, I think the Sennheiser E835 for $99 is a better microphone than the Shure.
https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-D...e&qid=1631770980&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-2

 

[dr0ss]

Sure also makes their own budget competitors, the SM48 and PGA58.

There's a utube channel, podcastage, that does a pretty good job of reviewing a large number of microphones. No measurements, but fairly informative for a subjective look.

 

[Tangband]

I am looking to buy a cheap audio interface M-Audio M-Track Solo, i want to know if their are any better options for mics than Behringer xm8500 for max $100.
Is gonna be used at a close distance mostly for discord or streaming.
I live in europe.
Thank you ahead
https://www.thomann.de/dk/m_audio_m_track_solo.htm#bewertung

Line audio OM 1 is the best mic around 100 dollar. Can be bought in europe.
This mic can be used to do recordings . But maybe yoúre looking for a dynamic mic ?

 

[Trell]

Line audio OM 1 is the best mic around 100 dollar. Can be bought in europe.

The mic is omni directional, tough, and might not be the best for use in team chats on Discord. It is made in Sweden, if that matters

http://www.lineaudio.se/OM1.html

This mic can be used to do recordings . But maybe yoúre looking for a dynamic mic ?

The M-Audio M-Track Solo has specified a max gain of 54 dB so it might be a bit marginal for a dynamic mic.

 

[AnalogSteph]

The M-Audio M-Track Solo has specified a max gain of 54 dB so it might be a bit marginal for a dynamic mic.

Nah, it's fine. System gain works out to about +53.4 dBFS/dBu if I get @Julian Krause right, and EIN at -129.4 dBu(A) is as good as anything, really. (Input clipping level at min gain should be about -3 dBu.) If you want the best input for a dynamic mic in a little cheap-as-chips USB interface, this one beats out even the Behringer UMC22... the preamp is roughly on UMC202HD level.

Of course the PCM2900's ADC is no great shakes by modern standards, but the "24/192" USB chips you find in mics like ALC4042 and ALC4050 aren't a great deal better either, maybe +3 dB worth of dynamic range, and until somone puts an ALC4080 inside an audio interface no major upheaval is expected in this (single-chip) class.

~85 dB(A) is pretty much all a voice recording setup needs anyway (if you do the math, the M-Track's preamp EIN equates to -76 dBFS(A) at full tilt, well above ADC noise floor), and with a dynamic mic, ADC filter ripple would be one of my lesser worries, too. So in practical terms, this construction would be far more useful than e.g. the old Lexicon Alpha or a Presonus AudioBox USB 96 with their better converters but awful preamps. The folks at Behringer realized this first, but M-Audio has arguably improved on this level a bit (gain knob idiosyncrasy aside).