Behringer ECM8000 Microphone  

Just bought an ECM8000 and compared it with an Earthworks. Even did some measurements and it's surprisingly accuarte. Clear recommendation. 

They're noisy enough to be useless for anything other than high SPL frequency response measurements.  That is if the specs they published online weren't different than what's in the documentation.  The online docs show a ruler flat response from 1KHz down to 20Hz.  In actuality, they're flat only down to about 200Hz and the response drops like a rock below that.  They also show only a +2dB rise above 2KHz but in actuality, it's closer to +6dB. This makes the mics worthless even for measurement purposes.  Behringer lied like a dog on this one.  I didn't expect anything great, but these are a total waste of money.

This was originally purchased as a measurement microphone which it does an amazing job of (it ought to this is not a hard task) but I was pleasantly surprised when the AKG C747 that we usually use at our lectern broke and I went ahead and stuck this little guy on the lectern to limp by.  If it was not for the silver finish, I would leave it there.  Voices sound much more natural through this microphone than they do through the 747.  This makes sense given the razor flat response curve, i.e. there is no coloration.  It is prabably too noisy for most studio apps but I have not tried it with a descent preamp.

This mic actually compares very favorably (and in some cases sounds even better) on acoustic guitars than other much more expensive cardiods I have - a giant surprise considering I had bought it to make room measurements!  After hearing it I actually re-tracked some nylon string parts and compared them to the previously recorded ones done with a much more expensive European mic and I ended up keeping the ones done with this mic.  I used it with both a Millennia STT-1 and a TL-Audio VP-1 pres and it just sounded surprisingly good.  GO figure...!

This is not my first choice of mikes, but I often use it at close range where is is absolutely flat and exhibits no proximity effect. I own three, which I purchased on sale here. I also use one with Behringer's Ultra-curve to tune a room. Drummers, especially, should consider this mike for close-up work since the frequency response approaches a very ample 32kHz!!! Very good at getting the pluck of a harpsichord string. I used it to record the 32' pedal tones of a monster pipe organ, and the 16Hz was audible as well as visible on the software display. This works for close in, low-gain use. Behringer seems to be creating some useful gizmos for those of us on a budget....