EM-91C Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone for Professional Studio Recording

Bought the XLR version of this mic to do some light voiceover/podcast work and it sounds great for the price. Vocals are well-balanced and smooth out of the box - sibilance is controlled to my ears and you don't get that get that extreme bass bloat when the proximity effect is increased. Not sure why I haven't seen this mic recommended more. The cardioid pattern the mic employs does a great job of blocking out noise behind the mic too - my mic is positioned in front of a laptop with a noisy fan and a window that leaks through the sounds of a nearby train station, and it minimises these background noises really well. The only tiny criticism I have is that Mackie produce a matching pop shield for this mic but don't include it here as a bundled option.

Seeing a condenser mic for less than £100 was surprising, but I know Mackie to be a good brand, so thought I’d take a gamble. It paid off, big time. This is a fantastic sounding microphone, and for the price, you really cannot go wrong. I only wish I had discovered it sooner!

I gave this 4 stars for the price and recording quality. im quite happy with this mic. early days yet. but it sound great, its louder and brighter than I expected, but not too bright. the self noise level is aparently the same as my AKG at 16db. which is quite impressive for the price. but not sure how true it is, my akg seems much quieter. I record with a 2 mic set up. my AKG and now this one. its much better than its replacement (cheap one from amazon) the only thing I would say though, is the build quality doesnt feel too good. I suspect its how they keep the cost down. but I had a cheap, generic, knock-about mic for £20, and that had far superior build quality. this feels super light, the xlr metal connection feels and looks plated and a bit weak. also the shock mount is an odd size. it doesnt seem to fit any of my connectors properly. ive screwed it on to my stand but theres huge movement. its sits on enough to stay in place, but it's a just an odd size compared to every other shock mount ive used which seem to be universal. thats the biggest and only real practical issue I have with it so far. I wouldn't recommend carrying this mic around. it feels too weak to survive a little knocking around. so i'll be keeping mine stationary at home. it is quite impressive how light it is though. 223g on my scales. this could be a possive for some people. aside from the build quality, I think the quality of recorded sound is definitely worth the price. £40 on offer on amazon (please note- its actually normally £40 on Mackies official Polar website anyway) its no contest next to my AKG (of course) but I would recommend this over other mics of similar price range, like the behringer c1. it has lower self noise than the Marantz MPM-1000, but the marantz is better build quality at same price. id say this is worth a buy if you need good quality recordings to get you by until you can afford something more expensive

The sound quality And it works a treat