M 88

Tonal Profile

Hypercardioid dynamic that has been on kick drums, brass and loud vocals for decades, and which beyerdynamic still lists as handmade in Germany. 30 Hz - 20 kHz on the sheet, an unusually wide claim for a moving coil.

Gain Staging Advice

beyerdynamic writes the row as 'Sensitivity (0 dB = 1 V/Pa) 2.9 mV/Pa (= -51 dBV)' - the reference spelled out, which is rarer than it should be. -51 dBV/Pa is 3.5 dB above an SM58 and 5 dB above an SM57, making it the loudest passive dynamic in this batch, and a 200 ohm output means nothing loads it. Note that this figure is not on the product page at all: it exists only in the A6 spec sheet PDF linked from it.