1-inch gold-evaporated capsule, cardioid, with a -10 dB pad and an 80 Hz low-cut. Self-noise is 18 dB(A) and max SPL 127 dB - both a long way behind the Lewitt and the Neumann here, and the reason it is cheaper.

A short shotgun cheap enough to bolt to a camera and forget: 90 Hz to 20 kHz, 80 g, and an 11-52 V phantom range that most on-camera recorders can actually supply. The 90 Hz bottom limit is not a filter, it is the microphone.

Four rectangular electret elements wired as one - the output is the sum, which is where the 5 dB floor and the -25 dBV/Pa come from. Cardioid only, no pad, no filter: it is a fixed-purpose vocal microphone at a price where most competitors sell switches.

A DC-bias (externally polarised) three-pattern large diaphragm - not an electret, unlike most of the 40 series. Figure-8 on an AT4050 is genuinely usable, which is why it turns up as the side mic in mid-side rigs.

The oldest surviving 40-series large diaphragm: cardioid only, back-electret, transformerless. Its reputation is for being unexcited - a small presence lift and nothing else - which is why it survives on acoustic guitar and voice-over.

Externally polarised cardioid with a nickel-plated brass element baffle, a 10 dB pad and an 80 Hz high-pass; 12 dB SPL self-noise and 133 dB of dynamic range.

Fixed-charge (permanently polarised) side-address capsule, cardioid, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, 144 dB max SPL. No pad, no filter, no switches at all.

Externally polarised dual-diaphragm side-address with three patterns, an 80 Hz high-pass and a 10 dB pad - the AT2035's multipattern sibling.

Larger fixed-charge capsule than the AT2020, cardioid, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, with a switchable 10 dB pad and an 80 Hz high-pass.

Pre-polarised small-diaphragm cardioid with a 14 mm gold-vapour diaphragm, a -10 dB pad and a 150 Hz roll-off, in a machined brass body. 40 Hz - 18 kHz, 132 dB SPL at 0.5% THD with the pad out.

Kick-drum cardioid with a VLM Type E capsule, 30 Hz - 15 kHz, transformerless. The response is scooped by design - a big low shelf, a hollow midrange and a lift up top - which is why it sounds finished with no EQ and awkward on anything that is not a drum.

VLM Type C capsule, hypercardioid, with a deliberate dip around 120 Hz to hold off boominess and handling noise and a lifted mid-range to cut through a wedge. 48 Hz - 19 kHz on the sheet, above 144 dB SPL.

Hypercardioid handheld with the same VLM Type B capsule as the i5, in a vocal body. The pattern is the point: hypercardioid puts its null at about 110 degrees off axis, which is where a wedge usually sits.

The standing alternative to an SM57 on a snare or a guitar cabinet: cardioid VLM Type B capsule, 50 Hz - 16 kHz, rated above 140 dB SPL, which is what a snare rim asks for.

A dual-output multipattern: the main XLR carries the front diaphragm, a 5-pin mini-XLR carries the rear one, so the pattern can be chosen after the take in software. Everything else is a conventional 1-inch externally polarised condenser.

Fixed cardioid built around the ceramic CKR12 capsule, a reconstruction of the CK12 that AKG used in the C12; three high-pass corners and two pads on the body.

A small-diaphragm cardioid pencil on the CKR6 capsule: overheads, acoustic guitar, hi-hat. Two low cuts and two pads, 146 dB SPL, 140 g.

The fixed-cardioid entry to the OC line, with the same 1-inch CKR12 ceramic capsule as the OC818 but no second output and no pad. Two low cuts, nothing else to set.

A measurement omni: 3 Hz to 23 kHz, free-field, meeting Type 1 and the applicable parts of IEC 61094. There is no voicing to describe - deviation from flat is the defect this microphone exists to avoid.

Small-diaphragm cardioid on a micro-USB stem, 20 Hz to 20 kHz with a 132 dB SPL peak and 70 mA of bus power. Earthworks does not state whether the capsule is externally polarised or electret; we classify it as electret because the microphone runs on USB bus power alone, and mark that field as our own judgement rather than the manufacturer's.

Supercardioid neodymium kick-drum microphone from the PL line. Electro-Voice prints the sensitivity in both scales - 0.5 mV/Pa and -66 dBV - and the two agree exactly, which is what a specification row should look like.

Supercardioid kick-drum dynamic on a fixed gooseneck, 140 dB SPL, with a humbucking coil against the magnetic field of nearby drum hardware and stage lighting.

Variable-D cardioid with a two-position voicing switch: a kick-drum curve with a scooped low-mid, and a flatter general curve for voice and instruments. The two curves are not a tone shaping nicety - they change the published frequency range from 30 Hz to 45 Hz at the bottom.

Neodymium cardioid handheld with a large Mylar diaphragm, a four-point capsule suspension and a pneumatic pump at the capsule base for handling noise. The data sheet gives two frequency responses - 30 Hz - 17 kHz close, 70 Hz - 17 kHz far - which is the proximity effect written down honestly.

Variable-D technology eliminates proximity effect. True broadcast standard for radio and voiceover.

The same ND capsule in a short body on a gooseneck mount, meant for toms and snare where a handheld will not fit. Electro-Voice calls the pattern tight cardioid, which is their name for something between cardioid and supercardioid.

The RE20 with a neodymium motor and three filter switches. Variable-D is the part that matters: a series of rear ports tuned to different frequencies, so the proximity rise that every other cardioid has is largely cancelled. That is why announcers can work it at two inches and instrumentalists at two feet without the low end changing character.

The supercardioid member of the same ND handheld family as the ND76: identical capsule construction and humbucking coil, narrower pattern, deeper rear rejection at the cost of a rear lobe.

Cardioid dynamic, 50 Hz to 15 kHz, sold beside Elgato's USB Wave line but purely analogue: XLR out, no converter, no software.

Successor to the LARK M2 with a slightly higher 116 dB SPL ceiling and a smaller transmitter battery; same published -37 dBV capsule.

2.4 GHz wireless lavalier system; the sensitivity belongs to the omnidirectional capsule built into the transmitter, before the radio link. The receiver is what plugs into the host, over USB-C, Lightning or 3.5 mm TRS.

The cheap end of the same family: 120 dB SPL ceiling, signal-to-noise given as at least 67 dB rather than the M2's 70, and the sensitivity tolerance printed as ±2dBV - a tolerance in dBV rather than in dB.

Externally polarised 1-inch capsule, cardioid, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, 7 dB(A) self-noise, 140 dB SPL at 0.5 percent THD. Deliberately stripped: one pattern, no pad, no filter.

Dual-output multipattern: in Dual Output Mode it sends both diaphragms down separate channels, so the polar pattern is chosen after the take rather than before it.

17 mm cardioid with a 3 micron gold-sputtered Mylar diaphragm; no pad, no filter, no switches at all on the base model.

Built around one claim: 4 dB (A) of self-noise, the lowest figure in this batch and below the threshold of human hearing in a treated room. Cardioid only - the pattern is fixed so that the capsule can be optimised for the floor.

A small-diaphragm pencil with a two-position voicing switch: FLAT, or AIR - a broad lift above 6 kHz that is done in the electronics, not the capsule. Permanently polarised, so it is an electret despite the price bracket it competes in.

A mains-powered dual-circuit condenser: nine patterns, a continuously variable tube/FET blend, and an 11-pin cable to its own PSU. It takes no phantom power - the microphone will not work plugged straight into an interface.

Eight patterns switched electronically from the body, in a die-cast rectangular housing rather than a tube. The three reverse patterns are the unusual part: they let you point the microphone at one source while listening on the back of the capsule.

The PD400X capsule in a lit-up body, published with a 192 kHz converter where the PD400X page says 48 kHz.

Battery-powered hybrid: the same dynamic capsule, plus a 2600 mAh cell so the USB side works without a host cable.

The cheapest of MAONO's hybrid dynamics; same published sensitivity as the PD300X, one decibel below the PD400X.

Dynamic broadcast capsule with a converter, a touch strip and a 42 dB preamp in one body; the XLR output bypasses all of it.

A stage condenser built to survive a hand and a windshield: cardioid, three-stage pop protection, and a top end that stays civil at close range. It is the flatter, more forgiving half of the KMS pair.

The supercardioid of the pair: tighter rejection off-axis at the price of a rear lobe, and the version most often chosen for loud monitor wedges. On paper it is indistinguishable from the KMS 104 in every row except the pattern.

A broadcast large diaphragm designed to be spoken into from a boom at 10-20 cm, with an internal pop screen and a -14 dB attenuation stage. The capsule is voiced for speech, not for singing: the presence region is worked, the extreme top is not.

The transformer-coupled three-pattern reference. Max SPL is 117 dB in cardioid, 127 dB with pre-attenuation - low by modern standards, and the one number that surprises people.

Pressure gradient transformerless cardioid, 7 dB(A) self-noise, 138 dB max SPL at 0.5 percent THD. The dynamic range, not the sensitivity, is what the price buys.

Large-diaphragm five-pattern condenser with a joystick for pattern, pad and high-pass; transformerless output, 10 dB-A self-noise.

Small-diaphragm cardioid of the Series 180, transformerless, with a lift of a few dB around 9 kHz - the thing that distinguishes it from the flat KM 84 it replaced.

Hypercardioid moving-coil broadcast microphone with an integrated pop screen and elastic suspension; the green badge is Neumann's marker for a dynamic capsule.

Half-inch cardioid with a transformerless output and a gentle presence lift above 6 kHz; the pop screen is built into the headgrille.

A K47-style large capsule in a warm, deliberately vintage-voiced body: gentle presence lift, no top-end sparkle, and a low-mid weight that flatters spoken voice and jazz vocals. -38 dBV/Pa with 12 dB-A of self-noise makes it a quiet microphone by any standard, but it is 9 dB quieter on output than a TLM 103.

The studio-mounted five-pattern Neumann: flat and unflattering by design, with a diffuse-field-corrected top rather than a presence peak. It is a measurement-adjacent large diaphragm, used where the room is supposed to be heard.

The 1960 tube reissue, built around the EF86 and the original K67 capsule. Three patterns with three separate sensitivity and noise figures - Neumann does name which is which here, unlike on its own multi-pattern transistor models.

The FET remake of the U 47 name: cardioid only, a large K47 capsule behind a transformer, and a frequency range Neumann itself quotes as 40 Hz to 16 kHz - narrower than anything else in the current line. It is a loud-source microphone: kick drum, guitar cabinet, brass.

Moving-coil version of the Revelator: same firmware mixer, same converter, a dynamic capsule instead of the condenser and a 135 dB SPL ceiling instead of 110.

USB condenser with three switchable patterns and PreSonus's loopback mixer in firmware. 110 dB SPL ceiling, 24-bit, up to 96 kHz.

Front-address broadcast dynamic in the SM7B mould, sold into the same podcast rack. Analogue only: no converter, no switches, no software.

Half-inch pencil cardioid with a gold-sputtered capsule; sold singly and as a matched pair, and the pair is the usual reason to buy it.

End-address 1 inch cardioid condenser built for voice: internal pop shield, a switchable 75 Hz high-pass and an on-air LED that lights whenever phantom power is present.

Externally biased 1-inch capsule, cardioid, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, 5 dB(A) self-noise. Not the same microphone as the current NT1 5th Gen despite the shared name and body.

A modular half-inch pencil: JFET impedance converter, a switchable pad and low cut on the body, and capsules that unscrew. Sold singly and as a matched pair for overheads and ORTF.

Side-address 1 inch dual-diaphragm with three patterns, three pad positions and three high-pass settings, all on the body rather than in a menu.

Broadcast dynamic, 75 Hz to 18 kHz - the low end is cut in the capsule itself, not by a switch, so there is no way to get it back.

End-address cardioid dynamic voiced for speech, 50 Hz to 15 kHz, with an internal pop filter and a swing mount built into the body.

An RF-bias shotgun aimed squarely at the MKH 416, and the closest thing to it at half the price: the same immunity to humidity, a similar 25-ohm source impedance, 13 dBA of self-noise. Where it differs is the low end - 40 Hz, against the 416's 40 Hz too, but with a gentler interference tube and a wider usable off-axis window.

16 mm supercardioid electret with an RGB ring and a tap-to-mute top plate; 2 dB hotter than the V3 Mini and the only one of the pair with a published signal-to-noise ratio (96 dB A-weighted).

14 mm supercardioid electret, USB-C only, 24-bit/96 kHz. One of the few USB microphones in this price class that publishes an acoustic sensitivity rather than a converter number.

A PodMic capsule with a converter and Rode's own preamp bolted behind it, so the same microphone is either a passive dynamic on XLR or a self-contained USB device. Cardioid, internal pop filter and shock mount, rated to 148 dB SPL.

A three-quarter-inch externally biased cardioid - a true condenser, not an electret - with a transformerless output and a cast body. 20 Hz - 20 kHz, and it runs from a 9 V battery or P12, P24 or P48.

Half-inch permanently polarised cardioid in a metal body, with a two-step pad (-10 / -20 dB) and an 80 Hz high-pass, both hidden under the lower body shell. Rated to 142 dB SPL.

The NTK delivers a lush, tube-driven tone with smooth highs, rich low-mids, and a subtle air that flatters vocals and acoustic instruments.

Ultra-low self-noise (4dBA). Extremely clean 1-inch HF6 capsule with 32-bit float USB recording capability preventing digital clipping.

Externally biased small-diaphragm cardioid designed with Tony Faulkner for classical work. 30 Hz - 20 kHz within 3 dB, 20 Hz - 20 kHz within 4 dB, and a 63 ohm output that is unusually low for a small-diaphragm condenser.

The same ribbon element as the R-121 with a toroidal transformer and a discrete FET head amplifier behind it. The point is not tone but level: -36 dBV/Pa is 11 dB above an R-121 and about 20 above an SM57, which puts a ribbon within reach of an ordinary console preamp.

The affordable R-series ribbon: same 2.5-micron element and figure-eight pattern as the R-121, a multi-layer windscreen in front of it and a different transformer behind it. Royer publishes A/B files of the two on electric guitar on the product page itself, which is rare and more useful than any adjective.

The microphone that brought ribbons back to guitar cabinets: a 2.5-micron aluminium ribbon in a figure-eight, rated above 160 dB at 1 kHz, so it can sit on the grille of a loud amp where a condenser would be padded. Royer notes that the front and back of the element have equal sensitivity but different tone - the rear side is brighter, and engineers use that deliberately.

Battery-free supercardioid that draws plug-in power from the 3.5 mm socket. No converter, no switches, no self-noise figure published - only a 79 dB signal-to-noise ratio.

Detachable boom microphone that turns the NTH-100 headphones into a headset. Omnidirectional, plug-in powered through the bayonet, no converter of its own.

The lavalier bundled with the RodeLink wireless system, sold separately on a TRS plug. Same -33.5 dBV/Pa capsule as the Lavalier, but published with 27 dBA of self-noise instead of 25.

TRRS lavalier meant to plug straight into a phone headset socket. Electrically it is the Lavalier GO capsule on a four-conductor plug.

The original MiCon-terminated lavalier: the capsule is sold with a swappable connector rather than a fixed plug, which is why the same numbers turn up under three different product names.

Smaller and 3 dB quieter in output than the Lavalier GO, with the same 27 dBA of self-noise. The 2.2 kohm source is lower than the 3 kohm of RØDE's older lavaliers.

Omnidirectional lavalier on a TRS plug, built for the Wireless GO transmitters and for any recorder that supplies plug-in power.

The quietest microphone in this batch at 14 dBA and the only one with a 200 ohm output, which is a line-level-friendly source rather than the 2-3 kohm typical of plug-in-power shotguns.

Shotgun built around a rechargeable battery and an auto-sensing 3.5 mm output that switches between line and mic level by itself; USB-C makes it a plain interface.

Supercardioid electret shotgun with two mutually exclusive outputs: a 3.5 mm TRS that runs on plug-in power and a USB-C that turns the same capsule into a class-compliant 24-bit/48 kHz interface.

Half-inch cardioid electret that clips onto a phone and plugs into its TRRS headset socket. Frequency range starts at 100 Hz, not 20: the low end is cut in the capsule rather than by a switch.

Cardioid dynamic, 50 Hz to 15 kHz, with an XLR output and a USB-C output that run simultaneously. The converter is 16-bit at 44.1/48 kHz - the lowest resolution of anything in this batch.

Supercardioid neodymium handheld with a die-cast body and a multi-axis capsule shock mount, 50 Hz - 16 kHz, rated to 147 dB SPL. Samson prints the sensitivity in both scales, -55.2 dBV/Pa and 1.7 mV/Pa, and the two agree to 0.2 dB.

Cardioid dynamic with a humbucking coil, 50 Hz to 20 kHz, low-cut and mid switches, XLR and USB-C outputs, 24-bit at up to 96 kHz.

A half-cardioid boundary condenser that lies on a cushion inside the kick drum instead of being aimed at it. The half-cardioid pattern is what a cardioid becomes when it sits on a surface: no rear pickup and 6 dB of pressure gain from the boundary.

Pressure gradient cardioid, 30 Hz to 17 kHz, with a five-position bass rolloff on the collar. Electrical impedance is 250 ohms - higher than the 150 ohms of the Shure dynamics, which matters on long cable runs into low-impedance inputs.

A large-diaphragm cardioid dynamic with an aluminium-copper voice coil, spring-mounted capsule and hum-bucking coil - the handheld Sennheiser built to sit above the e 945. 40 Hz to 20 kHz is an unusually wide claim for a moving coil and it shows as a light, extended top rather than the presence bump most stage dynamics carry.

The supercardioid sibling of the MD 435, same capsule size and same 245 ohm output, one decibel quieter because a tighter pattern always costs on-axis level. Sennheiser calls the pattern 'high rejection supercardioid' in the specification table, which is a marketing name attached to a measured quantity - the polar plot on page two is what to read.

The metal-bodied successor to the e 609: same flat side-address shape for hanging in front of a cabinet, but with a three-position presence switch on the body. The switch is a passive filter, not a pad - it changes tone, not level.

A 20 mm pencil supercardioid for overheads and percussion - 93 grams, 139 dB maximum SPL, no pad and no filter. It is the cheap half of the e 900 instrument pair: the e 914 has the switches, this one has the same job and none of them.

Externally polarised 1-inch capsule with a gold-plated diaphragm, cardioid, 20 Hz to 20 kHz. No pad and no filter - everything is done outside the microphone.

The supercardioid of the MKH 40/50 pair: an RF condenser without an interference tube, so it keeps a usable off-axis response where a shotgun colours everything at the sides. Interiors, booms in small rooms, and the classic MS partner for the MKH 30.

Cardioid stage vocal dynamic, 40 Hz to 16 kHz, with a response deliberately kept stable as the singer moves toward or away from the capsule.

Sennheiser's large-diaphragm studio condenser above the MK 4: five patterns, a real low-cut and pad, and a 10 dB(A) floor that is genuinely low for a one-inch capsule. Voicing is closer to neutral than to the scooped modern LDC.

The glass-fibre wedge that clips to a tom rim - a cardioid moving coil with the whole stand mount moulded into the body. Nothing about it is delicate, which is the point: it lives inside the kit and gets hit.

The RF-condenser short shotgun that has been the film-set default since the 1970s. Its point is not the interference tube alone but the RF circuit: the capsule sits at low impedance, so humidity that would make an ordinary condenser crackle mostly does not reach it.

The metal-bodied tom microphone of the 900 series: cardioid dynamic, 40 Hz to 18 kHz, integrated stand mount plus a rim clip. Two decibels hotter than the e 604 that sits below it in the range and built to survive being played rather than merely being near a drum.

A kick-drum cardioid with a shock-mounted capsule and a hum-bucking coil, deliberately deaf in the midrange. Sennheiser publishes two sensitivities for it - 0.6 mV/Pa at 60 Hz and 0.2 mV/Pa at 1 kHz - which is the response curve stated as numbers: a 9.5 dB difference between where the drum lives and where the catalogue measures.

A modular RF condenser: a 19 mm capsule head that screws onto an XLR module, a digital module or a very short extension. Bandwidth runs to 50 kHz, which matters for sound design at pitched-down speeds more than for music.

A handheld dual-diaphragm condenser for stage: switchable cardioid/supercardioid, a -10 dB pad, and 142 dB SPL before the pad. It is the loud-stage answer to a KMS 105, with more low-end weight and less top-end air.

A shortened MD 421 without the five-position bass roll-off: cardioid, 30 Hz to 17 kHz, 2 mV/Pa. The body is small enough to fit between rack toms where the full-size 421 needs a clamp and an argument, and it keeps the wide, slightly forward midrange the original is used for.

A flat, side-address supercardioid designed to hang off the cabinet by its own cable rather than stand in front of it on a boom. That single mechanical decision is why it is on so many guitar cabs; the sound is a supercardioid dynamic with a lifted upper midrange.

A small-diaphragm cardioid condenser with an exchangeable capsule, three-step pad and three-step bass filter - the instrument and overhead microphone of the evolution line. 137 / 147 / 157 dB maximum SPL depending on pad position means it will sit over a cymbal without a thought.

The cheap kick microphone of the evolution line: a large aluminium-bodied cardioid dynamic with a hum-compensating coil and a response that stops at 16 kHz because nothing above that is wanted from a bass drum.

Handheld cardioid condenser for stage vocals, with a three-stage pop filter and a shock-mounted cartridge.

A cardioid handheld built to sit under an SM58 in price, with the presence lift moved a little lower and a softer top. The important difference from the PGA48 above it in the same family is electrical, not tonal: 150 ohms out instead of 600.

Small-diaphragm electret cardioid for acoustic instruments and hi-hat. Flat rather than tailored, 129.5 dB SPL before 1% distortion, and a phantom draw of only 2 mA, which matters on a passive splitter or a battery-powered mixer.

The SM58's cheaper cousin from the same SM line: cardioid dynamic, brightened mid-range, bass roll-off to tame proximity effect. Same job, one cartridge grade down.

A dual-diaphragm handheld condenser with a switch between cardioid and supercardioid. 22 dB SPL-A of self-noise and a 152 dB maximum are what separate it from a dynamic - the working range is wide enough that the same microphone handles a whisper and a shouted chorus without a pad.

The Unidyne III cartridge the SM57 was built from, still sold in its own chrome body with a magnetic reed on/off switch. Same family of sound, no pneumatic shock mount, and a grille Shure lists as a shared part with the SM57.

A cardioid dynamic with two diaphragms: the second, undriven one sits behind the first and changes how air moves through the rear ports, which is what flattens the proximity rise. The value is in the low end staying put as the singer moves, not in the level.

The PG Alta answer to the SM57, and the numbers say so: -56.5 dBV/Pa against the SM57's -56, into the same 150 ohms, with the same A25D clip listed as a replacement part. What separates them is the cartridge suspension and the grille, not the electrical picture a preamp sees.

The short-body drum microphone of the PG Alta line, aimed at toms and snare. At -57 dBV/Pa it is the quietest of the three PGA instrument models, 2 dB below the PGA52 and 0.5 dB below the PGA57.

The budget kick microphone of the PG Alta line: a cardioid moving coil with a low-frequency lift and a quick-release lever on the stand mount. At -55 dBV/Pa it is a decibel louder than an SM57 - which for a kick drum is irrelevant, because the source runs 130 dB inside the shell and every preamp on the market has enough gain.

A clip-on cardioid electret for toms and snare: the capsule sits on a gooseneck, the preamp lives in the drum-rim clamp, and the whole thing draws 5.5 mA of phantom. Self-noise of 31 dB SPL-A is high by condenser standards and irrelevant here - at a hand's distance from a tom head the source is 120 dB and the noise floor never appears.

A supercardioid moving-coil built around the same cartridge family as the Beta 57A, wrapped in a short body with a locking swivel so it can be dropped between rack toms without a stand. Shure prints -51 dBV/Pa (2.8 mV), which makes it 5 dB louder than an SM57 for the same pressure - a real difference when a cheap preamp is already at three o'clock on a quiet floor tom.

A half-cardioid boundary condenser with the preamp and XLR built into the plate, made to lie inside a kick drum or on a piano lid. 155 dB SPL into a 2500 ohm load, with a response shaped for kick rather than flat.

The Unisphere I: the microphone the SM58 grew out of, still built, still shipped wired for low impedance. Cardioid moving coil, lockable on/off switch, -56 dBV/Pa in the configuration it arrives in - a decibel and a half below an SM58.

Supercardioid, neodymium magnet, 50 Hz to 16 kHz. The tighter pattern means a rear lobe: what is directly behind the mic is not rejected the way a cardioid rejects it.

Same cartridge family as the SM58 without the ball grille, so the capsule sits closer to the source and the top end is less diffused. Response starts at 40 Hz instead of 50 Hz.

The Elvis microphone, still in production, still a cardioid moving coil with a 50 Hz to 15 kHz response and a lockable on/off switch. At -58 dBV/Pa it is the quietest Shure dynamic in this batch: two decibels below an SM57 and seven below a Beta 56A.

An SM7B with a Shure preamp built into the same body: same cartridge, same yoke, same foam, plus a switch for +18 dB or +28 dB of clean gain.

Cardioid dynamic with a presence lift around 4 kHz and a bass rolloff that keeps proximity effect in check. Frequency response is 50 Hz to 15 kHz, so there is nothing below the voice to fight with.

The instrument twin of the Beta 58A: identical supercardioid cartridge and identical -51 dBV/Pa output, hardened grille instead of the ball. Shure prints the same 50 Hz to 16 kHz range for both.

Cardioid dynamic with a flat, wide-range response and heavy internal shielding. Its -59 dBV/Pa sensitivity is the reason it asks for so much clean gain: it is a quiet microphone by design, not by fault.

The cheap clip-on drum condenser: gooseneck capsule, rim clamp, 11 to 52 V phantom at 2 mA. Self-noise of 27 dB SPL-A is nine decibels better than the Beta 98AMP/C on paper, but both live at a hand's distance from a drum head where nothing about noise floor matters.

Optimized voice isolation dynamic element with DSP Auto-Level Mode via MOTIV desktop/mobile app.

The switchable sibling of the KSM137: a mechanical, not electronic, pattern change - the ring moves an acoustic element rather than re-polarising a diaphragm, which is why the omni is a true pressure omni rather than a widened cardioid.

A 3/4-inch permanently-biased cardioid in a cast body with an internal shock mount: flatter and less hyped than the LDCs it sits beside, with a -15 dB pad and a two-slope low cut. The guide is a real PDF at pubs.shure.com; the same address without .pdf returns an empty shell.

Omnidirectional electret lavalier on a TRRS plug, aimed at phones and at the MOTIV apps. 350 ohm output, which is low for a lavalier and tolerant of long cable.

Dual-diaphragm 1 inch externally biased condenser with three patterns, a 15 dB pad and two high-pass slopes; Class A transformerless output.

Supercardioid handheld condenser; the tighter pattern costs about 2.5 dB of sensitivity against the SM86 in exchange for a narrower pickup angle.

Supercardioid dynamic in the chrome die-cast shell of the 55SH, but with a modern Beta-series cartridge rather than the old Unidyne element.

Supercardioid kick-drum dynamic with a deliberately scooped midrange and a lift around 4 kHz; rated to 174 dB SPL, which is not a typo.

The cheapest cardioid dynamic Shure still sells: a moving-coil cartridge in a plastic-collared body, tuned for spoken word and karaoke rather than for a mix. Shure lists it as discontinued while continuing to publish the sheet.

Sold as the flatter, more open sibling of the M80: a thinner grille and less low-mid emphasis, aimed at snare, guitar cabinets and instruments.

Supercardioid handheld dynamic with a large 25 mm capsule and an output transformer; a wider top end than a moving-coil vocal microphone usually offers, which is the whole point of it.

A FET reworking of the '47 idea: a gold-sputtered dual-backplate K47-style capsule with three patterns, a 10 dB pad and a 70 Hz high-pass, without the tube or the external power supply.

A hypercardioid ribbon, which is unusual enough that beyerdynamic's own sheet calls it out: almost every other ribbon is a figure-eight because the ribbon is open on both sides by construction. The pattern is what put it on toms and guitar cabinets in the seventies, where a figure-eight would have picked up the rest of the room.

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.

A true condenser pencil made in Heilbronn: cardioid, -15 dB pad, 250 Hz low cut. beyerdynamic keeps the numbers out of the product card entirely - they live only in the A5 PDF linked from the SPEC SHEET block.

A figure-eight double-ribbon: two ribbons in one motor, which is how beyerdynamic gets usable output out of an element this small. Paired with the hypercardioid M 160 it forms the classic M/S and Blumlein rig, and on a drum room its rejection of everything at ninety degrees does more work than its tone.

A back-electret cardioid whose preamp lives inside the rim clamp, with a 72 mm gooseneck between clamp and capsule. beyerdynamic publishes two frequency responses for it - 20 Hz to 20 kHz close-miked and 35 Hz to 20 kHz at one metre - which is an honest way of saying that most of its low end is proximity effect.

A hypercardioid moving coil in a brass body with a Hostaphan diaphragm - the studio dynamic that behaves like a small condenser on snare, hi-hat and acoustic guitar. 40 Hz to 18 kHz and better than 20 dB of rear rejection at 120 degrees, published as a number rather than implied by a plot.

Hypercardioid kick-drum dynamic with an integrated elastic suspension, 20 Hz - 14.1 kHz close-miked. The response stopping at 14.1 kHz is a decision rather than a limit: there is little above it inside a kick drum.

Cardioid pressure-gradient handheld, the budget end of the TG line, sold plain or as the TG V50 s with an on/off switch. Like the ND76, beyerdynamic publishes two frequency responses - 50 Hz - 17 kHz close, 80 Hz - 17 kHz at one metre.

The instrument version of sE's V7: same aluminium voice coil and neodymium magnet, capsule retuned for cabinets and drums rather than for a hand-held vocal, supercardioid, 30 Hz - 19 kHz.

Two-thirds inch back-electret cardioid in an all-metal chassis, with a 100 Hz high-pass and a 20 dB pad; the entry point of the X1 line, below the X1 S.

Hand-crafted 1 inch true condenser capsule, cardioid, with two pads (10 and 20 dB) and two high-pass corners (80 and 160 Hz).

Supercardioid handheld dynamic with an aluminium voice coil and a neodymium magnet; the aluminium coil is lighter than copper, which is where the extended top end comes from.

A four-pattern one-inch condenser with a hand-built gold-sputtered capsule and a very low 22-ohm output impedance - lower than anything else in this batch. Two pads and two low cuts.

1-inch true condenser, cardioid, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, 9 dB(A) self-noise, with switchable 10 and 20 dB pads that take max SPL to 160 dB.