i5
microphone
$105
Used market: $80*
Specifications
5 of 7 values have a recorded sourceExpert Audio Engineering Commentary
Tonal Profile
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.
Gain Staging Advice
1.6 mV/Pa is -55.92 dBV/Pa, within a tenth of a decibel of an SM57 - as far as the preamp is concerned they are the same microphone, and any difference you hear is the capsule, not the level. The 280 ohm output is higher than the Shure's 150, so an input below about 1.5 kilohms will start to load it.
What the datasheet actually says
Quoted verbatim from the manufacturer’s own page, with the date we checked it. We state what is printed, not what anyone intended by it.
«Sensitivity 1.6 mV / Pa @ 1k ... The microphone shall have a sensitivity of 1.5 mV / Pa at 1 kHz and a sound pressure level >=140 dB.»
Both sentences are on the same Audix data sheet: the specifications table says 1.6 mV/Pa at 1 kHz, the Architect and Engineer paragraph beside it says 1.5 mV/Pa at 1 kHz. The gap is 0.56 dB (-55.9 against -56.5 dBV/Pa). We store the table figure, because that is the row a reader compares against other microphones.
checked 8/5/2026* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~76% retained value). · checked on 8/5/2026