AudioChainsDB

ShureBeta 52A

microphone

New retail price (MSRP)

$189

Used market: $145*

Check price at ThomannManufacturer datasheet

Specifications

5 of 8 values have a recorded source
Connectors
XLR 3-Pin Male·
Built-in converter
no·
Transducer
Dynamic Moving Coil✓
Sensitivity
-64✓
Output impedance
150✓
Phantom power required
no✓
Connection
XLR-Only✓
Indexable Locales
·

Expert Audio Engineering Commentary

Tonal profile

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.

Gain staging

-64 dBV/Pa is the quietest microphone in this batch by a wide margin: 5 dB below an SM7B, 33 dB below a TLM 102. It is quiet on purpose - inside a kick drum it sees over 130 dB SPL, and the low sensitivity is what keeps the preamp out of clipping. Use it at conversational distance and the same design becomes the problem, because you are then asking 60 dB or more of gain from a source that never arrives.

* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~77% retained value).