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Reviews For: Behringer B-1 studio microphone

Category: Microphones for ham radio

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Review Summary For : Behringer B-1 studio microphone
Reviews: 22MSRP: 155 $
Description:
A top class studio microphone, 48v phantom powered, with very flat response between 20 and 20.000 hz. Very nice caracteristics and used in boradcast studio's.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.behringer.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
23.5224.7
K8EZB Rating: 2023-03-11
Superb audio, excellent build quality, great value! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been using the B1 on both a Yaesu FT-101MP and ANAN 7000DLE Mk II and getting consistently excellent reports. I use only the onboard audio processing available in these radios (no outboard processing). Like any mic, to get best results one must do some adjusting to accommodate individual voice, room, and mic characteristics; for radios with no onboard audio processing, an external processor may be useful in getting best results. I also have an EV RE27 (5X the price) and the B1 on air reports are at least as good as the RE27. Of course, audio quality is highly subjective so your mileage may vary. A bit different from a dynamic mic in terms of installation, but easy enough. No problems of any kind so far; the visible build quality ("fit & finish") of this mic appears to be excellent. At $99 a terrific value! Highly recommended.

Rick
K8EZB
LU7BSE Rating: 2023-03-10
Chinese mediocre microphone, limited quality Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I consider that with the value of this microphone I would go more for an AT-2035 of much better quality, there are no secrets here, this microphone needs 48v power, it needs audio processing, either with a digital interface or with analog equipment, whatever , this mic by itself does not work, it does not sound good, if or if it needs external processing, as far as I am concerned in ESSB VOODOO AUDIO, I just change it for an aston origin, yes it is twice as expensive, but the Aston is Made in the UK and the sound quality is vastly better.
K8JHR Rating: 2012-03-12
Excellent - but overkill Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The B-1 is an excellent microphone for the money. The typical discount street price is $99. It looks good in the shack. It comes with a shock-reducing suspension mount, and an aluminum storage/travel case.

This microphone requires 48 v phantom voltage - so you might want to get a suitable pre-amp (like the M-Audio AudioBuddy at $75-$85 typical discount street price) or something similar - perhaps costing less. A pre-amp usually boosts the signal level to what of Line-Level inputs expect. Otherwise you may want to use an accessory box that only provides phantom voltage, but this IS a consideration. Many guys use a good preamp, and the Line-In input on the rig with good results.


This type of microphone is very sensitive, so you may need to turn the transceiver mic input volume down a bit - studio condenser microphones are designed to work in a larger room, you can hear a gnat sneeze across the room - so setting it for "close talking" is preferred, as that will keep it from picking up unwanted ambient room noise - such as ham equipment cooling fans. On the other hand, crowding it too much, may overload or swamp it, so a distance of about 5-6 inches is about right.

Typically this is more microphone than one needs for a ham station microphone, and is overkill - you can do just fine with a less expensive, dynamic microphone that does not require phantom voltage. After all, we are working with about 3 KHz of audio frequency bandwidth, there is not much need for a 20-20,000 Hz studio mic - but it will provide super linear and very clear audio input over the human speech frequency spectrum. Nevertheless, a less expensive, regular dynamic mic is sufficient - but does not look as cool... In this regard, one can usually get an AudioTechnica AT-2020 condenser microphone AND a set of excellent AudioTechnica headphones together for the same $99 - and have an equally good mic and a pair of really good headphones in the bargain.

So, you will not be disappointed with this microphone, but you can do even better and get equal performance and more bang for you buck with other arrangements.

Just MY take.... // James - K8JHR //
N4MJG Rating: 2011-01-20
Update ! Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Here my report from others !

I checked in into every morning weather net on 39.840.00

My normal single was S5 to S7 from Heil goldline mike now with Behringer B-1 mike S9

Good clean audio !

Good strong single !

Very good flat frq. reponse !

Over all the B-1 is little hotter than Goldline mike !

The mike that i have hook to is the FT 102 about 150 watts with B-1 mike

The Goldline is hook to FT 847 and plan on keep goldline !

73
Jackie
N4MJG
WWW.N4MJG.COM

SKCC #7305

NAQCC #5233

----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by N4MJG on 2011-01-18

The B-1 just arrive on 1/18/11 boy atfer ajusted the mixer of my Behringer 802 it sounded great i agree with other you to have 48v to run this ! this mike is used !

73
Jackie
N4MJG
WWW.N4MJG.COM

SKCC # 7305

NQACC #5233
XE1XNP Rating: 2011-01-01
Improved audio quality Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Hola compré un Microfono de estudio de condensador ya que tengo radios militares los cuales no cuentan con compresores o amplificadores de audio y requeria un buen microfono pre-amplificado para poder mantener una buena señal ya que al microfono original hay que hablarle fuerte par que mantenga una buena salida de potencia el transmisor.
Después de ver muchos reviews de microfonos me decidí por uno de condensador con algo de calidad y buen precio, mi setup es:

Microfono de estudio de condensador Behringer B1
Amplificador de valvulas Ultragain MIC200

Cabe mencionar que no requerí de un Direct Box para acoplar aunque la entrada de microfono del radio es de baja impedancia 150 ohms.

La adaptación fué muy sencilla sólo una cajita externa para unir los cables y hacer el PTT requrido y las conexiones del microfono al radio y el amplificador.

Mi gasto fué de:
Ultragain MIC200 $58.00 USD
Microfono B1 $119.00 USD
Cable XLR $3.50 USD
Caja de conexion y cables $4.00 USD
Conector U-229 Militar $25.00 USD

Total: $209.50

Excelente opción para la mejora del audio de nuestros equipos HF


Aqui pueden ver el video y las fotos de mi setup:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRFBMUOAykM
http://www.qrz.com/db/XE1XNP
PD5L Rating: 2009-09-19
great mic Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I use this mic on my IC 765 and get great reports, B1 into dsp110 into 802.

What a combo.

73 Rob PD5L
YO3IBW Rating: 2009-05-18
It's OK Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Starting from today, I'm a proud owner of a Behringer B1 Studio Condenser Microphone. Before of this I was using an Audio-Technica Pro 31 Dynamic Mike. Not a big difference between them but B1 sounds a little better with the same processors settings. Indeed the B1 it's a sensitive microphone so must be used with a noise-gate and from my point of view some EQ is also welcome.
The shock-mount and the pop filter are also very efficient! Bright idea for Behringer to include those two in the kit.
As a final conclusion, It's OK. I do recommend the B1 only if you have a gate and EQ.
73's from YO3IBW, Dan
W6LBV Rating: 2008-04-10
Speaking out! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I use the Behringer B-1 wide diaphragm condenser microphone with its shock mount on a scissors boom, along with the Behringer VX 2496 high performance voice processor deck, as my fixed station’s main speech source for transmitting.

Both Behringer products are designed for the live stage performance/recording industry but they can be adapted for Amateur service. While I won’t claim that the B-1 equals the performance of, for example, a $1000 Neumann mike or similar $500 Shure or Electrovoice products, for its modest price it certainly does a very fine job in Amateur use. Some high fidelity recordings of my voice using the B-1 and several Heil Amateur service mikes give a slight performance edge to the B-1. I have not tested it for suitability for music.

The B-1 presents all of the typical problems inherent in adapting professional audio industry products to Amateur use: it requires a phantom 48 volt external power supply, has a balanced audio line output, uses XLR jacks and plugs, has an omnidirectional pick-up pattern, is sensitive to extraneous room sounds, and can be over driven by talking too closely. As with all condenser mikes, it is sensitive to mechanical shocks (though less so than are ribbon mikes). It contains no provisions for push-to-talk functions, and it may also require RFI suppression on the mike lines.

For Amateur use it needs a “presence boost” of a few dB at approximately 2 kHz to aid speech intelligibility, but this is easy to do with most current transceivers or audio processors.

This product ships with a custom anti-vibration mount that fits a standard mike stand, a foam windscreen (that I always use), and a sturdy carrying case for all of the above. Its appearance is esthetically pleasing, and the construction is very solid.

With all of the above considerations, the B-1 might not seem particularly appealing for Amateur station use. But it does do a very nice job, within its modest price level, in Amateur voice transmit service and, if the need arises, for other useful audio purposes such as recording or public address.

KC0GSB Rating: 2007-12-19
A Good Microphone Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This microphone sounds fine. When I used it with EQ and gating, I always got good reports. It is inexpensive for a condenser.
M0MRR Rating: 2007-10-12
OK mic - but not for ham radio Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
The B-1 microphone was the first studio microphone I ever bought, which I purchased to go with my Behringer 802 mixer to compliment my SDR-1000 radio. The microphone itself appears good value and is supplied complete with a shock mount and windshield. The standard fitting connects to a Heil PL2 boom, and the connector is a standard xlr. It requires a supply of 48V. It has taken me some time to realize that the B-1 condenser microphones are not suited to my voice, environment and ham radio. It is very sensitive and the frequency response is wasted on the normal transmit bandwidth for SSB. I have spent loads of time fiddling around with the B-1 mic and my audio settings trying to get a mix between clarity and loudness with distortion. At the end of the day it is just too sensitive for my environment and I have moved to a Heil PR-781 dynamic microphone which is proving to be a lot better.

The B-1 probably is a good mic for some applications provided a reasonable amount of outboard audio processing is used, but I suggest you look for a different product for ham radio.