Behringer B-5

Professional sound engineer since a good couple of years.
Used a lot of microphones, price range cheap to expensive: Haun MBN550, Earthworks MB30, Bruel&Kjaer, GRASS, Head-acoustics, Microtech Gefell.
Working in a audio laboratory as sound engineer (university)

The Behringer B-5 has a dirt cheap price tag. The basic performance in all audio specs is just average. Not very suitable for high end environments. The general problem with Behringer is, that the company has still a 'good' branding, the 'brand name' is renowned. But the cheap production and the use of second-class quality (sometimes even worse) components leads to average or even below-average mics.
Another good example is the ECM8000, which is still known as Measurement Condenser Microphone. Believe you won't use that crap in any serious measurement environment. The Behringer B-5 is one more 'average' mic with a 'good' name, but absolutely not satisfying the demanding pro user. Period!

I'am a professional recording engineer that borrowed some matched pair microphones b5s,nt5,se1. The microphone shootout was at a live venue where I recorded three separate sets with these microphones, ruffly the same placement in a xy.

the b5 just didn't stack up nor did the se1(se electronics) if I was on a buget i would go with the nt5 it is smooth and great for stereo apps.
behringer is a hit and miss company quality control is an issue and I don't feel comfortable using these cheap products. There is no resale value on behringer products and kind of reminds me of renting a movie that everyone said was good just to find out that is really sucks!
I remember some good products from behringer when they were maufactued in germany. but i have now lost all hope. keep your head up.

I'm a guitar player and singer. Acoustic and electric. Folk & blues and classic rock. I record for my own pleasure and to help myself improve as a musician. I use a Zoom 16 track hard disk recorder, a Behringer mixer, and a variety of amps and guitars, as well as a compressor and feedback eliminator.

This is a great mic for miking cabinets and amps, because of the 10 db pad. The bass roll-off is good, also. This mic is also wonderful for acoustic guitar, saxophone, etc. It is excellent for voice, but requires an additional pop filter (besides the foam one that it comes with) -- either a metal one or an additional (larger) foam filter. It's also excellent as an overhead mic for drums.

This is a very high quality mic. It is built beautifully, and the add-on (included) omni attachment works very well. This is a condensor mic, and requires phantom power.

This mic is part of my every-day kit. I plan to buy at least one more, just for cabinet miking. For the price, it's absurdly well made and well designed. I love it.

This is a cardioid/omni mic, with two separate, included screw-on elements. 10 db pad, bass roll-off. This is a physically small mic with huge sound. True condensor, phantom powered. There are more expensive mics out there, but none better.

Used for speech and instrument mics in church PA system - feeding into conventional analogue mixing desk.

Useful versatile mic. Less coloured than cheap dynamics and the interchangable cardiod and omni capsules make it very flexible.

On speech (cardiod capsule) it is very clear and natural, with possibly a slight mid frequency presence peak. A bit less 'satisfying' than a good dynamic, but probably better for clarity. Its compact dimensions make it unobtrusive.

Used the 'omni' capsule for a close miked grand piano (mic actually mounted on the piano body, not the best arrangement, but useful if one is pushed for space). Good natural sound, though a bit clangy in the mid-range - probably due to the insanely close miking.

For the price (given that one pays a lot more in the UK) I think one would be hard pressed to beat this - though there may be equals.

Been recording for over 10 years. Have a BS in Recording Industry Management.

Used the B5 through the pre's on a Mackie 120VLZ-Pro into a VS-1680.

Use Mackie HR824's for monitoring...

Small diaphragm cardioid condenser mic. Using it for the fretboard end of a stereo placement for acoustic guitar.

Behringer makes great values. This is no exception.

This mic handled my guitarists very percussive guitar playing style and had a great natural presence that didn't need EQ (IMHO). Painless great sound and performance.

It was detailed and clear, yet handled the SPL's well...

Hobbyist for 13 years now. I send it through either an Audiobuddy or a Joe Meek preamp/compressor. I record vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar and drums. Bass is recorded DI.

All of this goes onto a laptop setup with Cool Edit Pro.

It's a small diaphragm condenser. What people will tell you is that SDCs work well for drum overheads and for acoustic guitars.

I'll compare it to an SM57, which I have much more experience with (and most of you do too). The B-5 has more gain, much more top end (although I wouldn't call it extreme) and more low end. Basically, it replaces the 57's presence peak at 3-7k with a smaller peak at 10k, so you perceive less midrange. Less mids mean perceiving more lows and highs.

This makes it sound better than the 57 on acoustic guitar, better on cymbals (just like they said it would!). I even prefer it to the 57 on the snare, which is surprising. In fact, I prefer it on all drums. However, for my voice the 57 works better. The B-5 seems to give an unpleasant "fullness" on it -- the 57 cuts better in the mix. I would think that listening to vocals through a B-5 would quickly produce listening fatigue. I actually like how my voice sounds though a 57, though.

All of this is using the cardoid setup. When I switch it to omni, it appears to eliminate that peak at 10k. This seems to emphasize a midrange "honk" lower than the 57's peak, and not pleasant for any sources I use. So I always leave it with the cardoid capsule on.

Overall, it seems like a good deal. It seems to do what a SDC is supposed to do.