Behringer MX8500

I've been playing bass & singing in bands for the last 26 years. Mostly I am into making live music but have also worked in the studio several times. When recording in the studio I have never used this style mic, we have always used Neuman condensers. And most of my experience listening to this is the through our mains or stage monitors.

This is a great dynamic mic. I have always used SM58's or SM57's in the past but when we recently added a new keyboard player who sings some I was short on both mic's & funds so decided to give one of these a shot. I was very impressed. I have to eq it a little differently than I do the shures & it seems a little more prone to feedback, but it also give a clear deep pleasing vocal sound. I plan to buy more soon. While I will continue using my SM58 I doubt that I will be buying any more shure mic's.

Produce Music for my Son's band

OK - just purchased a Shure Beta 58a - unplugged the Behringer 8500, and plugged the new Sure into the cable. Thought I would hear a Huge difference - Guess what, I could not tell one bit of difference. Thought I had to be wrong since I paid $130 for the Sure and only $20 for the XM8500 - So I checked it again, and again -kept switching back and forth and singing the same tune! Could not tell one bit of difference! I would Highly recommend the XM8500s. They are durable - dropped one last week and there was not a dent to be found - and reproduce in a quality way!

Guitarrist in a band. Musik experience for more than 20 Years.

I was sceptical because of the low price and the very different reviews. So I bought only one for a test
in our rehearsale room. I had a suspicion that some of the very good XM8500 reviews are only
a part of a Behringer sales strategy.

To err ist human. After I tried it, I decided that this microphone comes very close to the SM58.
It has very smooth and clear characteristic. Now I will take it as my favorite vocal microphone because
it supports my voice better than the SM58 and the TXG-58s we have in the Band. It's a good solution also for
young Bands which are on budget. They can get a very high quality for a low price. For every one who do not have to
take care of trade names, it's a bargain.

Live sound and recording for mainly acoustic ants and some rock

All I can say is that the SM58s really don't get brought out anymore. I began using them just as xtra mics for large newgrass or rock bands, but over the last 2 years they have litterally taken the place of my 58s and Beta58s. Get them while you can
Note: there's only one little problem with these mics.... Switchraft XLR connectors tend to get stuck (sometimes so stuck They stay attatched for weeks) so I have had to use only Neutrik and monster cables and whirlwind on them.... Not a dig deal though if you are careful

Good luck

I've been playing guitar and singing rock and roll for 22 years. After years of 4-tracking I've been running my own small studio for 7 years (analog tape, DAWs, etc). We monitor through Alesis ProLinear 820s and Yorkville YSM-1s.

This is a knock-off of a Shure SM58. It looks just like a 58, but I don't own a 58 so I cannot say how much it sounds like a 58. It is marketed as a live vocal mic. I use it in the studio for drums and guitar amps. I have been having a lot of fun recently testing this mic against other dynamics in the studio. It is so much fun because it blows away most of the competition and it costs only $20! It's output is hotter than any of the dynamic mics in my closet. On toms, snare and guitar amps, the Behringer sounds really similar to a SM 57. There are some slight differences in the upper mids, but it's really a matter of taste. Not better or worse, just different. It sounds great inside a kick drum, with lots of snap. I use a LDC out in front of the kick drum as well to get the low end that the Behr (or a 57) can't capture. I love 57s, probably the mic I have used the most over the years, but for the price of one 57 you can buy four of these Behringers! I don't know if they will hold up like a 57, but I use it exclusively in the studio which is not such a harsh environment. A great value, I'm going to buy several more!

I've been in the music business for over 30 years. I have only recently been recording with any real regularity. We record to a digital multitrack unit. That unit I like a lot. As far as listening, we use a Crown CE1000 into Behringer Truth B2031B minitors. All in all it works quite well. Of course, the Scooby Doo wall paper on one wall in the recording studio does play a part in the overall atmosphere.

I bought three of these mics for $59. They were bought to replace the SM57's we were using. I just couldn't get a bright, clean, tight sound out of the SM57's, they were too "warm" and needed a lot of EQ to get close to these XM's. The XM8500 is a simple dynamic mic with a cardiod polar pattern. It also weighs a lot, might have lead in it. We use the XM's for dedicated vocals both live and in the studio and they excel there. We had looked at other mics, but had some XM1800's from Behringer laying around and compared them against the SM57 and they blew them away, hands down. So we went with the XM8500's and do not regret it. One coolness factor is, if you drop one and screw it up, you are not out a fortune and for those of us who play bars and clubs a lot, that is always a concern (travelling/transport, drunks, etc.). I cannot think of anything I do not like about the mic. I would definitely recommend the Behringer XM8500 to anyone without hesitation. I know one reviewer said his XM was not bright and articulate, but I do not find that the case. In fact, that is where they shine. I am rating this mic a 10 as there is just no comparison at this price range and sound. I have 3 more on the way and plan to try them for micing the guitar amps and totally do away with the Shures. Shure is latin for overpriced old technology.

Ive been making music for about 6 years, with fairly basic recording experience, basically just in the jam room and my bedroom. I generally record right to my computer, or to a tascam 4 track. For rehearsals we run the mics through a kustom pa system.

Started out using this mic in my trio, thought it worked well enough at first, but was blown away at the difference when i got an sm58 which i now much prefer. The sound of the mx8500 is really muddled and flat by contrast. Whenever we tried to bring it up in the mix we'd just get feedback. The sm58 was so much easier to use, and although not perfect, showed the serious flaws of the mx8500 plainly. We now use it as a aux drum mic, and it works for our purposes. But, if someone is contemplating buying one of these, I would strongly suggest forking over the extra money to get a sm58 or something, anything else.

Been playing since the 60s, lots of gear, digital recorder through analog outboard gear. I use a home stereo system with two sets of speakers to monitor in order to make my music sound the way it is going to sound on other home gear. I use studion monitor headphones to get accurate frequencies. I am somewhat of an audiophile and have always used medium to high quality gear for casual listening.

This is a typical dynamic mic. I am using it to mic toms on a drum kit.
This mic is a GREAT deal, I prefer it to an SM58, it seems to have a lower noise floor and the presence peak is a little warmer. It looks pretty rugged and comes in a nice case. It is a lot of mic for the money, I would recommend it to anyone for stage use, and as a great alternative to other mics for studio work. I also could compare it to a EV357, I used to have one of those, and again, I think I like the XM8500 a little better
The only downside to this mic is that it does not have an on off switch, which makes it not convenient for playing in bars ( the crowd don't want to hear the drummer swearing because he is fighting to get out from behind the drums during break).
I strongly recommend this mic, and would still recomend it if it were a more expensive mic. Again, it looks quite rugged, I have only dropped one of mine once, with no effect. Lets face it, even if you hose one of these by trying to drive nails with it or something, as cheap as it is it would not be that big a deal to keep spares around.

Ive been playing bass and running bands for 25 year. In the last 5 years I have branched out into computer based recording. This review will realy be more directed towards live sound.

The Behringer MX8500 is effectivly a copy of a shure SM58 and as with the Shure it is marketed by Behringer as a vocal mic. While the MX8500 is by any standard inexpensive its performance is remarkably good.

In an A-B comparison the SM58 had marginaly better definition and clarity. I note that the MX8500 had a noticable rise in the upper end around 3KHz that was not unpleasent. The fact is that it sounds almost 95% good as the SM58 at 1/5 the price. In terms of functionality the Behringer was by far better value. I think this is not a testement to Behringers ingenuity but more a refletion of how rediculously over priced the SM58 is.

I can't see a good reason why I would spend more on a live vocal mic. Its robust and sounds fine.