Sennheiser e855

We do live sound, recording and DJ work from a common pool of gear. Recording is done to the Mackie HDR and MDR recorders because we like their AD converters. We record demos and shows for typical garage bands and singer/songwriter types. Studio Monitors are Event Precision 8's.

This is a dynamic cardiod--the top of the Sennheiser handheld line before you need phantom power. We use this mic on male vocals. It flatters certain male voices much the same way as the Neumann KMS-105 (which we also use). If you can't afford the Neumann, get one of these used (should be $100 or so) and check it out. Not good for female vocals (we use the typical EV ND 767 for that).

I'm using the e855 principally for live performance. Although the singer in our band has recorded with them, I purchased them for rehearsals and gigs. We used them in a digital multitrack studio, as well as with a metal-tape Tascam Portastudio. Playback was through studio monitors.

This is a super-cardioid microphone. I purchased 3 of them, used, for $299, which was a great price. This is the top of Sennheiser's e800 series, before phantom power is required (e865), which is why i focused on it. After trying Audio Technica (ATM 41), Shure (SM-57 & 58), Beyer, and a few others, I figured I'd gamble on these. For a live performance and all-around microphone, they're great.

The midrange response is very even and full. Our lead vocalist (female) finally cuts through, and her natural tone comes through. The transition from midrange to higher frequency is very smooth, and there is no noticeable jump or reduction in emphasis as with the others we used. The term "transparent" has been so over-used, that it's a cliche, but I can say that there is very little noticeable coloration of vocals. It has punch and is very responsive to vocal dynamics. It has better feedback rejection than our previous mikes. We've noticed a great amount of overhead in live performance, and little feedback in our small rehearsal space.

We've had absolutely no difficulty with them technically. Of the 3 I bought, one had little or no wear, one had seen quite a bit of use, and one was super clean. They all perform the same. We've been using them in live performance now for about 3 years. Although they sounded great in a recording setting, we quickly put them away when the producer brought out a couple of Neumann M-147s, so the comparison isn't fair.

It doesn't really fall short in any application, any more than any other non-phantom powered mike. For what it is, it does the job better than most in the same price-range (I believe that the list price was about $300 each before Sennheiser discontinued them). I highly recommend it for live performance, if you haven't been satisfied with others in this price range. It delivers far more than the price suggests.

i've been making music for less than 4 years now. i do not have so many live gigs but i play the guitar very well. that is perhaps cause today there is only this new-metal shit and metal-core shit and all of this sklipnot- and hatebredd-crap so nobody wants to learn more than tree powercords and then thinks "whom i can play guitar so good". but i continuously learn and am able to do soloing and all of this things. i've been rocording for more than 3 years. since i began to play guitar i tried to record my stuff. today i mix my band and do vocals for my own because i'm a singer, too. i record to an old pc with 450MHz and a delta audiophile soundcard. i go in over my yamaha emx 66M ( a very bad system; the dealer betrayed me!!!).my primary listening equipment are the legendary beyerdynamics DT-770 pro. the best headphones i ever noticed!

it's a dynamic microphone. it goes 40Hz - 18KHz. i use the mic in live performance and for recording. and let me say something. it sucks. there is an awful lot of feedback. it is not comparable to any other microphone. it sounds very well no question. very clear and with no noise, but it is really quiet. i got some beringer shit microphones (4 mics for 40?) and they are much louder. in live performance nobody cares about clearness of sounds. if you turn up the volume there is ear killing feedback. no way out. in recording it does well. no noise and else.
eccept all these things, it looks very well!
i wouldn't buy it again because for the money you will get much better stuff! think of sm 58...