Sennheiser MD 431 II Reviews

5.0/5.0 based on 1 customer review

Write your own review for this product

Sort By Date Sort By Rating

Customer Reviews

D.J.
from Monterey, TN
July 20, 2008Music Background:
Vocalist, Live Sound Engineer, Recording Engineer

Like Having a Studio Condenser Mic on The Live Stage!

I knew that this mic was a serious player when I saw Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and John Mayer using it during separate live performaces. I was so impressed by the vocal clarity that they were getting during these performances (their vocals were literally slicing through the mix and sounded incredible!) that I just had to do some research on this mic once I was certain that this was the mic they were using.
At first I was a little put off by the frequency response, as the specs of this mic say that it will only respond up to 16kHz while many of the lower priced competitors say that they respond up to 20kHz. My voice is in the higher frequency range, and I do a lot of "screams" and other high-frequency sounds with my voice when performing, so this was a large concern...........at first. All I can say is that I must never make any sounds above 16k, because this mic reproduces every crack, pop, hiss, sneer, scream and anything else I throw at it with my vocals with perfect clarity and accuracy. If it sounds that way coming out of my mouth, it sounds that way coming out of the speakers when I use this mic. It is literally like having a studio condenser mic on stage with you, but with no feedback!! I realize that this mic is a little pricey for most live performers, but I would put it up against a Shure KSM9 any day of the week. If you think this mic is pricey, look at what it will cost you to pick a KSM9!! Not only that, but the Sennheiser MD 431 II doesn't need phantom power, while the KSM9 does. The only advantage the KSM9 gives you is the ability to switch between a cardioid and supercardioid pattern, but on stage where feedback suppression is of the utmost importance, I always want a supercardioid pattern for lead vocals. Guess which pattern the MD 431 II uses (hint: supercardioid!)? To me, the KSM9 is the only mic that compares with this one in the arena of live wired vocal mics, and the Sennhieser wins for me based upon all the reasons I have given.
If you can spare the change and wireless is not an absolute necessity, you simply have to try this mic. I promise that once you do, anyone who wants to get it away from you will have to pry it out of your cold, dead hands!!