Blue Microphones enCORE 200 Reviews

4.4/5.0 based on 18 customer reviews

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Customer Reviews

Stuart Berr
from United States
December 6, 2012Music Background:
long time musician (with a day job)

Blue Microphones enCORE 200

I have used an SM58 for years a have really liked the sound when singing up close to it. I also recently got my first Condenser Microphone a Rode NT1-A Studio. I find this mic to be way to hot. Even with a shock guard on, it picks up sounds from everywhere, accentuates all the p's and s's. To get it to sound good, I have to be backed away from the mic by 1/2 foot or so. I tried the Blue enCore 200 on the recommendation of my personal Sweetwater sales guy (Nick). I don't know how he finds the time to follow up on every order I place, even a pack of guitar pics. But he got this recommendation right. I can sing close to the Blue and get the enhanced sound from doing so without overwhelming the mic. But it adds a great deal of dimension that the SM58 never could. It makes me sound like an almost decent singer. I highly recommend this mic; you will not be disappointed. And if you really want to sound great, add a tube preamp (PreSonus Studio Channel). I am not a salesman, just a singer trying to sound better. This combo really does it.

Benjamin Gray
from Cheyenne, WY
July 24, 2012Music Background:
Director of Worship Arts/Live Sound Engineer

Superb live vocal mics

Sound absolutely great for singers with strong, powerful voices as well as those with less powerful voices. I didn't think getting these mics would make as much difference as it did. The SM58s are now sidelined since getting these mics.

Thaddaeus
from Tyler, TX
February 23, 2012Music Background:
Pro Musician and Live Sound Engineer

The BEST Mic I've EVER Seen!!!

I was looking for the best mic in the world for live and studio work, this IS that mic!
It's hard to describe the sound you get from it b/c everyone's voice is different. What I can tell you is other than the fact it just looks REALLY cool, every sound guy that's seen it and every artist that has tried to use it can't say anything bad about it! It's the Best mic around and I'll stick with Blue tell the day I die!

Jim
from Dayton, Oh
February 9, 2012Music Background:
Musical groups, Live Sound Engineer

I Love these units!

I took them into a studio and ran them against an SM58 just to see how different they were without getting the whole setup out. Man was I amazed! We set the EQ flat on the board and ran the two off the same EQs. The enCore 200s were flat across the spectrum. All I had to do was adjust the trim and level. The 'hot' frequencies were gone. And Clean? I didn't know what to do at first! I had not heard my voice in that kind of quality before. (It was just different than I had ever heard.) Since then I have had them out when the group practices and we just hear things we didn't have before. I was looking for clarity and crispness like the more expense units without the price. As I said, I love these units!

Bryan
from New Jersey
January 31, 2012Music Background:
Worship, Recording, Coffee Houses..

Amazing

This mic is absolutly amazing. I use it for both Live and also in the studio with the Blue Icicle, which is also amazing for the money. I used to use a Sure SM 58 for my live vocals, but this mic blow it out of the water. The sound is so crisp and clear and I have had no problems with feed back at all. This mic has taken the group I play with to the next level because of the sound quality.

Arron Daniels
from Sierra Vista, AZ
November 21, 2011Music Background:
Pro Musician

Phenomenal Mic

I have a voice that sound guys say is hard to mic live. I don't sing soft, but no matter the mic, it's been a challenge go get my voice in the front of the house. My rep, Luke Herrian, suggested this mic. I was blown away. This this is awesome and my sound guy now loves me again.

If you need clarity and vocals brought to the front, this mic will do it.

en76
from hawaii
February 26, 2011Music Background:
Hobbyist :D

Get em!

These has replaced our sm58s. Worship team love it and so is our sound engineer here @ FAOG honolulu,hawaii. Does not need much tweaking on these. We now have 8 for our Sunday services. Great for church use. At-least will get you close enough to those $700 live mics (wired) such as ksm9 which we happen to have the wireless ones....so, do yourself a favor and add them to your church Sound locker....:D aloha!

Mitch Small
from Pittsburgh, PA
September 8, 2010Music Background:
Audio Book Production

Great All Around Mic

I am using this mic for an "off label" use: recording spoken word for audio book narration. Without any preamp, the sound is wonderfully clean and rich. We tested this mic by recording in an open room with no sound sound shielding. I was amazed at the lack of ambient noise picked up; almost studio clean!

In the recording booth, I hooked the enCORE 200 to a BLUE Robbie Preamp. I was able to get some working distance and still get a full rich sound without any EQ needed to boost the presence. Previously, we'd been using some fairly high end mics touted as broadcast quality. While I can't fault them for quality, the voice through the enCORE need no tweaking to get that rich sound people love to hear.

BLUE has a great reputation. This mic will only send that reputation higher!

Samuel Curtis
from
February 22, 2010Music Background:
All of the above

Best Live Vox Mic for it's price range

This mic should be valued at $225 because it is the real deal. Blue just keeps making great products. Great Bass Response, Perfect highs, even mid-range, & CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. + it's Active, get that extra volume with Phantom Power capability. This mic is ONLY $150???? Wow. Can you charge a little MORE so I don't feel bad making such a steel?

Brian Dunn
from Charlottesville, VA USA
June 26, 2012Music Background:
Live Sound Engineer, Recording Engineer

Fantastic Sound!

The Blue enCORE 200 was by far one of my best purchases. The tight EQ pattern has a stellar quality for Male vocals and still portrays Female vocals well. I definitely plan on picking up a few more of these to have in the mic locker.

steve o
from Leominster, MA
May 24, 2012Music Background:
serious hobbyist

Time to start second-guessing the old "standards"

the female singer in my band had been using a sm58. we switched her to this mic and the best description i can offer is that it sounded as if the tweeters in the P.A. speakers were non-existent w/the 58 in comparison to the Blue 200. think, VHS vs. blue-ray. quite simply more of everything. we were also having occasional feedback issues w/the 58 which made me think she needed a mic w/a tighter pickup pattern, but we've had no issues w/feedback w/the 200 and it's a cardioid pattern like the 58. many thanks to Tim H at Sweetwater for recommending this mic over the much more expensive OM7 and Beta 87 mics that i was considering. this mic has piqued my interest in checking out Blue's studio mics now. that said, i wouldn't hesitate to put the 200 up in the studio. it's that good. the old "industry standards" are just fine when it comes to tube amps and whatnot, but not so much w/mics...especially the newer breeds of stage mics (such as this one) that are out there now. you'll spend a LITTLE more than the "standards", but you'll get A LOT more for performance and bang for your buck w/this mic.

Fred Ball
from Bethel, CT
May 10, 2012Music Background:
giggng musician.

Blue enCore 200

Actualklky purchased 2. When I receieved my forst one I used in making a video for a project I was working on. I was disappointed by the sound for my voice (think baritone - bass). The equipment I used lacked EQ so it was the device (Zoom R-16) and the mic and me. I then used it to play out through a mixer with EQ capabilities.....WOW, what a difference...just a little EQ and the difference is astoundinbg. I have received many compliments on the airiness and clarity of the sound. For live sound I would HIGHLY recommend this.

Keith
from St Augustine, FL
January 27, 2012Music Background:
Pro Musician

Does Not Dissapoint!

My gig rig consists of the Bose L1 Model I, two Bose B1 Subwoofer Bass Modules, and the Bose T1 ToneMatch 4-channel Mixer. My pedal is the Vocalist Live 5. I mention the setup only because with this system you hear everything exactly the way the audience hears it. Also, the Bose system faithfully reproduces sound so that vocals are clearly understood. Some reviews have suggested that the Blue enCORE 200 was no different from the Shure SM58. I have been using the Shure SM58S for years and it has proven to be road worthy. However, with my sound system once I switched to the Blue enCORE 200 I heard what I had been missing. I purchased two enCORE 200’s and at this price you just can't go wrong. Bose has not provided a ToneMatch Preset for the enCORE, so I am using the Neumann KMS 105 setting, trimming the high off just a bit and that seems to be working fine.

Pros: Price, dynamic range, lovely to look at, solid construction in a hand held condenser mic. As far as durability, that remains to be seen.

Cons: No On/Off Switch, requires phantom power (not really a con but a requirement)

The Blue enCORE 200 delivers balanced natural sounding vocals with detail and clarity bringing that studio quality sound to the stage. Don’t let the price fool you.

Jim Maidlow
from Middletown, IN
January 2, 2012Music Background:
semi-pro musician for the past 40 years

Blue Mic Encore 200

I was apprehensive about a dynamic mic that requires phantom power but after using it on several gigs I would never go back to my SM58. This mic has eliminated all of the harshness of the 58 and sounds to me like it has a broader frequency range. I liked it a lot. I would highly recommend it for a good quality, gig worthy mic that is a few steps higher than the traditional SM58. A new standard has been born!

Lynn
from San Antonio Texas
May 29, 2010Music Background:
Broadcast, Karaoke, Live Band, and DJ

Great Mic

I bought three of these mics. All of the people who sing with me are to them from the beta 58 they were using. Very road worthy with a solid feel. EQ adjustments are minimal with very controlled proximity effect. Vocal reproduction is pristine for a live vocal mic.

Chris
from South Bend, IN
December 18, 2009Music Background:
Musician

Blue enCORE 200

I've used a Shure Beta 87A and a Beta 58. And this mic takes the cake. It's a beast. Heavy and durable. For someone like myself, who keeps his mic in his stand, it's amazing. I get a lot of comments on the original look. The phantom powered processor really adds a shimmer to the vocal that my Shure's did not posess. This mic is worth your money.

Kenrick
from United States
February 19, 2012Music Background:
live sound, pro musician, troll hunter

Sounds great, but very low output

Bought this mic originially for my wife, her vocals were great until the band kicked in, and she could never cut through the mix or be loud enough. Even with the gain right at feedback, it still puts out at least 5-8db less signal than even 15year old sm58s. Probably a better studio microphone than stage.

Dave
from United Kingdom
October 5, 2012Music Background:
Siunger/Guitarist

Didn't blow me away!!!

I brought this mic after reading the reviews and I love the Bluebird mic. A friend of mine recorded his album with that and it sounds fantastic.

The Encore 200 isn't that much different from the Shure SM58 in fact it does have quite a bit of handling noise.

Tone wise its ok but nothing that would knock me off my feet, there are better mics in this price range, I do like the glam shining look of the mic

inSync Review

Marshall Oliver
2-07-2012

The enCORE 200 by Blue is an active dynamic microphone that is tailored for live vocal performances. When I first opened the box I was a bit weary of the idea of a phantom powered dynamic. Being that it was by Blue any doubt I perviously had quickly went away. This mic sounded great on my voice! Usually I find dynamics don't work for my voice but this one changed my mind. There was something intriguing about the smoothness and clarity that I had to try a few things.

The first I did was find my copy of The Outsiders (my favorite childhood book) and read a few lines into the mic. Again, the clarity of this mic blew me away. Much of the sibilance in my voice was smoothed away, letting me articulate my speech in a manner that gave me confidence. It is a high selling point when a microphone allows for the user to simply focus on performing rather than worry about EQ or other types of processing. In the audio world I would called this the closest thing to a "plug and play" microphone.

Next I tried recording some "singing" with the mic. Now I am not the best "singer" out there but I can tell you that I made a passionate attempt. My neighbor in the apartment below me may disagree but by my ears it sounded eerily to what a condenser mic would sound like. The specs don't do this mic justice on how clear this mic sounds. I honestly can say that off key crooning sounded very passable with some pitch correction applied to it.

I would recommend this mic to any vocalist looking to be inspired and looking to have a tool that is rugged enough for the stage. Be it a singer-songwriter performing at a local coffeehouse or a professional touring musician this mic will handle anything you throw at it and make it sound beautiful. Did I mention, this mic looks stunning! Go pick up the Blue enCORE 200 and be impressed.