Behringer B-5 Small-diaphragm Condenser Microphone Reviews

Since Covid-19 arrived, our church went through a number of steps to keep services going. We started by moving things outside to the parking lot for "drive-in services" using a PA system. As the weather got colder, we added a low power FM transmitter so people could keep their car windows closed and stay warm for the service. After we were able to move things back indoors a number of people requested that we keep broadcasting the FM so they could listen from the parking lot in their cars when they weren't comfortable being indoors. Until recently we were using a cardioid condenser microphone aimed into the room with the room PA signal mixed in. We weren't really happy with the resulting sound balance and decided to just use a microphone input, move the mic to the back of the room and switch to an omni microphone to get a cleaner room sound.

The Behringer B-5 looked like a logical way to go. With both the omni directional and cardioid diaphragms we knew we could sample both types from the same point with both microphone types. The omni directional diaphragm was clearly the best choice for our use. It picks up the amplified sounds of people speaking at the lectern and altar microphones, the piano and choir voices (unamplified) and the congregation voices singing hymns in a fairly even and realistic balance. We appreciate that this microphone is inexpensive, that helps the budget. It now looks like the Sunday morning FM service broadcast to the parking lot is going to remain a permanent feature of the service.

For the $ this really is a great mic to have as an extra in the locker. Good on hats, percussions, acoustics, and surprisingly good on spoken word.

I bought two of these for room mic's and drum overheads. They don't disappoint and are very accurate in the frequency ranges
for both applications with no coloration. Being able to change diaphragms is a huge advantage. As far as value for the price, they can't be beat. As usual, Sweetwater delivered these in lighting speed.

This is my favorite vocal mic. It gets so many things right about using a large diaphragm condenser, but in a handheld package. When I practice I would much rather have complete freedom of movement. I use the Omni Capsule so I don't have to worry about proximity effect. The frequency response of this is great. A little bass shy, a bit of a bump in the air frequencies (but nothing close to how much is on some LDC mics!) but it's fairly neutral.

You really have to get a foam windscreen with this application. I found one that puts a half inch of foam between my lips and the capsule and it performs like any other handheld mic at preventing plosives. It stops them almost completely. I wrap electric tape around the bottom of the foam windscreen it to keep it on. I also use the 10dB pad. My mixer has the bass cut if I felt like using it, which I never do.

I've had this mic two years so it is reliable and really love it for vocals. I could imagine using the Cardioid capsule on a guitar cabinet would be awesome.

Great for hi-hat's ! The best BANG for your buck ! Sweetwater staff #1

Works great! Shipping was fast! customer service was excellent. He called to make sure I knew it had shipped and also to see if it arrived. Again excellent customer service. Thanks for everything! Will definitely buy from your company again.

I wanted to record band rehearsal in my living room. Drummer does not like my electronic drums, so I bought two of the B-5s, put them on either side of his acoustic drums on mic stands (about 6' high). Recorded via 4 input Behringer USB box with phantom power, which (in Linux version) of Audacity allows me to record 4 separate tracks. I panned left mic to "left" and right mic to "right", which gave a nice stereo mix to the drums. The PA speakers are to the left and right of the drummer as well, so I (intentionally) picked up a bit of the PA feed, though mics are primarily picking up the drums. Fed the rest of the band into the USB box via patch cables from PA system. Hardly a "studio quality" setup, but good enough to review the band's sound & tracks are worthy of sharing in order to show people what we sound like. Didn't try the omni capsules yet, just used the cardioid ones that shipped with the mics. The plastic cases for transporting the mics seem useful & satisfactory, comes with a mic holder to put on the mic stand, with a brass insert that screws out using a quarter or the wide end of a door key (in case you have mic stands with thinner arms, all of mine are standard stage style mic stands, so I had to remove the inserts).

I'm sure I will be able to refine the setup, in this "first use" I just set everything up and hit "record" on Audacity to see what we ended up with. My band guys don't have a lot of patience for sound engineering -- and didn't even know I recorded the session.

The B-5s totally met my expectations, but I did not give a 5-star rating solely because I have no frame of reference from which to say these are like, "wow!"

If I didn't know how to reflow solder on small parts, this would be one star...a low 'crumply' sound.
The basic microphone is clear, if thin, but it EQ's very well on bass. Will be experimenting with omni capsule....my booth is good, so no problems with room noise in omni. If you see many rave reviews and a few low reviews, mic differences, etc... It's likely QC issues, maybe 1 out of 10 units. On voice, the extra detail over a large diaphragm is noticeable.

I bought two of these awhile back and just gave them a thorough run-through recently. At first, they sounded quite different from each other and I found that a little disconcerting. The B-5s come with swappable Cardioid and Omni capsules, so I discovered that the contact areas between body and capsule needed to be cleaned with alcohol. I couldn't believe how discolored the cotton swabs were when I finished cleaning the two bodies and four capsules! They came from the factory like that! They now sound the same, so problem solved.

Note: If you clean your Cardioid capsules, be very aware of snagging the cotton swab on the little vent screens inside the capsule. I ripped one end loose and had to put in a drop of crazy clue to re-affix it! You've been warned!

Regarding the sound, they're fine for the price, but the 3-position slide switch (flat, roll-off, -10 dB) is pretty cheap (and feels like it) and does not slip into the detents as easily as it should. It is easy to get stuck between positions and makes a racket when it does.

The stated frequency response is 20 Hz - 20 kHz, but according to the frequency response chart (cardioid), the frequency response is 3 dB down at 150 Hz and 8 dB down at 50 Hz (without the low-cut in the signal path), so I don't know where they get off claiming a 20 Hz bottom end. Commonly, manufacturers state the frequency response at the -3 dB down points (sometimes -10 dB), but this is way beyond that. I wouldn't use them on bass or kick because of this.

They have a +4 dB peak at 15 kHz, so are (probably) good for overheads or instruments with high-frequency harmonics (stringed instruments, etc.)

At this price I wouldn't worry to much about them getting dinged up (unintentionally of course) and would be great for gigs where you aren't making enough dough to justify higher end mics.

I bought two of these and they sound quite different from each other. Individually they sound ok, but one is noticeably brighter than the other.

Are they useable – Yes. Are they professional – No. The switch (flat, roll-off, -10 dB) is sticky and can stop between settings leading to some serious noise.

I'll hang on to them for use when I'm not being paid, but they have to be EQ'd to sound similar. I haven't used them much, so I suppose the switch might "break in". Having an Omni and a Cardioid capsule is nice.

I found an issue that worked itself out when first using them and that is make sure the capsule connections are clean with a GENTLE amount of alcohol and a swab. One Omni capsule was putting out noticeably lower than the other one until I switched them out a couple of times which leads me to believe that there was some oxidation present somewhere.

Schoeps they're not, but if you are on a strict budget, they're ok. Personally, I would not purchase additional units and may even sell the two I own. The fact that they sound different when they should sound very close to the same is definitely a problem. Buying two does NOT create a stereo pair!