Rode M2 Supercardioid Condenser Handheld Vocal Microphone Reviews

The M2 is best route to studio-quality vocals on stage. Having a couple of decades of experience with numerous vocal microphones, I do not think that you can get a better vocal mic for less than $500, and even then it is only marginally better than the M2. I sing in two bands, and we play a variety of locations; sometimes running our own sound, but often using a house system with a tech. Gigs range from intimate acoustic settings to full band rock shows at clubs of 400 or more people. The M2 shines in all situations. Techs at several particularly loud clubs have commented that while a decent amount of EQ is almost always required for vocals to cut through the texture, they could keep the M2 virtually flat.

I've been looking for an upgraded vocal mic after using a Shure SM58 with good results. A few months back, I purchased a Rode NT1 Condenser Mic for home recording and was completely blown away with the quality for the money, so I looked into to Rode M2. Once again, Rode has completely impressed me with the sound and build quality of the M2. I highly recommend Rode and the M2!

Both times now I have used this mic for live sound there has been NO feedback problems. The last time was in a space with concrete floors and brick walls. As a songwriter event, it was great that the vocals were clear even when right up on the mic. ALSO, we used it as a guitar mic for a guitar without a pickup. This is actually the most common place to get feedback, especially the low range coming right from the sound hole. No booming bass, great sound at high volume for finger picking and NO feedback. And it doubles as a studio mic. What's not to love?

After much research, this Rode mic was bought to replace another one (different brand) of lesser quality. And because my voice is at best average, I needed a mic that produced a stronger sound. The M2 does, and it is beyond my expectation. The only small gripe I have is that the on-off switch works a bit harder than I would have liked, but I understand why it does. That said, I believe this is one of the best made supercardioid handheld condenser microphone with an on-off switch available on the market today.

Brilliantly crafted condenser microphone... very clear reproduction of vocals... feel really sturdy and professional with an on off toggle switch which again feels smooth...

Performance wise its fabulous for its price.... needs slight EQ'in for it to cut through..

I told my Sweetwater Sales Rep that I had an EV BK-1 that I really liked, but it is starting to go. I told him I wanted something that was like the EV. He recommended the Rode M2. It is even better than the EV. It is a terrific microphone. It performs exactly like I wanted.

We are very pleased with the mics. We use them for outdoor worship and they are doing a great job for us.

There's a lot to like here and all the good things said about the M2 in other reviews are solid but there's a big problem as well: noise. This microphone puts out a lot of hiss and has fairly low gain for a condenser microphone. I stacked this up to a Shure SM58 cranked all the way up and the SM58's sound was cleaner and far less noisy than the M2. The M2 needs more gain and less noise. The fix: $99 Fethead Phantom for condenser microphones. Of course this puts the M2's net cost up there with a Sennheiser Mk4 which isn't quite as portable but has great sound. But if you like the M2 -- and with the noise problem under control the sound is quite good -- then you'll need the Fethead Phantom as well.

used it recording has good pick up clean sound

The condenser transducer element in this looks like an electret element from a 15 year old cell phone. Maybe a half inch in diameter. It's a tiny transducer that looks cheap. Compared to other condenser microphones I have opened up, this is easily the worst quality.

The advertised frequency response is completely at odds with the 100hz highpass filter that this microphone has. You can't rate something at working from 35-20Khz when that 35hz is down at about -15dB.

I was really disappointed with this. For example, Nady makes microphones that are very inexpensive and professional quality. I have a Behringer Pencil condenser that has a diaphragm twice the size, gold plated, full frequency response, costs 50 bucks and came with Omni and Cardioid capsules. I'm just saying that other cheaper brands are made of high quality components that this microphone lacks.

This microphone seems like something that was made by figuring out the cheapest parts that could be obtained and insisting it was high quality when in fact this is the quality you would expect from a Chinese no-name $20 product with free prime shipping. Not a professional quality product, but it sounds okay. Perfect for karaoke night when the amateurs don't understand how feedback occurs and eliminating all the bass frequencies is the easiest way to mediate the problem.

The reason I keep this around and use it is because with a liberal amount of reverb, it is a useful tool to work on thickening vocal tone because it has such a thin and bass-shy sound. It also lets you know when the overtones are way too dominate. It does sound good enough for practicing along with records, but no way would I record with this. Frankly, my mixer has an 80hz high pass filter and the last thing I need is the microphone imposing it's own filter.

Handheld condenser microphones that have what you really want are hard to come by. It seems they are either really cheap (50 bucks with good but not amazing sound) or really expensive (500 bucks) and everything in the middle is a compromise with this microphone being an offender.

This doesn't achieve what you really want, which is the large diaphragm condenser mic from the studio in a handheld package. If they would just stick an all-purpose pencil instrument condenser mic into a handheld vocal mic chassis, you would have the perfect solution. Odd how the $50 product just does exactly that and does it right with quality materials. This doesn't.