Microphone Shootout - Let Your Ears Do The Shopping
Posted by Jim Pavett on 17th Jun 2026
Buying a microphone based on a review is like buying a car based on a photograph. You are working from someone else's impression of something your ears need to decide.
That is why we did this.
Pure Wave Audio conducted one of the most comprehensive independent microphone shootouts in the pro audio industry — 29 microphones across four categories, tested on multiple real-world sources, with high-resolution recordings available so you can hear every microphone yourself before making a decision.
What we tested
11 tube microphones. 9 FET condensers. 3 ribbon microphones. 6 dynamics. Sources included bass cabinet, electric guitar, piano, drum overheads, drum room, toms, and vocals.
The microphone list:
Tube condensers: Audio-Technica AT4050, Audix CX212B, Lauten Audio Horizon LT-321, Lauten Audio Oceanus LT-381, Lauten Audio Torch ST-221, Mojave Audio MA-100, Mojave Audio MA-200, Mojave Audio MA-300, Neumann U67, SE Electronics Gemini II, SE Electronics 2200T
FET condensers: Mojave Audio MA-101fet, Mojave Audio MA-201fet, Audix SCX1, Audix SCX25A, Lauten Audio Clarion FC-357, SE Electronics RN17, SE Electronics Gemini 5, SE Electronics Z5600a II, SE Electronics RNR1
Ribbons: Royer R-122, SE Electronics VR2, SE Electronics RNR1
Dynamics: Audix D2, Audix D4, Audix D6, Audix i5, Sennheiser 421, Shure SM58
Why we did it this way
Most microphone comparisons online are recorded in different rooms, on different days, with different signal chains, by different engineers. The variables are stacked against making a useful comparison.
Every microphone in this shootout was recorded in the same room, on the same sources, through the same signal chain, on the same day. The only variable was the microphone. That is the only way a comparison means anything.
The results were significant enough that microphone manufacturers purchased the high-resolution files. When the people who make the microphones want to hear what their product sounds like against the competition — that tells you something about the value of the data.
How to access the recordings
MP3 versions of all recordings are available free online at the Pure Wave Audio Microphone Shootout page. Full high-resolution files are available for purchase on disk — the same files the manufacturers bought.
If you are making a microphone decision in any of the categories tested — tube, FET, ribbon, or dynamic — listen before you buy. Your ears are the only review that matters.