Shure...time SM58 and KSM32

CoolCat

Well-known member
Review of SM58 vs a KSM32 in a small room HR.

I wonder sometimes when I compare mics if my room really has more of an effect than I give it credit for. Does it make things sound the same? Also Im aware my ears aren't Golden, and they aren't Bad either but "normal for my age"...which is kind of not so great in audiophile land. Maybe that's why things don't sound tremendously different.

The point is, I have a nice closet, small booth, like room that's slowly filling up with pillows, foam and duvet's. Yes, I have large rooms with high ceilings that are empty, but prefer the small-HR room for solo demo, fun. Its like a very large vocal booth room.

LDC?...Shure calls the KSM32 a LDC but its not a 1" capsule, little smaller. The SM58/SM7b/SM57 definitaly are not considered LDC.
But no one says "I have a MDC!! for medium size" Anyway, once I got rid of the Computer PC (and its fan noise), I can get a very respectable low noise floor, which opens up the ability to use a LDC with its traditional sensitivity boost. However the house is not so perfect and dogs barking and trucks rumbling by can be heard too, so as most seem to agree in logic "crappy room" use a dynamic with its lower sensitivity and tighter pattern.
KSM32 is 16 mv/pa range vs the SM58 of 1.85 mv/pa. per RecordingHacks.

So currently Im down to two mics and only need one. Price being equal...$250.
A) The SM58 is a new one, 50th anniversary actually, plugged into a Cloudlifter. So in all fairness a $250 setup.
B) The KSM32 arrived this second time, as a mint condition, amazing deal (Im a sucker for great deals even if I don't need the item)…A used Mint KSM32, a newer one, for $250 with Shure box, nice airline case, shockmount, standard clip and velvet pouch.

Test 1: nothingness...noise floor...my interface preamps max'd and the KSM32 was silent. Very impressive.
The SM58 not so silent. I assume its the transformer or something. Im not talking noisy, cant use it, but this is a tech-silence gearhead test and the KSM kicked the SM58's + CL-1, a## in a big way when splitting audiophile hairs. YMMV... :D

Test 2: the spoken word, sing a line, nothing serious, toss int some sss's and ssshhhhhss and ttt's and p's....we gearheads know the drill. Track it for a comparison listen over a few days. The KSM seemed to pick up more mouth noises and subtle non-professional issues like breaths etc, while the SM58 seemed more forgiving.
Result: Im not hearing much difference and a bit shocked? and wonder if my ears just cant hear it. :wtf:

Test 3: strum the acoustic guitar, this is where this small room probably fails the most, and possibly makes everything sound similar, no matter if its a $10,000 vintage Martin or a $400 Takamine etc... :wtf:
I don't do live amps anymore and the SM58 would be fine for that, DimeBag used a SM58, he did the test for me, RIP.
So acoustic guitar strums and sloppy playing into the SM58 and KSM32, again like the voice, not much difference?

I was really hoping for some big difference and easy choice. I didnt get that at all.

anyway...heres some very short clips of A & B, $250-ish range. Dynamic and LDC/MDC?..
Clip is A-SM58 & CL1 silence test the intiial (2 to 7second), KSM32 silence, (at 9-13second)
silent but can hear the dogs outside...lol
then a brief acoustic SM58 and KSM32...of course moving a mic can do drastic changes this was at the hole...
then a snippet of a recorded demo..same vs 1 and 2.
Sm58 And Ksm32 HR by ccb | Free Listening on SoundCloud
 

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