Shure C606 Microphone Review for a Songwriter Home Studio

Ok, recently my wife asked me for a decent microphone. Of course , I immediately plan to buy Shure SM 58. But she refuse, she need something at a lower price so I buy Shure C606. All microphones has its strength and weaknesses, even very expensive microphones priced at $6000 or 300,000 pesos.

As an overview of the specs I have known so far are the ones below:

Type: Dynamic
XRL input during purchase? No
Compatible with PC high end speakers? Yes

Basically for those that does not know more about microphones, there are two types: condenser/ceramic microphones and dynamic microphones. For high end studio applications, condenser microphones are preferable because they have extremely wide dynamic and frequency range in addition to its extreme sensitivity. Even a small breathing or minor sneeze in the back can be annoying if you use condenser microphones because of its extreme sensitivity.

Below is the picture of Shure C606:

Now C606 will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
a. Price
b. Quality
c. Flexibility
d. Distortion tolerance

Price

Lets start with price. SM 58 , the Shure legendary microphone is priced at around $130 in Philippines. Shure C606 cost around $35, now that is a big price difference! No other Shure microphones are priced below $30 in Philippines.

At 1500 pesos, this could be a good price. But we will see the quality.

Quality

During the testing for quality, we record vocal samples in a tight controlled room and feed the recorded vocals in high end mixers and digital audio software. Through, I do not audio samples for demonstration but the sound quality between expensive condenser microphone and C606 is almost unnoticeable.

I also check the dynamic range , it was so balance. I can hear the crisp / throat section of the vocals that feed the high frequencies. The bass section of the vocals is very noticeable. I can say that even with no vocal effects (flat), the recorded vocals is superb!

Flexibility

One of the major downside of this microphone is that it is supplied with 1/4 inch jack microphone input instead of XLR. I do not know why because SM 58 can be used with XLR inputs. I love to see XLR inputs for C606 as included in the package.

Below is the picture of XLR pairs:

Distortion Tolerance

I say that this microphone cannot handle very well at distortion levels unlike the legendary SM58 Shure microphones. Of course, SM 58 is a more expensive one , it is why it is suited in more live performances when vocal range is susceptible at a loud levels causing distortion.

For this mic, the good thing is that it wont distort as much as cheaper microphones.

Overall: If you building a home studio and planning to record vocals. IF you need low cost with extreme quality: Shure C606 is highly recommended!

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