Monoprice Large Tube Studio Condenser Microphone - Multi-Pattern, Cardioid, Figure 8, Omnidirectional, 6 Intermediate States, Full Size Shock Mount and Case, LTM500 - Stage Right

Very nice tube sound. Plenty of details and good tone with the stock Chinese 12AX7-B tube. I replaced the tube with a Tung-Sol 12AX7 and though there was an improvement in overall sound, it became very sibilant. Added a de-emphasis capacitor on T1 primary to tame that down. Mic seems to be more sensitive to plosives - easy fix with a pop filter. Built quality internal and exterior are excellent. Quality Wima caps used in audio signal circuit. Power supply unit is well built - steel and allows you to adjust 9 different pickup patterns (about 3 second lag when switching to a new pattern before you can hear the effects). Overall cannot beat the price for the money. Also the self noise is very low. Compared another mic with 5db self noise (extremely low), this one isn’t far behind - estimate around 10-15db area.Highlights:1. Great sound and tone2. Chinese gold capsule 32/34mm3. Excellent build quality in and out4. Stock tube provides good high roll off to offset sibilant nature of most Chinese capsules.5. More sensitive to plosives.6. Very low self-noise.

I run my own recording studio and mainly bought this mic to do a mid-side drum room mic setup. Out of the box this is a nice product… cheap materials (understandable at this price level), but a very professional aesthetic. I use the Blue “Bluebird” mics as stereo drum overheads. The LTM500 does sound similar to the Bluebird… has a pronounced sibilance 8-10k, but lacks body in the 400-500hz range without processing. This setup also makes for a nice project to modify. I plan on converting this mic to a Neumann U87. You can do this for pretty cheap from what I am reading. The Neumann U87 runs around $3k. It’s worth a shot. I will add an update when completed.

Pleasantly surprised. It's really good.

I used this with ham radio, works excellent

El microfono suena bien, aún no lo he provado exaustivamente pero todo correcto en su funcionamiento!