Customer Reviews

Behringer C-2 Condenser Microphone Cardioid

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Normally I'm not a big fan of Behringer products. They tend to be less expensive, often cheap, copies (or very near copies) of much better equipment. They and Mackie had quite a number of shootouts over the years.

However, when it came time to get a bunch of choir microphones for outdoor PA venues, I just couldn't bring myself to plop $150 or more per mic. I only use these things 4 times a year generally and couldn't justify the $$.

So I picked up a set of these C-2s to test at my local retail music store. I was very impressed, to say the least. They're well made, have standard built-in flat/base-roll-off/-10db cut switch on the side. Very handy in gazebos and the like where the base is a big problem due to natural reverb and feedback.

I ended up getting 4 boxes (8 mics) initially and used them for the concerts with excellent results. I just put them up overhead about 7'-8', aim them outward from each other at about 45 degrees, and run each to a channel on the board. That way, I keep track easily of where each is and, when a horn player or such stands to play a solo, I can jump the correct channel easily and pump them up as needed.

This purchase is to up the ante to 12 mics since the bands turned into 60 or more piece orchestras this year. It just helps to have more coverage sometimes.

Again, for the price, these cannot be beat. I dare anyone to discern a 5x or more improvement in sound between these and the more expensive mics. Of course, if it's studio use you're interested in, you can definitely hear a difference but it's still questionable that the difference is important enough to warrant the extra $$. After all, >90% of all recorded material these days is listened to on iPods or the like and the digitizing and compression encoding technology damages the quality of recording much more than the tiny differences between these mics and the $$ ones.

Get 'em - you'll like 'em.

I was shopping for a pair of condenser microphones for my Tablas and these turned out to be perfect. I connected these to a Behringer mixer (Phantom power is needed), and they perform, the clarity is amazing. The ability to control the gain on the mics individually is very handy, I usually switch the mic I use for lows to a less sensitive setting. These come with a great carrying case, wind screens and a stereo bar. The Stereo bar and mic holders fit standard and euro mic stands, just remember to unscrew the brass adapter in the stereo bar to fit standard mic stands. It took me a trip to Sam Ash to figure that one out.

Overall a great pair of condenser microphones for the price, they are superior to any standard microphone I have used.

For over a year, I have used these for recording acoustic and classical guitar. The sound is crystal clear, with very low noise. I get better results than with the much more expensive Neumann KMi I had been using. Throw in the included padded case, windscreens, and stereo mic adapter bar and it's one of the best deals in recording.

This was excellent... I can't say anything else about it.... I used at first for our local choir... Which worked perfect, but then i tried it with our conga set and i was amazed..... The sound was rich and clear.... It was very pleasant all tones came out perfect... the sound reproduction basically comes from you're positioning of the mics.. You as the user have to choose what you want picked up.... Phantom power is NEEDED....

These come with a stereo holding bar and adapter for mic stand. They do need 48 V phanom power from your board or a mic amp. I'm using a mic amp and these are the input to a paging system which I will review in more detail later. The 48VDC comes from the mic processor then cancels feedback and sends the paging audio to my amplifier which I will review as a set.


If you do stereo recording, you can't go wrong with these - their self noise level is so low it is below that of a human ear. It sounds great, and setup outside with 140 dB of gain it really performs well hearing birds chirp from far away, rain drops comming down, and sounds you never would hear.

Note: NEVER get these wet - you must have a cover over them for outdoor use in the rain.

You will need 2 XLR cables for full stereo recording with the transfer bar, but you already know that.

These are small diaphram, phantom powered condensor mikes. As such, they have an even off-axis frequency response well suited to ORTF recording.

I've been using a pair of these mikes in an ORTF configuration to record chamber music. Mostly my wife's string quartet. I bring the mikes in on center axis, in an ORTF configuration (angled away from each other at about 110 degrees spread, capsules about 8 inches apart), about 6 feet in front of the group's front line, about 6 feet off the ground.

I then take the raw recording into Cool Edit and apply some EQ to get a balance that sounds natural to my ears, and just a bit of reverb to sweeten the sound. Most people move the mikes in and out from the ensemble to balance the instruments with the sound of the room, but that's pretty much guesswork. By emulating room sound in the post processing, I get exactly the sound I want.

Sounds pretty pedestrian, doesn't it? You should hear the results. I have friends who do location recording using Neumann, Schoeps and the like. My recordings sound better. They really do. Not because these are better mikes. It's because being both an acoustic musician and an engineer, I know what sound I want to get and using the gear I have, both hardware and software, make it happen. You can do that with these mikes.

If you haven't got the budget for the Big Guns like Neumann and the like, but want to get a very good location recording of your own, you can do that with these microphones. They are well suited to acoustic recordings of chamber ensembles, school band, orchestra, or even vocal choir. Read up on the ORTF recording technique. Record direct to digital. Post process in software for EQ, using your ear to get what sounds most like they did live, and sweeten a bit with a small amount of digital reverb.

You'll amaze yourself.

These mics work great, I have used them in a variety of live and recording situations for Mandolin, fiddle, tenor banjo and even some vocals. cannot beat them for the money.

I wanted to experiment with home recording using my computer. After a lot of reading of reviews and techniques, I decided to give these mics a try because they appeared to provide the best value. Overall I think the sound is pretty good, but as one other reviewer noted, it can be distorted easily and thus requires getting everything "just right". I used them to record classical guitar, and found that using the low cut switch reduced the distortion. I used the eq effect in Audacity to add some bass back into the mix. As others have noted, you need phantom power. For that I used the ART USB Dual Pre 2 Channel Preamp to power the mics and interface with the computer.

Anyway, you can listen to my first project and decide for yourself [...]. Good luck.

I'm not experienced so I cant say how good this mic works in comparison to others. This is my first mic and it does the job for me, I get a clear recording into my laptop using an interface. Do keep in mind you need phantom power to power the mic.

Bought these on other reviews and for the money I was not disappointed. We just needed a couple overhead mic's to fully capture the drums for a recording.