Audio-TechnicaAT875R Line + Gradient Condenser Microphone

I have compared this microphone with much mor expensive Sennheiser mics and, it is extremely close in sound quality overall. The only difference with the Audio-Technical is a slight hiss when absolutely quiet, when nothing is heard with the Sennheiser - hence the high price for Sennheiser.

Used in a Rode blimp for recording audio for my filmmaking.Very directional and can isolate sounds required very well.

We have a lot of studio/location mics. This was a surprise - very good at this price point and frankly very good at any price point. This is not going to disappoint you.

I tested this in my semi-anechoic room, for basic quality on frontally presented speech alongside a Sennheiser MKH416 (£700), and found the sound virtually indistinguishable. What was noticeable though was the extreme quietness of the MKH416 in comparison. The Audio Technica is very quiet and I would have said it was silent until I listened to the comparison. Fine for most purposes, but the further away you go the more you will notice the noise compared to the MKH (which is a highly regarded industry standard, just about as good as it gets, and four times the price). Frequency response tests (frontal) for both mics were in good agreement with the manufacturer's specs (which surprised me as so many things fail critical testing). I haven't attempted to measure off axis performance as this is difficult to do meaningfully, and I would expect it to perform as well as can be expected for any shotgun mic (they inevitably give colouration to off axis sound and the importance and nature of the colouration depends very much on the situation you are using them in - expect less problems outside than indoors where room reflections tend to add colouratipn to the original sound as you move away.

When I first used and listened to the recordings back, I felt I had recorded in a studio with professionals. It is worth having it in your hands for different purposes.

Yes, it can be used as a podcast mic and it does a grand job of keeping the vocals isolated.

Performs well in the space and for the purpose I need. I like the simplicity and light weight.

I absolutely would recommend this microphone. I spent quite a bit of time researching budget-ish mics specifically for film making especially with multiple subjects to replace my usual lav setup while producing a sound quality that is on par (or close) to my lav mics. I stumbled on Audio Technica but was sceptical as I wanted either RODE or Deity. All I can say is that it was a pleasant surprise, even when used on a semi noisy street. I used both a dead-cat and blimp which of course hugely neutralised the noise but the sound output from the mic itself surpassed my expectation as I found it to be crisp.I have not used the RODE or Deity or Seinheiser counterparts so I cannot make a comparison in that regard but the clean and unpretentious sound I get from this beautiful mic is just what I was looking for, and certainly enough to do the job - at least for now!! I recommend and like it a lot, and have purchased two - no regrets!