Introduction
The Sennheiser MKE 600 microphone is a versatile choice for capturing audio in a variety of settings. Whether you’re a professional videographer or a content creator, this shotgun microphone offers some impressive features and a few drawbacks.
Pros
- Exceptional Sound Quality: The Sennheiser MKE 600 delivers crisp and clear audio, making your recordings sound professional and polished.
- Directional Pickup: Its shotgun design captures sound from the front while minimizing background noise, ensuring your subject’s voice is the star.
- Sturdy Build: This microphone is built to last with its robust construction, suitable for on-the-go recording.
- Low Self-Noise: The MKE 600 keeps unwanted hissing and humming to a minimum, ensuring clean audio.
- Phantom or Battery Power: It’s flexible, allowing you to power it using phantom power from your recording device or a battery for remote use.
- Integrated Shock Mount: The shock mount reduces handling noise, giving you clear and stable audio recordings.
- Compact and Lightweight: Its size and weight make it easy to carry, perfect for field recordings and outdoor shoots.
- Wide Compatibility: This microphone works well with a variety of cameras and recording devices.
Cons
- Pricey: The MKE 600 is a bit on the expensive side, which might not fit every budget.
- No XLR Cable Included: You’ll need to purchase an XLR cable separately, which adds to the overall cost.
- Battery-Dependent: When using battery power, you’ll need to ensure you have spare batteries on hand for longer recording sessions.
Performance
The Sennheiser MKE 600 truly shines when it comes to sound quality. It captures audio with remarkable clarity, making it a great choice for interviews, vlogging, or film production. The directional pickup ensures your subject’s voice is the center of attention, while background noise is kept to a minimum. This makes it perfect for outdoor shooting, where ambient sounds can be distracting.
The microphone’s sturdy build is a big plus, as it can withstand the rigors of outdoor use. Its low self-noise ensures that your recordings are free from unwanted background noise, maintaining a professional sound quality.
Ease of Use
One of the great things about the MKE 600 is its flexibility. You can power it through phantom power from your camera or recording device, or you can use a battery, which is handy for remote recording. The integrated shock mount also reduces handling noise, providing stability during handheld use.
Portability
If you’re always on the move, the compact and lightweight design of the MKE 600 is a big advantage. It won’t weigh you down during long shoots, and its size makes it easy to transport.
Compatibility
The Sennheiser MKE 600 is compatible with a wide range of cameras and recording devices, making it a versatile choice for various recording setups.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Sennheiser MKE 600 offers excellent sound quality, a directional pickup pattern, and a durable build. It’s a fantastic choice for those who demand high-quality audio in their videos. However, its price, the need for a separate XLR cable, and the dependency on batteries might be deterrents for some potential buyers.
Eugene D –
I really wanted to get the MKE 400, but I didn’t have the budget for it but still wanted to get a Sennheiser mic so I went with the MKE 200. The build and design is awesome, I get clear and detailed audio on my Lumix S1, which is my main camera, but for some reason, it doesn’t work with my Olympus E-M1 mkIII. No audio at all, with either cables.My camera’s mic input works as I tried connecting it with a TRS cable to my desktop and record audio from that. I’m not sure if they have a list of cameras that are not supported, but wish I have known.I still want the MKE 400 but don’t know if that will work either…
daniel caldwell –
This is a great sounding microphone when used outdoors or in a sound treated room that doesn’t have reverb, these types of microphones can cause some phasing issues when recording in a room with reverb as the interference tubes on the side if they’re getting the same thing going into the front and your reverb is echoing the same voice back into the sides things can get a little wonky sometimes but that’s with all shotgun microphones, a lot of people will use the small diaphragm condensers which are basically a shotgun without the interference tubes for indoorsI would say the sound quality is top-notch, and you compare it to the Sennheiser 416 it is almost on par and this one is able to be hooked to a camera and powered with a battery or you can hook it to your audio interface or your digital recorder but unfortunately cameras tend to have really crappy preammps, hooked to a little zoom or tascam digital recorder or to an audio interface in the studio setting or something similar this thing sounds great but hooked to a camera it just sounds kind of so so because unfortunately I think cameras just have lousy preamps but you know it’s cool that this microphone has the option to hook it directly to a camera if you need to, it doesn’t sound horrible hook to a camera but I would say it sounds about 75% better when hooked something with good preamps but overall the microphone itself is top-notch
Frances Brunner –
First of all, it’s a well made piece of equipment. The microphone is very good, and the cover that comes with it helps to reduce ambient noise.The stand can be set up on a table, but the legs can be folded into a handle so it can be handheld. The camera holder can be swiveled so your phone can be put in portrait or landscape orientation.It folds up and will fit into a bag or briefcase so you can take it wherever you go.
Movieaddict –
Just finished filming a feature film! Sound quality is amazing! Even in super windy loud environments! Better than my Rode! Sound is so important in films! This was a big step up!
Buddy –
I bought this to help film a seminar because I had left my other mic (Rode Videomic Pro) at another location. It works in a pinch, but for capturing audio further than maybe 20 feet, you’ll have to bring up the audio gain quite a bit. It’s not powered, so for what it is, it’s not bad. If you’re a vlogger and you’re maybe holding the camera in your hand, or you’re at you desk and the camera is only a couple of feet away, it’s fine. Way better than any camera audio. The sound quality is pretty good. It’s design helps it block out wind noise better than most of the mics in this price range. I’ll primarily use this as a backup mic as I own a handful of shotgun mics already. For convenience, this isn’t bad at all.
Leonidych –
I liked this shot gun mic! It is very solid and feels professional indeed (an entry level, but very, very respectable). I actually was interested in a less expensive shotgun mic at first, but ended up getting Sennheiser MKE 600 and Sony PCM M10 portable recorder. I was able to compare Sennheiser with several other microphones side by side when keeping the gain constant, and I used 2 different recording devices – Sony recorder and Nikon digital camera.Please check my video review on YouTube to listen to Sennheiser MKE 600 mic in comparison with some other mics (Please search for “Microphones compared: Sennheiser MKE 600, Bronstein BRN-900, BRN-400, Sony PCM M10, Nikon D7000” on YouTube or follow the link in the comment below for this review). This test was designed to compare the ability of the microphones to record a distant (or quiet) misic. I intentionally placed the mics fairly far amd compensated by increasing the gain on the Sony recorder, so the noise level relative to signal is higher compared to when speaking directly to mics.Of these microphones, I liked PCM M10 onboard omnidirectional stereo mics for the high sensitivity, very low self noise and fuller, crisper sound (but it records every ambient noise), and I also liked the MKE 600 shotgun that can help isolate the sound that is natural, loud enough and has a relatively low background hiss. I used this Sennheiser mic with both 48V phantom power from a Mackie mixer and 2 AA batteries (required an XLR to 3.5mm adaptor). The performance was comparable (it is supposed to be slightly better with phantom power, according to the specs). It is a real boon to use AA batteries for such a mic, as I can use it with my Sony recorder or plug directly into digital camera. In addition, the mic comes with a nice pouch. Good job Sennheiser!The microphones I was comparing are not in the same price price category, of course, so it may be not a fair comparison. But I was wondering if cheaper mics will do just fine for my purpose or I need a more expensive one. I initially purchased a relatively cheap mic (BRN-200), but ended up returning it, and then I got a Sony personal recorder and also tried more expensive shotgun mics to supress back/side noises and pickup more distant, fainter sounds from the target source. At the time of each purchase (January-March 2014), Sennheiser was sold at Amazon for $330, Sony PCM M10 for $210, BRN-400 for $130, BRN-900 for $70 and BRN-200 for $50. The price for BRN-400 recently dropped nearly 25%, and the price for Sony increased. Although the more expensive microphones (Sennheiser and Sony) performed much better recording low volume sounds, if you would place any of these, even cheaper mics very close to the source and also optimze the gain on the recording device, the quality of captured sound will likely improve. I personally liked PCM M10 onboard omnidirectional stereo mics for the high sensitivity, very low self noise and fuller, crisper sound, and, of course, I also enjoed the MKE 600 shotgun mic. I think the low frequencies, especially for voice recording, appear to be more faithfully rerpoduced by Sennheiser, compared to Sony recorder, so the voice from MKE 600 sounds a little fuller. But the sound is a little crisper when recorded with Sony recorder without a shotgun mic.
gabriel p. –
Wow! This mic is killing it! Super helpful for all of my short film productions. This thing is a 10/10 for me!
Stonewall Krantz –
First time “birder” here. This unit is absolutely amazing for Sennheiser quality audio. I am picky about engineering and this little gadget is perfect. Rugged aluminum frame that rotates, a cute little clamp to lock it, a dial in to lock the clamp, padded clamps. The wiring has a screw down not just a plug-in, and the stand is versatile and sturdy at the same time. I have picked up 24 different bird species in my yard with an e-bird app, using my phone! Certainly this unit could be used desktop to hold your phone and mic for some very nice content too. 100% satisfied!
Stuart F –
Soundwave Sorcery: The Maestro Microphone Has Arrived! Just buy one!In the vast cosmos of audio equipment, the Sennheiser Professional MKE 200 isn’t just a star; it’s a dazzling supernova. From the moment I unpacked this beauty, I knew I was in for an auditory treat.Size can be deceptive, especially with this petite powerhouse. Don’t let its small stature fool you – it packs a punch worthy of heavyweight champions! Feather-light, yet constructed with the craftsmanship that only Sennheiser can deliver, this microphone is a testament to the adage: ‘Good things come in small packages.’But let’s get to its pièce de résistance: the sound quality. If telescopes could capture light from distant galaxies, this microphone sips on soundwaves with similar finesse. It’s like it has a gravitational pull of its own, drawing in every syllable, note, and nuance, even from afar. The analogy of it soaking soundwaves like a telescope embraces moonlight is nothing short of poetic perfection.The accompanying Mobile Kit further elevates the experience. A snug-fitting smartphone clamp ensures your device remains steady, while the Manfrotto PIXI Mini Tripod stands firm, ready to capture moments without a wobble.Press ‘Buy Now’ and never look back!
Adalberto Garcia Ordaz –
producto excelenteexcelente micrófono, no conocía la marca, estaba buscando un micrófono que me sirviera para armar un boom que se usa en programas de televisión o en películas, es por eso que di con este extraordinario micrófono, lo uso en entrevistas o en presentaciones de artistas, conectado a una grabadora Zoom H6 excelente combinación de audio, lo recomiendo mucho excelente calidad precio.