Noise Rejection Test - DYNAMIC or CONDENSER Microphone

You probably heard that dynamic microphones are better at background noise rejection than condenser microphones. Or that you should go for a dynamic microphone in acoustically untreated rooms. But is that really true? We put this question to a real-life test. Have fun watching.

▶︎Chapters◀︎
00:00 - Intro
00:15 - Dynamic vs Condenser
01:06 - Test #1 in studio
01:56 - Test #2 in an untreated room
02:23 - What's the conclusion?

▶︎About us◀︎

[GadesChannel]

The main reason of better noise rejection in dynamic mics is... you should (and could) be closer to the capsule. Less sensitivity in dynamic mics = shorter distance = better signal to noise ratio (your voice will be much stronger than room sound); this is "the secret" of better noise rejection. If you speak from the same distance, it will be almost the same.

[BrokenDollyTV]

bruh, this is a very creative presentation. as a performing artist, i can appreciate the artistry that was put into this comparison. thank you.

[RyvenProductions]

440 Pure is easily one of my favorite affordable condensers on the planet. Thanks Lewitt.

[acidstorm]

SM-7B made the clicking less distracting, but that's because it's a darker mic. The high end on the other two mics is boosted so the high end of the clicking could be heard more clearly. As far as which rejects background noise better, they all sounded about the same volume wise, but the frequencies were slightly different is all.

[easternsouvenirs]

So interesting! As many have said, the main difference seems to just be frequency response instead of actual noise rejection. Definitely debunks the idea that your need a dynamic mic for recording vocals in an untreated room

[valerie]

Awesome video! I thought the difference would be much bigger! I have to listen to it on our studio monitors again ;)

I think people often overlook the polarpattern consistency of a mic. Some cardioid mics only have a cardioid pattern at 1khz and turn omni at the lows and hypercardioid in the 10khz and above region. Especially on drum mics with the cymbals in the back of the capsules these differences can be pretty drastic.

[TomCee]

Type of microphone is less important than other factors such as frequency curve and polar pattern. The hints are pretty accurate, but in any scenario it’s best to get the microphone as close as possible and use breath and wind filters.
Edit: for spoken word, processing to narrow the bandwidth is generally helpful, as well.

[stephenericwalsh]

Thank goodness somebody is telling the truth about condenser microphones and background noise. I’m so sick of hearing in video after video how dynamics are better at rejecting background noise.

[johnmcreason]

The range of microphones LEWITT is really fabulous I like your microphones thank you for doing this .

[randyrektor]

It’s really refreshing hearing a company actually address this myth properly. Here’s another thing to consider.. a lot of noise also comes from the preamp and gain, especially with inexpensive interfaces, so using a gain-hungry mic like an SM7b may introduce MORE noise than an condenser. I did a video on this and people still argue it’s about “how you use them”, but I get right up on condenser mics all the time and they handle it just fine.

[BharathRamMS]

Thanks so much. This video helped a lot in making a decision, and potentially saving a lot of my money too.

[realraven]

mic type seems to have more bearing on the frequency spectrum of the background noise. darker sounding mics seem to make the keyboard clicking less distracting. I am using a Samson Mike C03 condenser suspended on a relescopic arm which is slightly above my sightline. also voicemeeter with moderate gate settings.
I think 2 things can be distracting - to much high frequency content and overcompressing which will lead to a "breathy" environment. So when streaming (or doing video conferences), a low pass filter and a gate is always a good idea - much different requirements from a vocal performance in a Song production where we need maximum bandwidth and fix problems later.

[rickbiessman]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for a fresh breeze of sanity =) Seriously, I can’t count how many times I’ve tried to explain to people that background noise rejection is not really what separates dynamic from condenser mics. I’ve mixed in live scenarios in which a condenser mic was actually the better choice even though it DID pick up more stage bleed, because it had a much more neutral off axis sound than any dynamic option. But sadly, a lot of people rely on hearsay and don’t think about frequency dependent polar patterns that much.

[nosleepcantsleep]

About to pick up the LCT 440, sounds great!!

[graysonpeddie]

You got a cool looking room in there! Your room reminds me of EPCOT Center (1980s to 1990s) for some reason. Your room speaks EPCOT Center to me. That is the design language that I like about.

Oh, and thanks for the video when it comes to dynamic versus condenser mics when it comes to noise rejection. What matters is the microphone technique and I have a Beyerdynamic DT-797 headphone with a condenser microphone. I kind of thought that dynamic microphones should reject noise better, but as your video proves it, no it's not.

[DavidFosterVlog]

I've been using the 240 pro for many years. Do any of the higher end mics come in white? Please? 😎

[The_Chad_]

Finally! I've been looking and looking for a suggestion of where to set the gain for the 440. I find it here when I'm not even expecting it. Thanks. I have usually set mine to 30 or under. Even at 20db, with output set to 100%, I'm still averaging around -12ish in my DAW. I think that's definitely lower than it should be though. At that level, the mic seems to have an auto gate effect on background noise where I get nothing coming out of it. I'm sure that's probably because it's either not enough power to even run the mic or my interface doesn't like being set that low. When I talk, it kick in immediately and sounds fine, but I wouldn't think it is good for the mic. Bump up to 22db gain and it doesn't happen. Can too low gain damage mics?

[Dracomies]

This is a cool video and I actually had to test this out myself. My final conclusions after testing tons of dynamic mics and condenser mics is that condensers and dyanmics can be at the same volume - but not the same detail. So condensers pick up more detail. More of the annoying sounds. ie put your LCT 440 pure and SM7B in a bathroom, turn on the water, what picks up the water? The 440 pure. Turn on a vaccuum. What picks up more of that. The LCT 440 Pure. Condensers pick up more of the annoying sounds.

[tstankie]

I once was very determined to investigate this belief. And I have even a-mailed Lewitt support and exchanged a few very meaningful e-mails. The concluiosn was that it is not a rule, but a correlation. Big diaphragm condensers have wider directionality in the lower frequencies. But small diaphragm are as good as dynamics. Another thing is the frequency response with less of high frequencies which may lead to a bit lower perception of reverb and space. There is also the case impact which is also usually different between dynamics and large diaphragm condensers. Plus, of course the distance from the sound source, which tends to be higher in a typical use of dynamic microphone due to the casing shape. So the main conclusion was that small diaphragm condensers are basically as good as dynamics at rejecting room reverb or noise.