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This is the Shure MV6, a dynamic microphone with gamers in mind. It follows suit of the MV7 but this time there’s no XLR input. The MV6 relies on USB connectivity to a desktop or laptop and is perfect for gamers, live streamers and even small-time podcast productions. It has a removable pop filter and sounds absolutely amazing in terms of quality. It also comes with the small stand that you can see in the video for the desk too. You can use the MV6 with Shure’s Motiv recording software which enables users to fine tune the tone of their voice and also use up to five connected microphones. It’s a perfect companion that costs the least in Shure’s microphone lineup.
FULL REVIEW
Suuuuuure we’ve got another mic from Shure on the desk right now! I already knew before unboxing this thing that there was going to be an ayre of quality about it, and it definitely has not disappointed me. This thing is known as the Shure MV6, and it’s a smaller version of the popular MV7, and follows suit of pretty much every other Shure dynamic microphone we’ve seen come out of the audio giants so far. But being a USB microphone, it’s got some reliance on what’s going on inside of the computer you’ve plugged it into, but we’ll talk more about the software in a bit. For now though, let’s talk about the microphone itself.
So shure are touting this as a ‘gaming microphone’. However I do think they are selling themselves a bit short here, but I do also understand why they’ve done it. The microphone is incredibly capable and has a lot of control in terms of peaking and compression. Your voice in this thing does sound great, and I must say that if you’re also going to be wanting to create some kind of podcast or even content creation like I’m doing now, as everything you’re currently hearing is being recorded on the MV6 here, you’re going to be able to with this microphone. But, Shure do have their ‘podcast’ focussed microphone already with the SM7, and I think they’re trying to fill a gap here.
The microphone costs only £129 here in the UK which is really a third of the price of the SM7. And though the SM7 is an XLR microphone that requires a lot more gear to get started, this little MV6 requires a single USB connection, of which a tiny USB Type-C cable is provided in the box, to plug into your laptop. This is a little frustrating, because as Shure probably expects, gamers who are after this type of microphone are not going to have them on the desk where every single vibration is going to be heard from slamming down on a keyboard, it’s going to be on a boom arm of some kind. So why not include a really long USB Type-C cable in the box? Charge an extra fiver for it if you really need to. It just makes sense. Instead, this included cable is really only long enough in instances like this where you’re going to be plugging it into a laptop next to you.
But let’s drop that, because ranting over the size of a USB cable is a bit silly. So let’s talk the microphone itself. It’s very simple to look at. A cylindrical tube that is branded quite heavily in the bottom half, with a shiny smooth texture, and a headphone port and Type-C output on the bottom for monitoring audio, and the top half is dedicated to the microphone unit and also pop filter. Exactly the same style as the SM7, just a much much smaller version. The pop filter is removable if it needs cleaning which is nice, and there is a touch-sensitive mute button on top. It does have a light so you can easily see if the microphone has been muted, as it will glow red, and green when the microphone is active. It comes with a small desk stand in the box, though the fittings are pretty universal if you need to use it with a boom arm or microphone stand.
Being a USB microphone, it requires of course a PC or laptop to use, of which Im using now, and Shure’s software can be downloaded to aid your recording efforts when using the MV6. The software is called Motiv
Mix, and it’s essentially a virtual mixer in which you can add up to five microphones to it, and manually adjust various settings. Let’s take a look.
Being a dynamic microphone means that the pickup pattern, especially on this is pretty front and centre, and fall off from speaking into the side and rear of this microphone is very controlled which is nice if you’ve got some clicky keys on your gaming keyboard on the desk. The proximity effect again is very nice here because of that Shure microphone tech we’ve all come to love and because of those built in auto-features within the software, it’s a nice microphone to be able to have on top of you or a little bit away from the side as it’ll auto-adjust based on the input level it can detect. However, have it too far away and it’ll really start affecting your audio quality. The Shure MV6 is a superb microphone there’s no doubt about it. And to be honest, when the worst I could say about it is the stupidly short included USB Type-C cable, you know Shure are on to a winner. It’s definitely capable of being more than just a ‘gaming microphone’ though in my opinion but at the same time, it’s a bloody brilliant gaming microphone too.
