The self noise of the SM4 at 15dBa is a bit high for a modern mic (the Rode NT1 has a self noise of just 4dBa) but the SM4 sonically does have a nice balance between being bright and yet not harsh. It does have clarity without being overly bright so the word "smooth" does apply somewhat to it as long as one doesn't get the idea that is a dark sounding mic as it is certainly not. The self noise would be an issue if doing highly critical recording work like audio books but in many situations it wouldn't really be an issue as many vintage mics that costs thousands of dollars have similar or even slightly higher self noise and are still sought after for many types of recordings.
Best review of a mic I have seen, nice job!
The self noise of the SM4 at 15dBa is a bit high for a modern mic (the Rode NT1 has a self noise of just 4dBa) but the SM4 sonically does have a nice balance between being bright and yet not harsh.
It does have clarity without being overly bright so the word "smooth" does apply somewhat to it as long as one doesn't get the idea that is a dark sounding mic as it is certainly not.
The self noise would be an issue if doing highly critical recording work like audio books but in many situations it wouldn't really be an issue as many vintage mics that costs thousands of dollars have similar or even slightly higher self noise and are still sought after for many types of recordings.
Great review