100% agree and I didn’t even notice it much on my test… this was just something that was tested in other reviews so I figured I’d include it… but the noise floor without bumping it is still something to note…
I agree with this 100%. I also purchased an MVX2U last week, and it's very noisy with my SM7B. I was going to order a fethead to solve this, but since I am already using an XLR cable from my SM7B to the MVX2, thus creating more clutter on my desk (because I could not get the MVX2U to fit into my SM7B with my boom stand), I am returning mine too. I ordered a Vocaster 2 instead, and I will try that. I like the small physical footprint of the Vocaster 2, and they are all on sale now ($150 to $160 off from the regular retail price of $250). 😎
Cheers for checking out the video. Glad I’m not the only one who can’t deal with this noise floor. The official Shure product demo has the High Pass Filter maxed out in their software which I thought was quite funny. They don’t mention or discuss it, but you can see the settings lol
So when I had my headphones connected to my laptop, i could hear what I’m saying, but 1sec later after I said it… So it’s very distracting if you’re trying to monitor audio hearing yourself with a delay… If you connect directly into the MVX2U this gets rid of that delay.
I could hear the different when both were silent, but when you’re were talking I couldn’t tell a different at all. I’m also watching this on my TV setting on the couch. That being said…unless you plan to upload silent videos, you’re good either way bro. Great video.
Yeah I heard the SM7DB and this MVX2U adapter works well together… I’ve refunded my unit now… I’ve had a few comments letting me know I did the test wrong, so unfortunately can’t re-test… but from the sounds of things I would have come back to same conclusion regarding the noise floor…
I didn’t try it unfortunately, I can’t even remember if there was a cross over period where I had the MVX2U and MV7+? It was a while ago now, but I definitely didn’t test them together as I only tested MVX2U with SM7B… I would imagine the performance being pretty similar to be fair…
@@leo_hoang thanks for the reply, im just tempted to get it for that extra mic gain,, i would of gotten the smv7b but i prefer both xlr and usb but the mv7+ is still a great mic which may last me years. i might get the MVX2U since its on sale as we speak
One think I found this does great in is retaining the settings memory and then used on mobile devices like an iPad. That limiter is also soooo good and it's hard to distort this thing. It behaves similar to the limiter on my mixpre 3 but of course the preamp doesn't sound as clean. But portability and clean setup trumps a 10% cleaner preamp any day.
Yeah I watched the office Shure demo of this product and they have maxed out the High Pass Filter on their demo which I assume is to eliminate the noise floor hiss… so you can work with this device and as you say, the benefits of a small device and clean setup has value in itself.
Hmmm you are saying there is no processing done but when you went through the motiv app you switched the compressor to light, the "preset" is used. So all of that changes the sound. You should better switch all of that off including the Master compellor in the Rodecaster and the "presets' on the Rodecaster, meaning choosing "dynamic" instead of SM7B in the channel presets. Otherwise there are a lot of things that are actually being done to the sound, not groundbreaking things, but some....
Thanks for the feedback - I still consider myself new to audio so still playing about with this stuff, but I don’t believe these settings would have impacted my biggest criticisms of the product and that be the noise floor… I don’t have it with me anymore as I’ve sent it back for a refund so can’t do any further testing. What’s your thoughts on how the setup was done and the noise floor performance?
@@leo_hoang I am pretty sure that the noise floor in general will be bigger with this little micro interface. However, adding a compressor and certain other features in the settings can introduce a bit of noise at least that’s my experience. But again, I don’t think it would have fundamentally changed your opinion on the product, but I do feel that there might be a tiny bit of extra noise introduced with the compressor.
@@koolpepI actually would have thought a compressor would reduce the noise floor? I guess I still have a lot to learn… time to Google and TH-cam “Audio Compression” lol
@@leo_hoang Yeah that's the issue - it could be both but generally it boosts lower volume sounds (if the compressor uses gain) and compresses the sound above the threshold by the X factor. In opaque settings like the Motiv app we don't really know what is happening.
Honestly I didn't see much issue with it. The only real downside is the noise floor, I think you should've put more emphasis on that. But in short, you're comparing it to the Rodecaster Pro 2 which in my location is 4 times more expensive, and also bulkier, so it's expected that it would perform better. I'll look for a comparison vs. something on the same price range like the Scarlett 2i2 which also seems like a better option.
That’s fair if you didn’t find my review useful. I am by no means comparing the items as like-for-like, I am just basing my assessments on what equipment I have available to me and how they should perform based off gold standards. In this scenario, comparing how clean audio could be vs using this interface. I can’t recall the details in this video without rewatching it, but I believe I did also compare it to the Rodeo Streamer X as I found one for cheap which was basically same priced used as this MVX2U? Better performance with more functionality.
@@leo_hoang The review was definitely useful. You raised some important questions there, which I went off and did more research about. I'm providing some criticism because your review came off too harsh and biased when comparing it to a premium product. Was the Streamer X the interface you used with the RE20? That part of the video was a bit unclear tbh, and also harder to compare when it's a different mic. In short, thanks for the video. Those are just some points you could keep in mind for future comparisons.
@@Homiloko2it’s not intended to suggest people should go buy the Rodecaster Pro II over the MVX2U, but more stating the choice I personally would and have made. I’ve never used the Scarlet 2i2 but I believe you would also need a CloudLifter which is another piece of kit and more clutter for your desk setup. So with that cost raising up closer to £200, i feel you’d be better off with the Streamer X as that also allows you to connect your camera via HDMI and provides audio processing through their unify app. But if overall you’re happy with how the MVX2U performs, then the video was just there so people can hear how the audio would sound with a clean preamp. But def not intended to be like-for-like comparison… But definitely I would have said and done things differently if I were to make this review today. This was one of my first videos where I did make a some rookie mistakes lol
I’ve not tested that myself as I don’t have the SM7DB and I no longer have MVX2U… but as the SM7DB has a built in pre-amp, this should allow a cleaner signal seeing as the SM7DB is carrying that extra load for the signal. But I’ve not tested this myself… I remember seeing a test where someone added an in-line preamp (Fethead) before it connected to the MVX2U interface and that did help the noise floor - I can’t remember who did that test though…
@@creativegreatsvisuals yes, but the SM7DB has a built in preamp for clean gain… SM7B doesn’t have a built in preamp, so the inline preamp was needed… Either way, you’re adding in an additional preamp, just one is inline and one is built in… So in theory it should work the same. But I don’t have either to test for myself.
@@creativegreatsvisuals you can turn off the preamp in SM7DB and bypass it to essentially make it an SM7B, the mic is essentially the same… one with a preamp, one without
The shure sm7b preset on the rodecaster IS processed The dynamic speech setting IS processed That is why they sound different. The only way you can truly test the sound of each interface is to use NO presets and everything checked off Otherwise, nice video
Thanks for the feedback… are you sure it’s still processed even though the Processing button is turned off on the Rodecaster Pro II? It’s otherwise just presetting their suggested gain level. The MOTIV app had low compression on, which I should have turned off… I don’t think that would have changed the conclusion much, as the noise floor was my biggest complaint… What setup do you use?
@@leo_hoang Interesting back and forth here. Um, compression would bring your noise floor right up. Compression, generally makes loud things softer and soft things louder, all at once. In this case the noise floor would be the "softer thing" which became louder.
Thank you for watching! I don’t see why you couldn’t connect any XLR microphone to this? It supplies Phantom Power if needed, and otherwise it accepts XLR and then connects to a computer/laptop via USB-C… I’m not a microphone expert in anyway so I am not 100% sure what a Ribbon Mic is. Sorry
I have only ever used the Rodecaster and Shure MVX2U and have not used the SM7DB. From what I understand, the MVX2U should work fine as the mic has its own preamp to have clean audio and avoid the hiss I’m hearing in my tests. But otherwise I would go for Rode Streamer X, Duo or Rodecaster Pro II - anything with the revolution preamp.
Thanks - yeah I’m def on the side of the RE20… I’ve been meaning to do a follow up video to discuss my final thoughts on the two mics, I might just wait until 2025 at this point to do a 1yr recap
USB-C is becoming more the standard port these days… you will see USB-A being phased out more over time with newer tech. What mic do you plan on using this with?
So you return it to the seller because it lacks functionality? You did not realize that when you purchased it? Sheesh! I grow weary of reviews that diss an entry level product because it lacks features on more expensive, more fully featured products. Expecting the MVX2U to sound as good as your desktop interface is foolish right out of the chute - an apples to kumquats sort of thing. Nobody should expect a tiny device intended to be tiny and portable to outgun a larger, more expensive device designed for the desktop. I suppose you expect your phone microphone to sound as good as an external, aftermarket microphone. If you properly set gain and use the microphone properly, you will hear your voice and disregard the lorries rolling along the street outside. Playing just noise is a poor demo - research signal-to-noise ratio and you will be happy - but the fact one mic picked up more noise on one DAW - but the other less so on ANOTHER DAW means and proves nothing useful. You should run both microphones through the same DAW - recording two tracks at once. Using different recording applications can easily mean different gain levels - no matter what the meter or setting in the DAWs indicate, respectively. They are not likely to really be the same level, even if you set them to zero dB. Different levels of background noise may simply indicate differences in how each the software application works. The RE-20 sounds congested and boomy with unnaturally excessive bass - either Mic A and Mic B sounds much better with your voice in your particular venue - they sound much more natural, in fact you sound pretty dang good on your own - the RE-20 adds deleterious proximity effect which may sounds may sound cool, like a DJ, at first - but it is extremely tiring (fatiguing) and sounds artificial and processed when it is not. Go back to either Mic A or B on their respective interfaces. While I disagree with some of your points and procedure, it is overall a well done, to the point, well scripted video. Good luck and drive on soldier. JT
I appreciate the detailed feedback - but I don’t recall saying I returned it due to lack of functionality? I may need to rewatch to check this, but I refunded because the main feature it’s supposed to provide for me isn’t performing as good as I would like, I.e clean audio with SM7B… You have valid points about having a scientific test going into the same DAW, but this is how I would use each item. I would record directly into Rodecaster Pro II or directly into Premiere Pro via MVX2U… I’m not an audio expert and across many videos I’ve explicitly been open about this. I’ve seen other reviews who have done more scientific tests and they have concluded the same thing about the noise floor. The one video I saw which didn’t flag the high noise floor was from Shure themselves, and if you see their screenshot, they have high pass filter maxed out. So I don’t feel my tests or conclusions are unreasonable. Ultimately I’m just sharing my findings. If you decide to do your own testing and comparisons, please do share the video with me as genuinely I would be interested to see how you’d run the tests… I’ve returned the MVX2U now so I can’t run this back. Sincerely thank you for the feedback and I will keep in mind if I do other audio interface tests. I have a few more mic tests coming up but nothing planned for interfaces…
Great video - simple, straight-forward and its good to hear the comparison audio.
Much appreciated! Thank you for watching
The noise floor jump is a non-issue because no one should be intentionally bumping the mic in the first place.
100% agree and I didn’t even notice it much on my test… this was just something that was tested in other reviews so I figured I’d include it… but the noise floor without bumping it is still something to note…
I agree with this 100%. I also purchased an MVX2U last week, and it's very noisy with my SM7B. I was going to order a fethead to solve this, but since I am already using an XLR cable from my SM7B to the MVX2, thus creating more clutter on my desk (because I could not get the MVX2U to fit into my SM7B with my boom stand), I am returning mine too. I ordered a Vocaster 2 instead, and I will try that. I like the small physical footprint of the Vocaster 2, and they are all on sale now ($150 to $160 off from the regular retail price of $250). 😎
Cheers for checking out the video. Glad I’m not the only one who can’t deal with this noise floor. The official Shure product demo has the High Pass Filter maxed out in their software which I thought was quite funny. They don’t mention or discuss it, but you can see the settings lol
Sorry could you elaborate on that "feedback loop" at 2:27? Isn't that supposed to be something we... DON'T hear? How is/was that happening?
So when I had my headphones connected to my laptop, i could hear what I’m saying, but 1sec later after I said it…
So it’s very distracting if you’re trying to monitor audio hearing yourself with a delay…
If you connect directly into the MVX2U this gets rid of that delay.
I could hear the different when both were silent, but when you’re were talking I couldn’t tell a different at all. I’m also watching this on my TV setting on the couch. That being said…unless you plan to upload silent videos, you’re good either way bro. Great video.
Yeah, tbf most people are good even without the SM7B at all… thanks for watching!
I would like to use MVX2U with my Sony Xperia Smartphone. But im not sure if its a good idea 🤔
Let me know if that works… sounds like it could be an interesting setup
Had the same issue with noise floor…. Added a fet head and only run the SHURE adapter at 30 db that fixes it. Although expensive work around
Yeah I heard the SM7DB and this MVX2U adapter works well together… I’ve refunded my unit now… I’ve had a few comments letting me know I did the test wrong, so unfortunately can’t re-test… but from the sounds of things I would have come back to same conclusion regarding the noise floor…
did you try the mv7+ with the MVX2U ?? i would like to know if its worth it as i got a mv7+
I didn’t try it unfortunately, I can’t even remember if there was a cross over period where I had the MVX2U and MV7+? It was a while ago now, but I definitely didn’t test them together as I only tested MVX2U with SM7B… I would imagine the performance being pretty similar to be fair…
@@leo_hoang thanks for the reply, im just tempted to get it for that extra mic gain,, i would of gotten the smv7b but i prefer both xlr and usb but the mv7+ is still a great mic which may last me years. i might get the MVX2U since its on sale as we speak
One think I found this does great in is retaining the settings memory and then used on mobile devices like an iPad. That limiter is also soooo good and it's hard to distort this thing. It behaves similar to the limiter on my mixpre 3 but of course the preamp doesn't sound as clean. But portability and clean setup trumps a 10% cleaner preamp any day.
Yeah I watched the office Shure demo of this product and they have maxed out the High Pass Filter on their demo which I assume is to eliminate the noise floor hiss… so you can work with this device and as you say, the benefits of a small device and clean setup has value in itself.
Hi, can I connect my SM7B mic to the MVX2U, and from the MVX2U to my Sony A6700 camera with the cable jack ?
That won’t work - the MVX2U needs to goto a computer/laptop and then ideally through their MOTIV software
Hmmm you are saying there is no processing done but when you went through the motiv app you switched the compressor to light, the "preset" is used. So all of that changes the sound. You should better switch all of that off including the Master compellor in the Rodecaster and the "presets' on the Rodecaster, meaning choosing "dynamic" instead of SM7B in the channel presets. Otherwise there are a lot of things that are actually being done to the sound, not groundbreaking things, but some....
Thanks for the feedback - I still consider myself new to audio so still playing about with this stuff, but I don’t believe these settings would have impacted my biggest criticisms of the product and that be the noise floor…
I don’t have it with me anymore as I’ve sent it back for a refund so can’t do any further testing.
What’s your thoughts on how the setup was done and the noise floor performance?
@@leo_hoang I am pretty sure that the noise floor in general will be bigger with this little micro interface. However, adding a compressor and certain other features in the settings can introduce a bit of noise at least that’s my experience. But again, I don’t think it would have fundamentally changed your opinion on the product, but I do feel that there might be a tiny bit of extra noise introduced with the compressor.
@@koolpepI actually would have thought a compressor would reduce the noise floor? I guess I still have a lot to learn… time to Google and TH-cam “Audio Compression” lol
@@leo_hoang Yeah that's the issue - it could be both but generally it boosts lower volume sounds (if the compressor uses gain) and compresses the sound above the threshold by the X factor. In opaque settings like the Motiv app we don't really know what is happening.
Honestly I didn't see much issue with it. The only real downside is the noise floor, I think you should've put more emphasis on that. But in short, you're comparing it to the Rodecaster Pro 2 which in my location is 4 times more expensive, and also bulkier, so it's expected that it would perform better.
I'll look for a comparison vs. something on the same price range like the Scarlett 2i2 which also seems like a better option.
That’s fair if you didn’t find my review useful. I am by no means comparing the items as like-for-like, I am just basing my assessments on what equipment I have available to me and how they should perform based off gold standards.
In this scenario, comparing how clean audio could be vs using this interface.
I can’t recall the details in this video without rewatching it, but I believe I did also compare it to the Rodeo Streamer X as I found one for cheap which was basically same priced used as this MVX2U?
Better performance with more functionality.
@@leo_hoang The review was definitely useful. You raised some important questions there, which I went off and did more research about. I'm providing some criticism because your review came off too harsh and biased when comparing it to a premium product.
Was the Streamer X the interface you used with the RE20? That part of the video was a bit unclear tbh, and also harder to compare when it's a different mic.
In short, thanks for the video. Those are just some points you could keep in mind for future comparisons.
@@Homiloko2it’s not intended to suggest people should go buy the Rodecaster Pro II over the MVX2U, but more stating the choice I personally would and have made.
I’ve never used the Scarlet 2i2 but I believe you would also need a CloudLifter which is another piece of kit and more clutter for your desk setup.
So with that cost raising up closer to £200, i feel you’d be better off with the Streamer X as that also allows you to connect your camera via HDMI and provides audio processing through their unify app.
But if overall you’re happy with how the MVX2U performs, then the video was just there so people can hear how the audio would sound with a clean preamp.
But def not intended to be like-for-like comparison…
But definitely I would have said and done things differently if I were to make this review today. This was one of my first videos where I did make a some rookie mistakes lol
What if using this Shure interface with the newer Shure sm7db that has built in cloud lifter inside ? Will that solve these problems?
I’ve not tested that myself as I don’t have the SM7DB and I no longer have MVX2U… but as the SM7DB has a built in pre-amp, this should allow a cleaner signal seeing as the SM7DB is carrying that extra load for the signal. But I’ve not tested this myself… I remember seeing a test where someone added an in-line preamp (Fethead) before it connected to the MVX2U interface and that did help the noise floor - I can’t remember who did that test though…
@@leo_hoang they did this with the sm7b though not the new sm7db
@@creativegreatsvisuals yes, but the SM7DB has a built in preamp for clean gain…
SM7B doesn’t have a built in preamp, so the inline preamp was needed…
Either way, you’re adding in an additional preamp, just one is inline and one is built in…
So in theory it should work the same.
But I don’t have either to test for myself.
@@creativegreatsvisuals you can turn off the preamp in SM7DB and bypass it to essentially make it an SM7B, the mic is essentially the same… one with a preamp, one without
The shure sm7b preset on the rodecaster IS processed
The dynamic speech setting IS processed
That is why they sound different. The only way you can truly test the sound of each interface is to use NO presets and everything checked off
Otherwise, nice video
Thanks for the feedback… are you sure it’s still processed even though the Processing button is turned off on the Rodecaster Pro II? It’s otherwise just presetting their suggested gain level.
The MOTIV app had low compression on, which I should have turned off… I don’t think that would have changed the conclusion much, as the noise floor was my biggest complaint…
What setup do you use?
@@leo_hoang Interesting back and forth here. Um, compression would bring your noise floor right up. Compression, generally makes loud things softer and soft things louder, all at once. In this case the noise floor would be the "softer thing" which became louder.
Good video… can I connect a Ribbon-Mic to the MVX2u? Thank you.
Thank you for watching! I don’t see why you couldn’t connect any XLR microphone to this? It supplies Phantom Power if needed, and otherwise it accepts XLR and then connects to a computer/laptop via USB-C… I’m not a microphone expert in anyway so I am not 100% sure what a Ribbon Mic is. Sorry
What would be the best audio interface to connect sm7db?
Scarlet?
I have only ever used the Rodecaster and Shure MVX2U and have not used the SM7DB.
From what I understand, the MVX2U should work fine as the mic has its own preamp to have clean audio and avoid the hiss I’m hearing in my tests.
But otherwise I would go for Rode Streamer X, Duo or Rodecaster Pro II - anything with the revolution preamp.
I agree… RE20 is a better mic for folks with deeper tones in their voice… your voice sounds better on the RE20 than the Shure mics.
Thanks - yeah I’m def on the side of the RE20… I’ve been meaning to do a follow up video to discuss my final thoughts on the two mics, I might just wait until 2025 at this point to do a 1yr recap
Haven’t even used it any I wanna refund it… Why is it USB C? My pc doesn’t have USBC
USB-C is becoming more the standard port these days… you will see USB-A being phased out more over time with newer tech.
What mic do you plan on using this with?
So you return it to the seller because it lacks functionality? You did not realize that when you purchased it? Sheesh! I grow weary of reviews that diss an entry level product because it lacks features on more expensive, more fully featured products.
Expecting the MVX2U to sound as good as your desktop interface is foolish right out of the chute - an apples to kumquats sort of thing. Nobody should expect a tiny device intended to be tiny and portable to outgun a larger, more expensive device designed for the desktop. I suppose you expect your phone microphone to sound as good as an external, aftermarket microphone.
If you properly set gain and use the microphone properly, you will hear your voice and disregard the lorries rolling along the street outside. Playing just noise is a poor demo - research signal-to-noise ratio and you will be happy - but the fact one mic picked up more noise on one DAW - but the other less so on ANOTHER DAW means and proves nothing useful.
You should run both microphones through the same DAW - recording two tracks at once. Using different recording applications can easily mean different gain levels - no matter what the meter or setting in the DAWs indicate, respectively. They are not likely to really be the same level, even if you set them to zero dB. Different levels of background noise may simply indicate differences in how each the software application works.
The RE-20 sounds congested and boomy with unnaturally excessive bass - either Mic A and Mic B sounds much better with your voice in your particular venue - they sound much more natural, in fact you sound pretty dang good on your own - the RE-20 adds deleterious proximity effect which may sounds may sound cool, like a DJ, at first - but it is extremely tiring (fatiguing) and sounds artificial and processed when it is not. Go back to either Mic A or B on their respective interfaces.
While I disagree with some of your points and procedure, it is overall a well done, to the point, well scripted video. Good luck and drive on soldier. JT
I appreciate the detailed feedback - but I don’t recall saying I returned it due to lack of functionality? I may need to rewatch to check this, but I refunded because the main feature it’s supposed to provide for me isn’t performing as good as I would like, I.e clean audio with SM7B…
You have valid points about having a scientific test going into the same DAW, but this is how I would use each item.
I would record directly into Rodecaster Pro II or directly into Premiere Pro via MVX2U… I’m not an audio expert and across many videos I’ve explicitly been open about this.
I’ve seen other reviews who have done more scientific tests and they have concluded the same thing about the noise floor.
The one video I saw which didn’t flag the high noise floor was from Shure themselves, and if you see their screenshot, they have high pass filter maxed out.
So I don’t feel my tests or conclusions are unreasonable.
Ultimately I’m just sharing my findings.
If you decide to do your own testing and comparisons, please do share the video with me as genuinely I would be interested to see how you’d run the tests…
I’ve returned the MVX2U now so I can’t run this back.
Sincerely thank you for the feedback and I will keep in mind if I do other audio interface tests.
I have a few more mic tests coming up but nothing planned for interfaces…
@@leo_hoang Fair enough. You present a fair minded reasonable rely, I appreciate your thoughtful reply. Good luck. JT
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