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Shure SMB7

May 23, 2023

The Shure SMB7 dynamic microphone is a popular choice for outstanding voice recording, used by professional musicians, podcasters, youtubers... It's one of the best microphones available in the market, especially designed for voice recording. Because it is a professional microphone that uses a XLR connection (and not a USB plug-and-play one), you will need a couple more devices in order to connect this beauty to your computer:

  1. an audio interface such as the Scarlet i2i, which connects to your computer via USB and has two inputs where you can connect two microphones or one microphone and a guitar, for instance.
  2. a microphone pre-amp or activator such as the Cloudlifter. Without this one, your voice won't sound loud and clear enough.

You'll also need a microphone mount such as the Rode PSA1 microphone boom arm since the Shure SMB7 package doesn't come with any stand or mount, and XLR cables to connect the devices.

OnLinux Review

  • Works on Linux?
    • Yes. This microphone requires additional devices to be connected to your computer, no matter the OS. Once connected via a compatible audio interface such as the Scarlet, it is plug-and-play and will show up on your audio settings as "Scarlet i2i audio interface". No extra software needed on Ubuntu 21.04+.
  • Tested with
    • Ubuntu 21.04, Ubuntu 21.10

Audio Samples

Clean recording without background noise:

Recording with background noise:

Related

How to connect and use the Shure SMB7 Microphone on Linux (Ubuntu 21.10)

In this guide I share how I connected my Shure SMB7 microphone to my Ubuntu 21.10 machine

Microphones compared: audio samples

Comparing audio samples from multiple microphones on Linux

Focusrite Scarlet 2i2

Overview of the Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 audio interface and how it works on Linux

Cloudlifter CL-1

Cloudlifter CL-1 overview and how it works on Linux

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