All user reviews of 3/5 for the Sennheiser e 825 S

Vocal microphones are always an up and down buy, especially when you are dealing with microphones in this price range. But with the Sennheiser E825S you will get pretty good recordings but nothing that will make you feel like you got a great microphone. This microphone is very rugged and made to last the home recording artist a long time. But the range of this microphone does not sit right with me. I have had many issues when recording other artist (mainly females) and trying to pick up the high frequencies they put off. When recording myself with it and other male artist everything is fine and the tone is very warm and full. Females have higher frequencies (in most cases) and when using the Sennheiser E825S on their voices I felt like the high end frequencies would get slightly muffled and were not as clean and crisp as they should be.

OVERALL OPINION

I was using this mic a lot back in 2006 to 2007 and it was one of my main microphones because I just did not have money at the time to upgrade. For the price I really did not expect to get much better than this, but after using other microphones that cost a lot more has allowed me to see just how many flaws this microphone has. While I was using it I knew that something was not right but I was in the early stages of my career and just could not put my finger on it. Now that I am more seasoned in recording and have worked with better gear I see what the issues where.
If you are looking to spend less than 100 dollars and need a vocal microphone I prefer going with the Shure SM mics. They will give you a great recording and can be a more versatile microphone than the E825S can be.

The Sennheiser E 825 S is a dynamic microphone designed for live vocal work. While I can tell you now that I would probably pick it over several other entry level microphones, the E 825 S does not avoid the markings of a budget microphone. It may have a frequency response that goes all the way up to the expected 15,000 Hz, but the bottom cuts out at 80 Hz. This is not something typical of a quality microphone, but I hesitate to call the Sennheiser E 825 S shoddy in any way whatsoever. But I would never buy it, for reasons stated in "Overall Opinion."

The 825 has a cardioid response, which is typical. I found that the microphone does actually offer a nice level of clarity, even over some of the standard microphones (but then again, everything seems less muddy than an SM58 when I have a richer baritone voice). It also has an on/off switch, that never stops irking me for the simple shallow cosmetic preference I have.

OVERALL OPINION

The Sennheiser E 825 S is Sennheiser's entry level microphone for stage work. It is my no means a terrible microphone in this regard; in fact, I find that it is actually quite comparable to even some of the less budget oriented microphones from other companies. That being said, at its price point, it cannot compete with the next microphone up which is a standard: The Sennheiser E 835 is a staple microphone for many people. Several people believe that the Sennheiser E 835 kills the vaunted Shure SM58. So maybe the E 825 S was not built to compete with it, but at only $20 less new than the E 835, it sure seems like it is trying.

What is rather bothersome about this is that understandably, $20 can stack up over several microphones. However, Sennheiser also sells a three pack of the E 835 for $10 less than three E 825 S microphones would cost. So, there is very little reason to settle for this and not go for the next one up.