The Audix D1 is the first in their D line of drum mics. It is a dynamic moving coil capsule type which does not require any phantom power. The polar pattern on this mic is a cardioid that is maybe approaching hyper-cardioid. I find that this mic really has great off-axis rejection, much more so than the other mics in the D line. This makes it very well suited to stick in the center of a drum kit where there is noise coming at it from all sides. The mic has excellent transient reproduction, which means that you will get very snappy drum recordings. It doesn't have an attenuation pad that you can switch on, but it can handle a very high SPL before you get any distortion. Due to the hyper-cardioid pickup pattern and the better transient response, I would definitely recommend this mic for use on your snare drum. Believe it or not, it will sound better than your SM57! I personally like to use the Sennheiser 421 on snare drums the most, but this is my second favorite dynamic mic for this purpose. In addition to giving you a nice, full snare drum with a great attack, the bleed rejection is fantastic. No more trashy hi-hat sound coming in through your snare mic! The great rejection also makes it well suited for use in a live situation, where noise rejection will help your mixer bring out the sounds of your instruments much better.

OVERALL OPINION

I have been using this for nearly a decade. My favorite things about it are the super tight polar pattern and the rejection it provides, and the very fast transient response even though it's a dynamic mic. It is a very cheap mic for the imrpoved sound you can get, so I think it's a good value. If you want to upgrade from your SM57 for a snare drum mic but you don't want to pay for a Sennheiser 421, you should consider this one. Great mic!