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Published on 10/29/11 at 13:08The Audix i5 is a microphone that is becoming more and more popular among the internet's audio gear forum lurkers. The reason for this is that when Audix came out with the microphone, Audix was essentially going straight for the throat of the Shure SM57's market. And while many people prefer the Shure SM57 to the Audix i5, there are a great number of engineers and musicians who by far prefer the sound of the Audix i5 to Shure's famously ubiquitous microphone.
The Audix i5 is an instrument microphone, obviously. It boasts a frequency response with slightly more high end extension than the Shure SM57; the SM57 only goes up to 15,000 Hz, but the Audix's range goes from 50 Hz to 16,000 Hz. It can handle high SPL's, up to about 140 dB, and has a typical cardioid pattern generally found on instrument microphones.
OVERALL OPINION
In use, I have found the Audix i5, from a personal standpoint, to completely slaughter the SM57 when it comes to live sound, and occasionally for recording. With live sound, the Audix i5's are crisper and more confident sounding. It is not that the Shure mic is not confident sounding, after all, it does boast a meaty midrange. The Audix, however, has this zing to it that cannot properly be described. Consider that both microphones are beloved by people who look for different things.
For example, the Audix with its zing lends itself to more modern sounding things, while the SM57 has that classic sound that we have come to associate with it simply because that classic sound we learned came from the 57 in the first place. Both microphones are great, and these are just sweeping generalizations, but I preferred the Audix for what I was doing, and you should try them out before you jump on a bandwagon.
The Audix i5 is an instrument microphone, obviously. It boasts a frequency response with slightly more high end extension than the Shure SM57; the SM57 only goes up to 15,000 Hz, but the Audix's range goes from 50 Hz to 16,000 Hz. It can handle high SPL's, up to about 140 dB, and has a typical cardioid pattern generally found on instrument microphones.
OVERALL OPINION
In use, I have found the Audix i5, from a personal standpoint, to completely slaughter the SM57 when it comes to live sound, and occasionally for recording. With live sound, the Audix i5's are crisper and more confident sounding. It is not that the Shure mic is not confident sounding, after all, it does boast a meaty midrange. The Audix, however, has this zing to it that cannot properly be described. Consider that both microphones are beloved by people who look for different things.
For example, the Audix with its zing lends itself to more modern sounding things, while the SM57 has that classic sound that we have come to associate with it simply because that classic sound we learned came from the 57 in the first place. Both microphones are great, and these are just sweeping generalizations, but I preferred the Audix for what I was doing, and you should try them out before you jump on a bandwagon.