Behringer C-2

Small-diaphragm dynamic (or electret?) mic Cardioid polar pattern.
It comes with a mic clip and windscreen (for winter).

OVERALL OPINION

This mic that costs almost nothing (60 bucks for a pair and 30 secondhand) has a big advantage in my view, which has been pointed out as a defect by my predecessors: The frequency response curve that's attenuated in the high end, unlike Chinese pencil mics that are extremely bright.
In fact, it's less sensitive and saves you in situations where you have unfavorable acoustic conditions, or when you need to record a clanking acoustic guitar. This mic smoothens out the timbre thanks to its attenuated highs and balanced high mids. With a good EQ you can easily remove the 10-16khz band. So the highs are very present, but attenuated.

When I use them as OH I don't notice their lack of sting. On the other hand, as ambient mic they seem quite neutral.
I have no noise problems with mine and the signal-to-noise ratio isn't any worse than my mk319.
They will never replace my high-end pencil mics. But they can be useful in many situations. When I'm on the road, for example, to record takes with my folk guitar in places with bad acoustics: The result is better than with my more expensive mics, which are unforgiving with the acoustics and the mediocrity of the instrument... For the price, it's a chance not to be missed.

Dynamic mics to record instruments in the studio.
I recommend to use them as a pair on acoustic instruments (I use them on piano).
These are condenser mics. They require 48V phantom power.

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using them for one year and I'm quite satisfied with them. They are an excellent value for money (it's hard to find a single studio mic for the price of two C2s). Their frequency response is interesting, although not perfect. Very weak highs. These mics need some EQing.
If possible, you should use them with a compressor, otherwise they sound too metallic.
Avoid using them onstage: They are not completely isolated (shielded) and produce a lot of feedback, which is very hard to get rid of.

*Microphones are very subjective. Some microphones that work for some brilliantly may be disastrous on others. It is therefore important to understand the context in which this review is written and take it with a grain of salt, like all reviews on microphones should be treated.*

The Behringer C-2 microphones are small diaphragm cardioid pencil condensors and are sold in matched pairs that come with a stereo bar. Very nice inclusion, but one comes to expect these extra features from Behringer despite the price.

The Behringer C-2 has a frequency response of 20-20,000 Hz and a respectably low (for a pencil condenser) self noise at only 19 dB. The signal to noise ratio is also not something to scoff at, coming in at a quite respectable 75 dB. The Behringer C-2 microphones have 10 dB pads and low frequency roll off switches, although the obnoxious trend of the budget microphone world seems to dictate that the two features can't be activated at the same time because they are on the same switch.

The most remarkable thing about this microphone is that, again, even though I may not be the best authority on pencil mics because I mainly do vocals, they are easy to EQ and very forgiving. It is rather odd that I would find a pair of hyper budget microphones, especially from Behringer, that I enjoy. However, it does not exactly have anything to do with the original sound; it is more from this very fact that EQing this microphone is not terribly destructive.

And when you XY these microphones, you can get some very usable, if not top shelf results. And I also found that piling these up in a mix, while obviously harsh, is easy to do, because of how well this microphone actually responds to EQ.

OVERALL OPINION

The Behringer C-2 microphone is a piece of black magic, not for its quality, or even its price to performance ratio, but for the fact that in a sea of awful Behringer products, this gloriously outshines them all. I haven't gotten to use them extensively yet, but if I ever get into more instrument recording, it's certainly something I'll have to consider!