I hear what you are saying, but disagree. It is best for the OP to just try each mic and choose for himself.

Your comment in regard to the RE20 "but it is never off like the SM7 can be", or your comment regarding the SM7b, "it can be just wrong for some voices", shows your obvious and strong bias towards the EV.

The truth is (as with any mic), the RE20 can be the wrong choice. You continue implying that the RE20 is better than the SM7b for all voices. That simply is not true. Your description of the RE20 is subjective. The SM7b presence you speak of occurs when the presence boost (which kicks in from about 1-10k), is engaged. Otherwise, the mic is pretty flat. The RE20 also has a flat response. However, looking at the Frequency response sheets for both mics shows that neither are completely flat or neutral.

I get it, you like the EV, but to state outright that it is better than the SM7b is purely subjective. No mic is the best mic unless it's the one you decide to use for a particular vocalist.

The SM7b is for spoken voice.... but after reading some posts I bought one for my wife's rock vocals, but after trying to record with it several times I found there were too many hyped frequencies to rip..... didn't work for me, sounded awesome in low level verses though, not so much on high level choruses, just the opposite of what many claim, hence a spoken word mic

totally different. RE20 is very very flat. It works well on thin high pitched voices.
SM7 has more presence going on.

actually re20 is a used more for that... very popular in broadcasting, no proximity effect and very neutral.. Never used an SM7b.. but the old SM7 is a great vocal mic. Good on guitars, hihats and horns etc... don't get me wrong sm7 is used in broadcasting as well, but it is a great mic for almost anything in the recording studio.

totally different mics for different applications even though there is some overlap

+1 . own both the RE20 and a SM7B and both sit in my vocal booth next to a U87ai.. and they dynamic mics get more use than the condenser does. I love both, and have found both to be able to edge out the other in vocal shootouts, it realy depends on the singer. I think either way you cant go wrong with adding either one to your mic collection.

Honestly, I think the SM7B is probably the most overrated mic out there. It's a glorified SM58 that looks cool and forces you to back off a couple of inches for thrice the price. Maybe it fits your voice better by some fluke.

RE20 is more detailed, has more controlled proximity effect, and is flatter overall although I'd also say it's brighter. Maybe you don't want that.

Sennheiser 441 smokes them both as a general purpose mic and is my first choice on many things.

Yeah, but the 441 is double the price.

Alrod, I don't want to argue with you about this because it's silly, so I'll just hit it and quit for clarification purposes. I DID NOT say the RE20 is better on all voices (I speciifically said such a statement would be preposterous; way to get that backwards). What I said was that the RE20 is never horrible on any voice, which the SM7b can be, but I did admit that the SM7b can be better on some voices. That's actually fair and in line with what a bunch of others have said.

It's not bias, it's what I have learned from using them both (I still have one of each; I sometimes go with the SM7b on my own voice if it's a punkier thing). Don't take it so personally, it's not like you designed the damn thing. The SM7b is a fine mic, I just am not as in love with it as you are.

A long time since I've used the RE - 20 but I have a SM-7 B and my thoughts are they are both very useable but just different flavours ; so no real winner as such , you can't go wrong with either but trying them both is the only way you'll know what suits you.
At the end of the day, the Sennheiser 441 is dearer but trumps them both IMO if you want a top dynamic that you can use on practically everything.
Cheers, Ross

You are right, it is silly, but you need to go back and read what you posted. I am not getting anything backwards. Allow me to quote you:

- "I did not mean that the EV was always the ticket, that would be preposterous but it is never off like the SM7 can be"

- "For bass it is no contest: RE20."
- "The EV is always good, if not great."
- "The RE20 is never horrible on any voice"

If those aren't biased fanboy comments then I don't know what is. On the other hand, I never stated in my posts that the SM7b is better. In fact I said that "I have no opinion either way". I also posted several times that the best thing for the OP to do is try them both himself and then decide.

It is actually you who is taking things a bit too personal. I am trying to help the OP make an informed personal decision whereas you are trying your hardest to sell him on the RE20.

Your last post on the other hand was a little less biased. You spoke the truth. Either mic can sound really good and other mic can sound really bad. It all depends on the source being mic'd. That's all I am trying to say.

Agreed. Well worth the extra cost.

for my money, the SM7b wins every time. RE20s sound a little dead on the inside to me, kinda stiff sounding... I have found that the SM7b is all around, a more usable mic. my 2 cents

I like both. But when it comes to record vocals I would prefer the SM7B. In most cases when I record drums I use the RE20 for the Kick - the RE20 has a really nice punch!

Hey facej,
Have you compared the sm7b and re20 with the dm20?
If so what tonal differences have you noticed?
I'm super interested in the advanced audio stuff but can't find much on the dm20.

Have not compared to an SM7B here, just my trusty SM58 and various condensers here. I like the sound with all the switches "flat" with no roll-off of the bass or 5K

Why keep chasing ;-) ?

They're both great, but I use my 441 more than both the SM7 and the RE20.

they're not expensive mics ...get both

cool thanks! i'm very tempted!
How does it compare to the sm58?
I use either my sm58 or NT1a for my vocals but am looking for something a bit smoother and defined(sm7b, re20, dm20?)
I'm a textured baritone with some tenor-ish capabilities. how do you think the dm20 would fit the bill?

SM7B for me. Both are good though to be fair.

It was a while before i'd tried an SM7b, i'd heard all the hype and then when i finally got my own, it really was that good. Captures my vocals just how i want it. Also i've had a bit of success with it on acoustic guitars too. If i want some more detailed sound from my acoustic then i might not reach for it, but when i just want to lay down a basic acoustic rhythm to sit in the mix, it does a great job for me.

I'm just basing it on a personal level for my own music and voice though. As with all things musical, it's subjective and whatever works for you...

The RE20 would work, as would an SM7B. That being said the DM20 is the least expensive of the 3, and in my opinion sounds equally as good, possibly "better".

The SM7B presents the challenge of being gain hungry. You have to turn the pre-amps WAY up to get good sound, but many preamps start to add noise when the signal gets there. The DM20 does not have this problem.

I am a baritone/bass with a desire for that "fuller radio voice sound" so I don't roll off the bass bits.

Of course you could simply add a "resonant filter" EQ to your mic and see if you like the change.

The 10 Best Creative Filter Plugins In The World

Looking at the frequency, the high end looks EXTREMELY boosted on the DM20. Honestly, I don't know if I've ever seen a mic with a spike this extreme. Take a look. I'd stay far away from the DM20, unless you want ice picks in your ears.

Advanced Audio Microphones DM20 | RecordingHacks.com

I do like the SM7b for my more tenor-ish stuff. It's been awhile since i've used one though and my vocal style has definitely changed since then. What either worked or didn't depending on the song/style was the inherent character of the mic imparted on the track. It's that low mid frequency character that either worked or it didn't for me. And I find it can kind of hide the tone of the singer with it's own characteristic.
Haven't had a chance to try the RE20 though. But i kinda of like the idea of having a dynamic mic that captures the details of the voice a bit more. but from what i've listened too it's kind of missing that natural mid frequency smoothness of the sm7b.
Maybe the dm20 would be somewhere in between?
Whenever I record with an sm58 I always have to roll off the bass and boost the mids in post. I do like how that mic sounds with my voice though.
Gain won't be a problem with my interface though!

re20 is very vanilla mic. It's great on various things like kick, bass guitar cabs and spoken word but lead vocals it very rarely is the bets choice. It has some great features like no proximity effect and a ruler flat frequency curve, but that is not always useful

Ya I noticed that aswell..
I wonder if when they designed this mic they tailored it more towards percussion and kick drums? That HF peak might work well on picking up the smack sound of a kick drum or something.
dm=drum mic?
there is also a rolloff of 4db at 5khz

SM7b IMO:

Good on some vocals when you take the pop screen off, still not my go to for vox.
Great on guitar cab.
Great on snare.
Terrible on kick.
Pretty cool as a crushed room mic for drums.

A really good mic to have in the arsenal; not as amazing as gearslutz will tell you it is.