Behringer C-1 Medium-diaphragm Condenser Microphone

I work in film/video production, and I'm always on a lookout for a good mic to add to my gear cabinet -- and Behringer C1 is certainly one of those gems. I also teach video production and animation to high school students, where I use Behringer C1 as my go-to mic for voice-overs and any Foley sound effects. Besides Behringer C1, I also own two other relatively inexpensive condensers: a Studio Projects C1 (my favorite vocal mic, but with a price tag of about $250), and an AudioTechnica AT2020 (around $75), which I also rate highly. I find the Behringer to be equally good for most recording purposes as the other two condensers. I like to leave my Studio Projects mic in my home studio, so Behringer is my primary voice over mic when I need to set up mobile studios -- such as when working with high school youth.In a recent audio recording session, I had a Behringer C1 plugged into one channel of a small Behringer Eurorack (now Xenyx) mixer, with the AudioTechnica AT2020 plugged into the other channel, panned hard left and right respectively, feeding the signal directly into my Macbook Pro for recording with Audacity. The event was a panel-discussion with 6 teenage participants -- the idea was that the Behringer C1 would pick up the 3 kids on the left side of the table, and the AT2020 the kids on the right side. The mics were on booms, so I would adjust their position slightly to make sure the current speaker would be on-axis. The distance between the mics and the panelists was 2-3 ft, and the room was fairly quiet. The results were incredible - both Behringer C1 and AT2020 excelled, giving incredible richness to the spoken word recordings (both male and female).I would say that Behringer C1 would be an excellent choice for a podcaster or an independent filmmaker looking to bump up the production value of a low-budget project that relies on voice-over. In conjunction with an inexpensive Behringer Xenyx mixer, this mic works like a charm. In my opinion, Behringer C1 does sound inferior to the Studio Projects C1 for VO work, but is still an excellent value, and in my experience is comparable to AudioTechnica AT2020. I have no way of testing how well any of these mics reproduce various frequencies, but I can say that they all sound excellent, giving any voice recordings richness that I've never been able to achieve with a dynamic mic (I also own two dynamics: a Shure SM58 and the big Shure SM7b, which I don't even use for voice-over recording work anymore, just for any live PA applications). As an independent filmmaker, I still trust the Sennheiser ME66 for any location shooting, but for voice-over work my choice would be #1 Studio Projects C1, and if that's not available -- either Behringer C1 or AT2020.All in all, great value for the money. There may be prejudices against Behringer among audio pros, but the fact is that Behringer has brought excellent equipment to users who would otherwise not be able to afford anything with similar specs. I've used Behringer products (among others) for several years, and have never experienced equipment failure. I've used the 18 channel Eurorack for the past 5 years, and my smaller 4 channel Eurorack for the past 3 years, and they are definitely quality mixers.

Summary: This is a marvelous microphone for the money, whichever way you plan to use it. But I've found it getting rave reviews on amateur radio ("ham radio"). Just remember that you need a phantom supply to use it.Details: I use a Yaesu FT-920 transceiver as my main radio. I used to have a Kenwood TS140S and frequently got spontaneous compliments on my transmit audio. When I upgraded to the Yaesu I stopped getting the compliments. Further, I wasn't getting through pile-ups anymore. Both rigs put out the same 100 watts. Once I learned how the new rig worked, I used its Monitor function to hear what my audio sounded like. It sounded like mud. I traced it to the handheld microphone that came with the radio. It was time to step up.I've had a great little Behringer audio mixer for years and it has phantom power supply capability. So after some shopping I bought the Behringer C-1 mic and plugged it into the mixer then into the FT-920 radio. It was a revelation. Using the radio's Monitor function again, I heard clear full nicely rounded audio with a bit of presence which is highly desirable on the crowded ham bands. Now I bust pile-ups again. Now I get complimentary audio reports again. And all for (at that time) 43 bucks. I use open-wire feeder that sometimes gives me a bit of RF in the shack. My computer speakers roar when that happens but the C-1 stays clean. It's well-shielded. Oh, and it looks really cool at my operating position.If you don't have a good mic on your rig, you cannot go wrong with this one.UPDATE: I've used this mic every day in my ham radio station since 2011 and it's still going strong at the end of 2021. Yes, there are better mics out there, especially for studio recording, but I have no need to change mine for my application. And, as many have noted, it's still a great mic for the money.73,Chuck