sE Electronics - sE7

For a little less money, you can get a pair of sE Electronics sE7 Small-diaphragm Condenser Microphones. I see them now on sale for $200. I have this same pair that I purchases for recording piano. Last time I recorded, though, I did not use them. Instead I put a DJI Mic3 inside (just stick it on the cast iron) and it sounded very adequate. Anyhow, here's a link to the sE mics: [https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/sE7P--se-electronics-se7-matched-pair](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/sE7P--se-electronics-se7-matched-pair)

Assuming the internal capsules are the same between the M4 and the H5S/H6S (I only read that they were the same from some other Reddit post), then the selfnoise and noisefloor should be identical. Regarding handling the noise, the M4 will be the best. It was designed specifically to reduce handling noise. The finish on the plastic is polished and smooth to avoid any noise from your hands or fingers on a rough surface. And the battery door screws shut tightly to avoid any creaking from the plastic. Personally, I always have my H5S mounted on a tripod or mic stand so I don't have any handling noise issues. Back to noise floor, I actually did some testing comparing the internal mics on the H5S to my Sennheiser MKE600 shotgun mic and my Se7 small diaphragm condenser mic. The sound floor was comparable and nearly identical for all three of these. So I think the internal mics are pretty darn good.

SE7 small diaphragm pencil mics. They’re like $100 each. Get a pair. They’re great.

I would have to disagree, the sm7b has horrible rejection compared to other dynamic mics in general. M88, M201, SM56, 57 and 58, SE 7, EV 408B, (this list could be so long) all of those are superior to it rejection wise. It sits more like a 421 which sucks at rejection. In your example of someone singing/rapping in the middle of a room I think almost any dynamic mic would work for that. Put the 7B on a snare, while it can sound good you'll get more hats in that mic than at a baseball game.

https://youtu.be/txMB2nWixHM?si=vdQbJ0mzD3aafSum we use shields like this nowadays, with gobos it really works to keep cymbal bleed out of vocal mics. Also SEV7 on vocals and make sure the drums are placed in their off axis region.