Shure MVX2U Gen 2 in hand: plug and play, has DSP to save settings, good audio for Pocket or Luna
When you have the conditions and have a setup corner to sit and record videos, I think you should use better mics, because better sound will help convey emotions better and the video quality will also be much higher.
But XLR mics like the Shure SM7B, Sennheiser MKE600 or Razer Siren V3 Pro have the same disadvantage: they are quite difficult to set up, they need something to record the signal from the XLR such as an Audio interface, or a recorder.
Shure MVX2U Gen 2 is an item that helps you use these mics with Pocket, action cam, phone or laptop in an extremely simple way.
The 4 audio sources I mentioned in the article.
Good XLR mic but difficult to set up
In the video, I used 4 sound sources, including Sennheiser's wireless lapel mic, Shure SM7B, Sennheiser MKE600 and Razer Siren V3 Pro. I'm not comparing which one is better, I just want to say that all three wired mics provide higher sound quality than a wireless mic with a lapel mic.
In the picture is Zoom H6E, it's very easy to use, but only admins remember how to use it. The Shure SM7B and Sennheiser MKE600 only have XLR ports, while the Razer Siren V3 Pro has both XLR and USB-C, so to record these mics, I have to use the Zoom H6E, a field recorder that not everyone has or knows how to use.
For those who only record with a phone, Pocket, Luna, action cam or record on a computer, without a camera or field recorder, using a genuine XLR mic without much post-production knowledge is quite difficult.
Compact design, plug and play
Shure MVX2U Gen 2 is the smallest and best audio interface I have ever known. Beautiful appearance, seamless steel, when mounted on Shure SM7B, it looks like a unified whole.
And when attached to a shotgun mic like the Sennheiser MKE600 or XLR handheld mics like the Shure SM58, it's even more compact, you can just pick it up and go, it looks like it was made for each other, like a unified whole.
A small but very valuable upgrade on generation 2 is the orange and blue signal light on the top, as shown in the photo, so you just need to look from above to know whether the device is connected or not. This is also a new feature only available on Gen 2.
Has DSP, saves settings right in the device, new on Gen 2
The biggest difference of the Shure MVX2U Gen 2 is that it has DSP built into the camera body. You can basically understand that this is a microprocessor with memory, processing sound directly and saving settings.
In generation 1, when you connect to your phone, open Shure's app to install as desired and then remove and attach to Pocket, those settings will no longer be there, but with generation 2, you only need to set up once, everything is saved on the device. Accompanied by other processing features, sound intervention, customization as desired, I will introduce more below.
Main interface when connecting to the MOTIV Audio app.
Settings on the app
MOTIV has versions for phones and computers, the interface is almost the same, so you can use whichever version, the Device section displays the device name and audio level quite intuitively.
You can rename the device, and create a preset to save all the settings below, so that many people using the same device can still switch back and forth, some people like deep voices, some people like bright voices, some people turn on noise filtering, some don't. Mic Gain has Auto mode, this is a feature I recommend you turn on when using it with your phone or Pocket, because it automatically adjusts the gain so that the sound is neither blown out nor too soft without you having to turn anything.
The Tone section allows you to adjust the voice deeper or brighter, but don't adjust it too much, because if you adjust it too low, it sounds muffled like sitting in a box, which is very uncomfortable, and when it's too bright, the voice becomes high-pitched and loses warmth, so I usually set it to Natural and then lower it a notch or two to be just right. Phantom Power only needs to be turned on when you use a condenser mic, but the Shure SM7B is a dynamic mic so there is no need to turn it on. I also don't have a condenser mic to try to see if it turns on automatically or not, it seems like it just plugs in and turns it on.
High-pass filter will cut low frequencies at levels like 75Hz, 150Hz [need to test], but with the Shure SM7B, the sound is already quite ok so I don't want it to interfere further. Real-time Denoiser digitally filters out background noise. I tested it with it turned on and found the sound to be quite clean, while Popper Stopper helps reduce the sounds of breathing and smacking when speaking, but I didn't turn it on because I wanted to practice how to speak less of those sounds.
The Accessory section only records the model, serial number and version, but you should pay attention to the button to check for firmware updates, because the company will rely on user feedback to fix errors, and if you update regularly, the device will operate better.
The Record tab allows selecting the recording format, the highest quality is 24-bit 48kHz, without 32-bit float.
It's a lot to read, but when I use it, I just need to adjust the Tone to match the voice, turn on Auto Level, turn on Real-time Denoiser and check the firmware is enough.
Lower background noise, cleaner screen
According to Shure, the noise floor on generation 2 has decreased from -105 dBFS in generation 1 to about -117 dBFS. Simply put, the small hissing sound that is always present in every mic when going through the audio interface will be lower, listeners will less likely to notice it.
The 3.5mm port for monitoring on generation 2 still retains the headphone amp parameters of 20mW, 32 ohm, but Shure says it can pull headphones better, the monitor sound is cleaner, with less noise and distortion. To be honest, when I tested both generation 1 and generation 2, I couldn't hear any difference, maybe because my headphones are not good enough, or because I have poor ears. Shure also says the DAC is better, gives better USB-C output sound, and has improved SNR... Finally, Gen 2 has Apple's MFI certificate, compatible for use with Apple devices, and I see that generation 1 can also be used with iPhones.
Read more about the points I didn't talk about in the video
The Shure MVX2U Gen 2 also has many other things that I don't want to mention in the video. I'll note them here for you guys to explore for fun, because I think it's quite complicated, or less important, to avoid confusing those who aren't familiar with it.
Maximum MIC GAIN up to 60dB
You can adjust the mic gain to as high as 60dB, but why? Because for it to work well with the Shure SM7B, of course, what Shure makes should work well with Shure products. I don't want to remind you because I just need you to know that it works well with SM7B. I've just started reading too much and it's confusing. To be honest, if you can pull the Shure SM7B, most of the mics out there can pull it. If I want to use the H6E with the good SM7B, I have to add a Cloudlifter CL1 - SE Electronics DM1 Pre-amp to play it.
Mic gain
If you turn off auto for mic gain, in addition to being able to adjust mic gain, there are also other options such as limiter and compressor. Compressor is what helps automatically turn down loud passages and keep soft passages intact, making the overall volume more even. For example, if you speak loudly and softly, the compressor will pull them closer together so that the listener is not sometimes startled or sometimes unable to hear clearly. The limiter sets a "hard ceiling" for the volume and does not allow the signal to exceed that level even slightly. The main effect is to prevent clipping when there is a sudden sound that is too loud, such as bursts of laughter or clapping. But I think the auto on Gen 2 works fine, plus when using SM7B, there's no need to know these two things.
Adjust EQ
Like most other audio interfaces, the Shure MVX2U Gen 2 also allows EQ adjustment. Those who are familiar with it can adjust it to suit their personal voice. Those who are not familiar with it should learn before using it.
SNR better than 3dB? Is Noise Floor -105 or -117dBFS? How is DAC better?
There is a lot of side information about this mic, some places say the SNR is better than 3dB (here), Shure did not announce the SNR. Some places even say that the Noise Floor actually goes down to -117dBFS (here and here) which is much better than generation 1. But the funny thing is that Shure itself records the noise floor as only 105dBFS in the configuration information here. This is added for you guys to read for fun, I accidentally discovered it during the process of researching information.
Conclude
The Shure MVX2U Gen 2 is a product I really like, because it allows using good mics like the Shure SM7B or Sennheiser MKE600 with extremely simple recording devices like the Pocket, everything is faster, I don't have to think and can focus on the content. If you already have a setup angle and want to set it up neatly, without having to touch the field recorder, then the Pocket or action cam with the Shure MVX2U Gen 2 is a solution worth considering, but actually, I think the 1st generation is good enough if you don't need to save settings in the device. In addition, if you buy new, you can think of multi-purpose mics like the Razer Siren V3 Pro, which has both XLR for professional setup and USB-C with DSP and audio interface built inside, plug it into your laptop and use it. The audio game has a lot of things based on personal preferences, so I'm not saying which sound quality is better than the other, but just talking about what you enjoy, which is simplicity, better sound and better transmission.