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frequency response comparisons between Shure SM-57 and Audix i5

I endorse Audix products and was interested in the differences between the old 57 and the new i5. I'd heard people say that the Audix i5 is supposed to be the 57 killer. I hope to check the Shure Beta 57 someday soon here as well.

This test was pretty un-scientific: I played a sweeping tone, white noise, and pink noise through one Tannoy Active monitor. I set the two microphones together and pointed them at the speaker. The heads of the microphones were the same distance to the speaker. I recorded the mics at the same time into Nuendo with the PreSonus Firepod. I changed the input sensitivity of the preamps until the mics displayed even volume.

Here are the frequency response curves from the manufacturers:

Shure SM57 frequency response curve from Shure literature

Audix i5 frequency response curve from Audix literature

Here are the frequency analysis for the tones that I recorded. The Shure SM57 is in blue and is in front, the Audix i5 is in red and is behind the Shure. You can click on the images to see larger versions.

Linear frequency analysis measured from simple test explained above. Here are the frequency response for the tones that I recorded. The Shure SM57 is in blue and is in front, the Audix i5 is in red and is behind the Shure. You can click on the images to see larger versions.

Non-linear frequency analysis measured from simple test explained above. Here are the frequency response for the tones that I recorded. The Shure SM57 is in blue and is in front, the Audix i5 is in red and is behind the Shure. You can click on the images to see larger versions.

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