Manley Reference Cardioid Review / Test

Today I review the Manley Reference Cardioid, a very popular tube microphone. It's bright, detailed, and articulate, but it unfortunately has a kind of high self noise. If you're in an untreated space the polar pattern will capture the space, but if you're in an awesome sounding room, it will capture that too.

Buy the Manley Reference Cardioid (Affiliate Link)
Amazon: https://geni.us/manrefcard
Sweetwater: https://imp.i114863.net/manrefcard

Buy the Focusrite 2i2 (3rd Gen)- Same Performance as 18i20 (Affiliate Link)
Amazon: https://geni.us/2i32rd
Sweetwater: https://imp.i114863.net/k6g4d

NOTE (FULL DISCLOSURE): As an associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info check my FAQ page links below.

00:00 - Intro / Price / Disclaimer 
00:37 - Setup
01:20 - What’s in the Box
01:59 - Build Quality / Walkthrough
02:52 - Specifications
03:23 - Polar Pattern Test (Tone / Rotation)
03:45 - Plosive Test
04:00 - Distance Test / Proximity Effect Test
04:24 - Background Noise Test 
04:43 - Untreated Room Test
05:00 - Shock Rejection Test
05:20 - Mic Resonance Tap Test
05:42 - High End Outboard Preamp Test
06:42 - Intro to Comparison
07:10 - Neewer NW700 Comparison
07:33 - Audio Technica AT2020 Comparison
07:54 - Neat King Bee v2 Comparison
08:14 - Rode NT1 Comparison
08:38 - Lewitt LCT440 Comparison
09:10 - Neumann TLM103 Comparison
09:40 -  sE Electronics Gemini II Comparison
10:11 - Telefunken TF51 Comparison
10:40 - Lewitt LCT1040 Comparison
11:10 - Neumann U87 Ai Comparison
11:42 - Neumann U67 Reissue Comparison
12:16 - Music Test
13:32 - Customer Service Experience
15:52 - Pros & Cons
17:27 - Overall Thoughts
19:39 - Recommendation
20:36 - Outro

Bandrew Scott

Bandrew Scott is the founder and host of the youtube channel Podcastage, where he posts reviews of audio gear, and shares tips and tricks to improve the audio of your Podcast, YouTube Channel, or Live Stream.

He also founded the Geeks Rising podcast network, which is home to amazing education, wellness, and pop culture podcasts such as Tourette’s Podcast, Sunshine & Powercuts, and On The Subject.

Bandrew also runs his own show titled the Bandrew Says Podcast. On this show he analyzes the latest news to determine how it affects the content creation ecosystem, and shares that to help creates remain aware of how the platform they use is changing.