Shure SM4

Verdict

The Shure SM4 is a competent XLR microphone that’s easy to use and ready-to-go right out of the box. It provides clean and rich pickup with fantastic noise rejection that pushes toward more expensive options. The lack of any additional features both in the box and in software is a sore miss against competitors, though.

Introduction

The Shure SM4 represents the American firm’s latest addition to their SM lineup of microphones, which already includes legendary pro-grade kit as the SM58 and SM7B.

The new SM4 is one of the more affordable options in the SM catalogue, offering a professional cardioid condenser microphone for £195 / $199 in its barebones form with a clamp, although if you pay £249 / $269, you also get a magnetic pop filter and shock mount. By the time you get there though, there’s Shure’s MV7+ to contend with, and the Logitech Blue Sona.

I’ve been testing the SM4 for the last couple of weeks to see how it fares, and whether it’s worth the asking price. Let’s find out.

Design

• Clean and premium finish
• Threadbare port selection
• Magnetic pop filter and shock mount available as additional options

The SM4 looks as a conventional microphone should, with a cylindrical shape, sturdy metal grilles and a glossy finish on the body. It’s entirely made of metal, so feels especially premium in hand, looking sharp when paired with a black boom arm.

Without any additional pop filters or mounting hardware in its base configuration, the SM4 looks remarkably clean, with the only flair being the Shure logo to denote which side of the microphone you should speak into. There’s no on-board controls either, or a headphone jack for on-board monitoring, while the only port is an XLR one for plugging the SM4 into an interface.

You can add a magnetic pop filter and shock mount with the SM4, as it comes in its more expensive form, but you don’t necessarily need the pop filter as the microphone contains one internally. This is becoming more common on more gamer-oriented streamer microphones where the mic itself is on camera a lot, and the SM4 is Shure’s take to offer a microphone that offers fantastic performance while being well-placed for being on camera.

A 463g weight makes this quite hefty for a basic microphone, reinforcing its nature as a premium product. The fact it comes as just the microphone and being slightly lower in weight than both the MV7+ and SM7B has the benefit of meaning the SM4 is portable too, hence the inclusion of a carry pouch in the box.

Performance

• Clear, warm vocals
• Fantastic noise rejection
• Plug and play, although you do need an interface

Coming as a part of Shure’s SM lineup of mics meant I had high hopes for the SM4, and I was suitably impressed in testing. Its cardioid pickup pattern meant only my voice was heard with reassuring warmth and excellent clarity. Its internal pop filter also did an excellent job of removing any issues with plosive sounds.

The SM4’s noise rejection from anywhere else but the front was second-to-none too, with it essentially cancelling out any of my music from behind the microphone when I spoke into it from around 6-inches away. It also managed to heavily reduce the noise of my deliberately loud mechanical keyboard with ease.

As a condenser microphone, Shure also recommend that the SM4 can be used with instruments as much as it can with voices, which I can see working well. Being plug and play into an interface makes it easy to record into, and I had no issues using it with either Audacity or Adobe Audition on Windows and macOS. The microphone was instantly recognised when being plugged into my Elgato Wave XLR without any issues.

Features

• No software integration
• Clever internal RF-blocking tech
• Lack of pop filter and shock mount on base model is a shame

Much like the SM7B, the SM4 is also distinctly lacking in the features department, with no software integration or on-board controls. Those sorts of features such as reverb or gain control are handled either in the recording software you’re using or on the interface you’ve got the SM4 connected to.

The interesting elements of the SM4 though are kept inside. This goes for both its excellent internal pop filter, as well as a clever feature that prevents the microphone’s signal from being affected by wireless devices with an RF signal, such as a keyboard or mouse. This is a patent-pending technology from Shure, and it’s especially useful in home studios especially where your mic is likely to be close to other devices that emit electrical emissions.

The sore miss for the base version of the SM4 though is both an external pop filter and shock mount, which are found on the likes of the USB-powered SteelSeries Alias and XLR-powered Beyerdynamic M 70 Pro X. Those two mics also cost less than the SM4, so it is a shame they aren’t included here without spending extra.

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