What's the deal with the EV Re 20 mic?

Question

In addition to vo work, I'm a news anchor at a talk radio station... actually six different stations under one roof.  The place is loaded to the gills with EV RE 20s.  I understand it's considered the workhorse of broadcast radio.  One of the engineers let me take one home to try out.  I had to crank the level on my pre-amp to get a decent level only to be overwhelmed by hiss.  Am I missing something or is the RE 20 overrated???

Thanks

Answer 1

Tom,

Gabrielle Nistico writes a great review of the RE-27 microphone which is from the same family.

http://blogs.voices.com/audiodaily/2011/10/re27_microphone_review.html

She writes "When it came time to build my studio - it was my first choice. My radio, TV and commercial clients LOVE the familiar and genuine sound my studio produces and I attribute it to my mic. I record all of my voice students and their demos on this mic too. Their moderate price also makes them an idea choice for life-long performance too."

Check out her full review here:

http://blogs.voices.com/audiodaily/2011/10/re27_microphone_review.html

Answer 2

The RE-20 is a dynamic mic, and thus doesn't have as much output as a condenser.  Typically, it would be about -55dB instead of -45 or so for a condenser.  That is why you have to crank up your preamp.  You would need a preamp that has enough gain to bring up the lower level of the `20 to a useable level.  As you know, radio stations use them without hiss, so the problem would most likely be with your preamp.

I have used RE-20s off and on since about 1980 (I was actually one of the first to use them in radio when most stations were still hung up on Sennheiser MD-421s) and they are OK but don't have as much high-frequency definition as a good condenser.  If you are still interested in a dynamic, the Shure SM-7B is popular (though not my first choice) and I would go with a Heil PR-40 or the new ElectroVoice RE-320.  I nearly bought one of those.