I'm a bass baritone range vocalist and the X2 has this amazing punch and clarity for my voice and I think you may have chosen the wrong singer for this test. While my voice might sound better on a Neumann U87, which I haven't been able to try out. I did test some other microphones and the X2 kicked them to the curb. I tied the AKG C214 and the Warm Audio Wa-14 which have similar capsule design and are recommended for deeper voices. I also tried the MXL C67G, EV RE-20, the SM7B, and lastly the TZ Audio Stellar X3. You can tell from this list I'm not rich and these were the best i could afford and all bought used from Guitar Center with their amazing return policy so I could test several of them at the same time. The X3, RE-20, SM7B, and X3 all captured my voice's low end but also came across undefined and wooly compared to the insane clarity of the low end I got with the X2. The 414 clones I tried were closer and I get why folks thought they would be a good choice for deeper vocal ranges I had heard the X2 is a Baritone's dream mic and it was extremely flattering to the Booth Junkie's voice which I'm guessing for the same reason in that it captures lower voice with insane transparency. Anyway, I hope this folks understand why this microphone has a cult status as it might be the right tool for a different job than was tested here. The methodology of the tests you ran for this vid were super solid so maybe you could run it again with a Barry White or Johnny Cash ranged singer? Thanks for your test though you made your points extremely well and the X2 I think is the wrong mic for this singer/

We need a rematch! You should try comparing the U87 with the X3 and/or the Vintage AND use a wider sample of voices (including this voice from this video). Thanks for the thorough comparison, but a follow-up video is greatly needed.

I think the U87 doesn't complement the singer's voice very well. You seem to like the boost in the mid lows. But to my ears it makes her sound tubby and unnatural. I agree that the X2 needs to be padded down on the top end. But I think it sounded more natural with a high pitched voice like that. I also think that if you expected a 300$ mic to sound like a 5000$ mic in every use case you were making an unfair comparison. For your performer I would not have chosen either of these mics.

You should have compared them with the match EQ on as well. It would have been interesting to hear that. I've sometimes found that using a match EQ in shootouts can sometimes put two microphones in a place where it's hard to tell them apart. Not saying that's the case here however.

Have you been contacted by tz to make this review? Are they reliable?

For some reason I feel the X2 might be closer in sound to sony c800g rather then the u87.

Which plugin was used for the matching EQ? Built into the DAW or third-party plugin?

Super awesome comparison! Thanks You’re a original. it’s hard to find so someone would take times to compare like you did. Please do another comparison with Stellar X3. People are curious if X3 has any improved. Thanks again.

The mic sells for $200.

Yeah, it’s not as good, even listening on cell phone speakers