Sennheiser ME3-N Commentary

The testing is in! The Sennheiser ME3–N has turned out to be a phenomenal microphone. I have used it for a number of days in everyday practice. The final accuracy appears to be right around 98%. I have found this microphone at least as accurate as my highly rated Sennheiser M.D431. The cost for the Sennheiser headset is significantly less than the handheld. With an Andrea USB sound pod and the headset microphone, the cost is still less than $200 at emicrophones.com.

 

                                                                       

 

My first day of use with this microphone found approximately 99% accuracy. The accuracy level did decrease (very minimally) over the next several days. But the accuracy did stay at 98% over all. My assessment of the ME3 parallels others who have tested this microphone. Previous postings on microphone sites found the ME3 to be approximately at 98% efficiency.

 

                                                                     

 

Why wouldn’t you want to consider this microphone? I found it somewhat problematic fitting it on my head with my glasses. If this is a microphone that you would be constantly taking on and off 20 or 30 times per day you would either find a way to overcome this problem or be upset by it.

Another issue might be having a cord. Although not overly long, it is still a cord and one more thing to consider.

                                                                  

I did not go into the car as I had promised. I am on vacation and where we are staying is approximately 98 . However, I am staying with many people so the noise quotient is very high. With this in mind, I did find a drop in efficiency while testing with a ton of background noise. Approximately 96 or 97% accuracy. I think this would also be equivalent to working in the car with an air conditioner. I promise that future testing with microphones will include car testing when the temperature is reasonable.

So how much did I really like this microphone? Enough where I am going to use it instead of my handheld on an everyday basis. Will I figure a workaround with how this fits on my head? For this type of accuracy, absolutely!

Remember, everybody’s mileage varies when using microphones. Many others have commented that they also have had this high of recognition.

Here’s what I would like to do with future tests: I would like to have a rating scale consisting of fair, good, great and excellent. A fair microphone would really not be something you would use on a daily basis. A good microphone would be usable but require constant correction. A great microphone would require correction but with the passage of time recognition accuracy would increase. An excellent microphone has great accuracy out of the box and maintains it with the passage of time.

John’s rating for the Sennheiser headset microphone: EXCELLENT, based on high accuracy out of the box, great accuracy in a very noisy environment, and ease of use.