Shure
Shure KSM313
Passive ribbon (Roswellite), figure-8, side-address, "Dual-Voice": darker front, brighter rear
Power None (passive). Switch phantom power off before you plug it in: a faulty cable can damage the ribbon. Low output: it needs a lot of preamp gain.
- Type
- Ribbon
- Pattern
- Figure-8
- Sensitivity
- −54.5 dBV/Pa
- Among 28 ribbons: more output than 26%
- Among 311 mics: more output than 16%
- Max SPL
- 146 dB SPL
- Among 29 ribbons: takes louder sound than 71%
- Among 343 mics: takes louder sound than 82%
- Rated range
- 30 – 15k Hz
vs 24 side-address ribbons
More output than 17% of 24 side-address ribbons.
Each stripe is one side-address ribbon with a published sensitivity, and each bar counts them; further right means more output. This mic is in blue.
vs 28 side-address ribbons
Takes louder sound than 70% of 28 side-address ribbons.
Each stripe is one side-address ribbon with a published max SPL, and each bar counts them; further right means it takes louder sound. This mic is in blue.
Instruments sources recommend it for most
Proximity effect: the bass it gains up close
From the spec sheet, p. 1.
"Frequency Response, Front" ("Relative Response, dB"). Distance, room and smoothing not stated.
Dashed: outside the rated range, or simulated (other angles and distances). Hover or tap the graphs for values.
Polar pattern
From the spec sheet, p. 1.
"Polar Pattern", two circles (125, 500, 1000 Hz; 2, 4, 8 kHz), 0° (the front) at the bottom, 5 dB per ring. Distance and room not stated. The rear lobe is opposite in polarity (guide p. 4: invert the polarity when addressing the back).
In practice
All specs
| From the user guide | ||
|---|---|---|
| Capsule | Roswellite ribbon (in place of a foil ribbon); "Dual-Voice" ribbon motor assembly with different front and rear voicing"True “Dual-Voice” ribbon motor assembly, tuned specifically for user’s choice of frequency response". | p. 3 |
| Sensitivity | −54.5 dBV/Pa (1.88 mV/Pa)1 kHz, open circuit voltage, typical. "-54.5 dBV/Pa (1.88 mV)". | p. 6 |
| Max SPL | 146 dB SPLNo condition given. | |
| Output impedance | 330 ohmalso 270 ohm, spec sheet: "Transformer, balanced, actual 270 Ω". "Output Impedance 330 Ω". The 2015 spec sheet gives 270 Ω actual; the KSM353 is 330 Ω in both documents. | |
| Rated load impedance | 1000 ohmrecommended, or more. "Shure recommends using preamps with impedance settings of 1000 Ohms or more, although different load impedances may be used for a desired sound quality." | p. 3 |
| Rated frequency range | 30 Hz to 15 kHz | p. 6 |
| Powering | none (passive)"Phantom power is not necessary and should not be supplied when connecting or disconnecting the microphone. However, properly supplied phantom power will not harm the microphone." | |
| Weight | 400 g"400 g (14 oz.)"; the spec sheet: "400g (0.881 lbs)". | |
| Dimensions | 43 × 135 mmDrawing: "1.7 in (43 mm)" across, "5.3 in (135 mm)" long (diameter × length). The spec sheet: diameter 4.318 cm, height 13.5 cm. | p. 7 |
| Finish | Machined steel housing; black body with red grille"Housing: Machined Steel". Colours from the spec sheet photo. | p. 6 |
| Supplied accessories | A300M ShureLock stand mount; AK313C carrying case; A313VB velveteen pouch"Furnished Accessories". The spec sheet calls the case a zippered carrying case and prints the stand mount as "300M". | |
| Dual-Voice | Address the front for a warmer, darker tone (electric guitar amplifiers, brass and woodwind, upright bass, kick drum); the rear for a brighter tone with more presence (vocals, acoustic string instruments, drum overheads and percussion) | p. 4 |
| Rear pickup | When addressing the back side, invert the signal polarity (A15PRS in-line polarity reverser) | |
| Polarity | Positive pressure on diaphragm produces positive voltage on pin 2 with respect to pin 3 | p. 6 |
| Transformer | Custom-wound, double-shielded, full-size transformer | p. 3 |
| Construction | Hand-assembled from machined steel, silver, gold and aluminium components; the spec sheet says hand assembled in the USA | |
| Optional accessories | A313SM elastic suspension shock mount; A15PRS switchable polarity reverser; PS-6 Popper Stopper pop filter; C25E 7.5 m (25 ft) XLR cable | p. 7 |
| From the spec sheet | ||
| Connector | XLR-3 male"Three pin professional audio (XLR) male". | p. 1 |
| Models | KSM313/NE: stand mount, aluminium flight case, velveteen pouch | |
Documents
- KSM313 Dual-Voice Ribbon Microphone with Roswellite Ribbon Technology, user guideVersion 4, 2019-K
- KSM313/NE Dual-Voice Ribbon Microphone, Product Specifications
Copies kept by Mic Archive (manufacturers move and drop their documents). Each is © Shure, unchanged, with its original address.
Recommended for
By recording guides, engineers and mic makers, for this mic or an earlier version of it.