The Sennheiser MKE 600 and the MKH 416 are both fantastic professional shotgun microphones. But, what is really the difference between the two? Truth be told, the MKE 600 and the MKH 416 are more alike than they are different. They both have a very similar sound and both of them sound great. However, the MKE 600 is $700 cheaper than the MKH 416. So, does the MKH 416 sound $700 better? Not exactly. Even though the MKH 416 sounds slightly better, (with more high end and more low end frequencies) the MKE 600 can sound just as good with some simple EQ adjustments. If your on a budget, we can easily recommend the MKE 600 over the MKH 416. Lets dive in a bit deeper here and see how these microphones compare.
Both Of Them Are Shotgun Mics
The MKE 600 and the MKH 416 are both shotgun mics so they have a very similar pickup pattern. Shotgun mics are excellent at picking up sounds from a distance. In our tests, the MKE 600 and the MKH 416 had a very similar pickup range. Both mics were exceptionally good at recording sounds from a distance. We didn’t notice one outperforming the other here. Both of these mics performed rather similar. Shotgun mics also tend to be used for some voice over work and both of these mics were great for that purpose as well.
Both Have An Excellent Sound
The MKE 600 and the MKH 416 have an extremely similar sound. Both of these shotgun mics sound excellent on the voice. The primary difference being that the MKH 416 has a bit more low end and a bit more top end. This seems to create more clarity and depth on your recordings. However, for $700 cheaper, the MKE 600 sounds nearly just as good. By boosting the 100Hz range by 2dB and the 9000Hz range by 3.5dB, we really had an almost identical sound to the MKH 416. With some EQ adjustments, you can easily have the sound of the MKH 416.
The MKH 416 Is An Industry Standard
If you need an MKH 416, you will most likely know you need it. The 416 is an industry standard and some places will not take your work seriously unless you have one. However, if you don’t have to have an MKH 416 for a certain project, then we believe that the MKE 600 is the better choice for many reasons. The value that you get out of the MKE 600 is a much better value than the MKH 416. With some simple EQ, no one will be able to tell the difference. We are audio engineers and we had a very difficult time telling the difference once we applied some EQ to the MKE 600. Without a doubt, we heavily recommend trying the MKE 600 before jumping onto the MKH 416 train. The MKE 600 is a fantastic mic that gets undervalued but sounds incredible in almost every situation. Also, sometimes you might not want that in your face sound that the MKH 416 gives you. The MKE 600 definitely gives you a more flexible sound to work with. Thanks for reading. We hope this helps. Check out our other articles here.
