Digital Reference DRV100 Microphone Review

I went to Guitar Center planning on buying a Shure SM48-LC or similar microphone - but was recommended the outstanding deal of two Digital Reference DRV100 microphones for $30 and decided to pull the trigger.  It turned out to be a fantastic decision.

Review after the break -





I haven't yet had these microphones for very long so I'll add to this review later on as I see how they hold up over time.

They come packaged well, just the microphone and a microphone holder, nothing fancy but effective and low-cost.

I noticed immediately that they on the side of smaller and lighter weight, not that you could tell through the sound.  They aren't very pretty looking microphones but they get the job done.

Build quality seems quite solid, there's no switch or really anything fragile so I could see this holding up to being dropped down stairs and still functioning fine.

Before getting these microphones I was using a low-mid grade Radio Shack microphone, one that is larger, heavier, and higher-end looking than these.
And the sound quality of the Digital Reference mics blew it out of the water.

Compared to the other mics I had on hand (none very high quality) the Digital Reference mics stood out as being somewhat higher output and much warmer and bassier sounding all around.  I hadn't even noticed how tinny and far away other mics sounded in comparison.  Maybe it can't compare to a $500 ribbon mic... but it's really quite good enough for my purposes and I'm very happy with my purchase.

At the price I paid, I'd give it a 9.5 / 10.


Sound demo here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRCrh1Mv5gc