At a local meeting of the Cleveland Indie Club we compared 6 budget shotgun mics that members, including myself, brought in. The most expensive mic in this group at the time (about 2013) was $380 when new. We recorded a person reading the same passage through every mic and played the recordings back through an entertainment system for all to hear. The mic that was voted best was my Azden SGM-1X. The factor that made it the preferred mic was that it had more bass response than the closest competitor, which gave a more full and rich/accurate sound.

I am now awaiting for their SGM-3500L mic to arrive at my home as my upgrade. It has many specs the same as the Sennheiser MKH-416, which is the film industry standard. nI do not expect the exact same performance, but I do expect it to be negligibly different after post.

I have been very happy with my SGM-1X. The only reason I am replacing it is because I am at a point in my career where I am upgrading all my video production equipment, now that i have 16 years experience and am working in a higher level of film and video production.