Comparison of a few phantom-powered and a few plug-in powered microphones. See also https://diode.zone/w/xoQVzmnzd4ZyocA3ekN2Gt

1:27 - Sennheiser MKH 8040 2:09 - Line Audio OM1 3:51 - Audio Technica AT 825 6:44 - Edutige ETM-001 10:43 - Røde Lavalier II

Note that the MKH 8040 and AT 825 are Cardoids, all others are Omnis. I did not use any compression or equalisation, and as I am speeking only ca. 10 cm away from the microphones, the MKH 8040 and AT 825 exhibit a proximity effect (boosted bass / attenuated treble), which makes them difficult to compare.

Overall, I was slightly disappointed by the exaggerated brightness of the ETM-001 (might also be slightly worse in terms of distortion), but then again it is the cheapest of them. The OM1 appears quite neutral and pleasant. I want to add another test that compares the background noise, and yet another test that runs them on a cheap preamp, as well as running the plug-in power microphones on a very cheap preamp. The video indicates the relative gain boosts I applied to each microphone to make them appear roughly equal in loudness.

The recordings were done in a small studio with little acoustic treatment, but using some absorbers around the microphones. A pop filter had been placed between microphone and speaker.