sE Electronics
BL8
Boundary · Half-cardioid (on a boundary) · 20–20,000 Hz
- A half-cardioid boundary plate: the surface it is lying on becomes part of the microphone, so the pattern only exists above it.
- 143 dB before the pad and 163 dB with 20 dB in — high enough to lay inside a grand piano with the lid down.
Frequency response
No response curve yet.
MicSense only draws a curve redrawn from a graph the manufacturer publishes — it never estimates one from the microphone’s class. No published graph has been redrawn for the BL8 yet, so the numbers are in the spec table below.
Polar pattern
A boundary mic hears only the half-space above the surface it lies on, so only that half is drawn; the line through the centre is the surface. Generated from the first-order directivity formula — an illustration of the type, not a measurement of this individual model.
Specifications
| Manufacturer | sE Electronics |
|---|---|
| Model | BL8 |
| Type | Boundary |
| Form factor | Boundary |
| Polar pattern | Half-cardioid (on a boundary) (Cardioid) |
| Frequency range | 20–20,000 Hz |
| Sensitivity | 25 mV/Pa · -32.0 dBV/Pa |
| Max SPL | 143 dB SPL (0.5 % THD) |
| Self-noise | 14 dB(A) |
| Impedance | 60 Ω (electrical) |
| Connector | XLR3M |
| Powering | Phantom 48 V |
| Weight | 538 g |
Specifications: sE Electronics specifications page · last checked 2 Oct 2026. These are the maker’s published figures for this model. A dash never means zero: “not published by the maker” means the maker’s documents give no figure; “not yet checked” means MicSense has not confirmed one yet. Spotted an error? Tell us.
MicSense notes
| Price tier | Pro |
|---|---|
| Introduced | — not recorded |
Price tier and “a rider regular” are MicSense’s own judgement, not the maker’s.
What it gets used for
- Acoustic instrument
- Lectern / podium
- Choir / ensemble
MicSense tags microphones by the job on a live stage, not by studio category — so you can filter for “kick in” or “monitor vocal” instead of working backwards from “large-diaphragm condenser”.
BL8 alternatives: closest in published specs
Based on published specifications only — always listen at soundcheck. These are the microphones in the MicSense library whose datasheet figures sit closest to the sE Electronics BL8’s for the same live job, with the reasons. It says nothing about how they sound.
Not compared for the sE Electronics BL8: response curve not redrawn yet.
-
sE Electronics
BL8 omni
- Same job: acoustic instrument, lectern / podium, choir / ensemble
- Same type: boundary
- Same form: boundary
- Max SPL as high or higher (143 vs 143 dB SPL)
- Omnidirectional instead of cardioid — no rear rejection: more spill and feedback risk near wedges
- ≈ 6 dB more output — about 6 dB less gain
-
Shure
Beta 91A
- Same job: acoustic instrument
- Same type: boundary
- Same cardioid pattern
- Same form: boundary
- Max SPL as high or higher (155 vs 143 dB SPL)
- ≈ 16 dB less output — add about 16 dB gain
-
Sennheiser
MK 4
- Same job: acoustic instrument, choir / ensemble
- Same cardioid pattern
- About the same output — within the datasheets’ tolerance
- Condenser (large diaphragm) instead of boundary
- Side-address — aim it from the side, not the end
Compare it against the alternatives.
MicSense lets you put up to four microphones side by side — spec table, overlaid response curves and polar diagrams on one screen. Free with a free Squaresmile account.