sE Electronics
BL8 omni
Boundary · Half-omni (on a boundary) · 20–20,000 Hz
- 50 mV/Pa (−26 dBV) — a hot output, about 29 dB above an SM58's.
- Omnidirectional rather than half-cardioid, for picking up a whole room or a stage floor instead of one source on it.
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 omni 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 omni |
| Type | Boundary |
| Form factor | Boundary |
| Polar pattern | Half-omni (on a boundary) (Omnidirectional) |
| Frequency range | 20–20,000 Hz |
| Sensitivity | 50 mV/Pa · -26.0 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 omni 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 omni’s for the same live job, with the reasons. It says nothing about how they sound.
Not compared for the sE Electronics BL8 omni: response curve not redrawn yet.
-
sE Electronics
BL8
- 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)
- Cardioid instead of omnidirectional
- ≈ 6 dB less output — add about 6 dB gain
-
Sennheiser
MKH 8020
- Same job: acoustic instrument, choir / ensemble
- Same omnidirectional pattern
- Condenser (small diaphragm) instead of boundary
- Stick / pencil instead of boundary — mounts differently
- ≈ 4 dB less output — add about 4 dB gain
- Check: Max SPL 5 dB lower (138 vs 143 dB SPL) — check it on loud sources
-
sE Electronics
sE8 omni
- Same job: acoustic instrument, choir / ensemble
- Same omnidirectional pattern
- Condenser (small diaphragm) instead of boundary
- Stick / pencil instead of boundary — mounts differently
- ≈ 8 dB less output — add about 8 dB gain
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.