Shure
Beta 181
Small-diaphragm condenser · Cardioid / Supercardioid / Omnidirectional / Figure-8 · 20–20,000 Hz
- The capsule unscrews: cardioid, supercardioid, omnidirectional and bidirectional heads all fit the same 145 g body.
- Side-address and barely thicker than a pencil, so it slides under a hi-hat or behind a guitar cab grille.
- Max SPL runs from 149 dB with the cardioid head to 154 dB with the omni — the figure here is the supercardioid's 152 dB.
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 Beta 181 yet, so the numbers are in the spec table below.
Polar pattern
Generated from the first-order directivity formula for cardioid / supercardioid / omnidirectional / figure-8. It illustrates the pattern type — it is not a measurement of this individual model.
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Shure |
|---|---|
| Model | Beta 181 |
| Type | Small-diaphragm condenser |
| Form factor | Side-address |
| Polar pattern | Cardioid / Supercardioid / Omnidirectional / Figure-8 |
| Frequency range | 20–20,000 Hz |
| Sensitivity | 4.7 mV/Pa · -46.5 dBV/Pa (cardioid capsule; supercardioid 3.4, omni 2.5, figure-8 2.8 mV/Pa) |
| Max SPL | 149 dB SPL (1 % THD; cardioid capsule, 1 kΩ load; supercardioid 152, omni 154, figure-8 153.5 dB) |
| Self-noise | 20.5 dB(A) |
| Impedance | 110 Ω (output) |
| Connector | XLR3M |
| Powering | Phantom 11–52 V |
| Weight | 145 g |
Specifications: Shure datasheet · 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
- Overhead
- Hi-hat
- Guitar cab
- Acoustic instrument
- 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”.
Beta 181 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 Shure Beta 181’s for the same live job, with the reasons. It says nothing about how they sound.
Not compared for the Shure Beta 181: response curve not redrawn yet.
-
Shure
SM81
- Same job: overhead, hi-hat, acoustic instrument
- Same type: condenser (small diaphragm)
- Same cardioid pattern
- About the same output — within the datasheets’ tolerance
- Stick / pencil instead of side-address — mounts differently
- Check: Max SPL 13 dB lower (136 vs 149 dB SPL) — check it on hi-hat
-
Sennheiser
e 914
- Same job: overhead, hi-hat, acoustic instrument
- Same type: condenser (small diaphragm)
- Same cardioid pattern
- Stick / pencil instead of side-address — mounts differently
- ≈ 3 dB more output — about 3 dB less gain
- Check: Max SPL 12 dB lower (137 vs 149 dB SPL) — check it on hi-hat
-
sE Electronics
RN17
- Same job: overhead, hi-hat, acoustic instrument
- Same type: condenser (small diaphragm)
- Same cardioid pattern
- About the same output — within the datasheets’ tolerance
- Stick / pencil instead of side-address — mounts differently
- Check: Max SPL 18 dB lower (131 vs 149 dB SPL) — check it on hi-hat
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.