Choosing A Measurement Microphone
All eight are omnidirectional condensers on the end of an XLR, and all eight will measure a room. They differ in how precisely, and in what you know about the individual microphone in your hand.
| Behringer ECM8000Budget, no offsets | Sonarworks XREF20Same kind of mic, with offsets | beyerdynamic MM 1Printed chart, per-unit curves | Audix TM1 PlusPer-unit data file | PrecisionEarthworks M23 Gen 2Precise by design | Earthworks M30 Gen 2Flat to 30kHz | NTi Audio M2211Class 1 response | NTi Audio M2230Class 1 certified | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | About £17 inc VAT | $99 inc tax direct, about £75 | £188 inc VAT | £222 inc VAT | £520 inc VAT | £688 inc VAT | £1,399 inc VAT | £1,535 ex VAT direct |
| Calibration Offsets | None supplied | Individual, downloadable | Individual 0° and 90° curves, free on registration | Individual data file supplied | Not required; printed chart supplied | Calibration chart supplied | Individual file, free on registration | Individual file, free on registration; certificate extra |
| What You Know About Your Unit | The response quoted for the model. | Its own response, measured against an ANSI-certified reference. | Its own response, on the chart in the box and in the curves. | Its own response and sensitivity, in the file that ships with it. | Its own response, on the chart that ships with it. | The response on the chart that ships with it. | Its own response from NTi's file; its sensitivity is stored in the mic. | Its own response from NTi's file; its sensitivity is stored in the mic. |
| Off-Axis Profiles | None | 0°, 30° and 90° | 0° and 90° | Not published | Not applicable | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Published Figures | Under 2dB deviation, 20Hz to 20kHz, quoted for the model. | ±0.9dB measurement accuracy inside SoundID Reference. | ±1.5dB, 50Hz to 16kHz. 122dB max input. About 26dBA self-noise. | 20Hz to 20kHz ±2dB. 140dB max input. 28dBA self-noise. | 5Hz to 23kHz ±1dB. 140dB max input. 23dBA self-noise. IP54. | 5Hz to 30kHz ±1dB. 140dB max input. 23dBA self-noise. | ±1dB 5Hz to 4kHz, ±3dB to 20kHz. 144dB max input. 21dBA self-noise. | ±1dB 5Hz to 4kHz, ±3dB to 20kHz. 137dB max input. 16dBA self-noise. Type certified Class 1. |
| Connection | XLR, 15V to 48V phantom | XLR, 48V phantom | XLR, 12V to 48V phantom | XLR, 24V to 48V phantom | XLR, 12V or 48V phantom, 7.2mA | XLR, 12V or 48V phantom, 7.2mA | XLR, 48V phantom | XLR, 48V phantom |
| Best For | Seeing what your room is doing, cheaply. | Correcting a room, inside SoundID Reference or out of it. | Correcting a room with a per-unit curve, on axis or pointed at the ceiling. | Room and system measurement with a per-unit file. | Precision work, and a microphone that holds its spec for decades. | Measurement that has to reach above 20kHz. | Acoustic measurement to a Class 1 response tolerance. | Measurement that has to meet a certified Class 1 standard, such as SPL compliance. |
All eight will show you your room. What separates them is how precisely, and how that precision is arrived at: quoted for the model, measured on your unit and supplied as offsets, or built in from the start.
Competitor prices and specifications are from published manufacturer and retailer information as of September and October 2026 and will change. UK prices are Thomann UK's except the NTi M2230, which is NTi's own UK shop. The Earthworks figure is our price for it, as the NEXUS precision package. Prices include VAT where the seller quotes it that way.
Standard or Precision, you decide.
NEXUS, the room correction box that uses the measurement, comes with a calibrated measurement mic as standard or the Earthworks M23 Gen 2 in the precision package. Leave your email and we will keep you posted.
Almost every measurement microphone under £100 is built the same way: a small electret omni capsule in a thin tube, phantom powered, XLR out. The Behringer and the Sonarworks are both that kind of microphone. It is a sound design, and it is the reason a usable room measurement costs so little.
LearnBest Measurement Microphones for Room CorrectionA calibration file is a list of frequencies and corrections your software subtracts, so the plot shows the room rather than the room plus the microphone. Measured on your own unit, it describes your unit rather than the average of a batch. Sonarworks supply one with theirs. That is what takes a capsule of this kind to the right answer for most rooms.
LearnDo You Need a Calibrated Measurement Mic?Budget, Standard, Precision
Behringer ECM8000
The ECM8000 is a perfectly good measurement microphone and it will show you what your room is doing: the modes, the nulls, the timing between your speakers. What it is not is the most precise. Behringer supply no offsets for your individual unit, so the microphone's own response stays mixed in with the room's, and that shows at the ends of the range rather than through the middle. At about £17 it is the cheapest honest look at a room there is.
Sonarworks XREF20
The XREF20 uses the same kind of capsule as the Behringer, and Sonarworks supply calibration offsets measured on your individual unit. That is what takes a capsule of this kind to the right place for the majority of people. Sonarworks measure each one against an ANSI-certified reference and profile three angles: 0, 30 and 90 degrees.
Earthworks M23 Gen 2
The M23 Gen 2 is precise by design rather than by correction. Each one is tuned flat within ±1dB from 5Hz to 23kHz before it leaves Earthworks, with no file to load, and ships with a printed chart of its own response. It takes 140dB before it runs out of headroom, its own noise sits at 23dBA, and it is rated IP54 against dust and water. It is built to hold that specification for decades, and it is the precision option on a NEXUS.
Asked Before You Did
Is the Behringer ECM8000 good enough for room correction?
For seeing what your room is doing, yes. Capsules of this kind are at their most accurate through the midrange, where most room trouble lives, and usually sit within a decibel or two there. They are least accurate at the ends of the range: down low, where the capsule vents, and up top, where the body of the microphone starts to matter. Without offsets those errors stay mixed in with the room's, which is the argument for a calibrated microphone rather than any fault in this one.
Is the Sonarworks microphone just a rebadged Behringer ECM8000?
They are the same kind of microphone and they look alike, and plenty of people online say they are the same part. We have not taken both apart, so we are not going to claim it. What is documented is the calibration: Behringer supply no offsets for your unit, and Sonarworks measure every microphone against an ANSI-certified reference and supply profiles for 0, 30 and 90 degrees, TXT included. The money above the Behringer buys the calibration rather than a different capsule.
Do I need a calibrated microphone for room correction?
It depends on what you are going to do with the measurement. Looking at a room, any of these will show you the modes and the timing. Correcting one, the calibration matters: uncalibrated, the microphone's response cannot be separated from the room's, so a correction built on it also corrects for the microphone. A per-unit file removes that. A model-average file removes most of it.
Which microphone comes with a NEXUS?
The standard package comes with a calibrated measurement microphone, so a NEXUS arrives able to measure the room the day it lands. The precision package has an Earthworks M23 Gen 2. The box on its own is the third option, for anyone who already owns a measurement microphone, because Omnissiah measures through any of them.
Can I use the measurement microphone I already own?
Yes. Omnissiah works with any measurement microphone and reads any calibration file in the usual text format. Buy one of these if you do not have one, or if you want the file to describe your microphone rather than the average of a batch.
