After being announced, and shipping in a package with a SM58 for quite a while, the Shure X2U is now shipping as a stand-alone unit…
The Shure X2U the first audio interface offering from Shure, having a single XLR input and a single 1/8th inch headphone output, making it one of the more simple and straight forward audio interfaces out there!
It’s been talked about by many, including Leo Laporte and friends on This Week in Tech… So lets take a look.
The Shure X2U is for all intensive purposes, an adapter to bring a Microphone’s XLR connector to USB to record onto your computer… With a few features in the middle.
The Ins, The Outs
Simplicity at it’s finest… One XLR Female In, 1 USB Type B connector, and a 1/8th Inch headphonen out. But it’s what’s is inbetween the connectors that makes the Shure X2u what it is…
Inbetween
The Shure X2u features a mic pre, 48V phantom power for your condenser microphones, and headphone volume, and mix level.
The mix level is your blend between a live signal, and signal passing out from the computer. This makes it quite a bit easier to record, as you can listen to what signal is coming from the computer to hear your final product.
The X2u also provides some metering on this tiny little unit. You get a USB LED that lights up when receiving adequate power from your USB port. Also, a 3 color Level LED, showing you what the signal is looking like coming out of the pre-amp, so you can avoid clipping and or low signal on the way to your computer.
Finally
The Shure X2u is now shipping by it’s self for sale for anywhere from 109-129…
Of course, it’s still available in bundles with a SM58 or SM57…
Available on Amazon
Available on SamAsh.com
Shure X2u with a SM58 for $199.99
Shure X2u with a SM57 for $199.99
I did a shootout with the X2U, Blue Icicle, MicPort Pro, and MXL’s Mic Mate last weekend. I liked the X2U a lot; I think it’s the best-designed unit on the market. Photos and sound samples are here:
USB Audio Interface Shootout
Glad to hear… Only issue I’ve heard of is USB Bus powering issues, but it seems infrequent and mostly because of faulty mac USB ports.