sE Electronics sE6160 Premium Small Diaphragm Supercardioid - Lobar Cond

The sE6160
The sE6160 is a shotgun-style true condenser microphone built for professionals who need reliable, high-quality sound capture in demanding, often noisy environments. Its tagline promises clarity no matter where the microphone is pointed, positioning it as a versatile tool for live sound, broadcast, on-set dialogue, and orchestral spot-miking. At its core is a hand-crafted small-diaphragm true condenser capsule, paired with a tight super-cardioid (lobar) polar pattern that isolates the intended sound source while rejecting unwanted ambient noise. This combination makes the sE6160 well-suited to situations where isolating a specific sound source—whether an actor's voice, an instrument, or a performer's in-ear mix feed—is critical to a clean recording or broadcast.

Recommended Applications
The sE6160 is designed with a specific set of professional use cases in mind. It's built to handle in-ear monitor (IEM) applications where crowd noise threatens to bleed into a performer's mix, making it a strong choice for live concert and touring environments. It also serves on-set dialogue recording, where dialogue clarity must be preserved despite unpredictable ambient sound. For broadcasting in noisy environments, its tight polar pattern helps maintain intelligibility and reduces the need for heavy post-production noise reduction. Finally, it's suited to spot-miking orchestras, particularly for instruments that are difficult to reach with conventional microphone placement, giving engineers a flexible tool for capturing detail from a distance without sacrificing tonal accuracy.
Build and Sound Design
Sound quality and physical durability are both central to the sE6160's design. Its tight polar pattern is engineered to provide high gain-before-feedback while avoiding the coloration that can plague lesser shotgun microphones, so engineers get a stunning in-ear mix and a faithful live recording simultaneously. The microphone's housing is roadworthy and die-cast, built for solid construction and maximum robustness—an important consideration for touring and broadcast gear that gets handled and transported frequently. To adapt to varying sound pressure levels, the sE6160 includes a switchable pre-attenuation pad and a switchable low-cut filter, giving users on-the-fly control to tailor performance to the source and environment rather than relying on external processing.
Technical Performance
Under the hood, the sE6160 is built around a hand-crafted small-diaphragm true condenser capsule with an electrical impedance of 110 Ohms and standard 3-pin male XLR connectivity for easy integration into professional signal chains. Its shotgun (super-cardioid/lobar) polar pattern covers a full frequency range of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, with a sensitivity rating of 25 mV/Pa (-32 dBV). Self-noise is kept low at 13 dB(A), while maximum SPL handling scales with the attenuation pad setting: 137, 147, or 157 dB SPL at 0.5% THD for 0, 10, and 20 dB of attenuation respectively. Dynamic range follows suit at 124, 134, and 144 dB across those same pad settings, giving users flexibility to capture everything from delicate ambient detail to extremely loud sources without distortion. The sE6160 is available as a single microphone or as a factory-matched pair for stereo applications.
Why We Love This
Our gear experts appreciate the sE6160 because it solves a real problem: capturing clean sound amid chaos. Its tight super-cardioid pattern rejects crowd noise and stage bleed, letting performers hear a stunning, accurate in-ear mix while engineers simultaneously get a pristine live recording. The switchable pre-attenuation pad and low-cut filter give players and engineers control over unpredictable stage volumes. And its die-cast, roadworthy housing means it can handle the rigors of touring night after night without letting them down.
Features:
- Hand-crafted small-diaphragm true condenser capsule
- Tight shotgun (super-cardioid/lobar) polar pattern
- High gain-before-feedback with minimal colorization
- Switchable pre-attenuation pad
- Switchable low-cut filter
- Roadworthy die-cast housing for maximum robustness
- Wide frequency range of 20 Hz – 20,000 Hz
- Low self-noise at 13 dB(A)
- High max SPL handling (up to 157 dB SPL)
- Available as a single mic or factory-matched pair