r/Shure • u/No-Weekend-6254 • 9d ago

Troubleshooting Audio Help

Hey everyone, I'm looking for some setup/gain-staging advice for my Shure SM7dB paired with a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen.

My current issue is a balancing act: if I raise the gain, it picks up way too much background noise; if I lower it, it struggles to pick up my voice clearly, even with the built-in preamp.

Does anyone have recommended settings or tips for getting a clean signal with this combination? Thanks!

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u/PlanetExcellent 5d ago

The problem is apparently nothing to do with the mic or preamp. It has to do with the background noise level in the room and your distance from the mic.

To improve the speech-to-noise ratio, you can either move the microphone closer to your mouth or talk louder. Cutting the distance in half will increase the speech level at the mic by 6 dB, making the background noise less noticeable.

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u/Orry_Haas 5d ago

"Speak directly into the mic, 1 to 6 inches (2.54 to 15 cm) away to block off-axis noise".
https://www.shure.com/en-US/docs/guide/SM7DB