This mic is PERFECT for live performances. Very happy with it!

This mic IS a game changer, Sensational sound!
That ole saying " you get what you pay for" worth every penny! Stunning, spectacular Sound!

Our daughter has been using this mic for almost 2 years now and it is a fantastic mic for her live performances. She has a wide range and sings many different genres and this mic handles her voice so well. I don't understand some of the other comments about feedback. In fact, this mic seems to handle it better than most of the other mics we have used (Senn MD435, Shure Nexadyne). We use a Yamaha MG10XU so maybe that plays into the feedback issue. Not sure. But at the end of the day, this was the best mic she has ever used. She loves it.

This microphone was great while lasted. Sadly, after 5 years of using the microphone it ended up sounding bad. Repair cost is more than half the price of the microphone. Not worth pursing the same microphone for that price... in my opinion.

I purchased the KSM8 for its looks with hopes it would provide great on stage vocals as well.
It does ok in the studio but can't handle the ON STAGE environment.
Way too much feedback and sensitivity!
Do not purchase if you perform at loud stage volumes.
I waited too long to return. My KSM8 is just a nice shiny mic that I can't use :-(

Played my first gig with this mic last night and I am thoroughly impressed! As a singer/guitarist, and my voice being my main instrument (crooner baritone with a great range), the last decent mic I bought was an EV PL88LS back in the early 80's. It has served me well all these years. And while I have invested in other high quality gear over the years, guitars and amps, etc., it dawned on me that I haven't made a decent purchase for my vocals since those early days. I have used other mics over the years, but this really impressed me. Now, this is not the most expensive mic for stage. But, it really brought out the nuances of my voice and performance without me having to eat the wind screen. Also, if I was not singing directly into the mic, it still picked me up with out barely noticing much drop out! I bought the nickel version so it looks great too!

Excellent, awesome mic! Clearly a difference maker.

I have used this microphone in the past at one particular venue. With the onset of the pandemic and its subsequent recovery, venues are now asking that vocalists bring their own mics. This is why I purchased this one.

More bottom end and than your typical SM58-type live mic and better clarity. Much less proximity effect as well. Beautiful looking and sounding with great balance and weight. Pricey, but well worth the money. Inspiring to sing through.

I purchased this mic because I wanted an upgrade from my senheiser e835. I was happy with the e835, I wanted to upgrade because I've had it for over 10 years. Ordered the KSM8 and tried it out as soon as I got it. Disappointed! It lacked crisp clear highs. I needed to give it more high on the eq and gain to match the sound to the e835. Not only that, I put it on my apex 48 keyboard stand with mic boom and when I played my keyboards I was getting a thumping sound. That would fall under handling noise. Terrible. I returned it and decided to go for a senheiser md 435. Now that's a good mic! I would definitely recommend senheiser over shure! If you're thinking of buying this mic, I suggest spending the extra 100 and get the senheiser MD 435. It's a better mic. Crisp clear highs, no handling noise or thumping in my case.

I've been waiting for over seven years now my dream has come true.

I have this and the KSM9 miç and both sound AMAZING. Main difference after almost nightly use is the KSM9 has less handling noise. Using both close to my main speakers (Bose F1) work hand n hand with drastically reducing feedback unlike my beloved JBL SR speakers horns. Even then it wasn't bad. Hands down these are beautiful and solid, top of the line mic's I give a 6 star if I could.

Although my normal mic ownership has been in a studio (AKG414, Neumann, Senn421, etc), I recently purchased a Shure KSM8 to help improve the vocal quality in a grand old church and wide range of talent they brought to the community, including Sunday services & 1st Friday town events. The singing styles included Contemporary, Gospel, Blues, and yes, Operatic. From hand held, lips on the mic types, to 6" back to 3 feet back singers. The KSM8 made be a believer, after years of sonic suffering from other condenser mics with intense proximity effect and tinny-ness from afar. The performers have now abandoned the two SM58's, and love this mic. Best donation I ever made, except, now I must buy one for myself.......

I expected more of this mic, but i can say it does what it rells you it does, its not a real clear mic BUT it can stand out in the mix you make... but it needs to be a good eq... i also noticed you need to know how to use it. Its not only singing on it you need to know how close you need to get to the mic... its great but not as clear as a beta 58 .... its like a sm58 but newer version.... massive sweet spot and great double diaphram feature but it needs more clearness... last thing... i would not lend this mic to someone that has problem with puting the mic facing down... alot of ugly feed back because too much MIDS.! I expected more... but it sounds good, i love shure and will allways love them....

I could say the KSM8 is about $100 too much, but Shure deserves it. This really is the most lively live mic I've ever used. And it looks very pretty too. I got the shiny nickle finish and a shiny mic stand to match.

I've heard some criticism that it's not as versatile as the old SM line because it doesn't give the same umph on a snare, kick, or guitar amp for lack of a proximity effect. But, this thing is for singing, and in that it excels.

Because of it's high frequency response, a bit more care needs to be made to prevent feedback. You can sing a bit further away and a bit more off axis, and it still sounds great. And one can sing very close without nearly as much of the boomy proximity effect.

If you sing live and have the bucks, buy it. If you are leery, try it at a local music store and see. You can also catch the various Youtube videos of it out there.

My trusty Shure Beta 87A gave up the ghost in the middle of a gig a few weeks ago, so I dug out an SM-57 to use until I could figure out what I wanted to buy. I hadn't sung into a 57 for many years and although it had enough upper mids/highs to come across clearly in the PA mix, the sound was 'spitty' and 'sizzly' - quite artificial.
I did quite a lot of research - reading and comparative reviews, video shootouts, and so on. I was after the KSM9, but when I heard this heretofore unknown Shure mic model, the KSM8, on a couple of video shootouts I thought the singers sounded better on it than the KSM9 (or the Neumann KM105, for that matter). Clearly, this mic has a distinctive tone and a midrange clarity that I like.
I spend a lot of time recording in studios, including my own, with Neumann mics and AKG414s and the like, and this mic's live sound reminded me of the tone I shoot for with my own vocal recordings.
I tried really HARD to like the KSM9 better, because I know it's the top of the line, but every time I heard a bunch of mics, this was the one I picked, so I ordered the $500 mic that I had never heard of. Good old Sweetwater - always there to give us musicians a chance to try a piece of gear and return it if it's not our cup of tea!
So I started using it and I have never heard such tone through a PA before. People ask me about it, because of the sound and the distinctive chrome finish. People NOTICE this. It sounds (through a well mixed, high quality PA - mine are EAW/Crown and a BOSE L1 Model 2 B2) like what you hear at a concert. It is clean and clear and detailed, but not hyped. Requires no EQ for me, and I can eat it without messing up the sound.
Feedback is a problem at high volumes because of the wide cardioid pattern, so keep it away from the PA. In the demos, Shure shows singers backing way off this mic to demonstrate the consistency of tone, but I can't do that at bar volume with this mic. Stay right on it and hear every nuance (or every wart) of your vocal or instrument.
I can use it on my saxophones because the response is even, not hyped up bright. The wide pattern is perfect for sax or woodwinds because it gets the whole sound, not just the nasal crap coming out of the bell, where most people stick a mic on a horn.
Coffee shop singing and playing guitar works great with this mic, too, because what guitar tone it picks up is true and even, unlike SM-58's or the like.
Rejection from the rear is just fine; just watch out for the 60 degrees to either side of the front.
I will not be sending this back; it will be my good friend for the next 20 years, I hope! :-)

Bought it thinking it would be as close to as good as the KSM9 I own and was very disappointed... the sound was pretty good, but this mic had lots of issues with feedback. I tried it in a second venue and again feedback issues. I put it up to my Beta 58a and it was not as loud and was feeding back when just unplugging the cable from one to the other with out changing anything. Not good. Like I said I was very disappointed and ended up exchanging it out for another KSM9 with a bit more added cash to boot...

It's too bad because the KSM8 in nickel sure looks great! Shure keep working on it and fix the feedback issues and maybe I'll give it another go...

I love my new Shure KSM8 Dualdyne - Nickel microphone. It's worth every dime I paid for it. My voice is so much richer and crisp sounding. My other microphone made me sound muddy and muffled. I would def recommend this microphone to all the female singers out there.

Hands down one of the best vocal mic you can buy. Period. I alternate with an Audio Technica AE5400 Artist Elite and between the two I get a consistent sounds both live and in my project studio. My vocals are crystal clear and with just a little compression my voice really sounds great. This mic needs very little if any eq. I find the KSM8 really shine when placed a foot away from my tube twin guitar amp. In the studio you can really hear the breakup of tube that has also help me dial in my live sound. This mic may just have me putting my SM57 away.

I love SHURE, the SM58 is my long time partner (30yrs). In this case as far as the KSM8 is concerned. I like it... but is hard to get it to sound good as you would out of the box an SM58. I gave it a few weeks and it just did not convince me in those terms (for lack of a better word, no "ease of tweak") and I keep getting feed back. I have to say, the quality is there! At my home it sound real good, but live application was hard for me. I want to come back and maybe change my rating because I feel like I can work on it a little more and get it where I want it. In the mean time, I can't, due to the changes on every venue (Small, Mid, Lg) so Imagine, for three weeks I had to tweak it on every venue vs. the SM58, typically you just give it volume. Thats my experience and am still working on it. Don't take my experience to heart, you may have more experience then me in audio and find nothing wrong. It works as advertised and that "Dual-diaphragm" is "amazing". I still love SHURE and will stay with SHURE till my thought can't sing no more! ;-)

I just bought this mic. I have never heard such clarity in a live mic before. I'm a drummer that uses an in-ear setup and I was able to hear absolutely everything that I put into the mic. Cuts out so much unwanted noise and makes it painfully obvious when you're off key. Now I just need 4 more.

I have been performing for over 60 years( I started early). As far back as I remember, I have always used Shure Microphones and am accustomed to making note of the various difference's. This Jewell can easily
take the front seat by providing all the attributes of the SM-58; 58A Beta; 87A Beta. I have more than one of these microphones, but the KSM 8 Dualdyne surpasses all of these and gives even more, especially for the Large sweet spot.
Thank you to several of the Sweetwater team for helping me to decide on this microphone..

I have a deep voice and like to sing close to the mic. This mic has little or no proximity effect so it never gets boomy. Nice clear and accurate vocals.