Shure MV7i Review: I’m Shure This Hasn’t Been Done Before!

There are only so many ways to review microphones, and I’ve reviewed billions of them over the past decade.

And then, just as I have a fleeting thought of “Would anyone know if ChatGPT wrote this for me?” along comes a mic that actually does something different!

A quick heads up: we use some affiliate links in our reviews to help support all of our free content. We earn a small commission should you choose to buy through them, though never at any extra cost to you. We also received the MV7i on a loan from Shure for review purposes.

What’s So Unique About the Shure MV7i?

During my years as an audio gear reviewer, here’s how things have almost always worked:

• Option 1 – get a USB mic and plug it straight into your computer.
• Option 2 – get an XLR mic (or two) and run it through a USB audio interface plugged into your computer.

USB audio interfaces can be great bits of gear, but they are very single-purpose. They don’t record the audio, and they don’t store the audio. These are the jobs of your mic and computer, respectively.

Shure reinvented the wheel here by taking the role played by a USB audio interface and turning it into a USB mic.

Now, you can simply plug it in and hit record, just as you would with any other USB mic. Or, you can plug a second (XLR) mic into the Shure MV7i, and it runs both as if you had a USB audio interface.

The Shure MV7i as a Microphone

The original Shure MV7 was voted the third most popular mic in podcasting, according to our 2024 Podcaster Gear Survey.

In 2024, the MV7 was succeeded by the Shure MV7+, which quickly became another popular quality option for podcasters.

The Shure MV7i is part of the same family. It looks very similar to the other two, though it doesn’t work in XLR form (the other two could be plugged in via USB or XLR). It can run an additional XLR mic through it, but can’t act as one itself.

The MV7i has the same Digital Signal Processing as the MV7+. DSP refers to the various ways a microphone captures sound, impacting factors such as noise reduction, equalisation, and echo cancellation.

The fact that the MV7+ is such a great mic bodes well for the MV7i, and the fact that the latter doubles up as a USB audio interface makes this a powerhouse piece of kit.

The MV7i as an Audio Interface

You could buy the Shure MV7i purely as a USB mic, though it would be an expensive one if that’s all you did with it. At this price point, buyers will be leaning into its unique audio interface-style capabilities.

Have a guest or co-host visiting the studio? Grab an XLR mic, connect it to the Shure MV7i, and you’ll be all set to record on your own individual mics.

The XLR input is a Combo jack, meaning it can also take a 1/4″ TRS plug. This type of connection is more common in music than podcasting, but if you’re talented enough to sing and play the guitar, you can record each on two different tracks.

The MV7i, in its audio interface costume, offers a respectable +60dB of gain to help those quieter mics be heard, and 48v Phantom Power will run any XLR condenser mics at your disposal, too.

The MOTIV software acts as a digital mixer, allowing you to access all the settings for each mic, and you can also record directly inside there, too.

Comparable Setups

$349 is a lot of money, but how does it compare to buying an audio interface and two mics instead?

My favourite USB audio interface is the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. Now in its 4th Generation, this would cost you about $200, brand new. That’s already more than half the cost of the MV7i.

Next, I’d need two mics. Our most recommended entry-level mic is the Samson Q2U – brilliant value at $70, but for two of them, that’s another $140. So we’re now less than $10 short of the MV7i asking price.

Of course, buying the MV7i doesn’t get you a secondary XLR mic, so this setup assumes you already have one. $350 will get you the MV7i, but it won’t guarantee you the maximum use out of it.

A Shure MV7+ (the MV7i’s sister mic) costs $279, so two of them would rack up to $558. Adding on another $200 for a standalone audio interface would come to $758!

So even if you needed to buy a second XLR mic (again, the Q2U is less than $70), you can still save a decent chunk of cash here.

How Does the Shure MV7i Sound?

Here’s a wee sound sample of the mic in action, courtesy of a “YouTube Shorts” video (sidenote: in my day, “YouTube Shorts” was a common answer to the question “what should I wear in hot weather?”)

The audio was recorded via a MacBook Air.

The MOTIV software presets gave this a bit of a “radio” sound, which divides opinion among podcasters. But I think it comes across well, and I like the way it presents the Samson Q2U, too.

Summary: Shure MV7i Review

The Shure MV7i is an instantly memorable piece of kit. I’m almost certain that no other USB mic doubles up as a USB audio interface. It’s a clever concept, well-executed, and there are numerous situations where it could come in handy.

With that said, you’ll still need another (XLR) mic to make use of the MV7i in its audio interface form. If you’re starting from scratch and buying all your equipment, a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and a couple of Samson Q2Us can cost less than the MV7i alone.

But, if you already have a solid XLR mic and are in the market for a USB audio interface, then the MV7i is well worth your consideration!