About the Shure MX395 Microflex Low-Profile Figure-8 Boundary Microphone
The Shure MX395 is a sophisticated low-profile boundary microphone designed for high-quality audio capture in professional conferencing and installation environments. Its defining characteristic is a precision-engineered figure-8 (bi-directional) polar pattern, which allows it to pick up sound with exceptional clarity from two opposite sides while rejecting unwanted noise from the sides and rear. This makes it particularly well-suited for applications such as boardroom tables, council chambers, and lecture halls where participants are seated across from one another, enabling clear audio pickup of multiple speakers from a single, discreet unit. The microphone’s ultra-slim, low-profile design allows it to be placed unobtrusively on a table surface or integrated into furniture without obstructing sightlines or meeting aesthetics.
Technologically, the MX395 employs Shure’s advanced Microflex condenser transducer technology, ensuring wide frequency response, high sensitivity, and low self-noise for pristine audio reproduction. As a boundary microphone, it utilizes the pressure-zone design principle, placing its capsule extremely close to a hard, reflective surface to eliminate phase cancellations and comb filtering that typically plague microphones in such environments. This results in a natural, open sound quality with enhanced presence and intelligibility, which is critical for voice reproduction in teleconferencing, recording, and sound reinforcement systems. The unit is internally shielded against radio frequency interference (RFI), ensuring clean signal transmission even in electrically noisy environments.
The microphone features a sturdy, brushed aluminum housing that is both aesthetically pleasing and durable for permanent installation. It includes a three-position sensitivity switch (0, -10, -20 dB) to accommodate varying sound pressure levels and prevent input overload, providing flexibility for different acoustic situations without requiring external pads. Connection is made via a locking 3-pin Mini-XLR output, which secures the attached cable and prevents accidental disconnection. With its combination of a specialized figure-8 polar pattern, boundary-layer design, and robust construction, the Shure MX395 delivers focused, high-fidelity audio capture tailored for professional settings where clear communication and a clean, minimalistic appearance are essential.