I'm sure the Rode mic is a good option but before trading in the SM7b I'd try to figure out why you're getting such low levels. Are you sure you're plugging into the front panel XLR mic inputs rather than using a cable with a TRS and going to either the front or rear panel line level inputs? Have you made sure that the -20dB mic pad switches are in the "off" position? If they're engaged it will cut the level dramatically. Have you turned up the mic input gain trim controls?

how much voice over experience do you have? in a perfect world, you'd be able to evaluate the different mics and see which one works best with your voice... there isn't any one mic that is best for every single type of voice out there.

if your budget is tight, have you looked at any of the chinese knockoffs? for the markets i'm in, and the minimal amount of voiceover training that i have, cheaper was plenty good enuf... if i need really serious voiceover work, i'll pay a high-end pro for it... and it would be worth every penny.

anyway, i ended up with a studio projects c1, google it up and you'll see how controversial it is :-) long story short, it blows away the shure smxx's that i've used in the past, and it's only $100 or so.

The price point on the C1 makes it a trash mic, but the sound of it is anything but. It's a little metallic for me, but that's very easy to deal with in post. One of our VASST instructors (Wes Howell) does all his voiceover work with the C1, and he's doing some exceptionally visible work. It's one of the best bang-for-buck mics out there, IMO

SM7 level problems
 

Thanks, Steve for your help. I was in the front xlr port, gain turned all the way up, pad not engaged. I also tried routing it through my PSC Promix 3 to see if I could get a little more ooompf before entering the 410. Not much of an advantage. Does anybody know how much gain the 410 is supposed to supply? Should it be enough for an SM7? For the record, I'm running a G5 dual 2.7, 10.4.4 and using Audacity (and my ears) to check levels. Thanks for any input.

I think the m-Audio web site lists something like 66dB gain available from the mic inputs which should be more than enough. What are the input levels showing on the m-Audio? There's a red clipping LED that should blink to sound peaks when the gain is all the way up. Clipping is a no-no so you should turn the gain up until the clip light goes on and then back it off until the red led no longers flickers. If you can turn input trim high enough that the LED lights up and the sound still SOUNDS too low in your monitors, something else farther down the chain isn't set right and the problem isn't the mic.

thanks a bunch for that feedback, it should be helpful to anyone looking for an inexpensive mic.

FW 410/ Shure SM7 compatability
 

Thanks again, Steve for the reply, it's been very helpful. With the mic 6" or so from my mouth and talking fairly loud, I can't get it into the red clipping zone with the gain ALL the way up. If I literally put my mouth on it and make a pretty good noise, i can get it into the red, but that's ridiculous. If I record non clipping audio with the gain maxed and the mic 6" away, I'm getting levels of about -36 db. I have a query in to M-Audio tech support to see if they claim it should work with this mic.

Try swapping out the cable - you may have a mis-wired XLR, a broken wire, or a bad solder joint. I don't own either piece of equipment myself but logic says that normal speech volumes 6" away from the mic with the gain at max should at least cause the clip LED to flicker if not illuminate constantly. I have a Rode NT1a mic (admittedly a condenser mic, not a dynamic like your Shure) and an Echo Audiofire interface and that's certainly how those two pieces of gear behave.

I wonder if you have something turned down on the software mixer controls for your m-audio interface?