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Sound Advice Strategies

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Podcast Microphone Tests and Recommendations

Podcast Microphone Tests and Recommendations

One of the questions we get the most is a version of "what microphone is the best for podcasting?" Kelvin tackles this and demonstrates what we've tested. They range in price from $15.00 to $170.00 Listen and let us know which one you think sounds best. 

Show Notes

I’m not going to do the typical overview – there are two main types of microphones, dynamic (no power required) and condenser (requires power, sometimes referred to as phantom power, via batteries or external mic interface), blah blah blah … because that is boring.

What I am going to do is give you a sample recording of different types of mics that I own. There is no sponsored content here, just a number of microphones that I have accumulated over the last several years. My collection include both dynamic and condenser mics, purchased at different times for different purposes. cord with today are the:

MXL BCD-1 Broadcast Dynamic Microhone – I used this mic to record this audio. It’s the microphone I use for all my indoor recordings, as well as for Zoom meetings and the like. $140-$170 depending on where you purchase it from.

 

 

 

 

VidPro XM-55 Professional Video & Broadcast Unidirectional Condenser microphone. I bought this mic for our camera, so that we could record video and not have to have a mic in the shot. It’s very similar to the mics you see TV journalists use outside on boom poles. This mic came as a kit with multiple connectors & adapters, batteries (condenser mics require power, unless provided through USB or other interface), a camera mount, a handle, a wind filter and a foam pop filter. Approx $80

 

Audio Technica ATR2100-USB is another dynamic microphone, but it has the capability of being connected via direct USB or standard XLR connection. One of the first mics we ever purchased. a solid performer used by a number of podcasters. The model I will be recording with has been discontinued, although I have seen it still for sale on different sites at anywhere from $80-$150. There is a new model, the ATR2100x-USB with lists on the Audio Technica site for $99. 

 

 

 

 

Neewer NW-7000 – is another condenser microphone. I bought this mic because it was cheap and I was curios as to what the quality would be. It came as a kit with everything. A clamp for mounting, a swing arm, a pop filter, a shock mount for the mic and a USB cable… all for the outrageous price of $33. You might pay $40 for this kit today. I will let you be the judge of the quality.

 

 

 

 

Skullcandy Earbuds – another condenser mic… yep… those wired earbuds with the inline mic that you see connected to smartphones and hanging out of peoples ears all the time. You can get a pair of these relatively cheap… anywhere from $9 to $30 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, I will be using the microphone that is built into my laptop. It will also be a condenser microphone and other than the fact that I have an HP Envy laptop, I can’t tell you anything specific about the microphone.
To be fair I recorded the mics at the same level and at the same distance from my face, or chin to be exact. If you made a fist, and then stuck your pinky finger and thumb straight out, put your thumb on your chin and touched the mic with your pinky – thats the distance I placed all these microphones from my chin to record these tests. For those of you with different sized hands than me, thats about 8-9 inches.
The laptop and skullcandy earbuds with microphone were used like you would in a typical setting. The laptop was on my desk in front of me and the earbuds were in my ears with the microphone on the right side cord.
You will hear 3 takes with each microphone.
The first version is the raw recording. It’s how that microphone sounded right after recording. The same clip plays again with the recording being brought up to the industry standard of loudness ( LUFS is the abbreviation and it deals with the perceived loudness of the track ) iTunes prefers audio to be submitted at -16 LUFS. This keeps you from having to raise and lower your volume when you go from one podcast recording to another.
This second recording will have no background noise or anything removed, just the sound level brought up to industry standard.
The final version is a fully edited recording that you would hear on a finished podcast.
Listen and make some notes. Which microphone do you think sounds best? 
Email me at podcast@soundadvicestrategies.com and share your feedback. Do you have a microphpone that’s working for you? Share that too. We’d love to add to our test so we can continue to give you best options.

Show Resources