Danke! Hi Bandrew! This was a very nice overview. It will help many people to make up their mind. Do you already see coming what I am going to say next? Yes, you got it! There were several microphones in this comparison, which I found better sounding with your voice than the SM7B. Especially the two Neumanns. But that's just me. Thank you again and enjoy your time.
Thank you very much Rainer! Haha! I really like how I sound on the Neumann’s as well. I still love the SM7b, but I have also come to love other microphones a lot more as well, and those Neumann’s are at the top of this.
Close micing (1-6 inches): 4:00 studio condenser Neumann TLM 49 4:07 large diaphragm dynamic sm7b 4:16 handheld dynamic : se electronics v7 Bit of distance (6-12inches): 6:51 large diaphragm condenser: Lewitt LCT 440 7:09 small condenser diaphragm: se electronics se8 7:22 shotgun: diety s mic 2 Out of frame: 9:34 shotgun mic: Diety S Mic 2 9:46 hypercardoid small diaphragm condenser: Neumann km 185 MT 10:09 omni lav mic: sennheiser me2 Moving around: 10:30 handheld mic: some Lewitt mic 11:15 lavalier: sennheiser me2 12:05 headset: ATH-M50xSTS StreamSet
8:12 I hear that shotgun microphones shouldn't be used indoors in untreated rooms because they'll be catching weirdly sounding reflections because of how they reject sound.
Thanks for that corrective comment, I appreciate the information. I have heard people talk about this, but haven’t personally experienced any of the issues I’ve heard cited. Sounds like I need to dive into that, test it out, and try to recreate the issues that are mentioned.
It seems to be true - most of the time when I hear someone using shotgun indoors it sounds weird. No different in this video - both shotgun mic examples sounded way worse than SDCs, just like in other similar comparisons I've seen and I don't think it's a coincidence
I was using it 15 inches from the front of the tube (so probably 18” from the diaphragm of the mic) vs. 12” from diaphragm in the SDC which would make it sound worse in that regard. But a more direct A/B with diaphragms lined up seems in order.
Thanks Bandrew! Headsets are super underrated especially headset mounted lav mics. Can sound fantastic. Also give you a great noise to voice ratio because they’re so close and the levels need to be so low.
Thanks for another banger! I never put much stock into mics in frame for videos until I actually started making videos (at least, it was a factor for me). This is a great overview and info I wish I had known before getting into mics. This will truly be helpful for many people
Thanks so much Hubert! I’m excited for this to go live next Tuesday. I hope it does end up helping people select the right mic for how they’re going to use it because I see a lot of “odd” choices being made, but everyone is at a different point in their audio journey. Thanks so much for checking it out!
Excellent information and of course presented incredibly well... as is always expected from the Great Podcastage !!! The one tiny thing you sort of missed although you did briefly mention was cardioid or super cardioid lavs. These are not as uncommon as you seems to imply, actually they are rather common in live sound reinforcement applcations. They do have a bit less room noise than an omni lav but the downside is placement is more critical and the sound can be affected adversely by extreme head turning, especially so if worn high up like on the collar or if the mic accidentally gets turned as it must be aimed straight up directly at your mouth or you will sound off mic. Can be a bit futzy but can be better than an omni lav if care is used.
Hey Bandrew. Always great to hear your voice. You didn't mention ribbons. I love my Rode NTR because my recordings sound exactly like me without colour or bias and I have a great deal of flexibility about placement. Of course, my (now treated) room does assist greatly here. Keep up the great work.
Yeah. I left ribbons off because this is more geared towards online content creation and podcasting, and ribbons are kind of a very rare exception. I don't think the overwhelming majority of podcasters/youtubers should go with ribbons since they are figure 8 and most rooms will do very poorly with that pattern.
I loooove the sound of that second microphone right after the Shure SM7B. Which one was it?? Edit: @ 00:23 Edit edit. Nevermind, the first mic you name in the list IS that microphone lol. Thanks :)
KM185 sounded fantastic overboomed - I'd love to hear it compared to SE7 in that use case since it has a really similar frequency response to the KM and it's like 7 times cheaper. Love your content!
The headset microphone you sampled at 12:09 (Audio Technica AT-M50x STS) sounds about as good to me as a handheld mic or a desk-mounted mic (dynamic or condenser). Maybe my ears aren't good enough 🤷🏼♂. It's definitely the best-sounding headset microphone by kilometres.
Listening to you talk about mic distance. I really hope you cover Nvidia broadcast and similar Ai tools. With room echo removal and noise removal I eliminate EVERY sound that isn't me from keyboards to noisy kids to televisions in the same room. All while I can move the mic between 6" and 3 feet with no perceptible difference in quality.
man you really have to make a videos explaining how you make the mics sound good i see reviews for the same mics you review and yours is always better even in the untreated room
08:44 I dare to disagree that the sound is more natural when mic is a little more distant: you can't say it is natural to actually hear a speaker in two rooms - the one where the recording took place, where sound was reflected from a table etc. + second: where it is heard. Speaking 3 inches from my ear reduces the room and sounds from vocal cords are still prevalent to mouth sounds. Not to mention better intelligibility and even "audible emotions" thanks to those mouth sounds.
From watching videos from sound guys that do movies etc it’s understood that to get good quality sound out of a lav you’ll need to do some eq. Alex Knickerbocker has some great TH-cam content, and shows how to get a lav pretty close to a shotgun mic.
In my opinion using an sdc at 30cm away (with a little eq to lower the treble) sounds great, but only if you're not using the keyboard while recording and speak loud and clear
For a headset, I have a few Corsair Void Elites (which I love) and a Virtuoso XT that's borderline trash. The one you use sounds pretty good for a headset. I really need to search your past videos for headset reviews.
Would the shotgun DS 2 be ideal to do voiceovers for tech tutorials for my Support team? I work from home, and have used text to speech so far but it takes so much effort and it’s getting expensive. I want to offer my supervisor some other options and I think a mic would be a very good alternative.
Hey Hello Podcastage, thanks for this nice video ! Have you ever talked about using (or not) a Fethead or a Cloudlifter for the SM7B (or another), why ans why maybe not ?
I assume you didn’t do any processing besides maybe a limiter for all these demos? I really do feel like lavs need some eq to sound uh… how do I say this… less bad lol. I remember the eq you and SoundSpeeds used on lavs on the BSP and it really did help the lavs sound less anemic
until this point i had been looking at dynamic mics to have less background noise but now i think i have to go condenser after all to be able to be a bit further away as getting annoyed of a microphone in my face is my biggest concern. Your reviews are great but I would like to see what microphones you recommend from each price point. Now i am looking for a max 150€ usb mic for just talking on discord. The AT2020USB-X seems pretty good but im not sure if the weaker low end is a deal-breaker. Also getting kinda pissed off by people reviewing a usb mic and saying yeah i would rather just get a similarly priced xlr mix + 50€ interface + 15€ cable. like what is the point of saying that when it raises the price so much
Hi, I'm looking for a microphone within a $20-$30 budget that has strong background noise cancellation or reduction, as my room is a bit crowded. It would be great if the mic doesn't pick up breathing sounds but still has good sensitivity to capture my voice clearly. Sorry for asking so much, and thanks in advance for any recommendations!
My name is Sukhwinder Singh. I am a writer. I want to record my poetry professionally. Please tell me a good audio interface and mic which is within budget and also gives me professional sound quality. My total budget is, audio interface, microphone, headphones = $350
@TrueS. Nobody can chose the correct gear for you especially with so little information provided, not even the Grest Podcastage. The best mic for you depends on the environment you will be recording in, the sound of your voice, and what kind of sound you are after. $350 for a mic, interface, and headphones is a pretty big ask if you want quality and there are other expenses as well like a mic cable and some sort of mic stand which limit your budget for the big three items even more. That being said your budget is more like $300 not $350. The Scarlett 2i2 (now in it's 4th generation) is pretty much the basic starting point for good sound on a budget bit even this interface is $199 which would leave only $100 for a mic and headphones which is simply not enough to do this well. The Scarlett Solo is a bit of a compromise over the 2i2 but is still decent and it only having one mic input might never be an issue in your use of it. As the 4th generation of the Solo is still fairly new you can get the Solo gen3 brand new still in some places and at about $99. This leaves you some amount of budget for a mic and headphones. I still like the 2i2 better than the Solo but your budget is tight. At this point deciding on a mic is what you need to do and that is not an easy task as I said before we have no idea what your voice sounds like, what your recording environment is like, or what kind of sound you would find appealing. Things I would say to consider would be: are you soft spoken or do you have a loud voice generally? Do you have a place with very low background noise to record or are there serious issues with your space like car sounds, people talking in the next room, or a loud HVAC system??? If you have a noisy recording space then I might suggest a dynamic mic like the Shure SM57 and speaking into it from an inch or two away. If however you have a very soft voice I might hesitate to suggest a dynamic mic as you might prefer the additional detail offered by a condenser mic. The sound of different mics can be subtle but sometimes a mic just doesn't work well with a particular voice so personal preference can be a big deal. If a condenser is the route you want to go then the Audio Technica AT2020 is quite decent for $99 and is basically a standard as a budget condenser. It does do a bit of a weird thing to my ears in the midrange and it does have a rather high self noise, in spite of these things many are quite happy with it's performance at this budget price. Other mics like the Lewett 240 and the sE Electronics mics are kind of similar and at the same price point. With your budget I would shoot a little higher like $150 or so for the Rode NT1 Signature which has a much lower self noise although I prefer the sound of the older NT1 generation 4 which is kind of beyond the budget and maybe tricky to find new at this point. One other consideration would be the Neat Kingbee mic which sounds somewhat smoother than many mics in it's price range and has low noise bit is a huge heavy microphone. Honestly there are so many mics to chose from answering your question is incredibly difficult if not impossible but maybe this gives you a bit of a starting point. Headphones are also extremely personal in what exactly works for someone. Considering your total budget I would say spending $50 on a set of Audio-Technica ATH-M20x would be good enough to let you know pretty well what you are recording without taking too much out of your budget for the mic, interface, and other necessary accessories.
@@7171jay Sir, I am very tired of asking everyone. But I did not get the right advice from anyone. Some say to buy a dynamic mic, some say to buy a condenser mic. I want to record my poetry professionally at home. Please tell me a good mic and audio interface which gives me professional sound quality within my budget. My room is not Sound proof, My total budget is 350 dollars for audio interface, mic and headphones. But sir I want the Same sound quality which is in this video 👇🏿 th-cam.com/users/shorts0MytL7WNsBg?si=n2rVzX24BK0bI5F-
Now… let’s explore some of the most common types of microphones 100% compatible with an Apple iPad - and without ‘any’ reference to other than iOS and the iPad:
Danke! Hi Bandrew! This was a very nice overview. It will help many people to make up their mind. Do you already see coming what I am going to say next? Yes, you got it! There were several microphones in this comparison, which I found better sounding with your voice than the SM7B. Especially the two Neumanns. But that's just me. Thank you again and enjoy your time.
Thank you very much Rainer! Haha! I really like how I sound on the Neumann’s as well. I still love the SM7b, but I have also come to love other microphones a lot more as well, and those Neumann’s are at the top of this.
Close micing (1-6 inches):
4:00 studio condenser Neumann TLM 49
4:07 large diaphragm dynamic sm7b
4:16 handheld dynamic : se electronics v7
Bit of distance (6-12inches):
6:51 large diaphragm condenser: Lewitt LCT 440
7:09 small condenser diaphragm: se electronics se8
7:22 shotgun: diety s mic 2
Out of frame:
9:34 shotgun mic: Diety S Mic 2
9:46 hypercardoid small diaphragm condenser: Neumann km 185 MT
10:09 omni lav mic: sennheiser me2
Moving around:
10:30 handheld mic: some Lewitt mic
11:15 lavalier: sennheiser me2
12:05 headset: ATH-M50xSTS StreamSet
8:12 I hear that shotgun microphones shouldn't be used indoors in untreated rooms because they'll be catching weirdly sounding reflections because of how they reject sound.
Yep. Reflections can sound pretty nasty through an interference-tube mic.
Thanks for that corrective comment, I appreciate the information. I have heard people talk about this, but haven’t personally experienced any of the issues I’ve heard cited. Sounds like I need to dive into that, test it out, and try to recreate the issues that are mentioned.
It seems to be true - most of the time when I hear someone using shotgun indoors it sounds weird. No different in this video - both shotgun mic examples sounded way worse than SDCs, just like in other similar comparisons I've seen and I don't think it's a coincidence
I was using it 15 inches from the front of the tube (so probably 18” from the diaphragm of the mic) vs. 12” from diaphragm in the SDC which would make it sound worse in that regard. But a more direct A/B with diaphragms lined up seems in order.
I like this format and structure. Really helpful information. Great examples too. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks Bandrew! Headsets are super underrated especially headset mounted lav mics. Can sound fantastic. Also give you a great noise to voice ratio because they’re so close and the levels need to be so low.
Thanks for another banger! I never put much stock into mics in frame for videos until I actually started making videos (at least, it was a factor for me). This is a great overview and info I wish I had known before getting into mics. This will truly be helpful for many people
Thanks so much Hubert! I’m excited for this to go live next Tuesday. I hope it does end up helping people select the right mic for how they’re going to use it because I see a lot of “odd” choices being made, but everyone is at a different point in their audio journey. Thanks so much for checking it out!
Excellent information and of course presented incredibly well...
as is always expected from the Great Podcastage !!!
The one tiny thing you sort of missed although you did briefly mention was cardioid or super cardioid lavs.
These are not as uncommon as you seems to imply, actually they are rather common in live sound reinforcement applcations. They do have a bit less room noise than an omni lav but the downside is placement is more critical and the sound can be affected adversely by extreme head turning, especially so if worn high up like on the collar or if the mic accidentally gets turned as it must be aimed straight up directly at your mouth or you will sound off mic. Can be a bit futzy but can be better than an omni lav if care is used.
Small diaphragm condensers do wonders for vocals. I've heard them in action, and I was amazed.
Thanks for all your hard work. I bought the sE7 after your review and have been loving it for my dialogue.
I really love what you do. this series is amazing
Hey Bandrew. Always great to hear your voice. You didn't mention ribbons. I love my Rode NTR because my recordings sound exactly like me without colour or bias and I have a great deal of flexibility about placement. Of course, my (now treated) room does assist greatly here. Keep up the great work.
Yeah. I left ribbons off because this is more geared towards online content creation and podcasting, and ribbons are kind of a very rare exception. I don't think the overwhelming majority of podcasters/youtubers should go with ribbons since they are figure 8 and most rooms will do very poorly with that pattern.
Great series Bandrew! 👍
I loooove the sound of that second microphone right after the Shure SM7B. Which one was it?? Edit: @ 00:23 Edit edit. Nevermind, the first mic you name in the list IS that microphone lol. Thanks :)
I love these videos. You're the best!
I think this video is very helpful for me to understand and choose microphones
Excellent video.
I've never heard a good headset mic until RIGHT NOW 🤣 Great video as always!
KM185 sounded fantastic overboomed - I'd love to hear it compared to SE7 in that use case since it has a really similar frequency response to the KM and it's like 7 times cheaper. Love your content!
The headset microphone you sampled at 12:09 (Audio Technica AT-M50x STS) sounds about as good to me as a handheld mic or a desk-mounted mic (dynamic or condenser). Maybe my ears aren't good enough 🤷🏼♂. It's definitely the best-sounding headset microphone by kilometres.
so much to learn! 🤯
You should receive more love for your contribution in choosing the best audio any situation. 👍🏼
Listening to you talk about mic distance. I really hope you cover Nvidia broadcast and similar Ai tools. With room echo removal and noise removal I eliminate EVERY sound that isn't me from keyboards to noisy kids to televisions in the same room. All while I can move the mic between 6" and 3 feet with no perceptible difference in quality.
man you really have to make a videos explaining how you make the mics sound good i see reviews for the same mics you review and yours is always better even in the untreated room
08:44 I dare to disagree that the sound is more natural when mic is a little more distant: you can't say it is natural to actually hear a speaker in two rooms - the one where the recording took place, where sound was reflected from a table etc. + second: where it is heard. Speaking 3 inches from my ear reduces the room and sounds from vocal cords are still prevalent to mouth sounds. Not to mention better intelligibility and even "audible emotions" thanks to those mouth sounds.
From watching videos from sound guys that do movies etc it’s understood that to get good quality sound out of a lav you’ll need to do some eq. Alex Knickerbocker has some great TH-cam content, and shows how to get a lav pretty close to a shotgun mic.
I used a wireless lav mic giving a webinar, but forgot to put the cable under my skirt.. snapping it when i stand up and show things in my studio 😁
In my opinion using an sdc at 30cm away (with a little eq to lower the treble) sounds great, but only if you're not using the keyboard while recording and speak loud and clear
I missed the “Hello Neumann!” Awwww.
🤣"What's the deal with these microphones" - definitely Seinfeld.
The older I get, the more I realize just how good SDC mics are. The good ones sound more natural than even most LDC mics.
For a headset, I have a few Corsair Void Elites (which I love) and a Virtuoso XT that's borderline trash. The one you use sounds pretty good for a headset.
I really need to search your past videos for headset reviews.
I need the EQ tutorial for the shure sm7b🔥
great video. what kind of sdc mic is shown at 8:28? Is it the Neumann KM 185?
The one I held up was the se electronics se8.
@@Podcastage thank you very much for the fast response.
Would the shotgun DS 2 be ideal to do voiceovers for tech tutorials for my Support team? I work from home, and have used text to speech so far but it takes so much effort and it’s getting expensive. I want to offer my supervisor some other options and I think a mic would be a very good alternative.
Hey Hello Podcastage, thanks for this nice video ! Have you ever talked about using (or not) a Fethead or a Cloudlifter for the SM7B (or another), why ans why maybe not ?
I assume you didn’t do any processing besides maybe a limiter for all these demos? I really do feel like lavs need some eq to sound uh… how do I say this… less bad lol. I remember the eq you and SoundSpeeds used on lavs on the BSP and it really did help the lavs sound less anemic
10:40 lol
until this point i had been looking at dynamic mics to have less background noise but now i think i have to go condenser after all to be able to be a bit further away as getting annoyed of a microphone in my face is my biggest concern. Your reviews are great but I would like to see what microphones you recommend from each price point. Now i am looking for a max 150€ usb mic for just talking on discord. The AT2020USB-X seems pretty good but im not sure if the weaker low end is a deal-breaker.
Also getting kinda pissed off by people reviewing a usb mic and saying yeah i would rather just get a similarly priced xlr mix + 50€ interface + 15€ cable. like what is the point of saying that when it raises the price so much
Hi, I'm looking for a microphone within a $20-$30 budget that has strong background noise cancellation or reduction, as my room is a bit crowded. It would be great if the mic doesn't pick up breathing sounds but still has good sensitivity to capture my voice clearly. Sorry for asking so much, and thanks in advance for any recommendations!
What headset is that?
It sounds very good for a headset.
I had an ADG1X and this looks like it might be a new version of the closed back version.
Audio Technica ATH-M50X-STS-USB
What headset mic is that?
I want a helmet that I can overhead mount an SDC to. Then get a wireless XLR adapter and it’s mobile. Totally discreet.
I'm amazed how bad the lav sounded
Hello neuman
My name is Sukhwinder Singh. I am a writer. I want to record my poetry professionally. Please tell me a good audio interface and mic which is within budget and also gives me professional sound quality.
My total budget is, audio interface, microphone, headphones = $350
@TrueS. Nobody can chose the correct gear for you especially with so little information provided, not even the Grest Podcastage.
The best mic for you depends on the environment you will be recording in, the sound of your voice, and what kind of sound you are after.
$350 for a mic, interface, and headphones is a pretty big ask if you want quality and there are other expenses as well like a mic cable and some sort of mic stand which limit your budget for the big three items even more.
That being said your budget is more like $300 not $350.
The Scarlett 2i2 (now in it's 4th generation) is pretty much the basic starting point for good sound on a budget bit even this interface is $199 which would leave only $100 for a mic and headphones which is simply not enough to do this well.
The Scarlett Solo is a bit of a compromise over the 2i2 but is still decent and it only having one mic input might never be an issue in your use of it. As the 4th generation of the Solo is still fairly new you can get the Solo gen3 brand new still in some places and at about $99. This leaves you some amount of budget for a mic and headphones. I still like the 2i2 better than the Solo but your budget is tight.
At this point deciding on a mic is what you need to do and that is not an easy task as I said before we have no idea what your voice sounds like, what your recording environment is like, or what kind of sound you would find appealing.
Things I would say to consider would be: are you soft spoken or do you have a loud voice generally?
Do you have a place with very low background noise to record or are there serious issues with your space like car sounds, people talking in the next room, or a loud HVAC system???
If you have a noisy recording space then I might suggest a dynamic mic like the Shure SM57 and speaking into it from an inch or two away.
If however you have a very soft voice I might hesitate to suggest a dynamic mic as you might prefer the additional detail offered by a condenser mic. The sound of different mics can be subtle but sometimes a mic just doesn't work well with a particular voice so personal preference can be a big deal.
If a condenser is the route you want to go then the Audio Technica AT2020 is quite decent for $99 and is basically a standard as a budget condenser. It does do a bit of a weird thing to my ears in the midrange and it does have a rather high self noise, in spite of these things many are quite happy with it's performance at this budget price.
Other mics like the Lewett 240 and the sE Electronics mics are kind of similar and at the same price point. With your budget I would shoot a little higher like $150 or so for the Rode NT1 Signature which has a much lower self noise although I prefer the sound of the older NT1 generation 4 which is kind of beyond the budget and maybe tricky to find new at this point. One other consideration would be the Neat Kingbee mic which sounds somewhat smoother than many mics in it's price range and has low noise bit is a huge heavy microphone. Honestly there are so many mics to chose from answering your question is incredibly difficult if not impossible but maybe this gives you a bit of a starting point.
Headphones are also extremely personal in what exactly works for someone. Considering your total budget I would say spending $50 on a set of Audio-Technica ATH-M20x would be good enough to let you know pretty well what you are recording without taking too much out of your budget for the mic, interface, and other necessary accessories.
@@7171jay Sir, I am very tired of asking everyone. But I did not get the right advice from anyone. Some say to buy a dynamic mic, some say to buy a condenser mic. I want to record my poetry professionally at home. Please tell me a good mic and audio interface which gives me professional sound quality within my budget. My room is not Sound proof, My total budget is 350 dollars for audio interface, mic and headphones.
But sir I want the Same sound quality which is in this video 👇🏿
th-cam.com/users/shorts0MytL7WNsBg?si=n2rVzX24BK0bI5F-
yo i’ve never been this early!! i love your stuff. top 10 audio youtuber easily
Thank you!
Whats the rest of the top 10? He is my favorite (mic wise)
@@youtub-fj8mu i agree. there’s a lot of great ones let’s just leave it at that
@@LMFAO5001 i wanted recommendations to watch, that's why I asked lol
Now… let’s explore some of the most common types of microphones 100% compatible with an Apple iPad - and without ‘any’ reference to other than iOS and the iPad:
Somehow, a good silenced studio sounds boring when a person is just talking. Most pro audio channels have thus issue. Is this solvable?
Great!, but I have a question: When do you want to change your decor?!
All of them. Because they all have different jobs
The real answer we all come to.
I cant believe you pronounced LaValier properly, ur such a nerd to even know the story XD