I admit that I was stuck in the “USB mics aren’t great” mindset for a long time, but over the past few years there are so many awesome options (like the Profile) where I sometimes prefer USB mics now just for the simplicity:quality ratio.
XLR > Interface is literally the same thing as a usb mic. Only difference is that you also have a good dac and speaker out, and maybe a midi i/o all in the same unit. USB mic is the interface + mic in one unit, although not as robust or high quality.
The decision to upgrade from a Blue Yeti to an SM7B microphone proved to be a less-than-optimal choice for me. It took nearly a year of tweaking and adjusting to achieve the desired sound quality. It is crucial to understand the intricacies of high-end audio equipment, as proper setup and calibration are essential to make the most of its capabilities. Without this knowledge, such an investment may not yield the desired results, and the expenditure may be considered a waste. It is worth noting that not everyone is an audio engineer, and therefore, it is vital to do thorough research before making any significant purchases in this field.
Sm7 is one of my least favourite microphones, i think it just sounds dreadful, and it's a diva as well with the gain that it needs, and FET inline preamps can be surprisingly unreliable. Yeti isn't an ideal sounding microphone either but it's more on the inoffensive side. The big flaw of it is that only one of the 4 modes is usable, the cardioid, and that one uses only one capsule, so the rest of the acoustic assembly is just... diffraction inducing junk, but then diffraction isn't really THAT big a deal really. Though really most cases of Yeti are "shoulda bought an AT2020"; but also "well if you've already got the Yeti and it's not dying, you can just keep using it, it's fine".
That's entirely because it was an SM7B. Were you to for example, go to an MLXV67G and a UMC interface you would have always had a strong and clear signal with enough budget left over for a quality mic arm and room treatment. People get stuck with lackluster sound as shure products are rather mid heavy, even in flat position the SM7B has a slight mid emphasis and a slight low/high roll off. And since people seem to absolutely love adding highs and lows, naturally you're going to see a lot of people fiddling with EQ, withouit getting to the bottom of why the shure mic sounds weird. DBX 286 tends to get paired with it a lot, and the LF detail filter raises at 80 hz and dips the 250hz area so it sort of hits what's wrong with the SM7B. While that sort of EQ can be accomplished with software I wager it also gained popularity due to older interfaces not supplying enough gain on their own. However modern interfaces supply more than enough gain and have a better EIN. You also will be fighting with plosives quite a bit despite its design and be stuck with a blimp in your face when you inevitably use the thicker optional windscreen.
When I first got into content creation my goal was to get an XLR mic because "everyone" said the sound quality was superior. However after getting into doing tech reviews I've learned a majority of decent quality USB mics sound just as good if not better than similarly priced XLR mics
The mic components are often similar, it's the ADC (Analog to digital) converter that's inside the USB mic body that can hamper the final output or longevity of the mic. Audio interfaces for XLR mics are in effect a circuit isolated from the microphone and has a bit more quality to the components.
I started with the $20 BM-700/800, since I was thinking I was getting a great price to performance ratio. Of course, with its limited response, noise and with the fact that I didn't have any acoustic treatment, I was naive and arrogant for a year. I ended up getting a low cost interface and dynamic mic. After many upgrades, I'm now using a Tascam 2x2 HR and a RE-20 (snagged a barely used one for under $300). All this to get the sound I want on my Zoom meetings. Of course I've suggested the Samson Q2U for years to people to start out with. I think in the last year, we have started to see (hear) really good sounding USB dynamic mics.
They sound the same because the technology is the same, they're just putting it all in one package. A/D conversation is so good at this point, and has been for a number of years, that as long as you're getting something quality from a good brand it's basically a negligible point on the signal path. This fact runs deeply counter to what the old fogeys in audio have been insisting since decades past, which is you need to spend $1000 per channel on A/D conversion alone, on top of the cost of a high quality microphone, in order to achieve a professional sound, which is why people have been so resistant to accept USB micophones as they've come along.
I have the EL Gato Wave 3 and I got it because I’m a wheelchair bound content creator and I needed something that was going to help me utilize VST‘s to sound better on a naturally weaker, sounding voice, that has been problematic in the past with dynamic microphones. Condensers sound better for my voice and something that I could physically do myself and it worked perfectly! I have never sounded better, in all the years that I’ve made TH-cam and now Tik Tok videos. I had no idea that this was a stigma, but I really appreciate you doing this video to set the record straight and the new sinhizer sounds great!
I had a health issues that made my voice weaker when I talked into my dynamic mic I had to get surgery to fix it and i still had that problem while recovering so I bought a cheap mic booster and that did help me alot fortunately but recording was a pain
I would say that USB microphones are fine for people who intend to only use a single mic. Starting to do things like mixing sources from multiple microphones gets awkward with USB, where an XLR mic with a mixer with USB would make more sense.
Depends on the platform and recording software. Some DAWS are limited to a single source while others will happily accept 1-2-4-8, however many you may have. If you're on a Mac, Audio Hijack and Loopback from Rogue Amoeba will also let you channel audio from different sources
I believe it's not that hard with USB mics. It just needs right software. I have Elgato Wave :3 and Wave Link pretty much allows mixing from multiple mics. And as know Wave Link has a lot of alternatives on the market.
I bought a Wave:3 2 years ago and it has been my favorite mic I’ve ever owned and outclasses a lot of my friends XLR mics as they aren’t versed in how to properly set them up. With the addition of the Wave Link software, especially now with the addition of built in VST support, IMHO its the best usb microphone available and is one I will always recommend.
Due to your recommendations over a year plus a go, I went with the Samson Q2U. USB/XLR combo. I used the USB portion for months. Sounded great. Much better than the Astro A50 headset mic for streaming. I ended up moving to XLR when the Wave XLR interface went on sale and honestly, I got tired of Windows and VMB making things more painful than needed. I will say, having solid software makes these experiences much better, also being able to do research onto proper tuning, gating etc, makes a WORLD of difference that most people don't seem to be aware. For those instances, you really don't hurt going with a USB mic and honestly, in the past 5 years, they are some of the best mics at affordable price points. Great video, as always.
Q2U might even be the best mic on the market right now for someone who doesn't have any other audio equipment. One of the most balanced mics in terms of frequency response, and comes with almost everything, save for a boom arm. that you need to upgrade to an external audio interface.
I also use a q2u and made a recent discovery: I had a problem with the USB cable. As I strongly believe that quality cables matters, even with numeric signal, I searched for a better quality than the one provided by Samson, which is more or less the worst you can find ! In this category of USB cables, unfortunately the choice is very very limited. I choose one from the brand Vention. Believe it or not there is a big difference. Not only in the sound quality, it significantly reduces the delay with the headphones.
@@Calx9 I suppose it depends on the mics you listened to. For my voice, which favors a warmer mix, the Q2U for the price point and upgrade path was the right choice for me. I also didn't stay on USB very long. Realizing how touchy Windows is with USB settings, I moved to XLR input and I do not regret it. It's still the mic I use to this day and most people I speak to with it for work/gaming enjoy the sound that they note it. Not saying you're incorrect in your assessment, there absolutely may be one that is better or more preferable at this point and in general. Sounds be like that.
I have the Earthworks ICON USB and its amazing. Don't need an extra USB audio device for that extra cable and mess on the desk. Like with any other mic you need to do some processing to remove background noise etc. EQ APO with Re plugs is so good for that.
Have to say, USB microphones have been sounding very good for the last several years, so the most surprising thing to me in this video was the lack of handling noise...
Not the best time to talk critically about USB mics when this very video is sponsored by one. I don't expect you to be negative about them given the sponsor.
Good thing I have a decade of mic coverage on this channel and very transparently wouldn’t have made this video at all if it wasn’t something consistent with my stances and conclusions
I have a usb mic (MV7) which has an xlr port as well. Even though i have an audio interface, I still prefer the usb option. To use an xlr mic you need other things set up for it to work, people forget that...
Honestly, I just bought the Beacn to upgrade from a yeti and I'm stunned by how good it is. Beyond my wildest expectations for the audio of my channel. I'm still applying some of the same filters I used on my Yeti and it just really puts it into a fantastic spot. For $279, versus $600 or for for a Shure SM7B + gear, I couldn't be happier. And also, telling people they should spend $100s on XLR gear, versus $129 for a Yeti which is MORE than enough for most people who are just started out, seems nuts to me. For most new or even intermediate content creators, a Yeti or similar mic can go a long way. Heck, great example, Kyle Kulinski who just broke a million followers does his daily episodes with a Yeti
Switching from an XLR mic to a USB mic was the best decision I'd ever made in terms of improving my audio because for me less complexity was such a welcome change to my workflow and the fact that the results were exactly the same (i.e. listeners NOT complaining about bad audio). Listeners don't care if you have the best audio or okay audio, as long as you don't have bad audio that's all that matters for the vast majority of people making content online.
You can get great sound out of some UsB mics. You have to do a bit more tinkering in post for sure. But most ppl don’t need to spend the month they spend on equipment
im getting really annoyed that these kinda threads keep popping up that push beginner streamers to buy extremely expensive equipment that they do not need and honestly that not even successful streamers need they will tell people to spend 1000 dollars on audio equipment before a single minute streamed meanwhile i watch a ton of streamers or youtubers who sound like a 2005 webcam, but just have personality or can talk well. production quality is never bad, but people have this weird idea that they need to spend tons of money to validate themselves as a content creator
USB? Yes. Sennheiser Profile? Ugly sound. How could Sennheiser give out its reputation for such mediocre product? What will be next? Neumann-Plantronics one ear headset for call centers?
I just got a blue yeti in late February after upgrading from my surf onn Walmart mic. Even though it’s an old school mic it is awsome and littered with cool features. I’ve seen usb mic hate on twitter yt and from friends. They say that people don’t get anywhere with a usb microphone and then I tell them about penguinz0 who got 12 mil subs with a at2020 usb lol
Truth is that you don’t need you mic to sound amazing if it is decent and understandable then that will do. After that it just falls on your content imo
I record on my phone The NT-USB is great for EVERYTHING Podcast Voice over Music I make music and have a TH-cam channel and the NT-USB Has been nothing short of great. I can’t wait to get the new one. But the easy set up with such great sound can’t complain. I still use XLR on my phone as well a lot of people didn’t know you could do that but you need the right audio interface and equipment
Thanks for talking about this. I've never owned an XLR mic only because I don't really want to spend extra on another piece of hardware apart from the mic, and mostly because whenever I do watch reviews, from you and other mic review channels, the quality of audio I get from the USB mic reviews I see on youtube are honestly incredible, and to none the wiser, would probably be near impossible to tell the difference. My girlfriend got me an Elgato Wave 3 and I have been blown away from how it sounds out of the box. The best part is that I still can give it more life by using equalizers as well to edit frequencies I want more of and less of. USB microphones are incredible and I can definitely say that because I've started with an ATR2500 back in 2014-2015ish for my first mic and I've used that mic until I got my Elgato Wave 3 around 1-2 years ago.
Can it work far enough away so it’s not in the camera shot? AKA would this work for an office with some background noise, vs the Samson Q2U that works pretty well in that scenario.
After buying an MV7+ and watching EposVox's videos on how to properly gain stage and incorporating that into Voicemeeter, I then realized how to use my then hated Blue Yeti to it's maximum capabilities. Yeah the Yeti has a worse noise floor in general and needs a pop filter but other than that I would've very content with the sound of the Yeti with proper gain staging. I also use a mixer because I'm deaf and have to pan audio more in one ear than the other, so I use ASIO output directly to my Behringer and there USB delay is so minimal I can use both the Yeti and MV7+ USB for direct monitoring.
I've got low mic volume with Sennheiser profile usb and two other mics I tested recently. I'm looking forward to upgrade my mic setup from the most basic level you'd imagine but I can't get any good quality when I need to both crank up the gain knob to the max and then also add 15-20db gain in my editing software.
To prove your opinion I use worse of the worst: very cheap USB audio card and very cheap lavalier mic. It does the job but also it tells how demanding I am :) I am looking for way to improve my voice audio so I am monitoring all your advises and recommendations but also other people covering same topics. I am in no doubt that USB is OK, however I have other problem. I use mic mostly for teleconferencing and video chatting. I hate having microphone visible in the video. Most of the microphone recommendations do not pay attention to that issue. It is almost as like having microphone as close as possible, meaning visible is a must for good audio. It would be great if you could share your experience covering that specific issue - having microphone about 40 cm away from face and still getting good audio.
All the average person or streamer needs is a good old fashioned Samson Q2U and a bit of tweaking in OBS. Bam, done, no work needed and you can use the Q2U USB or XLR if you want to upgrade in the future. $60, OBS is free, $20 for a boom arm.
If this is a condenser you’re using, it sounds like your room is pretty “dead”. Is it one of those soundproof-ish kinda rooms? Coz I live in Singapore in public housing, and if I use a condenser we’ll hear all kinds of sounds so I’ve been using a cheap dynamic one from arts college that was like 13 bucks, but it sounds pretty ok.
I finally stopped being a lazy idiot and got the Rode USB-Mini up by my mouth and realized it sounds better on my voice than any XLR mic I own, at least for spoken word. Tech snobbery is silly; if it sounds good, it is good - and if it's easy to use too, that's great! That said, I think the last, best argument for XLR mics would be shelf-life. I'm pretty confident a good XLR will still be good 20 years from now, but what USB mic will still be working or usable then? (Will we even have USB cables 10 years from now?)
I appreciate this video and product description so much. Too often people who review and talk about audio equipment are audiophiles and recording engineers and their use cases are so incredibly different from the use cases of streamers, hobbyists, telepresence professionals... People for whom the max bit and sample rate can be a lot lower or for whom aesthetics, or versatility, or ease of use are of much greater concern. They don't need 32bit 96k audio for their weekly team meeting, they need a mute button so they don't annoy their coworkers when their partner is in the room.
I'm a radio dj, and when I'm on the road I use a Samson Q2U USB/XLR microphone. I process it exactly how I would in XLR mode. My GM says he can't tell a difference from being in the studio. So much easier than plugging in a mic into a separate interface that uses USB anyway. No content creator is recording straight analog, because at some point, it has to be digitized. By the way, I picked up the Presonus Revelator dynamic USB, based on your recommendation, & I love the ability to customize on the fly. Probably my new road mic. So, thanks!
I wish I could PM a question…bc here’s a dumb one. I am hoping to get a job and they said I’d need a good microphone, so I got the one you mentioned. But MY question is, why do I have an impression from tv shows probably, that a microphone ALSO requires headphones? I’m only putting my voice onto documents (I don’t mean that I, AM, MYSELF, I just record what they indicate), so is there any reason I should have headphones, AND IF SO….can I use headphones I already have, and do those plug into the Sonneheiser Profile directly? Sorry. You can kick me back over to the W W W, I understand! Cheerio :)
One of my main reasons for getting a MV7 was the versatility. It's an expensive microphone, but it gives me a good starting point through USB that I can also upgrade from meaningfully by getting an XLR interface that I can later carry on through a microphone upgrade
I've been debating upgrading from my older style Blue Yeti to the Sennheiser Profile mainly bc I just want a plug and play mic that sounds good/great for gaming/discord/zoom/etc. What I'm stuck on is whether or not the expense will be worth it. I have an arm, my room is semi treated but still has some echo (2 screens, large desk). Has anyone made a leap from a Yeti to Profile and have insight?
Do you also recommend using USB microphones to record Podcasts on Iphones? Which brands would you go to, good price-quality ratio? Is this Sennheiser working with Iphones straight plug and play? thanks a lot!
I wish I could find the "USB mics are bad" video I saw years ago. I tore it up in the comments during a time when this was somehow the "conventional wisdom"
Good point about, looking like a dofo with StReAmEr mic setups. Its just ridiculous to see and most of the time these mics + pop filter + shock mount get in the way when you talk like an actual person with hands. Now I am just waiting when they start making USB versions of boom/shotgun mics xD have been using Octava МК-012-01 for 2 years now.
I have just replaced the Shure SM7B with this Sennheiser Profile mic…. I needed better ability to move my set up and had the SM7B running through the Rode ProCaster2. I actually PREFER the sound of this Sennheiser!!
Was using a zoom h4n (older gen) as a USB mic and it worked just fine. Some people need to learn to work with what they have. Especially if they're not making money from it.
I've been giving the same advice for a while now. I've been impressed even with the blue yeti clones the past few years. USB mics have come a LONG way the past 10 years. I still love being able to control headphone and mic volume with one soundboard though. Which is one niche case, I had to recommend using XLR and a mixing board - the entire computer was remoted with 25ft of cable to another room and too much USB was causing the keyboard to act weird. Plus they wanted physical controls.
Agreed. Friend of mine needed a streaming setup to teach over zoom. I gave him a Lumix G70 + the old 1080 Camlink and a Rode Podcaster. He's been using that config for three years now and it just works.
I own a full blown recording studio so yeah its optimal for me to have xlr but these guys dont need em.. lol the amount of shoving product down noobs throats is laughable.. most of these guys are good with a headset lol
I went from a A Wave:1 to a XLR through a Rodecaster pro 2. Big jump yes but I have a 2 PC setup and the USB mic without and external processing grew to show its downfalls and the latency was bad.
Nothing funnier than all these content creators by full XLR setups and getting them set up just to stream at really high quality to platforms that compress them down where you can't tell the difference between a USB microphone or the XLR setup they have.
Streaming platforms and video platforms mostly have high enough quality audio codecs to be transparent at this point, and data compression really has nothing to do with the physical characteristics of microphones nor the sound profiles.
i use the razer siren mini and have had no issues with it and its a usb mic i dont understand why people say this imo XLR mic suck and sound very distorted
im useing a sE neom usb i paid 80 like 6 months havent used my akg 220 sence i got my usb my 8 year son does music on the usb mic no one believes me its a usb mic
Agree with you on everything you said.. Despite not caring for usb mics.... Not a single soul is gonna care what gear you are using as long as it sounds good. There are plenty of great sounding usb mics. Great video. Didn't love the sound of the mic... But also admit it's very solid.
I havent been able to get any responses yet, so frustrated. Im trying to use multiple USB mics for a podcast, three total. I did a lot of research and it seemed that this would be possible, I didnt need to get XLR mics to be able to use more than one mic becasue of programs like OBS Studio, etc. I've downloaded OBS, assigned the mics, set my filters, but when one of the other two microphones are plugged in and unmuted/active in the OBS mixer, im not being picked up on my microphone. Im being picked up on the mic across the table. I know this becasue when i listen to the file, it sounds as if im in the distance, not talking into the mic that's right in front of my face. Volume levels are fine, checked all of that. However, when I mute any other mic thats plugged in, I'm picked up on my mic. Am i doing something wrong within OBS or is it just not possible to use more than one USB mic? What do i need to do to get this situation resolved? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Hi, sorry if this is late but that's one of the situations where USB mics fail unfortunately. USB controllers struggle with recognizing multiple of the same type of device as unique devices. They don't have to do this, it's just how they're programmed and could be changed, but to my knowledge no one has as it's assumed that if you're using a usb device, you're typically only using one (mouse, keyboard, mic, headset, etc.) Your best bet is to find a good quality low-cost interface with multiple inputs like the Forcusrite Scarlett 4i4 or the Motu M4 (or similar, don't just take my recs go do some research into your options, those are just the ones I've heard the best about). This kind of interface is basic but will give you the ability to mix the audio levels of multiple mics then input that mix into your computer where you can do further digital mixing with your software.
The problem is that there are USB mics and there are USB mics. And the market seems to be flooded with cheap USB mics that are not great, just like the market seems to be flooded with crappy headset mics. With XLR, I feel like there's a better chance of getting a good mic. But maybe that has been changing for a while now as well with the streaming boom? But yeah, with a good USB mic, it certainly doesn't matter whether it's USB or not.
I get the simplicity aspect, but this is not good sound quality. One can argue if good sound quality is even needed for this kind of video, but that's another discussion.
If the only problem with USB microphones is that you can't change the DAC and the DAC is likely cheap to keep the price down, shouldn't this mean that there's a market of simple reusable external DACs for use with one XLR input -> one USB output that you can use with any XLR microphone that is cheaper than a comparable USB microphone due to not having to include its own DAC? I feel like I almost never see or hear about such things, everyone either uses USB mics or has complex audio mixing setups. Apparently 1 XLR to 1 USB cables exist, it's just strange that I've never heard mention of them before.
IMO, it really comes down to wether or not you need multiple microphones. If you need multiple microphones and want to mix/match, go with XLR. If you love the sound of a certain preamp, go xlr. Otherwise, USB really is the best solution for MOST people.
Hey Adam! In the last few years I used the original Blue Yeti which was the common podcast mic back in the day when I started podcasting. Now the time has come for a change, but I really would like to stay on the simple plug and play usb path and leave the XLR path for another day somewhere down the road. After watching your reviews and some others I can't decide between the PreSonus Revelator Dynamic, the Sennheiser Profile USB and the Rode NT-USB (with or without the +). My main concern is how they handle background noise because due to thin walls my recording room is quite noisy. With a bit of work I was able to reduce the noise the Blue Yeti picks up during my recordings, but I still have to deal with a few noises here and there. That's why I would like to ask you which mic you would recommend in my case? Because paying 100 to 180 euros for a new mic should at least bring some improvement in that regard besides having a better sound, right? Greetings from Germany, all the best, thanks in advance, have a nice weekend and keep up the awesome work ;)
Among all the people who use a microphone connected to a PC, a tiny fraction of them need or would benefit from an XLR mic OR a dedicated USB mic. For that matter, most of the people outside that tiny fraction can get by just fine with the mic built into their laptop or $30 webcam -- provided meeting participants exercise mute button discipline.
I wanted to record voice over some of games I played and upload it to TH-cam. I have to say that I had 0 knowledge about it. And very small budget. I managed to buy (it was on sale - 50%) a quite decent "semi-professional" microphone for about 40$. It lacks the arm, which would be very useful, but then again, IDK where I would even place the mount on my desk etc. Otherwise it is very good. Honestly I have 0 problems with this USB mic, except IDK how to use any post-processing, so I usually just loaded the recording to Audacity, listened to it, cut some audible breaths (I learned that I shouldn't completely improvise, too much "eeeeeeeee") - though later I simply learned I did have to have appropriate separation between myself and microphone (It's not a lolipop ;) and pop-filter is there for a reason) - and I make 1 "noise cancelling" pass. I do sound better than on any headset I had ever owned. If someone is streaming or we're meeting on Discord, I'm usually best sounding person, because most people use their phones or headsets. Of course in my case it wasn't for streaming, but I think that with proper post-processing settings (or any settings - I was learning from 0) and if I mount an arm to it, it would at least suffice. If I had to deal with XLR cables I would never even started recording. It would be too much hassle.
USB mic audio converters have traditionally been poor in nearly every way. Recently the sure MV7 was proof of this, a reasonable mic with a poor audio interface. Recently the demant for non professional audio people have been wanting better USB mics. Over the last two years USB mics have been getting better. The Rode NT1+ USB mic with an credible 32bit float audio interface built in that will never clip is my first choice condenser mic. Any professional would use a good interface and switch out the audio mic when needed. XLR mics will always outlast your interface. Multi input output Interfaces are much more flexible.
The harsh truth is that the VAST majority of people who talk or gatekeep about gear don't actually create content with them. I notice this spans across all industries, PC to video to photo to audio. When we are actually working with equipment, we want absolute reliability and as fuss-free workflow as possible while sacrificing minimal losses in quality. When you have to fiddle with your equipment or add additional post-processing steps you have lost out on precious time and effort.
There's no reason that USB mics cannot be as good as an XLR mic/audio interface setup, they just usually aren't. But they could be just as good. I'm old, and I've been in audio professionally since 1977, so I like the XLR/interface route. But that's just me. Note that there are super high-end studio mics by the likes of Neumann that have built-in A/D converters and even built-in DSP. So just because all the goodies are inside the mic does not mean it's substandard.
Its time to see av1 vs hevc vs h264 in new midrange gpus. 4070ti x 7900xt x ark a770. Gpu utilization, vmaf and fps drop when encoding. Im dreaming with this content. Thx
I never understood after the conference calls was a thing, people from tv or sport events showed up using gamer headset or macbook microfone when they went live to comment something. Like big companies still do not understand this, and USB mic make it simple. The Sennheiser is crazy that all the new videos are saying good things about it, but reviews in amazon are so bad. But when i saw this mic i felt: "thats it"... thats the one...no plosives, minimal, light and slim.
So I use a USB mic for my videos and it does just work. I need to try find a higher quality USB mic as I am using the razed seiren mini atm but I am very pleased with its quality
I dont know who needs to hear this, but if you got a usb mic and are dissatisfied with results: TRY TO EQ YOUR MIC!!! it is a lot of fun, pretty easy depending on what program you use, and you can REALLY fine tune your microphone based on how you exactly want to sound!
This mic looks sweet but it has no 32-bit float recording. RØDE NT1 5th gen isn't in the same price range, but at $250 it offers both USB (with 32-bit float) and XLR connectivity.
I use the akg lyra mic since it has a usb c port so I can connect it to my android phones when gaming or video chatting while also using the schiit hel 2 dac amp over usb c to connect my sennheiser hd 600 headphones. I use this when I'm at home, otherwise I use the rode lavalier go mic and connect the mic to my android phones from the headphone jack when I'm traveling and clip it to my shirt and i have both a fiio q3 dac amp and ifi hip dac amp for traveling but I switch between the fiio q3 dac amp and the ifi hip dac amp depending on what I feel like using at the moment. I prefer using a dac amp since you can always improve the sound quality of your audio setup since there are so many varieties that are multi functional and even tube amps if you wanna go the analog route instead if you wanna use analog instead of digital. If someone ask me what do I prefer between digital and analog, I would choose analog everytime but that's because it's my preference and sound is subjective so some might like digital, some analog or even both digital and analog.
All USB C mics still use USB 2.0 chipsets/speeds. That being said, there isn’t really any tangibly higher quality to get. They’re already sending uncompressed audio lol
Great talk, very informative...been considering the Profile or the Deity VO-7U for voice overs for my videos (currently using my Deity D3 Pro shotgun).
Also, I am using a USB mic and honestly, I just don't have time to learn everything about audio mixers and all that jazz. I prefer spending that time learning something else I need
The best Microphone I own is my MacBook. It sounds better to everyone I asked in a blind test versus my $80 USB mic, the levels are right, the noise is lower. The sweet spot is wider. Love it.
I'm surprised that people had this opinion concerning USB mics and was tagging you as well. You have done several videos on USB mics and gave them high praise for how they sounded. Fairly, you have slammed some as well, but I can't ever recall seeing a video where you said that XLR was/is better or always better than USB.
honestly i would love the market to develop into device that can compute vst plugins WITHOUT your pc, so dsp processors i guess? That is also the main reason why i went for an xlr mic.
I never understood this elitism, but I also started with a 170€ Rode NT-USB which back when it came out and my understanding of audio was very limited, sounded like the best the other creators had (after youtube compression) and I never bothered to upgrade. Yeah, sure, there are better microphones out there but for regular content production and discord calls, like, why.
instead of talking an hour about that one mic, u could have touched on singing and how portable usb mics are, as you can plug them even to your phone. plus a lot of other features.
@@EposVox a lot of people want a mic for singing not for gaming, im not trying to be disrespectful , i just think this is a very important area for people who want a mic. :) cheers
I have had a static sound issue in a dead quiet room that I thought may come from it being a usb mic, but this helped me rethink returning it and trying to make it work.
There is a place for both, myself i prefer xlr because i have analog equipment with them. However you can get pretty dam good quality steam lined through usb, plug in and go.
I have a blue yeti and recently switched to a rode video go ii so I could get the mic out of my face and keep similar qualities. Zoom does a really good job at noise cancelation. How can I get those noise cancelation/ audio optimization quality across all software without using obs?
I use decent EIMs because wearing cans for hours with glasses is just too uncomfortable for hours, but otherwise I totally agree with the bit about using monitors/speakers.
I admit that I was stuck in the “USB mics aren’t great” mindset for a long time, but over the past few years there are so many awesome options (like the Profile) where I sometimes prefer USB mics now just for the simplicity:quality ratio.
simplicity is king
It was yourself that talked me into buying the Sennheiser Tom… awesome mic!
XLR > Interface is literally the same thing as a usb mic.
Only difference is that you also have a good dac and speaker out, and maybe a midi i/o all in the same unit.
USB mic is the interface + mic in one unit, although not as robust or high quality.
The decision to upgrade from a Blue Yeti to an SM7B microphone proved to be a less-than-optimal choice for me. It took nearly a year of tweaking and adjusting to achieve the desired sound quality. It is crucial to understand the intricacies of high-end audio equipment, as proper setup and calibration are essential to make the most of its capabilities. Without this knowledge, such an investment may not yield the desired results, and the expenditure may be considered a waste. It is worth noting that not everyone is an audio engineer, and therefore, it is vital to do thorough research before making any significant purchases in this field.
Sm7 is one of my least favourite microphones, i think it just sounds dreadful, and it's a diva as well with the gain that it needs, and FET inline preamps can be surprisingly unreliable. Yeti isn't an ideal sounding microphone either but it's more on the inoffensive side. The big flaw of it is that only one of the 4 modes is usable, the cardioid, and that one uses only one capsule, so the rest of the acoustic assembly is just... diffraction inducing junk, but then diffraction isn't really THAT big a deal really. Though really most cases of Yeti are "shoulda bought an AT2020"; but also "well if you've already got the Yeti and it's not dying, you can just keep using it, it's fine".
That's entirely because it was an SM7B.
Were you to for example, go to an MLXV67G and a UMC interface you would have always had a strong and clear signal with enough budget left over for a quality mic arm and room treatment. People get stuck with lackluster sound as shure products are rather mid heavy, even in flat position the SM7B has a slight mid emphasis and a slight low/high roll off. And since people seem to absolutely love adding highs and lows, naturally you're going to see a lot of people fiddling with EQ, withouit getting to the bottom of why the shure mic sounds weird.
DBX 286 tends to get paired with it a lot, and the LF detail filter raises at 80 hz and dips the 250hz area so it sort of hits what's wrong with the SM7B. While that sort of EQ can be accomplished with software I wager it also gained popularity due to older interfaces not supplying enough gain on their own. However modern interfaces supply more than enough gain and have a better EIN.
You also will be fighting with plosives quite a bit despite its design and be stuck with a blimp in your face when you inevitably use the thicker optional windscreen.
you got a fake one because they have the most issues unlike the real sm7b
As Booth Junkie would put it:
"Grab yourself a microphone, any microphone, and record something amazing!"
Mike is such a gem
lmao two stereos with cassettes for backing tracks
I'm an XLR guy myself too, but we've certainly seen USB Condenser mics that have great quality.
What is your opinion on the Audio-Technica AT2020USB+ ?
When I first got into content creation my goal was to get an XLR mic because "everyone" said the sound quality was superior. However after getting into doing tech reviews I've learned a majority of decent quality USB mics sound just as good if not better than similarly priced XLR mics
The mic components are often similar, it's the ADC (Analog to digital) converter that's inside the USB mic body that can hamper the final output or longevity of the mic.
Audio interfaces for XLR mics are in effect a circuit isolated from the microphone and has a bit more quality to the components.
I started with the $20 BM-700/800, since I was thinking I was getting a great price to performance ratio. Of course, with its limited response, noise and with the fact that I didn't have any acoustic treatment, I was naive and arrogant for a year. I ended up getting a low cost interface and dynamic mic. After many upgrades, I'm now using a Tascam 2x2 HR and a RE-20 (snagged a barely used one for under $300). All this to get the sound I want on my Zoom meetings.
Of course I've suggested the Samson Q2U for years to people to start out with. I think in the last year, we have started to see (hear) really good sounding USB dynamic mics.
They sound the same because the technology is the same, they're just putting it all in one package. A/D conversation is so good at this point, and has been for a number of years, that as long as you're getting something quality from a good brand it's basically a negligible point on the signal path. This fact runs deeply counter to what the old fogeys in audio have been insisting since decades past, which is you need to spend $1000 per channel on A/D conversion alone, on top of the cost of a high quality microphone, in order to achieve a professional sound, which is why people have been so resistant to accept USB micophones as they've come along.
The anti-usb mic take is based on old knowledge when they were objectively bad, lots of good options now
I have the EL Gato Wave 3 and I got it because I’m a wheelchair bound content creator and I needed something that was going to help me utilize VST‘s to sound better on a naturally weaker, sounding voice, that has been problematic in the past with dynamic microphones. Condensers sound better for my voice and something that I could physically do myself and it worked perfectly! I have never sounded better, in all the years that I’ve made TH-cam and now Tik Tok videos. I had no idea that this was a stigma, but I really appreciate you doing this video to set the record straight and the new sinhizer sounds great!
I had a health issues that made my voice weaker when I talked into my dynamic mic I had to get surgery to fix it and i still had that problem while recovering so I bought a cheap mic booster and that did help me alot fortunately but recording was a pain
I would say that USB microphones are fine for people who intend to only use a single mic. Starting to do things like mixing sources from multiple microphones gets awkward with USB, where an XLR mic with a mixer with USB would make more sense.
Depends on the platform and recording software. Some DAWS are limited to a single source while others will happily accept 1-2-4-8, however many you may have. If you're on a Mac, Audio Hijack and Loopback from Rogue Amoeba will also let you channel audio from different sources
Any idea how to get rid of contsant hum in background from USB MICROPHONES? Driving me crazy. Thanks in advance.
I believe it's not that hard with USB mics. It just needs right software. I have Elgato Wave :3 and Wave Link pretty much allows mixing from multiple mics. And as know Wave Link has a lot of alternatives on the market.
@@777AndrewRnoise gate or noise suppression.
@@RanmaruRei Mixing USB mics is certainly possible in software, but it brings a lot of headaches. Doing it with analog is so, so much easier!
I bought a Wave:3 2 years ago and it has been my favorite mic I’ve ever owned and outclasses a lot of my friends XLR mics as they aren’t versed in how to properly set them up. With the addition of the Wave Link software, especially now with the addition of built in VST support, IMHO its the best usb microphone available and is one I will always recommend.
Due to your recommendations over a year plus a go, I went with the Samson Q2U. USB/XLR combo. I used the USB portion for months. Sounded great. Much better than the Astro A50 headset mic for streaming. I ended up moving to XLR when the Wave XLR interface went on sale and honestly, I got tired of Windows and VMB making things more painful than needed.
I will say, having solid software makes these experiences much better, also being able to do research onto proper tuning, gating etc, makes a WORLD of difference that most people don't seem to be aware.
For those instances, you really don't hurt going with a USB mic and honestly, in the past 5 years, they are some of the best mics at affordable price points. Great video, as always.
Q2U might even be the best mic on the market right now for someone who doesn't have any other audio equipment. One of the most balanced mics in terms of frequency response, and comes with almost everything, save for a boom arm. that you need to upgrade to an external audio interface.
Huge fan of the Samson q2u as well. I've been using it for a few years and quality is more than adequate for twitch streaming.
I also use a q2u and made a recent discovery:
I had a problem with the USB cable.
As I strongly believe that quality cables matters, even with numeric signal, I searched for a better quality than the one provided by Samson, which is more or less the worst you can find !
In this category of USB cables, unfortunately the choice is very very limited.
I choose one from the brand Vention.
Believe it or not there is a big difference. Not only in the sound quality, it significantly reduces the delay with the headphones.
In every video comparison I've ever seen the Samson Q2U sounds worse than the other usb mics.
@@Calx9 I suppose it depends on the mics you listened to. For my voice, which favors a warmer mix, the Q2U for the price point and upgrade path was the right choice for me. I also didn't stay on USB very long. Realizing how touchy Windows is with USB settings, I moved to XLR input and I do not regret it. It's still the mic I use to this day and most people I speak to with it for work/gaming enjoy the sound that they note it.
Not saying you're incorrect in your assessment, there absolutely may be one that is better or more preferable at this point and in general. Sounds be like that.
I have the Earthworks ICON USB and its amazing. Don't need an extra USB audio device for that extra cable and mess on the desk. Like with any other mic you need to do some processing to remove background noise etc. EQ APO with Re plugs is so good for that.
I love my icon usb there’s been times I’ve thought to switch to xlr but the usb version of the icon is just still so good and so convenient
that mic is S-tier, regardless of interface.
@@tparty2123 Theres really no need if you are just streaming, podcasting or using it for calls on the PC. Its already overkill tbf lol
@@tw1tch09 Yeah it is really good out of the box. I'd argue you could make lesser tier USB mics still sound really good with some VSTs.
I love the fact you can add any usb mic or a audio interface with the streamdeck plus and it can be a do it all or as simple as you want.
Have to say, USB microphones have been sounding very good for the last several years, so the most surprising thing to me in this video was the lack of handling noise...
ITS JUST NOT THERE
Try the Zealsound K66 with noise cancellation.
Not the best time to talk critically about USB mics when this very video is sponsored by one. I don't expect you to be negative about them given the sponsor.
Good thing I have a decade of mic coverage on this channel and very transparently wouldn’t have made this video at all if it wasn’t something consistent with my stances and conclusions
Mic is too.close to your mouth, which is why it doesn't sound natural
I have a usb mic (MV7) which has an xlr port as well. Even though i have an audio interface, I still prefer the usb option. To use an xlr mic you need other things set up for it to work, people forget that...
A decent 100 dollar USB Mic, like an Audio Technica AT2020, is more then good enough.
Honestly, I just bought the Beacn to upgrade from a yeti and I'm stunned by how good it is. Beyond my wildest expectations for the audio of my channel. I'm still applying some of the same filters I used on my Yeti and it just really puts it into a fantastic spot. For $279, versus $600 or for for a Shure SM7B + gear, I couldn't be happier.
And also, telling people they should spend $100s on XLR gear, versus $129 for a Yeti which is MORE than enough for most people who are just started out, seems nuts to me. For most new or even intermediate content creators, a Yeti or similar mic can go a long way. Heck, great example, Kyle Kulinski who just broke a million followers does his daily episodes with a Yeti
I watched a review a while back and everyone was praising the Beacn in spite of saying its software had bugs. Are those bugs ironed out now, for you?
I bought my usb microphone for $23 and it sounds perfectly fine compared to gaming headsets so I’m chillen
So you use a XLR Sennheiser MKH-416 when you are not getting sponsored? Very convincing.
This is a desk microphone, I don’t use the MKH-416 at the desk
Switching from an XLR mic to a USB mic was the best decision I'd ever made in terms of improving my audio because for me less complexity was such a welcome change to my workflow and the fact that the results were exactly the same (i.e. listeners NOT complaining about bad audio). Listeners don't care if you have the best audio or okay audio, as long as you don't have bad audio that's all that matters for the vast majority of people making content online.
You can get great sound out of some UsB mics. You have to do a bit more tinkering in post for sure. But most ppl don’t need to spend the month they spend on equipment
im getting really annoyed that these kinda threads keep popping up that push beginner streamers to buy extremely expensive equipment that they do not need and honestly that not even successful streamers need
they will tell people to spend 1000 dollars on audio equipment before a single minute streamed
meanwhile i watch a ton of streamers or youtubers who sound like a 2005 webcam, but just have personality or can talk well.
production quality is never bad, but people have this weird idea that they need to spend tons of money to validate themselves as a content creator
My maono pd400 is usb/xlr and it sounds great and USB mode
USB? Yes. Sennheiser Profile? Ugly sound. How could Sennheiser give out its reputation for such mediocre product? What will be next? Neumann-Plantronics one ear headset for call centers?
I still use my old school Hyper X microphone for interviews on the go. USB mics are still great for ease of use.
I just got a blue yeti in late February after upgrading from my surf onn Walmart mic. Even though it’s an old school mic it is awsome and littered with cool features. I’ve seen usb mic hate on twitter yt and from friends. They say that people don’t get anywhere with a usb microphone and then I tell them about penguinz0 who got 12 mil subs with a at2020 usb lol
Truth is that you don’t need you mic to sound amazing if it is decent and understandable then that will do. After that it just falls on your content imo
I combined my Blue Yeti with the Blue Voice software that is a free download and things sound great to me. But I'm not a sound engineer.
I record on my phone
The NT-USB is great for EVERYTHING
Podcast
Voice over
Music
I make music and have a TH-cam channel and the NT-USB Has been nothing short of great. I can’t wait to get the new one. But the easy set up with such great sound can’t complain. I still use XLR on my phone as well a lot of people didn’t know you could do that but you need the right audio interface and equipment
Thanks for talking about this. I've never owned an XLR mic only because I don't really want to spend extra on another piece of hardware apart from the mic, and mostly because whenever I do watch reviews, from you and other mic review channels, the quality of audio I get from the USB mic reviews I see on youtube are honestly incredible, and to none the wiser, would probably be near impossible to tell the difference.
My girlfriend got me an Elgato Wave 3 and I have been blown away from how it sounds out of the box. The best part is that I still can give it more life by using equalizers as well to edit frequencies I want more of and less of.
USB microphones are incredible and I can definitely say that because I've started with an ATR2500 back in 2014-2015ish for my first mic and I've used that mic until I got my Elgato Wave 3 around 1-2 years ago.
Can it work far enough away so it’s not in the camera shot? AKA would this work for an office with some background noise, vs the Samson Q2U that works pretty well in that scenario.
After buying an MV7+ and watching EposVox's videos on how to properly gain stage and incorporating that into Voicemeeter, I then realized how to use my then hated Blue Yeti to it's maximum capabilities. Yeah the Yeti has a worse noise floor in general and needs a pop filter but other than that I would've very content with the sound of the Yeti with proper gain staging.
I also use a mixer because I'm deaf and have to pan audio more in one ear than the other, so I use ASIO output directly to my Behringer and there USB delay is so minimal I can use both the Yeti and MV7+ USB for direct monitoring.
I've got low mic volume with Sennheiser profile usb and two other mics I tested recently. I'm looking forward to upgrade my mic setup from the most basic level you'd imagine but I can't get any good quality when I need to both crank up the gain knob to the max and then also add 15-20db gain in my editing software.
To prove your opinion I use worse of the worst: very cheap USB audio card and very cheap lavalier mic. It does the job but also it tells how demanding I am :)
I am looking for way to improve my voice audio so I am monitoring all your advises and recommendations but also other people covering same topics. I am in no doubt that USB is OK, however I have other problem. I use mic mostly for teleconferencing and video chatting. I hate having microphone visible in the video.
Most of the microphone recommendations do not pay attention to that issue. It is almost as like having microphone as close as possible, meaning visible is a must for good audio.
It would be great if you could share your experience covering that specific issue - having microphone about 40 cm away from face and still getting good audio.
All the average person or streamer needs is a good old fashioned Samson Q2U and a bit of tweaking in OBS.
Bam, done, no work needed and you can use the Q2U USB or XLR if you want to upgrade in the future.
$60, OBS is free, $20 for a boom arm.
If this is a condenser you’re using, it sounds like your room is pretty “dead”. Is it one of those soundproof-ish kinda rooms?
Coz I live in Singapore in public housing, and if I use a condenser we’ll hear all kinds of sounds so I’ve been using a cheap dynamic one from arts college that was like 13 bucks, but it sounds pretty ok.
I finally stopped being a lazy idiot and got the Rode USB-Mini up by my mouth and realized it sounds better on my voice than any XLR mic I own, at least for spoken word. Tech snobbery is silly; if it sounds good, it is good - and if it's easy to use too, that's great!
That said, I think the last, best argument for XLR mics would be shelf-life. I'm pretty confident a good XLR will still be good 20 years from now, but what USB mic will still be working or usable then? (Will we even have USB cables 10 years from now?)
Would you consider the blu yeti mic a decent microphone?
I appreciate this video and product description so much. Too often people who review and talk about audio equipment are audiophiles and recording engineers and their use cases are so incredibly different from the use cases of streamers, hobbyists, telepresence professionals... People for whom the max bit and sample rate can be a lot lower or for whom aesthetics, or versatility, or ease of use are of much greater concern. They don't need 32bit 96k audio for their weekly team meeting, they need a mute button so they don't annoy their coworkers when their partner is in the room.
Thank you.
I'm a radio dj, and when I'm on the road I use a Samson Q2U USB/XLR microphone. I process it exactly how I would in XLR mode. My GM says he can't tell a difference from being in the studio. So much easier than plugging in a mic into a separate interface that uses USB anyway. No content creator is recording straight analog, because at some point, it has to be digitized.
By the way, I picked up the Presonus Revelator dynamic USB, based on your recommendation, & I love the ability to customize on the fly. Probably my new road mic. So, thanks!
I wish I could PM a question…bc here’s a dumb one. I am hoping to get a job and they said I’d need a good microphone, so I got the one you mentioned. But MY question is, why do I have an impression from tv shows probably, that a microphone ALSO requires headphones? I’m only putting my voice onto documents (I don’t mean that I, AM, MYSELF, I just record what they indicate), so is there any reason I should have headphones, AND IF SO….can I use headphones I already have, and do those plug into the Sonneheiser Profile directly?
Sorry. You can kick me back over to the W W W, I understand! Cheerio :)
One of my main reasons for getting a MV7 was the versatility. It's an expensive microphone, but it gives me a good starting point through USB that I can also upgrade from meaningfully by getting an XLR interface that I can later carry on through a microphone upgrade
I've been debating upgrading from my older style Blue Yeti to the Sennheiser Profile mainly bc I just want a plug and play mic that sounds good/great for gaming/discord/zoom/etc. What I'm stuck on is whether or not the expense will be worth it. I have an arm, my room is semi treated but still has some echo (2 screens, large desk). Has anyone made a leap from a Yeti to Profile and have insight?
My rodeo-nt has been doing fine for yrs. It's not a cheap usb mic but the sound is fine on it
Do you also recommend using USB microphones to record Podcasts on Iphones? Which brands would you go to, good price-quality ratio? Is this Sennheiser working with Iphones straight plug and play? thanks a lot!
I wish I could find the "USB mics are bad" video I saw years ago. I tore it up in the comments during a time when this was somehow the "conventional wisdom"
Good point about, looking like a dofo with StReAmEr mic setups. Its just ridiculous to see and most of the time these mics + pop filter + shock mount get in the way when you talk like an actual person with hands. Now I am just waiting when they start making USB versions of boom/shotgun mics xD have been using Octava МК-012-01 for 2 years now.
I have just replaced the Shure SM7B with this Sennheiser Profile mic…. I needed better ability to move my set up and had the SM7B running through the Rode ProCaster2. I actually PREFER the sound of this Sennheiser!!
Was using a zoom h4n (older gen) as a USB mic and it worked just fine. Some people need to learn to work with what they have. Especially if they're not making money from it.
I've been giving the same advice for a while now. I've been impressed even with the blue yeti clones the past few years. USB mics have come a LONG way the past 10 years. I still love being able to control headphone and mic volume with one soundboard though. Which is one niche case, I had to recommend using XLR and a mixing board - the entire computer was remoted with 25ft of cable to another room and too much USB was causing the keyboard to act weird. Plus they wanted physical controls.
Agreed. Friend of mine needed a streaming setup to teach over zoom. I gave him a Lumix G70 + the old 1080 Camlink and a Rode Podcaster. He's been using that config for three years now and it just works.
I own a full blown recording studio so yeah its optimal for me to have xlr but these guys dont need em.. lol the amount of shoving product down noobs throats is laughable.. most of these guys are good with a headset lol
I am very happy with my samson meteor mic usb since more then 10 years 😊
I went from a A Wave:1 to a XLR through a Rodecaster pro 2. Big jump yes but I have a 2 PC setup and the USB mic without and external processing grew to show its downfalls and the latency was bad.
I feel the same. USB mics ($150 up) are good enough for most tasks.
Nothing funnier than all these content creators by full XLR setups and getting them set up just to stream at really high quality to platforms that compress them down where you can't tell the difference between a USB microphone or the XLR setup they have.
Streaming platforms and video platforms mostly have high enough quality audio codecs to be transparent at this point, and data compression really has nothing to do with the physical characteristics of microphones nor the sound profiles.
i use the razer siren mini and have had no issues with it and its a usb mic i dont understand why people say this imo XLR mic suck and sound very distorted
im useing a sE neom usb i paid 80 like 6 months havent used my akg 220 sence i got my usb my 8 year son does music on the usb mic no one believes me its a usb mic
Agree with you on everything you said.. Despite not caring for usb mics.... Not a single soul is gonna care what gear you are using as long as it sounds good. There are plenty of great sounding usb mics. Great video. Didn't love the sound of the mic... But also admit it's very solid.
bark and buck commenting the same video?!?! *slow claps*
@@lx130 ❤️
Thanks, Doc: as always, way useful information.
I havent been able to get any responses yet, so frustrated. Im trying to use multiple USB mics for a podcast, three total. I did a lot of research and it seemed that this would be possible, I didnt need to get XLR mics to be able to use more than one mic becasue of programs like OBS Studio, etc. I've downloaded OBS, assigned the mics, set my filters, but when one of the other two microphones are plugged in and unmuted/active in the OBS mixer, im not being picked up on my microphone. Im being picked up on the mic across the table. I know this becasue when i listen to the file, it sounds as if im in the distance, not talking into the mic that's right in front of my face. Volume levels are fine, checked all of that. However, when I mute any other mic thats plugged in, I'm picked up on my mic. Am i doing something wrong within OBS or is it just not possible to use more than one USB mic? What do i need to do to get this situation resolved? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Hi, sorry if this is late but that's one of the situations where USB mics fail unfortunately. USB controllers struggle with recognizing multiple of the same type of device as unique devices. They don't have to do this, it's just how they're programmed and could be changed, but to my knowledge no one has as it's assumed that if you're using a usb device, you're typically only using one (mouse, keyboard, mic, headset, etc.)
Your best bet is to find a good quality low-cost interface with multiple inputs like the Forcusrite Scarlett 4i4 or the Motu M4 (or similar, don't just take my recs go do some research into your options, those are just the ones I've heard the best about). This kind of interface is basic but will give you the ability to mix the audio levels of multiple mics then input that mix into your computer where you can do further digital mixing with your software.
Wave 3 gang, will upgrade to XLR when that dies.
The problem is that there are USB mics and there are USB mics. And the market seems to be flooded with cheap USB mics that are not great, just like the market seems to be flooded with crappy headset mics. With XLR, I feel like there's a better chance of getting a good mic. But maybe that has been changing for a while now as well with the streaming boom? But yeah, with a good USB mic, it certainly doesn't matter whether it's USB or not.
I love the Sennheiser Profile USB mic, how it solves a lot of problems to streamers, but, i don't like how it looks 😂HELP
It’s a tool, don’t worry about how it looks. None of your listeners will care
@@EposVox That's why i love your channel
Haven't used USB microphones in a long time.
I get the simplicity aspect, but this is not good sound quality. One can argue if good sound quality is even needed for this kind of video, but that's another discussion.
Sound quality is pretty solid and more than good enough for what 99% of people would ever buy a USB Mic for
If the only problem with USB microphones is that you can't change the DAC and the DAC is likely cheap to keep the price down, shouldn't this mean that there's a market of simple reusable external DACs for use with one XLR input -> one USB output that you can use with any XLR microphone that is cheaper than a comparable USB microphone due to not having to include its own DAC? I feel like I almost never see or hear about such things, everyone either uses USB mics or has complex audio mixing setups. Apparently 1 XLR to 1 USB cables exist, it's just strange that I've never heard mention of them before.
IMO, it really comes down to wether or not you need multiple microphones. If you need multiple microphones and want to mix/match, go with XLR. If you love the sound of a certain preamp, go xlr. Otherwise, USB really is the best solution for MOST people.
Hey Adam!
In the last few years I used the original Blue Yeti which was the common podcast mic back in the day when I started podcasting. Now the time has come for a change, but I really would like to stay on the simple plug and play usb path and leave the XLR path for another day somewhere down the road. After watching your reviews and some others I can't decide between the PreSonus Revelator Dynamic, the Sennheiser Profile USB and the Rode NT-USB (with or without the +). My main concern is how they handle background noise because due to thin walls my recording room is quite noisy. With a bit of work I was able to reduce the noise the Blue Yeti picks up during my recordings, but I still have to deal with a few noises here and there. That's why I would like to ask you which mic you would recommend in my case? Because paying 100 to 180 euros for a new mic should at least bring some improvement in that regard besides having a better sound, right?
Greetings from Germany, all the best, thanks in advance, have a nice weekend and keep up the awesome work ;)
Among all the people who use a microphone connected to a PC, a tiny fraction of them need or would benefit from an XLR mic OR a dedicated USB mic. For that matter, most of the people outside that tiny fraction can get by just fine with the mic built into their laptop or $30 webcam -- provided meeting participants exercise mute button discipline.
I wanted to record voice over some of games I played and upload it to TH-cam. I have to say that I had 0 knowledge about it. And very small budget. I managed to buy (it was on sale - 50%) a quite decent "semi-professional" microphone for about 40$. It lacks the arm, which would be very useful, but then again, IDK where I would even place the mount on my desk etc. Otherwise it is very good. Honestly I have 0 problems with this USB mic, except IDK how to use any post-processing, so I usually just loaded the recording to Audacity, listened to it, cut some audible breaths (I learned that I shouldn't completely improvise, too much "eeeeeeeee") - though later I simply learned I did have to have appropriate separation between myself and microphone (It's not a lolipop ;) and pop-filter is there for a reason) - and I make 1 "noise cancelling" pass. I do sound better than on any headset I had ever owned. If someone is streaming or we're meeting on Discord, I'm usually best sounding person, because most people use their phones or headsets.
Of course in my case it wasn't for streaming, but I think that with proper post-processing settings (or any settings - I was learning from 0) and if I mount an arm to it, it would at least suffice. If I had to deal with XLR cables I would never even started recording. It would be too much hassle.
I got the yeti x pro on sale and I like it....
Unique to see these days that someone uses Win XP
USB mic audio converters have traditionally been poor in nearly every way. Recently the sure MV7 was proof of this, a reasonable mic with a poor audio interface. Recently the demant for non professional audio people have been wanting better USB mics. Over the last two years USB mics have been getting better. The Rode NT1+ USB mic with an credible 32bit float audio interface built in that will never clip is my first choice condenser mic.
Any professional would use a good interface and switch out the audio mic when needed.
XLR mics will always outlast your interface. Multi input output Interfaces are much more flexible.
The harsh truth is that the VAST majority of people who talk or gatekeep about gear don't actually create content with them. I notice this spans across all industries, PC to video to photo to audio. When we are actually working with equipment, we want absolute reliability and as fuss-free workflow as possible while sacrificing minimal losses in quality. When you have to fiddle with your equipment or add additional post-processing steps you have lost out on precious time and effort.
There's no reason that USB mics cannot be as good as an XLR mic/audio interface setup, they just usually aren't. But they could be just as good. I'm old, and I've been in audio professionally since 1977, so I like the XLR/interface route. But that's just me. Note that there are super high-end studio mics by the likes of Neumann that have built-in A/D converters and even built-in DSP. So just because all the goodies are inside the mic does not mean it's substandard.
Its time to see av1 vs hevc vs h264 in new midrange gpus. 4070ti x 7900xt x ark a770. Gpu utilization, vmaf and fps drop when encoding. Im dreaming with this content. Thx
I never understood after the conference calls was a thing, people from tv or sport events showed up using gamer headset or macbook microfone when they went live to comment something.
Like big companies still do not understand this, and USB mic make it simple. The Sennheiser is crazy that all the new videos are saying good things about it, but reviews in amazon are so bad. But when i saw this mic i felt: "thats it"... thats the one...no plosives, minimal, light and slim.
Mainly use XLR Mic ran to My 18i8-3g with Air Mode enabled. It makes a big difference
So I use a USB mic for my videos and it does just work. I need to try find a higher quality USB mic as I am using the razed seiren mini atm but I am very pleased with its quality
I dont know who needs to hear this, but if you got a usb mic and are dissatisfied with results: TRY TO EQ YOUR MIC!!! it is a lot of fun, pretty easy depending on what program you use, and you can REALLY fine tune your microphone based on how you exactly want to sound!
This mic looks sweet but it has no 32-bit float recording. RØDE NT1 5th gen isn't in the same price range, but at $250 it offers both USB (with 32-bit float) and XLR connectivity.
I use the akg lyra mic since it has a usb c port so I can connect it to my android phones when gaming or video chatting while also using the schiit hel 2 dac amp over usb c to connect my sennheiser hd 600 headphones. I use this when I'm at home, otherwise I use the rode lavalier go mic and connect the mic to my android phones from the headphone jack when I'm traveling and clip it to my shirt and i have both a fiio q3 dac amp and ifi hip dac amp for traveling but I switch between the fiio q3 dac amp and the ifi hip dac amp depending on what I feel like using at the moment. I prefer using a dac amp since you can always improve the sound quality of your audio setup since there are so many varieties that are multi functional and even tube amps if you wanna go the analog route instead if you wanna use analog instead of digital. If someone ask me what do I prefer between digital and analog, I would choose analog everytime but that's because it's my preference and sound is subjective so some might like digital, some analog or even both digital and analog.
Correct me if IM wrong but if you're using USB C especially ThunderBolt Can't that send more data through it So wouldn't give a better audio quality?
All USB C mics still use USB 2.0 chipsets/speeds. That being said, there isn’t really any tangibly higher quality to get. They’re already sending uncompressed audio lol
@@EposVox Thank you
Great talk, very informative...been considering the Profile or the Deity VO-7U for voice overs for my videos (currently using my Deity D3 Pro shotgun).
Maybe it's just me but I really struggle to see the text at 10:55 and similar texts throughout the video
Also, I am using a USB mic and honestly, I just don't have time to learn everything about audio mixers and all that jazz. I prefer spending that time learning something else I need
The best Microphone I own is my MacBook. It sounds better to everyone I asked in a blind test versus my $80 USB mic, the levels are right, the noise is lower. The sweet spot is wider. Love it.
I'm surprised that people had this opinion concerning USB mics and was tagging you as well. You have done several videos on USB mics and gave them high praise for how they sounded. Fairly, you have slammed some as well, but I can't ever recall seeing a video where you said that XLR was/is better or always better than USB.
If I have fo tinker too much with equipmemt I lose focus of what I'm actually doing. Its distracting and also stressful for me.
honestly i would love the market to develop into device that can compute vst plugins WITHOUT your pc, so dsp processors i guess? That is also the main reason why i went for an xlr mic.
I never understood this elitism, but I also started with a 170€ Rode NT-USB which back when it came out and my understanding of audio was very limited, sounded like the best the other creators had (after youtube compression) and I never bothered to upgrade. Yeah, sure, there are better microphones out there but for regular content production and discord calls, like, why.
I don't know why u haven't made a video about h265 based encoding streaming on amd, it's working now on youtube
instead of talking an hour about that one mic, u could have touched on singing and how portable usb mics are, as you can plug them even to your phone. plus a lot of other features.
I don’t sing, so no I couldn’t have covered that
@@EposVox a lot of people want a mic for singing not for gaming, im not trying to be disrespectful , i just think this is a very important area for people who want a mic. :) cheers
I have had a static sound issue in a dead quiet room that I thought may come from it being a usb mic, but this helped me rethink returning it and trying to make it work.
There is a place for both, myself i prefer xlr because i have analog equipment with them. However you can get pretty dam good quality steam lined through usb, plug in and go.
will it be good for normal rooms i have a fan and ac running atlow, but a little sound does come from ac. will it handle the noise well.
I have a blue yeti and recently switched to a rode video go ii so I could get the mic out of my face and keep similar qualities. Zoom does a really good job at noise cancelation.
How can I get those noise cancelation/ audio optimization quality across all software without using obs?
I use decent EIMs because wearing cans for hours with glasses is just too uncomfortable for hours, but otherwise I totally agree with the bit about using monitors/speakers.
The Sennheizer Profile sounds great. Rode's new generation of USB mics are also great.