Reddit mentions of Audio-Technica AT2005USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone

Be careful condenser mics like the Blue Yeti will pick up a dog farting 4 blocks away.

If you learn how to use a microphone and position it close to your mouth. I would go for a dynamic mic like the Audio-Technica AT2005 USB

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007JX8O0Y

It is cheaper, higher quality, and won’t pick up as much noise.

Edit: I own both, because like most people I bought the Yeti based on the hype. But I did some research and learned about microphones and audio recording. It also depends on your use case. My Yeti (condenser mic) is great for when the kids want to talk to grandma, because they are never going to project their voice to the microphone.

But if you are podcasting or streaming and it is just your voice, dynamic microphones are the best. With my Yeti, I was picking too much background noise. I mean if you have a quiet studio, you could probably get by with a condenser mic, but it would pick up the fan noise from any computer case in the room. Noise suppression and noise gates can help, but you might as well buy a dynamic microphone.

Check out these resources for a good discussion:

• https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/condenser-vs-dynamic-mic-actually-need/
  
• https://homestudiobasics.com/condenser-mic-vs-dynamic-mic-differences/
  
  What I like about the Audio-Technica AT2005 USB, is that you can use it as a USB microphone, but if you want to get into higher end audio, it also has a XLR output. I personally just bought a used Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 to connect my AT2005 to. Next major purchase is a good mount and then I might splurge for a Heil PR40, Electro Voice RE20, or Shure SM7B. If you are rich with disposable income, I really like the setup they use on TWiT:
  
  
• http://wiki.twit.tv/wiki/TWiT_Brick_House_Equipment
  

The Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB or the nearly identical AT2005-USB are ~$60-$50 and they also have an XLR port that allows them to be brought forward if you ever upgrade to a mixer or audio interface. The single most significant difference is the 2100 has a lifetime limited warranty and the 2005 has a one year warranty though I personally prefer the looks of the later. These are dynamic microphones which means they are quieter but reject room and off axis noise in non sound controlled rooms better. I have seen them compared to microphones costing several times as much quite favorably though I think a little of that is the reviewer waxing a bit poetic. Regardless, they are very good.

http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mics/b8dd84773f83092c/

http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mics/6dc0904d195f995e/

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATR2100-USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B004QJOZS4/

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2005USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y/

!

The Audio-Technica AT2005USB or Samson Q2U (not Samsung)

https://www.amazon.com/Samson-Handheld-Microphone-Recording-Podcasting/dp/B07FKG8PGZ/

https://www.amazon.com/Technica-AT2005USB-Handheld-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y/

Both of these mic are plug-and-play over USB. But they also have XLR outputs if you ever want to move up to a more professional audio setup.

I'm late to the party but I strongly disagree with your microphone suggestions. A condenser microphone is going to pick up mouse/keyboard sounds no matter how directional it is. I originally bought a Blue Yeti and was shocked by how much environmental noise it picks up, this is not a viable option for most people.

Instead what you should do is get a dynamic cardioid or supercardioid microphone. Not a lot of these exist with a USB connection but the ones that do work extremely well. I recommend the Audio Technica ATR2100-USB (alternative version) or the Samson Q1U if you can't find the AT, they're difficult to get in Europe for some reason.

Either of these will serve the purpose of the average steamer much better than the microphones you are recommending.

If you want to cancel everything out then you should definitely go with a dynamic microphone. It's the kind of mic that they use when giving interviews on convention floors and stuff like that.

I recommend either the AT2005 or ATR2100. One of those paired with a scissor arm and a pop filter and you're all set :)

A condenser microphone is going to pick up mouse/keyboard sounds no matter how directional it is. I originally bought a Blue Yeti and was shocked by how much environmental noise it picks up, this is not a viable option for most people.

Instead what you should do is get a dynamic cardioid or supercardioid microphone. Not a lot of these exist with a USB connection but the ones that do work extremely well. I recommend the Audio Technica ATR2100-USB (alternative version) or the Samson Q1U if you can't find the AT, they're difficult to get in Europe for some reason.

Either of these will serve the purpose of the average streamer much better than the microphones you are recommending.

I use the AT2100USB and it works very well.

1x Zoom H6 (https://www.amazon.com/Zoom-H6-Six-Track-Portable-Recorder/dp/B00DFU9BRK)

2x AT2005USB
(https://www.amazon.com/Technica-AT2005USB-Handheld-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y)

Hey!
A bit about me before I go on a rant: I'm a professional podcaster. Spoken audio is how I make my living. I've used and tried just about every popular microphone/preamp (XLR & USB) up to about $500 (and quite a few over $500). So to start, what routes CAN you take (you kind of highlighted your options a bit, but I'd like to expand on them).

1. A new headset microphone. Simple. Look HyperX Cloud II or a nice Sennheiser set. They've got really good gaming headset microphones (but very few if any headset microphones are going to sound better than a "real" microphone), and you wont need any extra equipment. The downside is your audio quality will only ever be adequate and the quality of your headphones is tied to the audio quality of your microphone.
   
2. A USB microphone. This is the compromise most streamers make. With a USB-only microphone, the DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) is built into the microphone. DACs typically do two things 1. Convert the signal and 2. Add/reduce/maintain quality. For example, a USB > XLR converter box is $5 on Amazon, but the sound degradation is night and day worse than what you would get from a more serious DAC like a Scarlett Solo or something similar. With a USB microphone, the DAC is built into the microphone itself. Generally speaking, a separate DAC is going to have superior sound quality to an integrated one (in the same way an integrated GPU is almost always worse than a dedicated one) - but there are exceptions, and at the lower price ranges the differences are generally minimal. If you go with a USB microphone, I personally would suggest you skip over the Yeti. The Yeti is a FINE sounding microphone, but it has a LOUD noise floor meaning that computer fans, A/C units, and just about anything else that makes noise will be picked up by that microphone without laying on effects. In the Yeti's favor, it's a REALLY cool looking microphone - but it definitely doesn't punch at or above its weight in sound quality. Again, you can make a Yeti sound good if you have the right room or the technical ability to add a noise gate, EQ, compressor, etc, but it's a lot of extra work. I'll talk about recommendations in a second.
   
3. An XLR microphone. This is the "long-term" play. However, MOST XLR microphones are going to have minimal superior sound quality until you get to microphones at about $250+. With an XLR microphone you'll also need a DAC. A decent DAC (that outperforms the built in DAC of a USB microphone) is generally going to run near the $100 range. Meaning that for your microphone, boom stand, pop filter, and shockmount, you're tied to $150 to stay in your price range. The upside is, it's unlikely you'll need to replace your DAC anytime soon unless you grow into really expensive microphones.
   
    
   
   Types of Microphones:
   

• Condenser: Condenser microphones are generally the most popular on the Twitch streaming community but, in my opinion, they shouldn't be used in most cases. Condenser microphones tend to have loud noise floors and require a room to be treated. They also generally have worse angle rejection (ideally, your microphone isn't catch noise to the side and behind the microphone).
  

2. Broadcast microphone. This is my recommendation. You can lose some of the "shiny-ness" of a condenser microphone, but in most cases it's not noticeably relevant. Comparing ~$250 budget microphones aren't going to have incredibly different frequency responses (again, exceptions apply).
   Recommendations:
   
3. An XLR/USB hybrid microphone - Broadcast: The Audio-Technica AT2005USB is a microphone that has both XLR and USB. Meaning you can start out with USB, get the right equipment with a boom arm/shock mount/pop filter and down the road get an audio interface (DAC) to add some quality to the microphone. The only downside? The microphone isn't especially cool to look at.
   
4. A USB-only microphone. The Audio Technica ATR2100-USB is essentially the same as the 2005, but doesn't have XLR. You save $15. This article is a great source on some dynamic microphones to take a look at.
   
5. An XLR-only microphone. This is the long-term play, but not a bad one. If you see yourself wanting to upgrade microphones and change out gear down the road, this may be the most viable option. You picked a good microphone in the AT2035, but a mediocre DAC (for reasons I discussed earlier).
   
6. Headset: Sennheiser or HyperX Cloud II. Do some research and watch some reviews.
   
    
   
   Sorry for the INCREDIBLY long-winded response. Microphones, for me, make or break streams and just because it's "analog" or "looks cool" doesn't mean that it'll perform well. I also want to add an additional shout out to using a Podfarm or OBS's VST plugins to highlight your voice. Using a microphone "dry" is rarely (if ever) the best way to get the best out of that microphone. Adding simple effects can be the difference maker between making a $50 microphone sound like a $500 one and a $500 one sound like a $50 microphone. Cheers and good luck!

FYI the atr2005 mic is 100x better (Is USB and XLR, sounds better, smaller and cuts out back ground noise) and its $10 cheaper! https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2005USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1499790415&sr=8-10&keywords=audio+technica+atr2100

PS. there is also the atr2100 which is even cheaper at $69

Completely agree with Egsession. IMO mic quality is just as important as video quality when streaming. I use this fairly inexpensive but high quality mic by Audio-Technica.

​

Edited: fixed link.

I recently faced this exact same issue. I game in my basement where it's fairly noisy. So, what I ended up getting is the below list. It works great and does a really good job of not picking up my KUL-87 MX Clear keyboard, the clothes washer/dryer, HVAC, my noisy overclocked computer, and so on.


You can use this with just USB or also go the XLR route into a audio interface where you can use compression, cutoffs, and other features to improve things even better. For a time I did this using my ZOOM H5 but right now I am actually going XLR then directly into my soundcard via a XLR to 3.5mm adapter. My Soundblaster Z has some fun software "enhancements" for mics that I can use this way.


Audio-Technica AT2005USB https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JX8O0Y

Foam Ball-Type Mic Windscreen https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002GXF8Q

K&M 23200 Table Microphone Stand https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000NTZKH6

On Stage MY-420 Studio Microphone Shock Mount https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AUSOAW

Hahaha. I'm sorry friend. Just ordered this!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JX8O0Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GRMF4RS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I hear you bro.

I haven't used Audacity for anything other than recording, but overall I think it works really well!
Yes, VNC works, I forgot about it, thanks.
I'll look into that script, although my scripting/programming skills are virtually non-existent, so it looks a little confusing to me, haha.

edit: just in case, I'm using this mic AT2005USB and the pi's USB is powerful enough to drive it! (I just have the mic and a mouse plugged in, nothing else).

Just a heads up: The seiren bundle is almost like the Beats of microphones. Okay not that bad, but still. It looks good (if you like a big razer logo on your mic). The features don't come close to matching the price though.

50% off makes it a reasonable package, but at stock price its essentially a much more expensive Blue Yeti. The reviews for the essential hardware lead me to believe this one gets a little thin if you compare it to the audio technica USB mic at the $130 pricepoint..

As for the pop filter and shock mount, as I have mentioned elsewhere, Your biggest reduction in unwanted sound will come from getting a boom mic. It reduces vibrations and, more importantly, allows you to place the microphone at a proper distance from your mouth. With the proper placement, the mic signal is hot, so you're not turning up the gain to sound intelligible, which in turn increases the ambient noise. The pop filter can be useful, but the seiren filter is needlessly expensive, for something you can make at home. Shockmounts will be relevant only if you for some reason need to adjust and move the mic stand all the time. A boom stand eliminates the need.

What I'm saying is, although you're technically getting a deal, There are other choices you can find with more bang for your buck, if all you need is a mic to record your voice for gameplay streaming or VOIP for games. If your budget is $150 dollars I would say to get either the audiotechnica (a reputable and affordable audio company) or the Blue Yeti, and buy a heavy duty boom mic stand.

Now don't let me stop you from spending the money the way you want, but I just thought I would throw out my two cents on the matter since I had the time.

[EDIT] Just throwing this out there, I would buy this mic before any of the ones we talked about: http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATR2100-USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B004QJOZS4

or this: http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2005USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y

You should check out the Audio Technica AT2005USB.
http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2005USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422575453&sr=8-1&keywords=at2005usb&pebp=1422575470744&peasin=B007JX8O0Y&pebp=1422575470829&peasin=B007JX8O0Y&pebp=1422575470933&peasin=B007JX8O0Y
It's about $60 on Amazon. USB and XLR. The guy over at http://creamyradioaudio.com highly recommends it. He and his co-hosts use them on a live, nationally syndicated radio show. The are some other great tips there also. He says to stay away from the blue yeti.

I have this http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2005USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y
got it not too long ago and I absolutely love it. The sound quality is quite good however not as good as a nice condenser mic. The Blue Snowball and Blue Yeti are very popular mic's in your price range as well. I would suggest checking out some reviews.

I switched to the dynamic mic over my condenser mic because they tend to be less sensitive to background noise, vibration and environmental factors at the expense of a little bit of quality. I was using a very decent condenser mic I had from doing music stuff years ago but I was running it through a Blue Icicle XLR to USB adapter and that thing was less than amazing.

Also, ideally you want to isolate the mic from your desk to reduce keyboard noise, so if you're going to be recording voice over while you play you don't really want to be using the small stands most Podcaster style mics come with. Boom stands and broadcaster arms are what you want to take a look at, as well as shock mounts and you'll want a pop filter or windscreen too, you're probably looking at around $30 bucks for all that stuff at the low end. The essential bit is the pop filter/windscreen but those are very inexpensive (a wire hanger and some panty hoes will make a good pop filter in a pinch).

Will $100 buy a "great" mic? No, not really haha. But it will buy you a very good mic and on top of that you can tweak your recording a bit to bring out an even better sound if you're inclined to do that. Once you're past the $100 mark there's a bit of a diminishing return on the investment in my opinion and there are tons of things you can do to improve your audio before you drop $500 on an amazing pro mic. I wouldn't suggest going beyond your current budget for your first mic, you will learn a ton about your voice and audio recording once you get into it. From there you will be able to make a much more informed decision if you choose to upgrade down the line.

The Audio-Technica ATR2100/AT2005/Samson Q2U are very good podcasting microphones, and are versatile by having both USB and XLR connections.

The Zoom H6 is a good recorder. If you want to save money, get a Behringer mixer (1-XLR, 2-XLR, 4-XLR) and a Zoom H1 to record with.

The Audio-Technica ATH-M30x or ATH-M40x are good headphones.

Get any pop filter that fits your price. A Neewer boom arm is OK for podcasting (that's what I use), but the next step up is a Blue Compass, Rode PSA-1, or Heil PL-2T.

The Neewer boom arm comes with a plastic shock mount.

Monoprice.com has pretty good quality cables for cheap, but price almost equals quality for audio cables.

Audacity is a good audio editor.

Check out Better Podcasting, The Audacity to Podcast, School of Podcasting, The Feed, and Podcasters' Roundtable for podcast advice. Pod Squad is a Discord server that I help moderate where you can also get more help from other podcasters.

Personally I like the Audio Technica AT2005USB. It comes with a little stand and a USB cable. It works extremely well when on the go. It also has a jack for your headphones and you can even plug it into a mixer via XLR, making it a very versatile mic.

If you are looking for something a little less expensive, there is the Audio Technica ATR2100USB. The audio quality is almost as good as the AT2100, but doesn't have as nice of an on/off switch or windscreen inside.

If you need even cheaper than that Knox has an AT2005 knock off. It looks and sounds nearly identical.

All 3 are dynamic cardioid mics which are usually preferable when recording in a less than ideal environment since they should pick up less room noise. I wouldn't worry as much about audio quality differences between your home studio, and anything you use while on vacation. Most listeners understand you can't bring your home studio on the road.


Also full disclosure, the Amazon links are affiliate links for GFQ Network, the podcast network I work for.

I'm assuming you have a decent computer. If so, then an Audio-Technica ATR-2100USB or one of its equivalents -- AT2005 or Samson Q2U -- is the way to go. They're all "basically" the same, so get whatever's cheapest at the time of purchase. the 2100 does have a lifetime warranty while the others don't. They frequently go on sale.

there isn't a mixer that takes USB mics, I'm pretty happy with the Behringer X1204USB I got last december. I'd also recommend the AT2005 USB mic. It has both USB and XLR and is usually around $60. It's a dynamic mic that works well and the mixer has the capacity to have 4 of them.

For an arm, I have a cheap Newwer Mic Boom that works well, but I don't think it'd hold up under a lot of stress. It's a good starter though and has a XLR cable built into it.

Your best bet is to save up a little more and buy a stand alone mic that will last years.

This mic you can connect via a usb and xlr. Once you buy this and save more money up you can buy a cheap mixer/preamp to connect this to. It will make your mic sound a lot better.

https://www.amazon.com/Technica-AT2005USB-Handheld-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Audio+Technica+AT2005USB+Handheld+Dynamic+Microphone&qid=1565335068&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-3

Scroll down and buy all 3 of the frequently bought together items for under 90 bucks. The arm, windscreen to put on the mic, and the mic.


When you're able to save up more money you should buy a preamp/mixer and use that xlr cable to plug into it. Here is a cheap one for down the road:

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-Premium-5-Input-British/dp/B000J5UEGQ?ref_=Oct_BSellerC_11974871_&pf_rd_p=86c5a16b-d588-5ae0-b0bf-f9999489ccdd&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=11974871&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=40F5EHBSEKR7GBG77VK3&pf_rd_r=40F5EHBSEKR7GBG77VK3&pf_rd_p=86c5a16b-d588-5ae0-b0bf-f9999489ccdd

You can have a killer setup for under $500.

Mic: Audio Technica AT2005 - A great mic that a lot of let's players use (draax, zueljin, kingdaddydmac, etc.). It also accepts xlr or usb inputs (more on that at the end). I use the atr2100, which is the same mic, just different color and warranty. The at2005 is cheaper by about $25 right now, so buying today, that's the one I'd get. It's a dynamic mic, so it blocks out sound that's not in front of it. Much better for noisy environments. Condenser mics like the blue yeti will pick up a lot more background noise. Other mics I've used are the V-Moda Boompro, which works with most headphones that have detachable cables (in my case the M100s) and sounds good, but changing the cable for when I didn't want to use the mic became old pretty fast. You can leave it attached, but then the boom mic is there all the time. I've also used the antlion modmic 4.0 and can't recommend it. It has white noise unless you use a usb soundcard, the cable is stiff and it's kind of expensive compared to full fledged mics. $56

Stand: Pyle PMKSH01 Suspension Boom Scissor Microphone Stand - A decent cheap stand. Nothing special, but it comes with an integrated xlr cable. I use this one, but may upgrade to the Rode PSA1 ($100) later on. The shock mount will not fit the at2005 however. $21

Shock Mount: On-Stage MY420 - A great shock mount that fits the at2005/atr2100. Shock mounts reduce noises from bumping your desk or tapping on your keyboard; things that may reverberate to your mic. It might not even be necessary if you're not a heavy handed gamer or if your desk is made of a thick, dense material. $25

Wind Filter: On-Stage Foam Ball Windscreen - Reduces wind/breathing noises as well as minimizing plosives. Not a complete necessity, but extremely cheap and it does help, so why not? $3

Cable management: Velcro One-Wrap Cable Wraps - I use these for keeping the usb cable for the mic attached to the stand. Extremely useful and cheap. $6

Headphones: Very subjective to user preference. I prefer closed vs open for noise isolation. Here's what I've used:

Audio Technica ATH M50: Good (not great) headphones for ~$100. Considered the standard by many, but to me they're just good. $155

V-Moda M100: Excellent sound with very potent bass. They make the M50s sound muddy in comparison. HOWEVER, the M100s have a design flaw where the "wings" (the parts above where you adjust the headphones) will crack over time. It happened to two pairs of my M100s. Unacceptable for the price of these headphones, regardless of how good they sound. $222

Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 Ohm: Amazing. Potent bass like the M100s, but even a bit clearer. Very wide soundstage for closed headphones. I paid $219 for mine and don't regret it a single bit. I might grab another pair at the price they're currently at. $150

All that adds up to around $261 + tax choosing the DT770s, and will be a killer setup for gaming. Far better than any "gaming" headset, and it even opens the option of streaming or let's play videos (the reason I got my setup). There is one more thing I'd add though, given the budget if you're serious about mic quality, and that's the $99 Focusrite Scarlett Solo 2nd Gen. It's a usb audio interface that accepts xlr mics. It gives you a bit more control over the audio coming out of your mic and cleans up the signal so you get less "noise" from the usb interface. Quality is good without it, but with it, it's noticeably better.

Hope this helps some! I spent quite a while researching things when I put my own setup together. :)

I'm shocked that this list does not include one of the following which would be the #1 microphone that I would recommend for podcasters:

Knox Podcasting Microphone

Audio Technica ATR-2100

Audio Technica AT2005

Samson Q2U

Some of the others (expect the Rode Podcaster) are condenser microphones which are problematic for the average podcaster to use without issues such are room reverb, echo, and background noise. I would not recommend those for your average podcaster

Condenser mics are good for picking up a lot of people, but they also create a lot of background noise too. I used a condenser for 2 years, we JUST made the switch. Now i use 4 dynamic mics, via an xlr to USB interface. We record in adobe audition. Even if you dont record in it, i recommend learning it and running your audio through it for post editing. ill link all my useful stuff and equipment. These will all be amazon links.

The Mics

Good Mic Stands for cheap

interface

if you go through the trouble of learning audition this is helpful. This is the algorithm the Game Grumps use, i cannot state enough what an amazingly drastic quality difference this makes. it raises the lows, lowers the highs, evens it all out.

Dynamic Audio Processing Chart

​

I should mention that to record multiple mic inputs, you need either an additional sound card, or the ASIO4ALL driver (which hogs your soundcard making it so you cant hear your game, booo.) The alternate solution i went for is recording the audio on another PC.

​

If you're recording with lots of people, to avoid audio spillover (one person being picked up on another's mic) you want to record with each track at the near lowest possible Gain/Volume/Db, and raise it all later. this will make the mics only pick up the voice right in front of them. I usually also angle all the mics in a way that they face only their speaker, but not others. I can elaborate on this further if you like. Then i run it all thru the Dynamic Processing. I think that about covers the gist of it, sorry for how detailed it was lol. If anyone is curious, i can give good tips on creating thumbnails, info about how i make my art and music, how i edit my videos and general technique too, when i have time

Get a COMREX bitches! :D

http://www.comrex.com/products/bric-link-ii/

You can get a CHEAP piece of crap mic that will do wonders for responsiveness.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JX8O0Y/ref=pd_cp_0_4

you can even do a software solution rather than a comrex.

http://feenphone.com

then skype, mumble, all sorts of others.

Even just a smartphone, the mics in those are good enough for fairly high def recording, enough that you can tell the RPM of an engine pretty well up to around 14-16k RPMs.

Really no reason to be smashing things through a shitty uLaw/muLaw filter when you've got digital multiplexing and CPU power to burn. The dialogix codec is older than dinosaur shit, and you can still get ok sound out of crap bandwidth.

I think you could get ok audio, about 5 hours worth transfered over a 28.8k connection in under an hour. Once wavelets got onto the scene you could do even better than that, but there was no point. They were using that tech to do 160x100 pixel video over 28.8k connections, and audio, meh, just use any crap codec, as long as it'll sync with the video steams. Welcome to the hell that was RealPlayer 3

So, I'd say its more a level of lazy, and everyone just got into the inertia of being used to crap audio.

Im glad you liked the show!

Im using the Audio-Technica ATR2100

The Audio-Technica AT2005 is the same mic just looks different.

Don't get a Yeti. Get an Audio Technica AT2005 microphone.

Almost any veteran podcaster here will tell you do NOT get a Yeti or Blue Snowball for your first mic. They somehow are more well-known and do better marketing, but you're much, much better off with an Audio Technica mic.

I recently got the AT2005usb and I LOVE it. I got it for around $58, but it is back up to 80. Keep an eye on it though, if it's available in your country and the price goes down, I highly recommend. I switched from a snowball. I didn't like it much. Also, the channel Podcastage on YouTube has reviews for a lot of mics, cheap ones included. Maybe watch some of his reviews and see if something tickles your fancy.

EDIT: I've seen the at2005usb go below 50. It's a matter of patients.

Would this be fine without a mixer or no? https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2005USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y

What Hardware are you using, as in MIC. is it the mic from a Gaming headset or something else? It sounds like to me it's a MIC built into a gaming headset. Most headsets focused on gaming do not have great microphones. So if that is what your using. Will want to look at using a different mic.

If you want to get better audio without tons of extra hardware. i would look at getting the Audio-Technica AT2005USB

It's a good starting mic and can stick with you for a while cause it does support XLR if you decide to get a Mix board or or a simple XLR-USB interface. Other wise even using USB it does a great job in my book. Sure there are better options out there, but will require more hardware than just the MIC it self.

This is what I use. It is a little bit over your range but not a ton. I use it with the usb plug directly into my pc. If one day I upgrade to a mixer it also has an xlr output. You would need a separate stand and you do want it fairly close to your mouth to get the best audio but for the $. Keep an eye out, I bought mine on sale for $62. A lot of people recommend the blue yeti but it picked up way to much background noise for me. Audio-Technica AT2005USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007JX8O0Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wPUOAbG9NMC1Q

So these are what I'm looking at so far.

Audio Interface: M-Audio M-Track Eight 8-Channel USB Audio Interface
Microphones: 7 AT2005USBs (which apparently come with a stand and an XLR cable)

Total would come to be about $800.

Audio Technica have a slightly cheaper USB Dynamic, the ATR2005. For another $5 less there is the Samson Q2u which some say has the exact same innards as the Audio Technicas, but i can't confirm that. Otherwise you may have to keep an eye out for sales. Just make sure you at least get a foam windscreen for each mic so you have some sort of pop-filtering.

Avoid Blue microphones because the chances of all three of you having recording environments where a Condenser microphone works better than a Dynamic are very low.

Microphone: Get a dynamic mic. I recommend the ATR-2100 or the ATR-2005 which functions as USB and XLR.

Mixer: I usually get some hate for recommending the Zoom H4n or Zoom H6, but they do the job for quite the low price. Also consider the Behringer 1024.

Headphones: These headphones are quite pricy, but I've heard good stuff about these Sony headphones. You can always check out Daniel J. Lewis' post about headphones.

Mic stand: I think we may be over budget at this point, but you can pick up some Musician's Gear Boom stands from Guitar Center or the On Stage mic stand. There are some scissor arms for cheap, but they are made cheap.

Auducity can be wonky but works well. Are y'all in the same room or remote?

Obviously a good mic is important. Can't go wrong with the snowball or yeti. I personally use this

Audio-Technica AT2005USB Cardioid... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007JX8O0Y?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share (non affiliate link) and love it compared to the blue mics. When you can getting a sound board is really nice and really helps with your quality

If you are getting a USB mic, the AT2020USB isn't bad. There are a few others to look at as well though, like the FiFine K670, CAD GXL2400, or the Audio-Technica ATR2500 for condensers, or the Samson Q2U or Audio-Technica AT2005 if you wanted a dynamic. If you can, listen to some tests and decide for yourself which sounds best between those and the AT2020USB.

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With a USB mic, acoustic treatment is very important. They typically have a slightly harsh sound to the upper frequencies to begin with, and reverb from an untreated room will amplify that. If you can get the room treated it will still sound good, and the treatment can be anything from buying panels to throwing up some thick blankets against the walls. Even a high-end XLR setup will sound bad without a treated space, but USB mics tend to sound extra harsh if you don't have a treated room. So long as you have something to cut the echo, you should be fine.

If you want to go the mic on an arm route, I'd look into a Audio-Technica AT2005USB on a Neewer NB-39 arm with On Stage MY325 shock mount. You don't even need one of those foam filters.

Just watch for those cheap like $12 mic arms on Amazon as they are comically short and cheaply made.

I'd also stay away from the (sadly) ubiquitous Blue Yeti as a condenser mic isn't what you want in an untreated room and you'll be fighting background noise all the time.

I jsut made the switch from a Blue Yeti to a Dynamic mic and XLR set up. I'll post what i picked up. May be a little over kill for solo but gives plenty of room for expansion.

First up, the MIC

Audio-Technica AT2005USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone

This as it states is a DUEL USB and XLR Dynamic Mic. Since I got it i have loved using it for LEt's plays to just Team chat in games and at Lan Parties. It's got what you expect from a USB Mic. Has a Headphone jack and on board volume for the headphones, And an ON/OFF switch. But then it is also XLR compatible. So it's not something you will toss out the door when you move to XLR.

To go with it i got a desk mount Etubby Adjustable Desktop Microphone Suspension Boom Scissor Arm Stand Holder and some better Mounts for the stand. I have it set up so i just push it out of the way when i don't need it.

As for a mix board i have picked up this
Behringer Q1202USB 12-Channel Mixer.

As in the name as well this is a USB mixer. This does have phantom power if needed, has 4 XLR Inputs , and 12 Channels. And it's only 100 bucks or less depending on Amazon's Mood. And if you got any Music stores around you, This is also sold by GUITAR CENTER in the states, So you may be able to find it locally for same or cheeper.

Since i got it, I Had a little bit of a learning curb and the need to turn up the Compression on the mic channels. First recording with it was well a little blown out. I use this even when solo now cause I get more control over the MIC levels. It's easy to use in windows as it is very much plug and play. Shows up as USB AUDIO CODEC in windows. And if you want to, you CAN send you audio back out through it. Though that part i'm still learning on if it's usable in recordings or not.

I'm Not sure how much Cost wise that will Translate into £'s. But this over all Cost me $180 just for the mic and Mixer. The Mic did come with an XLR cable with it, so you do not need to buy one unless you need it to be longer.

Long post, I Know, But hopefully that gives a few useful suggestions for ya.

You look into this one at all?

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2005USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1495924234&sr=8-15&keywords=audio+technica+mic

http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B007JX8O0Y

Without much else to go on, this is as good a suggestion as any. It's plug and play (like any USB mic), comes with a desk stand, and is a dynamic mic, so it will be better suited for poor room conditions. If you provide more info about how the mic will be used, may be able to give a better suggestion. Also a budget would be good.

The Audio Technica AT2005 should suit your needs. You'll need to be speaking a few inches away from it so that it'll pickup your voice.

I'm currently using this microphone on this boom stand, clamped to the side of my desk. I originally invested in this setup because I was planning on streaming on Twitch and making youtube videos, so I wanted the good quality of the microphone and I liked the aesthetic that the boom arm provided. I was originally looking at the Blue Snowball and other mics and eventually settled on this one because the dynamic microphone was better than condensed ones for my purposes (doesn't pick up nearly as much environment noise).

It's now 2.5 years later and I've disliked this setup for a long time. I'm still using it because I just haven't gotten around to switching to something else (probably going to go with the Antlion ModMic). The microphone (even this cheaply priced, low end one) is completely overkill quality-wise. Sure, everybody on Teamspeak and Skype thinks I sound the best of anyone on there, but it's not like that matters, especially for me - I'm not the one hearing it. If you're going to be streaming or making videos, yeah, the quality is absolutely paramount, but just for general gaming it's very overkill. I've heard the ModMic's quality from multiple sources - youtube reviews, friends on skype/teamspeak, etc - and it sounds just fine. In fact, it's been a very long time since I've heard a modern microphone whose quality is insufficient for gaming and perhaps professional webinars.

Now, the thing that makes me dislike the setup is that the boom arm has become make-you-want-to-flip-your-desk levels of noisy as you move it, and I move it back and forth constantly. It takes up such a ridiculous amount of space that I'm moving it all the time because it's just uncomfortable and inconvenient and in the way when I'm not using it. When I am using it, it's permanently in my peripheral vision and that's just something I've had to get used to, but all for what? There are so many reasons NOT to go with a table mic or other kind of setup that really you should only be doing it if what you're doing requires, really, professional level sound. Other mics, like the Vmoda Boompro mic, the Antlion ModMic, hell even the cheap as dirt Zalman clip-on mic for like $8 will do the job just fine. Dealing with the extra cable that comes from the ModMic or a clip on mic is LEEEEEAGUES ahead of the solutions you'll need to employ to get rid of desk/keyboard sounds going through your table mic (you pretty much need a shock mount). On top of that, with the table mic you need to worry about placement, it takes up space on your desk which is dumb, or you end up with some dumb thing like a boom arm which is the absolute opposite of elegant, especially when it starts creaking and literally sounding like Santa Claus's workshop every time it moves a millimeter. Sorry, this turned into more of a rambling rant because honestly I've just been dealing with this shitty setup every single day for 2.5 years without benefiting at all from the quality of the microphone except for, I guess, just knowing that I sound better than everyone else on Teamspeak. I'm probably going to go on Amazon and order a ModMic or something directly after hitting save on this comment.

I guess the take-away here, my advice would be to drop the mindset that the quality that comes from a table mic like a Blue Snowball, Yeti, Sampson Meteor Mic, etcetcetc is needed and worth the hassle that is a table mic. Move forward with the mindset that other solutions - BETTER solutions - are just as good, especially when quality really isn't something that's make or break for you. Streaming and making youtube videos and such makes microphone quality pretty much the most important part of your setup because no one wants to listen to you unless you sound perfect, but gaming and the occasional webinar is a much different situation.

If you have any questions let me know.

I ended up going with the one you said and I also got a pop filter. What do you think? Also what do you suggest I do to make a more audio recording friendly environment?
https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2005USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465590510&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Audio+techna+AT2005+USB+microphone

I'm thinking about buying a mic for discord, maybe streaming (emphasis maybe) and am leaning towards a dynamic mic because I've been told that they're better for reducing background noise vs a condenser.

If I get a dynamic mic with XLR out, what would be the okayest way to hook it up to my PC with acceptable input levels? At the moment, I'm considering this headset with the mic connected to the PC via this XLR to USB cable. Will that combination work ok, or should I be looking at something else?

The other thing I'm considering is this USB stand-alone mic and having game sound through my speakers.

I apologise is this isn't the right place to ask.

Here is the mobile version of your link

your headset mic sounds nice and the audio bleed from your fiance in the video that you linked isn't too bad or distracting, but yes, you could switch to a less sensitive mic.

electronics and headsets typically have little condenser mics in them which are designed to be very sensitive. alternatively, dynamic mics are designed for only picking up sound from directly in front of the mic. Audio Technica makes the best mics in the world, and they have a new USB dynamic, the AT2005USB which I was skeptical of at first, but after watching a couple reviews, I think it's a steal at $50.

however, you have to talk very close to it, so you may also need a desk clamp mic stand

edit: price

AT2005USB Dynamic Mic s really good if your room has noise, its a professional MIC used in podcasts, its recommended as a starting mic.

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2005USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B007JX8O0Y?th=1

There is a big difference between a Dynamic Mic and Condenser Mic, so choose wisely when buying one, it will effect your sound drastically.

Dynamic Mic dose not need sound proof room, pick up sound around 2 feet away from you.

Condenser Mic needs sound proofing, this mic will pick up sounds from your neighbor's house, if a dog frats down the street you hear it :)