Edit: Most of this post assumes you have a "line in" available on your computer. Most desktops have this already, not sure if laptops do if that is what you game on. Also, the Mackie Mix8 would be better if you plan to use voice chat because you can use the aux send for voice chat.

What mic you need really depends on what you're doing. Some great streamers get by with just a headset mic. Some people have $600 microphones and don't sound wonderful.

If I had $200 and was just starting streaming, I would start small, and do a lot of research. Get to know the basics like the difference between dynamic mics and condenser mics. Understand what phantom power is. Learn the difference between unidirectional, omnidirectional, and cardioid microphones.

If you want to get into pro audio, which it sounds like you do, I would recommend you should opt for a small mixer, maybe something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Mackie-Mix-Mix5-5-Channel-Mixer/dp/B00ND1K8T6/ref=sr_1_4?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1485752991&sr=1-4&keywords=Mackie+Compact+Mixer

I would recommend a mixer rather than an interface (such as a Scarlett Solo) because a mixer ultimately gives you more options. The Scarlett Solo is a beautiful device, I have one, but it's good for one voice optionally paired with one instrument, each on mono channels. That small Mackie mixer, which is about half the price, lets you have one voice paired with two stereo channels. Right now I'm sporting a 14-channel mixer I picked up used for $125, and it has more options than I need. Interfaces are supposed to have amazing analog-to-digital converters, meaning the sound they capture is more accurate, but I feed the "main out" from the mixer into a "line in" on my PC and I notice no appreciable difference. I am not an audiophile, though. To do that you'd need a cable like this:

https://www.amazon.com/TNP-Premium-3-5mm-Audio-Cable/dp/B01CNMSRA2/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1485755363&sr=1-2&keywords=6.25mm%2Bmono%2Bto%2B3.5mm%2Bstereo&th=1

Pair the mixer/interface, whichever you go with, with an XLR microphone. I'd recommend starting small. This dynamic mic sounds decent for a realllly low price:

https://www.amazon.com/Shure-SM48-LC-Dynamic-Microphone-Cardioid/dp/B0002D0HY4

It's what I currently use. It's kind of a dumbed down SM58. I started with a Sterling Audio ST55, because GiantWaffle uses that and I think his stream sounds great. It turns out my house is super noisy, so the ST55 which is a condenser mic picked up crazy amounts of noise. All the running computers in the room, the air conditioning, pets running around, people talking across the room, people stomping around upstairs, you get the idea. GiantWaffle didn't have that problem because he uses sound dampening materials in his studio, and keeps noisy stuff far away from his microphone. I tried out the SM48, and it works better for my environment, but if I had known better a couple years ago I probably would have bought this instead of the ST55:

https://www.amazon.com/AKG-PERCEPTION-Professional-Instrumental-Microphone/dp/B00167QUWI

A friend of mine has it, and it sounds amazing. It has similar sound qualities to other condenser mics, but it doesn't pick up nearly as much room noise.

I'm sure the AT2035 is great. It's a condenser mic, so it can pick up really quiet sounds, and it likely picks up a huge range of frequencies resulting in a super full-sounding voice. Just make sure if you go with this one that you streaming in a quiet room. Also, it needs phantom power, so make sure that the mixer/interface you're using can support it.

Be sure to buy an XLR cable. Some microphones don't come with one.

Pop filters are cool, but aren't strictly necessary, especially if you aren't singing.

Scissor arm mounts are nice if your desk can accommodate them. Remember you get what you pay for. A normal mic stand will work alright if you have enough room for it.

I should also mention the AT2020, Blue Yeti, and even the Blue Snowball sound great. If you simply want to plug, play, and forget with no options after that, they will suit your needs. Some headsets also have pretty good microphones on them, too. Like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC-350-Special-2015/dp/B015ZKJIYI/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

Good luck!

So, I don't know the most technical differences, but I can tell you the major difference between Condenser and Dynamic.

Condenser mics are going to pick up a lot of ambient noise. You'll probably see these in a recording studio, and they work well in that setting because studios are designed to incorporate them. Some condenser mics require phantom power to power them, the Blue lineup does not as they are powered by the computer.

Dynamic mics are going to be more focused, picking up the sound directly in front of them. I prefer the Dynamic, as I think you can get a better, more isolated sound. Especially if your recording space isn't ideal or acoustically treated.

The Blue Microphones (Snowball and Yeti) are condenser mics. So, if you're using a Yeti, you're going to be picking up a lot of the noise in the room, and outside the room (and even the building, depending on your recording space). So, if you have animals, roomates, Air Conditioning, fans, any little thing that makes noise, it will be picked up.

We used to record with a Blue Snowball, and while it's nice for capturing the sound of multiple hosts, the cons outweigh the pros.

Now, if you're able to treat the space with either acoustic foam, or even something as simple as hanging blankets up, and putting some on the floor if you don't have carpet, this will help your acoustics.

Or, if you're a one-person show, you can record in a closet, as well Just be mindful of any ambient noises you might not think of.

However, depending on how many people you're planning on having, here's the setup I recommend, for your price range:

1. Behringer Xenyx 1202 with 4 XLR inputs. - This $80 mixer gives you some room to grow.
   
   
2. Behringer Ultravoice 3-Pack - This affordable $40 dynamic microphone bundle will let you and any additional hosts get started with a decent sound. You could always upgrade to more expensive mics later, but even the affordable Behringer XM8500 is a great mic that comes in at $20.
   
   
3. Pick up the cables, which should run you between $20–$30: 3 XLR cables, plus the line out from the mixer to your laptop/computer.
   
   
4. Audacity. Free, easy-to-use editing software that I've been using for 6 years and is perfect for my show's needs. There are a lot of online resources to support Audacity and all of its functions.
   
   
5. A hosting site: Podbean, Shout Engine, Libsyn, Archive.org, etc. This is where you'd upload your show and use your RSS feed to get into iTunes. I personally use Podbean, but to have a decent go of it, you'll have to pay. We pay around $100 a year. Shout Engine and Archive.org are free alternatives, and I've personally used Shout Engine without issue.
   
   
6. Some people like to use headsets to monitor their sound, but it's not super necessary to start. You can gauge your volumes by watching the recording track in Audacity and see if anyone needs to be turned up or down. Using dynamic mics and a mixer will give you a lot of volume control pre-recording. Down the road, you could look into an Audio Interface which would allow for multitrack recording, giving more control over everyones levels post-recording.
   
   And there you go. For about $150, you'll have a decent starter setup which will capture a good sound right away.
   

>Im worried that being that the AT2020 is a cardioid mic

I think you mean that the AT2020 being a condenser mic not a cardioid mic. The AT2020 is both a cardioid and a condenser mic, but the "cardioid" refers to the polar pattern and "condenser" refers to the type of transducer. You definitely want to get a cardioid or hypercardioid microphone.

Condenser microphones are much more sensitive than dynamic microphones. That means that they pick up your voice from further away but also pick up more background noise. Condenser microphones also general will record a more accurate respresentation of the sound input (they sound better). Generally you want a condenser mic about 6-8" from your mouth pointed directly at you (or slightly off-axis) and directly away from any background noise.

Dynamic microphones are less sensitive so they don't pick up as much background noise but they also generally need to be closer to the sound source. They also don't have as good audio quality for lower end microphones. Generally you would want a dynamic mic 3-4" from your mouth pointed directly at you (or slightly off-axis) and directly away from any background noise.

If you have $300 to spend on an interface and microphone then I suggest spending more of it on the interface and less on the mic and then upgrading the mic in the future if needed. That is because some of the lower priced interfaces will introduce noise into your system. There are two main styles of interface. There's the tube amp style (think Scarlett 2i2 or Presonus audiobox 2x2) and there are mixing boards (think Behringer Xenyx or Yamaha MG10XU). For your price range the tube amps will give you better sound but you won't be able to adjust it as much hardware-side. The mixing boards will give you much more control over your audio but with slightly reduced quality. since you are streaming I highly recommend going the mixing board route, but that is up to you. Personally I love my Mackie ProFX8V2 ($200) but the Yamaha MG10XU ($200) is basically made for streamers. I like my Mackie because it has audio inputs which allows you to easily add hardware effects (EQ, compressors, gates, etc). The Yamaha has a very simple built-in compressor that you might find useful.

If you want to go the audio interface route then I highly suggest the Steinberg UR242 ($170) or the Presonus Audiobox 44VSL ($200). These will give you the best sound for your money. I have tried every one of these interfaces and mixing boards and these 4 are my favorite. The Scarlett gave me huge problems and has also given all of my content creator friends issues.

Now for microphones. You mentioned that you wanted the SM7b but did not want to price tag. The SM7b is basically an upgraded version of the SM58 ($100) and SM57 ($100). The SM58 is geared slightly more towards vocals while the SM57 is geared slightly more towards insturments, however they are very similar. These microphones are nearly indestructible, are the go-to microphones for live stage performances, and the SM57 is what President Obama used for every one of his speeches. It has This cover on it. I highly recommend either microphone and they will pair well with your $200 interface and sits right in your $300 budget.

If you have any questions please let me know, I would be happy to help.

It can be done, but it takes some pretty hefty effort.

Now... I know I said avoid any and all hardware mixers, before, and I stand with that statement. But a great budget solution for this particular scenario is to grab one of these

NOW BE AWARE.

Yes, it will record all of you at the same time, HOWEVER, it will record you all on a single channel. Meaning individual EQ, edits, and adjustments will be impossible. You can get 2 channels, by mixing one input all the way to the left, and one to the right, then splitting them and making them mono, but that still leaves 2 odd men out.

The very best solution for the home podcaster is to find a 4 input interface like this one. This will split your channels nicely, and do everything you need it to do. If you're on a tight budget, but need full interface capability, you can use this guy. I used one at the start of my podcast, and loved it. It looks AMAZING, and it worked great for me, but unfortunately, it's pretty obviously not as good as a Focusrite, thanks to their absolutely stellar preamps.

EDIT: Fixed USB mixer link, original was NOT USB capable

XLR mics with phantom power for the win! If you're going for professional quality sound, save your money and invest in a good XLR mic.

​

The problem with USB mics like Blue Yeti is the fact that they use the integrated sound on your computer's motherboard. If your motherboard's sound system is older (2 years or older), the voice from the USB mic could sound robotic or it might not capture your entire voice range. This is especially a problem for folks with deeper voices. On older computers, you might sound far away or your voice could break up. If you have a brand new computer, feel free to use a USB mic until you can afford an XLR microphone.


XLR microphones require phantom power. Scarlet Focusrite (https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Audio-Interface-Tools/dp/B01E6T56CM) is a good product for phantom power, but there are affordable, good quality sound mixers that provide phantom power as well. Alot of streamers have used Berhinger Xenyx 302 ( https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-302USB-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B005EHILV4) or Berhinger Xenyx 502 (https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B000J5UEGQ). I personally use Roland VT-3 (https://www.amazon.com/Roland-AIRA-VT-3-Voice-Transformer/dp/B00IGDXK9Q) because it's a voice changer, sound mixer, noise gate, and phantom power all mixed into one machine.

​

For mics, I admit I'm using a cheap Pyle PDMIC58 . (Hey, I got this XLR mic for free with my Best Buy points. I didn't have enough points for a good mic). My problem with the mic is that it's too bright for my voice, and I have a low voice for a woman. I need something that captures my full voice range alot better. I'm planning to upgrade to a RODE NT-1 mic (Not the Rode NT-1A) before the end of the year.

Like others have stated, take your time and do research. Don't rush! Find the mic that fits your voice best. Good luck!

Help with audio equipment for live vocals

Hello, I could really use some help thinking thru the best setup for right now while having some flexibility to upgrade easily in the future. I'm thinking of buying either 1) a portable PA w/ built-in mixer and speakers or an 2) acoustic guitar amp or 3) just a mixer and use existing speakers.

Here's what I want to accomplish right now:

- Karaoke nights with kids/adults. I have both a condenser and a dynamic mic and we'd (I may buy another dynamic so we don't need a stand). I'd like to throw some karaoke parties in our basement supporting, at least, duets along with backing track input (YouTube to the rescue!).

- Mini-gig nights with family/friends in my house supporting 1-2 mics for vocals and 1-3 instruments like acoustic-electric, mandolin, and digital keyboard.

- Solo performance at the house: just like the above but 1 mic and 1 digital keyboard (or maybe the acoustic piano instead)

Here's the struggle I have: the decent all-in-one PA systems are pretty damn expensive and overkill for my needs right now (basement / smaller rooms in house don't need that much juice) although a longer term goal (say 1.5 years out) is for me to be a keyboardist in a band (but seems silly to make such a large advance purchase for future dreams). A ~60W acoustic amp seems nice but they're much more expensive for combo XLR/line inputs (allowing for 1-2 mics + 1-3 instruments).

What are my best options with the current equipment I have to meet the use-cases I mentioned above?

- Focusrite Scarlett Solo USB (only supports 1 mic)

- Audio-Technica AT4040 Cardioid Condenser

- Shure M58

- Edifier R2000DB

I threw in the Edifiers because here's an idea I came up with that's least expensive, for now, while allowing me to upgrade to my own PA speakers/acoustic amp later on: could I buy a Behringer XENYX 1202FX mixer and hook that up via RCA to my Edifiers? It should be sufficient to fill the basement/living room in my house for karaoke + mini-gig-nights, right? The Edifiers are powered w/ amps so it should be fine to feed the mixer, yes? Would an acoustic amp/PA speakers give much better "live music" sound when thinking about karaoke/mini-gig-night?

​

Please help!

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.

What clubs have you been in that you've seen the trim and masters maxed out? I've swatted dj's hand away when they try to do shit like that, no way is that happening in any self respecting venue. Yes, it's less likely to clip and distort on Pioneer gear, but in no situation is it ok or expected that anyone is solidly in the reds like that. I don't let DJ's hit anything higher than just the first red LED on the master channel, and even then only tickling it. What we do have is a ton of limiting and compression to keep the volume right where we set it on a given night.

For a mobile/live setup that you're looking at, rather than a full rack of processing hardware, I'd recommend grabbing something like a Soundcraft UI12 or a Behringer XR12/Midas MR12. A small wireless mixer would be a much more cost effective and flexible setup for you right now than a huge bunch of rack hardware, in my opinion. They've got plenty of onboard routing, effects, and dynamics processing like compression and limiting, and all controllable from an iPad or your phone. The Behringer/Midas have a really nice selection of processing effect units available as sends and inserts on any channel, and the Soundcraft is really easily accessible from a user interface perspective. Pretty much everything you need to operate as a mobile DJ, and even audio for small bands is pretty doable.

In the recent past, I did a deep dive into audio recording as a hobby / avocation. (I actually made some money being a sound person for some indie movies). At one point, I probably had somewhere between $5K - $12K of audio equipment.

Here's what I learned:

1. Capturing quality audio is very difficult (it's actually one of the most difficult parts of making movies)
   
2. In audio, you get what you pay for
   
   You're in the range of $300 - $500, it sounds like. The Zoom H5 is $300. A pair of microphone and mixer is going to run you more. I'm not familiar with the Jabra 510, but it's $100 on Amazon. (I'd be skeptical of this based on your needs.) Unless you're prepared to spend significant amounts of money, I would really recommend:
   
   
3. Use your cell phone (I've been impressed many times with the quality of the audio capture ability of the iPhone (which is doubly impressive since it completely sucks as a phone). I've had clients who are in sound design who have used an iPhone for a voice over mike in a pinch. Just make sure you have enough storage space on your phone for a full hour session.
   
4. Manage your environment.
   
   1. Pick a client who speaks up.
      
   2. Chose a room (if you can) that lends itself to audio capture. Recording studios walls are 'padded' for a reason. A gymnasium is an absolute nightmare for capturing audio. Pick a room that is more like a recording studio (soft furniture, carpet, etc) and less like a gym (bare walls, bare floors, nothing soft to absorb the soundwaves bouncing around a room.)
      
   3. Move your chairs closer together. Put your iPhone on a table in between the two chairs, microphone facing both of you. If I had to record a client for supervision, I wouldn't pick a client who is too soft or speaks too rapidly.
      
      Clients are going to speak too softly or too rapidly at times. That's life. Again, capturing pristine audio in the wild is very, very difficult. (Movies make it look easy, in part 'cause actors learn how to work with the mics for audio capture. If they just talked "normally", much of the dialog would be lost. And recording studios spend tens of thousands of dollars on acoustical treatments for their rooms. For a reason.)
      
      Hopefully, your supervisor does not unreasonably expect perfection. When I've listened to recordings made by my supervisees, I don't expect perfect audio. I expect words to get lost sometimes. Again, that's life.
      
      If you're bound and determined to spend money ....
      
      
5. If you buy one microphone you want what's called an "omnidirectional microphone" (there are different kinds of mics)
   
6. If you are buying two mics, consider Rode microphones. They're an Australian company and make excellent, low-cost (relatively speaking) microphones. Their NT3 microphone is vastly under-rated. If I was setting up an interview room on a lower budget, I would get two NT3 microphones.
   
   1. https://www.amazon.com/Rode-NT3-Medium-diaphragm-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B0002PSCQW/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=rode+microphone+nt3&qid=1555285885&s=gateway&sr=8-3
      
7. If you buy a mixer, you have to have something to record from the mixer into. Phones and laptops are possibilities here. For the price, Behringer makes decent stuff:
   
   1. https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-802-Premium-8-Input-Preamps/dp/B000J5XS3C/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=audio+mixer+xlr&qid=1555286107&s=gateway&sr=8-4
      
8. Don't forget the mic stands. And cables.
   
   ​
   
   Again, bottom line: I recommend saving your money and use your smart phone. You can use the money you save for your student loans. And a smart phone is far, far less intrusive on the client's space than a dual microphone set-up with a mixer. (Which is sort of important, no?) And less of a distraction for you. With less things to go wrong.
   
   I'll be curious to hear what you decide.
   
   Good luck!

Destiny's mic is a condenser AFAIK which means it's more detailed, the SM7B that Reckful has is a dynamic which means it blocks out background noise quite well but requires a lot of gain to power it.

The Blue Bottle that Destiny has is good and so is the SM7B, they're just different. The SM7B definitely has "legendary" status like other mics like the RE-20, U47, etc have even though the Blue Bottle doesn't but it's still a nice mic.

I must say, though, Byron's voice sounds REALLY fucking good on the SM7B and I'd love to know his entire audio and video setup.

edit: Byron has this mixer: https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-MG10XU-10-Input-Stereo-Effects/dp/B00IBIVL42 it seems really good and has USB.

Gonna preface this with I don’t know if a mixer board that you want for that price range is possible, so I cannot answer your question.

If you still choose to read then what I can’t stress enough is not getting a cheap mixer. If you ever plan to upgrade your stream it’s wasted money on a this starter mixer that even if you find you will quickly outgrow or wish you had more options.

It’s better to save money and buy a quality used one from Ebay, I cannot be more happy with my audio setup but it wasn’t cheap. But like quality lighting, and a good DSLR camera, this is not something you will change for years (If ever) and will survive ifnyou decide to do a two PC setup.

I do wish I could link you something in that price range with those outputs and faders instead of knobs but even doing an Amazon search I am not coming up with anything. There are a couple Behringer ones but not with the faders you seek and the quality is nowhere near that of a Yamaha, Mackie, etc. the best I could find was:

Behringer Xenyx 802 Premium 8-Input 2-Bus Mixer with Xenyx Mic Preamps and British EQs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J5XS3C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Ygl6Cb8C45CWN

If you can wait I would highly recommend the Yamaha MG12XU. The quality is superb, I have full dual PC functionality. It’s pretty amazing and you can get one open box/used for 225-250 on Ebay (not including the price of cables/sound cards). I wrote a guide on setting it up below

https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitch/comments/bjpatc/you_too_can_have_professional_audio_yamaha_mg12xu/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ios_share_flow_optimization&utm_term=control_2

Wow, that's super interesting. I understand why you have the sound routed as you do and I didn't realize the limitations of the various recording softwares when combined with screen readers. I gotta say, that makes for an interesting challenge. Man...

Since you have a setup that works and all you really are looking for is to replace the mixer, I'd suggest something like this Yamaha MG10XU board. That one will set you back about $200, and while I don't have any personal experience with it, I like Yamaha stuff. Another I'd suggest, and this one may be even better for you, is the Soundcraft EPM8. Now, this is a little more expensive at $250, but this is a nice mixer, especially at the price point. I had one for a couple of weeks, but ultimately I didn't keep it because it's an analog mixer. Because you're recording directly to SD and don't need the USB connection back to the computer for data transmission, this may be a better choice. I recall it having a nice pre-amp as well.

If you're looking to spend less than either of those, I'd suggest instead of buying a new X, Y, or Z, look at used gear. While I like "new" stuff as much as the next person, often times in the music/audio world you can find quality used gear at good prices. My microphone you'd never know I bought used, and I saved $100 versus buying new.

For a last couple of other options, maybe an Allen & Heath ZED-10 or a Peavey mixer, though I'm having trouble finding a specific one I think might work for you. Just the same, Peavey makes good stuff.

Good luck.

/r/audio is a sh*tfest of un-modded bad information... try /r/audioengineering/ instead or one of the pro audio or AV boards

-


The Yeti is a great mic, when used properly. But it's still a USB mic, not a true sensitive condenser you'd run off a mixer with phantom power.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzHW6Jybp9g
  
  The 8500 is a good stage mic, (like the Shure SM58), but probably not so good in a podcasting situation, unless you have some signal processing. With some gain and EQ from mixer, and proper placement (to your mouth) it can sound great.
  
  Even an inexpensive Behringer desk mixer with some EQ on the mic can work wonders on either a condenser or dynamic.
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-802-Premium-8-Input-Preamps/dp/B000J5XS3C/
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Q802USB-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B008O517IC/ (with 48Khz USB interface)
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-Premium-5-Input-British/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ (less channels and only 2 band EQ on the mic input)
  
  The 8500 does not require phantom power and will tend to sound quite different from a condenser mic both with speech and singing.
  
  For recording vocals (singing), I'd recommend a condenser - in a quiet, controlled environment - (Pillows, hanging blankets/comforters and standing mattresses up work wonders for a impromptu vocal booth).
  
  For straight up talking / podcasting, I'd recommend a dynamic, but a higher end Shure, AT or EV mic, or if going with the 8500, learning how to position yourself and how far away to get the correct sound from it.
  
  Start searching youtube videos on dynamic vs condenser, vocal EQ'ing and microphone pickup / polar patterns. There's quite a bit more info out there that will help you sound good with cheaper equipment.

I've been sitting here for a few minutes now considering this, and I genuinely don't know what the best way to do this is.

​

First thought: You'd need to build a full HTPC with a pretty good video card to drive 5 TVs. That seems pretty expensive. Probably min $600-800. So let's go to idea 2.

​

Second thought: Streaming sticks. In theory, with enough streaming services and and HDHomeRun, you could handle this really easily... except depending on your wifi you may start saturating things pretty quickly.

​

Third idea: Raspberry Pis. As long as you are only using HDHomeRun and PSVue, you could run Kodi on all those Pis, plug each one into a gigabit switch, and everything would work great. If you are depending on services not available in Kodi though, this wouldn't work.

​

Fourth idea: Cheap wintel boxes! https://www.amazon.com/ACEPC-T8-x5-Z8350-Graphics-Computer/dp/B07D9YX3W6?keywords=windows+stick+ethernet&qid=1540840765&sr=8-18&ref=sr_1_18 Each one of these is about $100 and already comes with Windows and can theoretically play 4k content. They also have ethernet. Plug them all into a gigabit switch. Install Synergy (a mouse and keyboard sharing program) on all the devices, so a single mouse can control them all. Profit.

​

You can also accomplish the same thing with Fire TV Cubes (current version with ethernet). Except there you'll need 5 different remotes. It's also slightly more expensive. https://www.amazon.com/Fire-TV-Cube-hands-free-with-Alexa-and-4K-Ultra-HD-and-All-New-Alexa-Voice-Remote/dp/B0791T9CV7?keywords=fire+tv&qid=1540841484&sr=8-5&ref=sr_1_5

​

Each of these ways would probably be pretty fun and impressive for friends.

​

Edit: Just saw the goal of being able to also stream audio to a receiver. No problem. Grab the audio out from either the TV or device depending on what you are using. Pull it all into a 5 channel mixer. Send that to your receiver. For e.g. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M68UK38/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B01M68UK38&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=f52e26da-1287-4616-824b-efc564ff75a4&pf_rd_r=YMRFG6VP060T8G9TPEZT&pd_rd_wg=o8OkC&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&pd_rd_w=VothI&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pd_rd_r=f5532ae8-dbb2-11e8-9a6a-33a8eee8b3d9

​

At this point, you could probably start charging for beer and popcorn.

That might work out better than what you have, but if you really want quality audio, you need to invest a little more into it. Getting a proper condensor mic like the Audio Technical AT2020 here would be a great place to start. You would then probably need an audio interface to connect it to like this or a mixer like this. Do your research and a lot of it. There are a lot of good options out there to improve your audio quality, but all options involve investing a descent amount of money as hard as that is to hear. Research, find what you really want no matter the price, and save, save, save until you have it.

The Making of

I decided to start making videos because a friend of mine (who happened to be roommates) decided that we were fairly funny and that it wouldn't be a bad hobby to just try out. Originally we started with hour and something long podcasts 4 years ago. At some point we decided that playing games for people on a regular basis wasn't a bad thing so we started streaming daily got to 150 viewers but we lost our home and had to move over 100 miles from one another and it got harder to stream on a regular basis and fell back into Youtube a little over three months ago. So that is how we started oh so many years ago

TL;DR We thought it was a fun hobby and really enjoyed making people laugh

Hardware

• 3 MXL R144 Ribbon Microphones
  
  
• 1 Nady VHM-7 Harmonica Microphone
  
  
• 1 Behringer Xenyx 1202fx Mixing Console
  
  
• 4 25-Foot XLR Microphone Cable
  
  
• 1 Elgato Game Capture HD60
  
  
• 1 Mono Jacks Cable Lead Laptop 3.5mm Jack To Mixer 2 X 6.35mm 1/4 Inch 1m
  
  
• 4 Microphone stands of different sizes
  
  
• Wii U
  
  
• Playstation 4
  
  
• Playstation 3
  
  
• Sega Genesis
  
  
• 2 Pop filters
  
  
• 1 2011 Imac
  
  Software
  
  
• Adobe CS6 (Audition for vocals, Premier for editing, Photoshop for thumbnails)
  
  
• OBS
  
  
• Elgatho Capture Software
  
  
• Manga Studio (for thumbnails)
  
  Sorry if I have rambled on but this is something I am passionate about and in no way do those links support me. This is just something I thought I would include so if you wanted to know exactly what we are working with, in case you wanted a visual or if you were looking to start yourself and liked our quality.
  
  Thanks for the Question :)

Hola! I set all this up last year so it’s a bit rusty!

This is a shopping list for an Xbox One mixer setup similar to mine and you may need some help filling in a few gaps and the wiring!

So the idea is to build a setup to be able to use an awesome mic to talk to the stream as well as party chat ‘at the same time’ (which I prefer over using a headset) but to also be able to hear game/chat/PC audio though a single pair of headphones and control their volume levels in one place with ease.

I don't need sound going out to my PC as the Cap card is getting that from the Console via HDMI.
Streaming Xbox to PC then the WORLD!

Xbox – hdmi into a cap card in the PC Avermedia live gamer hd
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AverMedia-61C9850000AE-Avermedia-Live-Gamer/dp/B007SRYAPO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1447858313&sr=8-2&keywords=live+gamer+hd
This grabs the game audio and that’s that bit done, stream using OBS and boom!

Here's is my shopping list for party chat:

Mixer

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-802-Premium-8-Input-Preamps/dp/B000J5XS3C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415150891&sr=8-1&keywords=behringer+mixer
Headset Buddy (Real name, I didn’t make that up!)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Headset-Buddy-Adapter-PC35-PH25-Computer/dp/B002D41HKS/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1421341934&sr=1-3&keywords=headset+buddy

Xbox Chat Thing:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Xbox-One-Stereo-Headset-Adapter/dp/B00IAVDOS6

Cable from Buddy to Mixer:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hosa-CMP159-Stereo-Breakout-10-Feet/dp/B005HGM1D6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415150937&sr=8-1&keywords=hosa+cables

Cable from Mixer to Buddy!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/HosaTech-CMS-105-3-5mm-Stereo-Interconnect/dp/B000068O35/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447857349&sr=8-1&keywords=3.5mm+TRS+to+1%2F4+inch

Xbox Mixer(s)

Astro Mixamp (I use)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ASTRO-Gaming-3AM99-HBU9X-975-ASTROGAMING-MIXAMP/dp/B004L6C6BK/ref=sr_1_4?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1447856882&sr=1-4&keywords=astro+mixamp

Earforce DSS (an option!)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Force-Channel-Dolby-Surround-Processor-Mac/dp/B003O0KICS/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1421378828&sr=1-1&keywords=dss1

Ground Loop things:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Headphone-Ground-Isolator-Filter-Stereo/dp/B00INV5LB6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_23_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41-9H3Hc3mL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1TTNMJANJDTK26VVSAE7

Although I have used these ones because I didn’t see the ones above!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AV-Link-201-086-Skytronic-Isolator/dp/B000NVWB9O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447857227&sr=8-1&keywords=Ground+Loop+Isolator

Mic wise any XLR mic is fine!

Here is a link to a image i found that kinda helps piece it all together! http://imgur.com/UYaQQUZ

Here is a quick vid of my setup, happy to help if i can! http://www.twitch.tv/drunkiemunkie/v/26306849

Heres is my latest Xbox One vid with party chat but it picks up the Public Lobby if they speak!
http://www.twitch.tv/drunkiemunkie/v/31799799

dM

Disclaimer: We were/are complete amateurs and I had zero experience with anything related to editing before I started so take what I say with a tremendous grain of salt.

I just used Garageband on a Macbook to record and edit. Never had any complaints with that program. I paid for a license to use someone else's music as the intro theme and paid an artsy friend draw up our logos.

This is the mixer I used. I don't know what a lot of the knobs are dials are for, but I learned the basics and it worked fine as far as I can tell. I bought Audio Technica dynamic microphones and I liked them for a while but two of them just stopped working eventually.

I hosted it on Libsyn. They have several options depending on how often you'll be releasing episodes and how much subscriber statistics you'd like to see. Loved this service.

In terms of "getting it out there", I don't have a ton of advice. We never reached a lot of folks, but we didn't really try to either. Our goal was to just watch fun movies and sit around joking about them. I still have a few people who reach out every so often and ask about new content but that's about it in terms of our "listener-base".

If you're going to record with other people, make sure you're on the same page in terms of quality and style. If one person treats it seriously and the other is just winging it, it can make for a frustrating experience. All this being said, I think the best thing you can do is to make a podcast that you'd want to listen to. Good luck, and sorry I don't have better information.

To add on to this:

Xenyx 802 - $60

This will be good for a stereo application. It is cheap and will sound great. Plus it will give you the needed control for a stereo setup, of using one mic for left and the other for right.

Samson C02 pair - $75-$140

These microphones are relatively cheap, even at their price ceiling.
They use a Cardioid pick up pattern that is seems slightly Super Cardioid. They're sold in pairs, so you will only need one order.

Lyxpro SDPC-2 - $100

These microphones are packed with features at their price point. Plus they sound great, so they're extremely competitive. They come with 3 capsules for both microphones so you can choose between Omni, Cardioid & Super Cardioid. You'll likely want to use Cardioid or Super Cardioid, depending on your use case.

SDPC-2 or C02?

Mainly comes down to this: Price at time of purchase - are they the same? Which is more important to you - Omni & Super Cardioid pick up patterns or a good shock mount? The patterns means purchase the Lyxpro, the shock mount means purchase the Samson.


Are they different prices? Do the features justify the price gap?

Accessories

Stereo Microphone Bar - ~$10

You'll need one of these or something similar.

Scissor Arm - $20

You'll want one if you don't have one yet. Or if it is better suited go for a Boom Stand.

2 XLR Cables - $12

Cheap cables. They aren't OFC so you can look into slightly more expensive options. Maybe even make some yourself! :D

RCA to 3.5mm - $8

YOU NEED THIS. This is how you are going to connect from the mixer to the computer.


--EDIT-- You are looking at roughly $210 for the entire setup. Which isn't all that bad seeing as it will be 2 microphones.

• I started out with just trying to get it going on my laptop with kjams & a microphone.
  
• But that didn't sound good and look good, so I hooked up my laptop to my tv through a receiver
  
• But using my mic through the laptop mic hole, caused a delay between the audio of the song and the mic
  
• This is why you need a mixer. You need the sound of the laptop and the sound of the mic to arrive at the same time. I got this one. Mic goes in channel one, laptop goes in channel 3 or 4 (get the right cable)
  
• That mixer's output goes into my receiver now. My receiver allows to get the audio from a different input than the video. This was essential in my setup. I have a basic yamaha 4 hdmi receiver. I turn it to hdmi1, but get the sound from one of the audio inputs, where the mixer goes into (get the right cable)
  
• sweet, now I have music and mic arriving in my receiver, and it's going to the speakers and the tv is displaying my laptop
  
• now people are tripping over the mic cable and they want a second mic
  
• get yourself some wireless mics. the ones i bought are no longer for sale but they are "dual channel" and "uhf" or something
  
• now you need some songs though I have to say, just opening youtube and searching a song title + ' karaoke' works pretty darn well as well
  
• and some disco lights!
  
• my friends like it and say it's the best home setup they know
  
  
  Btw, nice effort on the è but you want the other one: fiancé
  It's easy to remember: é the stripe goes on and so does the sound. è the stripe stops and the sound is short
  
  

If I were in your shoes....

While you can get a mixer with fewer channels, I recommend getting a mixer with at least eight XLR microphone inputs - as you might, in the future, expand the number of gamers at your table.

This is the board we use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I0Q8LIO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_Zd5vk3i6OxmYg

Then there are a plethora of shotgun microphones available on Amazon as well. The can be hidden and do a pretty good job limiting ancillary noise.

These are the microphones we now use: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQ79W0?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

(Other thoughts....

I tried USB microphones but had inconsistent sync issues in OBS.

The board we use has a USB 2.0 out and originally we used that to send audio to the OBS computer. Now we dual channel XLR out to a Shure converter to USB 3.1. The audio quality is more consistent and better - but we are always tweaking it....

In addition, we originally used cardiod lavelier microphones. However, they were inconvenient at the table and picked up way to much ancillary noise.

Obviously there are many other knickknacks you will need, and it would take forever to cover them....)

In my humble opinion, the biggest challenge that you are going to have is getting consistently good quality audio in you budget.... You might burn through $300 pretty quick....

Good luck!

Oh, here is our channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/7SidedDie/ Please subscribe. 😀

Oh wise audiophiles,

Forgive me in advance for any ignorance, this is going to be my entry-level purchase into the hifi world. This is not necessarily a 'puchasing advice' inquiry, but more of a knowledge inquiry on what I need to power my setup. I'm looking at buying KRK Rokit 5 G3s and the Beyerdynamic DT770 250 ohms purely for near-field music listening (no producing, mixing, DJing, etc.) at my PC. I was recently gifted the Xonar DX 7.1 PCI sound card for my rig which I believe is a sufficient DAC for Rokit 5s (correct me if I'm wrong), but I'm unsure if I'm losing some quality by hooking my monitors in with an unbalanced line via an XLR or 1/4" TRS to 1/8" TRS. Further to that, the Xonar DX does not split to mono inputs so I would need an adapter to plugin directly to my soundcard. I do enjoy having an external interface to control my sound devices and a friend suggested I buy a mixer such as the Behringer XNYEX502 as another possibility.

First question: is it worth buying an external DAC/mixer for my Rokit 5s compared to using only a Xonar DX soundcard?

I also understand that they DT770s need an amplifier to be properly used. The recommendations I've researched typically consist of the fiio portable headphone amplifier series or the O2/ODAC JDS Labs combo. I do not need a portable amplifier as these headphones will live at my station and I have separate headphones for portability. The O2/ODAC combo sounds like a great piece of hardware, but at $279, they greatly exceed the price of my DT770s.

Second question: Are there other solutions that I can look into that aren't portable or expensive?

If the O2/ODAC combo is recommended and is worth the price in combination with the DT770s, then I'm perfectly fine making the purchase. Just want to be sure it's not overkill.

Now for the (longshot) third question: Since I'm potentially looking into both a DAC and a headphone amplifier, is there a piece of hardware that can satisfy both in one tool? Seems like I could find a way of mitigating the cost by purchasing a device that could be both a DAC/mixer for my Rokit 5s and a headphone amplifier for my DT770s. If not, is there a stack I could purchase that have similar designs that would look aesthetically pleasing on my station (I'm a fan of clean looking and matching hardware)?

Again, sorry for any groans I may have caused and thank you in advance for your expertise.

I enjoyed it! I had a question though, what mic are you using? I think the audio quality could be GREATLY improved with a condenser mic. Some of the voices sounded tinny and actually kinda hurt my ears because of it. It's not your voice, it's the mic.

A great condenser mic I can wholeheartedly recommend is the Shure SM58 Get that and a mixer, I use the Behringer Q1202USB Mixer. With those you will have FAR superior quality. They're really not that expensive either, I recommend getting the 4 channel mixer in case you ever want to expand with more people. But they do offer cheaper 2 channels. The SM58 mic is amazing quality for the price you pay.

If you fix the audio then I'll listen in every week for sure, also having the good audio will really allow you to compete with bigger podcasters like PFW.

Here's what I use. Not nearly the best, but it's manageable for the average Joe or group.

Current

• Streaming: OBS Studio (Win 0.14.x)
  
• Overlay: HTML/Javascript w/ StreamControl writing data to JSON and JS polling it.
  
• Capture Device: Startech USB3HDCAP + XRGB-mini Framemeister
  
• WebCams: 2x Logitech C920
  
• Audio Mixer: Mackie Mix 8
  
• Headsets: 2x Audio-Technica BPHS1
  
• Misc: Powered Composite Splitter, Behringer HA400 Headphone Amp
  
• Stream Tools: Nightbot, TwitchAlerts
  
  

  Deprecated
  

• Capture Device: Dazzle DVC 100
  
  BPHS1s are kind of the standard for accessible and reasonably priced xlr headsets.
  
  I was getting decent quality out of my old dazzle before I switched, people just need to learn how to setup their bitrate properly to reduce artifacts and how to deinterlace their capture via amarectv or using the built in obs plugins (I used yadifx4 for the longest time) which do a nice, respectable job. Would I recommend a dazzle? Eh, it produces decent video for the price (got mine on ebay for $20), but has some compatibility issues - if you do a quick search for audio issues with the dazzle you'll find a couple threads. There are workarounds, but it's finicky.
  
  Ideally though, streams should be capturing component video. It removes the need for software/external hardware deinterlacing. The issue here is that you either need a TV that supports component, or a component->composite converter, which I've seen people have performance issues with in the past.
  My current setup uses a Framemeister to upscale the composite signal and handle the deinterlacing, outputting HDMI to the USB3HDCAP. The advantage is that I get to feed straight composite signals to any plain old CRT, which is great because I've been recording out of a suitcase the last few months while I move around.
  
  I build my overlays in JavaScript and HTML; there's a layer of logic that polls a local JSON file written by StreamControl for changes and updates them on the page.
  
  Just taking off on a flight. More info later. (It's later)
  
  Sample with the Dazzle

The best thing I have used is an isolating in ear headphone and a microphone. With this setup you can play all-out while still being at a comfortable ear volume. Not only is there no muffling/distortion like regular earplugs but you can have super sensitive, low volume, hearing depending on your mic placement.

I use a single SM57 on a mic stand over my head. Plug it into a mixer, one like this would allow you to mix in a track to play with. Then I out to a pair of Shure SE215s that have decent sound response but best feature are they isolate well and are less the $100. If you were going for this setup from scratch it would cost about $250. But isolation with input is by far the best sounding ear protection I have ever used.

I'll just preface by saying that the fullest extent of my knowledge is amateur voice over/acting and having ran a small YouTube channel however with that being said there are a few recommendations i can give.

Headphones: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017H00ZJG/ref=psdc_12097479011_t2_B0179H8SDC


I was unable to find an exact match to the 7dayshop Aero Freedom which is what i wound up using after my Bose Quietcomfort 25's wound up broken due to an internal wire becoming loose, regardless i found that with getting these headphones i was more making a trade off rather than a downgrade, they're louder than the bose, "base-ier" than them and have only a slightly softer high end and about the same in terms of the mid frequency. Overall if the Quietcomfort 25 is 100% then you're getting 85% of that experience for much less (And the noise cancelling is a must if you like me are extremely sensitive to noise).



Audio Interface: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000J5UEGQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER


Now as to why you should be looking into getting an audio interface? well this mostly has to due with the microphone pick but generally you will be getting a quality pre-amp, decent EQ and later on you can use the 2nd track to process the audio to your headphones (great for listening to music) all of this results in much lower background noise (increase volume with the preamp then reduce it on the main out/windows) and the ability to make decent adjustments to the high and low frequencies of your microphone.


Microphone: https://www.amazon.com/Pyle-Pro-PDMIC58-Professional-Handheld-Microphone/dp/B003GEBGA0/ref=sr_1_1?s=wireless&ie=UTF8&qid=1491787539&sr=8-1&keywords=Pyle+PDMIC58


So the reason I would pick the PDMIC is tri-fold, 1st even with very cheap dynamic microphones the design is so similar (and i suppose easy to manufacture?) that the quality difference between a $20 dynamic microphone and a $100 microphone is minimal at best and once your signal has been through the audio interface it should be nearly indistinguishable to a pricier model (https://youtu.be/_Vqz44dijw0?t=213)

All that's left is a TRS to 3.5mm cable which you can get for about $7 this is just to connect the interface's main out connector to your PC.

Good luck!

This was a surprise to me, too, when I got my first Volca after collecting a few Pocket Operators. They still play nicely together, but not in the same way. If you plan on getting more Volcas, a Volca Mix <https://www.korg.com/us/products/dj/volca_mix/\> may not be a bad idea (it can power three additional ones), though it is more expensive than other solutions.

Otherwise, there are a number of affordable mono mixers out there. I've seen people mention the Behringer Micromix before <https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Micromix-MX400-Low-Noise-4-Channel/dp/B000KGYAYQ\>, but you'll need some adapters for 3.5mm to 6.35mm jacks. This will strictly be mono, however, so if you plan to add some stereo devices to the mix (pun intended), you'll hit a wall pretty quickly. Behringer has a range of other mixers, and you may want to check something out in the Xenyx range <https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-Premium-5-Input-British/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=sr_1_9?crid=120WM7ZC873VD&keywords=behringer+xenyx&qid=1555091076&s=gateway&sprefix=behringer+z%2Caps%2C160&sr=8-9\>, where even the lowest-end one (linked) will give you plenty of room to expand.

Personally, I just bought a Roland GO: Mixer <https://www.amazon.com/Roland-GO-Mixer-Smartphones-GOMIXER/dp/B01MYC4DVP/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=roland+go+mixer&qid=1555091001&s=gateway&sr=8-1\> to use between a Volca, a few PO's, and a microphone for straight-to-phone video/audio recording purposes, and I've enjoyed it. If you don't plan on recording things and just need something to mix, this will be super overkill for you.

You could always try this Behringer ULTRAVOICE XM1800S Dynamic Cardioid Vocal Microphones, 3-Pack (at 30-40 bucks a pop you can buy two for SIX mics) and TASCAM DR-40, and as many of these splitters as you need. We've put our mics into these splitters and they work splendidly. You'll also need XLR cables for the mics as well. If you have two friends who are louder than everyone else I guess you could also buy a mixer for a little more control.

Anyways, I have the DR-40, Behringer mics, and the splitters. They work pretty damn well for how cheap you can get them. You get great portability, as well.

A lot of these guys are probably a lot more pro than me, so they're probably the ones to listen to if you want to be super legit. If you are on a budget, though, I can confirm that this setup works quite well! Minus the mixer you could probably get everything for six people having a their own mic for ~$300.

Edit: The DR-40 comes with a 2GB memory card but you might want to upgrade it a little bit just in case. SD cards are pretty cheap now, though!

Edit Edit: You'll also want some stands, too... and these windscreens.

It might end up around like $300-$400 bucks. But when some of those Blues cost $100 per mic for the cheapest ones, it's kinda a good deal for all of the stuff you'll get. Also, if podcasting doesn't work out you now have all the equipment to start a karaoke bar.

I'm not Brett, but I do host my own show that sounds pretty fantastic and I didn't have to break the bank for it.

For microphones, I'm using the Ultravoice 1800s dynamic mics.] (https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Ultravoice-Xm1800s-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B000NJ2TIE) They come in a 3-pack, which is $40 right now but I waited until they went on sale for $25. Really decent microphones that don't pick up a lot of background noise.

For a mixer, I'm using the [Behringer Q1202] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008O517IW/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1474221402&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=behringer+mixer+xenyx+1202&dpPl=1&dpID=5153d6epzTL&ref=plSrch). It's about $100 bucks, but again, it'll go on sale if you wait awhile.

I'm only using a mixer because I often have guests in person, though. If you're doing the show alone and don't want to bother with fine-tuning your sound, you can just use a pre-amp [like this one] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002KEAT78/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1474221560&sr=8-3&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=xlr+preamp&dpPl=1&dpID=41fdibotlHL&ref=plSrch). I can't recommend any specific one, but just search amazon for "xlr pre-amp" and look for models with good reviews.

The other stuff you'll need is pretty cheap. Some xlr cables (5 for $20) foam mic covers (6 for $3 on ebay) and a mic stand (around $20).

You won't be able to get earwolf quality sound out of this stuff, but [I use it all on my show and it sounds great.] (http://www.futurehorsepod.com/ghostbusters/) I'm the only one using this setup in the episode though. Jackson is in Australia so he used his own stuff.

If you want to throw money at this thing and get the exact sound they have at Earwolf, they're using the Shure sm7b microphone, which usually runs $300-400 bucks and requires much more expensive equipment to run it through.

Hope this helps!

I'm pretty sure the problem you are having is trying to use multiple USB microphones on one computer. There are ways to do it, but even when you get it set up, it's a completely unreliable set up and you will findself regularly having technical troubles and losing recordings from crashing software.

Ideally you should record to a dedicated audio recorder like a Zoom or a Tascam, they are the most reliable.

If you want to record to a computer, you need a usb mixer and xlr microphones. Behringer can get you started for cheap, if your podcast becomes successful you can upgrade to better quality later.

The q1202 USB mixer is a great cheap place to start.

You can grab yourself a 3 pack of microphones as well. They aren't amazing but they will sound better then an expensive condenser microphone in a room where you can't control the sound (aka open plan living spaces).

Earlier this year I consulted to do a very similar setup with the Curiosity.com podcast. The premise was for a host and a guest or two with a Skype-in possibility. The main host also works at a Chicago WGN radio personality and was open to a higher-end solution while not totally blowing out the budget. In the end we came up with an initial office studio layout in the $2k range. One thing he mitigated was room echo/reverb and office noise through using room placement and dynamic microphones.

Here is a picture of his original setup

Here is a picture of the acoustic treatment needed

Also, his equipment purchased was for 2 main hosts and a third guest (if necessary) and ran about $2,000. To get a 3rd or 4th microphone in place would be another $750ish a piece for the microphone, shock mount, pop filter, boom arm, Microphone digital processor and headphones.

Here is his list of equipment:

(1) Mackie ProFx8v2

(1) Zoom H6

(2) DBX 286s

(2) Electro Voice re320 package from BSW Warehouse

(2) Rode PSA-1 Boom Arms

(1) 6U Audio Rack

(2) Sony MDR-7506 Headphones

(1) Behringer HA400 Headphone Amp

Plus cables.

Each additional microphone would be a re320 package, a Rode PSA-1 Boom Arm, a DBX 286s and a Sony MDR-7506.

The Mixer can output a stereo track to a Laptop / PC which you can use to record a stereo track on your recording software of choice. The Zoom H6 offers the capability to record up to 6 channels either through the mixer using inserts / aux sends / subs.

Personally I'd swap out the Rode PSA-1 for the Heil PL-2T Boom Arm but either should get the job done.

Also, if I was advising him today I would tell him to forget the Mackie ProFX8v2 mixer AND the Zoom H6 AND the Behringer HA400 and buy a Zoom L12 Livetrack Recorder instead. In fact my Better Podcast cohost recently filmed a video review of the Zoom L12 if you want to check that out.

Finally, the re320 was the microphone he was used to from Chicago WGN radio but it would have been the one I recommended anyway. There are others to choose from but the re320 is the most forgiving for all voices.

For a more mobile setup I would recommend the Sennheiser MD-46 interview microphone which you could place on a desk stand with a On-Stage MY-325 Shock Mount. If you have the Zoom H-6 or Zoom L-12 you could easily take that setup from room to room. In fact I just used a similar setup earlier this year at GenCon as I think the sound turned out pretty good.

As for editing software there are plenty of opinions on that. But since this is business based you might consider getting some Adobe licenses. It will contain audio and video editing software as well as the PhotoShop suite as well. Personally I'm transitioning from Audacity to Movie Studio Platinum 14.0 and Reaper/Hindenburg Journalist.

All of this is professional gear but if you really want a no kidding pro setup I'd contact the guys at BSW Warehouse. They will give you options in the $10k and $100k ranges.

Your best bet is probably a really long mono 1/4" cable run of 50 feet (shouldn't be too terribly long for the laptop to power without interference, since "sound quality does not have to be perfect" as you say) with a 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter on one end.

Alternatively you could get a smaller 3.5mm headphone extension cord from RadioShack or Monoprice (the latter being preferred, with RadioShack as always being for time-sensitive emergencies only). Then put a 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter on the end of that to plug the speaker into.

Basically, any way you can adapt those jacks to fit the cables should get a signal across for one channel. All you need is two conductors and the right connections.

Then you should just figure out if your soundcard or OS or audio player has the option to "mix down" the stereo to a single channel (mono), or figure out how to put whatever audio you want to play in a single channel. I believe a stereo-to-mono adapter will take everything from the Left channel, so use that if possible.

If that doesn't work, or if it's important to have the data for both channels accurate, you could get a Mixer like the Behringer 502 for super cheap, and plug the stereo laptop into that using a 3.5mm to 2x 1/4" Y cable such as this.

Should work if you just connect it :)

Ah I see, I noticed that the first time I DJ'd for a party. My friend had a set of wires that worked as a mixer, but no mixing controller like this. I have kept an ipod ready, because crashing and malfunctions happens far too often without a legit setup, but never considered having it ready in a separate channel, so that's awesome.

So most speakers have cords which go into mixers? if not what kind of wire setups do they have, and do most speakers need separate adapters to plug into a laptop?

and Do mixers have their own separate programs which connect straight to the computer/laptop?

I've seen preview buttons on some programs, now I can see how they are useless without having two audio outputs. I've always wanted to mix with Ableton-esque programs, so I can make legitimate remixes, rather than just looping sound and adding in samples :)

My problem is, when I watch most DJ's with professional controllers and equipment, I hardly ever see them doing any work. Many times I have seen DJ's be working on the mixing (the previews) and nothing looks live (For example, I often see a DJ scratching and changing EQ traits, while the current song is playing and never hear an alteration later). I'll definitely try out some equipment at next opportunity, unfortunately, I'm in Northern Japan for the summer and access to a good store is distant.

Thanks for the links!! I'll do some research!

Hi, I have a Pyle Pro PDMIC58, a Shure SM-58 Knockoff. It's really fulfilled the purpose I wanted it too when I bought it, a cheap and surprisingly clear form of voice.


I do YouTube videos with my friends using gameplay recordings, and I used to have a lot of static with my mic. It is worth noting that I record my videos using Shadowplay, which means that the audio cannot be ' cleaned up ' afterwards, as Gameplay audio is there as well, and it leaves the sound a bit mushy.


I connect my microphone to a small USB Soundcard, from my old Logitech G430. This cleaned up immense static, and that sample can be heard here.


I then decided that I was done with static, and am using Adobe Audition's Adaptive Noise Reduction feature to clean audio piped in, and output it through Line 1 using Virtual Audio Cable. The end result is extremely satisfying static free music... but with a couple of caveats. Here's a sample of the post-processed audio.


There are 2 caveats. 1) The post processing takes up a small amount of CPU, usually negligible, except for when I'm playing taxing games. 2) The audio coming out of Adobe Audition will occasionally be extremely distorted and buzzing. I believe this is due to the CPU being over taxed when playing the aforementioned games. ( Sorry for the lack of context and dumb Prequel Meme! ) Sample here.

Vocaroo doesn't have the absolute best quality sound, and I can assure you there's far more distinct crackling, like my words are being distorted but not at the same time. It's odd. Also of note, the audio glitch and distortion is only in recordings, which is the only thing that uses Line 1. Teamspeak, the program I use for my VOIP, is using my mic before post processing. So the distortion is obviously occurring in Adobe Audition somewhere.

The question I seek to ask, is I want to make my microphone have the quality of the Adobe Audition post-processing, without having to actually run the software. I'm not sure, but I think a pre-amp / USB audio interface would help me greatly here? Would this be an adequate product for my needs, or am I in the complete wrong area?


It's worth noting my Pyle Pro is an unbalanced mic, and that pre-amp provides 24/7 phantom power. There are other pre-amps where I can toggle that off, however. Please advise, thanks. My brother in law is also proficient with a soldering iron, and from what I've seen on YouTube, balancing this mic is extremely easy, moving one cable and removing the solder connection on pins 3 and 1.

I've only used it once or twice myself, but Karafun isn't bad. It's a stand alone karaoke application with an online subscription service to their song library.

You will still need microphones, mixer, amp etc.

A good simple home setup can be:

• Cheap 4 channel mixer with two XLR inputs and two phono/rca or 1/4" jack plug inputs (something like this shouldn't break the bank)
  
• Two moderately decent microphones (I recommend wired over wireless as you get better sound for the money) (Another amazon link to something not too over priced that should fit the bill)
  
• Lastly, a PC headphone out to 1/4" TRS connector cable (Amazon link again)
  
  Now you can mix the Karaoke software on a PC with the microphones, individually adjust the levels of the microphones to accomodate different volumes of singers, mix stereo tracks down into mono tracks (some karaoke songs are muxed with backing vocals).
  
  Just install the software on a laptop, connect the laptop to your TV or a second monitor and the audio out of the mixer to your amplifier and you're good to go.

In your situation, I'd get a good mixer, like this one or this one, and out of those mics, I'd skip all of them and get a good dynamic mic instead. I use the AKG D5 and love it. I used the audio technica ATR2100, shure SM57 and SM58 as well, and liked the D5 over all of them.

Edit; Actually, reading your post again, a good usb audio interface will do you well too, though you won't have as many adjustments as a mixer will give you.

Recording two people with one mic is tricky to keep levels right, and worse still for three people. I don't have that mic, so I can't say how well or not it would work. It might be great, but I just don't know either way.

One other option to consider is getting multiple individual dynamic mics (dynamics can exist relatively close to each other without being picked up by their neighboring mic). Most 3+ port interfaces are $200 and up, but this one is about $100 (and maybe less if you can find it used?).

Pairing that with three entry-level dynamics (like the PG48) or similar, again, search for used) may give you a more flexible end result than a single condenser (albeit at a slightly higher price point).

I'd be curious to know what you go with and how you like it, if you don't mind updating me. Improving information in my creator's guide regarding recording multiple people is something I 'm very interested in!

Thanks for this. I just ordered a whole pile of stuff on Amazon with Prime. Came out to be a good bit cheaper than your estimate. I traded down on a couple of things like the vocal mics (Behringers for 1/3 the price) and direct boxes (half the price). The big thing I skimped on to make my budget was the mixer - I got a Behringer 12-channel mixer with great reviews for about $90. Hopefully it will get the job done.

Definitely couldn't have figured out what to buy without you. Hopefully this is everything we need for a great summer and beyond!

I meant a situation like this, with the headphones plugged into another jack in my laptop. I have a few 1/4" to 1/8" adapters laying around, but I was hoping I wouldn't have to buy one for all of my devices. I'll look a bit more at the preamplifiers, but I was just hoping there was something out there that fit my situation a little more closely. Thanks for your help.

Edit: I'm thinking I'll go with something like this.

Ok you'll need 4 mics then. Using a cheap AT2100 will still deliver great audio quality.

Now you plug those 4 mics either into a Zoom H5 or a Behringer mixer. From there you can feed the signal into a laptop for recording.

Obviously you'll need XLR cables for this too.

Then you can use Audacity or Garageband which are free editors to edit the show to get started. You could use a free trial of another one like Hindenburg if you want to try a better one.

That should be all you need equipment wise.

Then you need to host it somewhere. Maybe your company can whip up a website and let you host the files there somewhere. Otherwise you're looking at Libsyn at $7-$20 a month.

About getting an amplifier:
A power amplifier is basically a device that converts a low power signal to one that is directly fed to the drivers of a loudspeaker, otherwise you wouldn't get any sound ('mic level' and 'line level' signals are too low for loudspeakers)!

Since the B112D is a powered loudspeaker, the amplifier is included in the unit. This means you don't have to go out an buy one separately.

About getting a mixer:
A mixer is a device that takes multiple audio inputs, performs some modifications to the signal (e.g. equaliser, compressor), combines the signals, then spits it out.

You don't really need a mixer if you only have one audio source (sounds like you'll only need one since you're planning to use it for music). Even if you're hoping to mix several sources, the unit itself has individually adjustable gain settings for two discrete inputs. If you need any more than two inputs, the Behringer Xenyx 802 should suffice.

If you're hoping to get a mixer to use multiple speakers, you can simply daisy-chain the speakers together (this means you won't get any stereo separation but 1. it's a pool party, who cares and 2. you probably won't get a stereo signal anyway if you use most mixers). Plug the main input into 'Input 1', then connect your second speaker to the first by connecting an XLR cable to 'Mix Out' on the first speaker, to 'Input 1' on the second.

My advice would be to go out and buy a 3.5mm to XLR male cable, and use that to connect your phone/computer to 'Input 1' on the speaker. If you have a second set, follow the instructions for daisy-chaining above. Do that for however many speakers you have. Good luck!

DO NOT get the Yeti. (I have so many firends using the yeti and its sounds like garbage)

My honest recommendation would be to get a USB audio interface (cheap: $100 One I would buy myself: $200 Best money can buy: soem stupid high number like $20,000) and a XLR mic. (these also range from $20 to $2000)

The interface I would recommend: Yamaha MG Series I personally like the MG10XU since it has a built in compressor (and if I remember correctly limiter as well) which is not a normal thing to find at this pricepoint. Barnacules over at Nerdgasm has this exact board too. The great thing about this board, it is something that you wouldn't need to upgrade so all upgrades would be mic based.

If I was to remove the word "USB" from your question then hands down the answer would be the SM7B from Shure, this is a professional mic used in podcasts and radio alike. You can see it being used in:

Joe Rogan podcast

H3H3 Podcast

Nintendo Voice Chat

If I looked hard enough I am pretty sure I could find tons more. Now do not get me wrong, this mic is pretty expensive BUT you didnt put a budget down sooooo........ yea. You could get that mentioned interface and a decent like $100 mic (like Shure SM58, literally the most common mic in the world) and be good until you upgrade.

My experience: I am a university trained audio engineer

A few things:

• To set your expectations, spending $400 on a recording setup is like spending $400 on a car. It will get the sound from point A to point B, but it won't be pretty. That being said, if you really get into it, you can always upgrade ($400 is a drop in the bucket compared to what you'll end up spending, if you're serious). At least this way you can have some fun with your friends.
  
• You can condense to a couple channels if you run it through a mixer first (something like this) but you will have no control over the individual levels once you've recorded. If you're going to condense down to, say, 4 channels, better to stick with 4 mics.
  
• Your list looks good in terms of hooking everything up. As others have mentioned, have you considered what audio program you're going to use when you start recording? You might try Reaper or Ardour if you're looking for something free. Otherwise, the cheapest you'll probably get is Live 9 Intro for $99.

You do need an XLR for mixers.

I bought the AT2020 USB mic first, and I had the same problem you are having, my PC fans were WAY TOO LOUD. And so I bought This Mixer and the XLR version of the AT2020

USB mics are great when you have a studio or if they are dynamic. USB condensers are only great if you use a studio.

The benefit of condensers is that they are great vocal mics. The pick up a very good range of frequencies, and allow your voice to come in crisp. But that also means that a lot of background noise will come with it, so you need to be able to reduce way comes through, and even still post editing is a must.

> That's the primary reason I got the 2i2 in the first place.
Also, what do you mean by line level?

"line level" is a particular standardized signal voltage/etc that is generally used over 3.5mm/RCA cables for connection between DACS/Amps/etc.

> Seems like just too much equipment overall hahah. Do you have any other ideas for me?

if you are against using software to switch between devices then your options are sort of limited, you could go with a higher end audio interface that should include a more powerful headphone amp, like the Mackie Big Knob Studio Monitor Controller or the JBL ACTIVE-1 the JBL monitor one doesn't have an XLR input, but you could continue to use your 2i2 for your mic.

you could also go with a dac+headphone amp that has a line out like the Fiio E10k then connect the line out to a passive speaker control like the JBL PATCH or Mackie Big Knob Passive then the output from that to your LSR305's with this solution you would also continue to use the 2i2 for your mic input.

you could also consider a USB Mixer, like the Yamaha AG03 but I don't know if the headphone amp in it is great or not.

We are looking at setting up an very basic, in-home podcast studio. Would anyone mind weighing in on what we are considering?

​

The podcast is primarily two hosts with an occasional guest (3 ppl max). Its all conversational. It doesn't need to be perfect, we are just hoping for a reasonable audio quality. We aren't trying to break the bank. So my research has been low end but quality items.

​

Here is the purposed setup:

• Mac Mini - It will be dedicated to the podcast. My understanding is that I can set it up to have multiple audio inputs.
  
• Audacity/GarageBand - We currently edit and do some single channel recording with Audacity, and my research indicates it can be set up for multi channel. But I'll explore GarageBand as well.
  
• Mics - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B001R747SG - This is what we're considering purchasing for our three mics.
  
• Mixer - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00I2J4TWG - This is what we're considering purchasing.
  
• Headphones - https://www.amazon.ca/Audio-Technica-AUD-ATHM20X-Professional-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR18 - This is what we're considering purchasing.
  
  ​
  
  I'd love to get some feedback. Thanks!

I'm not sure about listening to both through the TV itself, but you can output your TV's audio as well as your phone's audio through an audio mixer or an A/V receiver and into a speaker system. A mixer like this or a reciever/amplifier like this would work just fine.

There are benefits for using both. A/V receivers are optimized for home theatre systems (processing both audio and video signals from separate devices, hence "A/V") and can output audio to a surround sound system, whereas mixers are usually used to process audio only (used in music studios/concert venues/home recording.)

For the simple purpose of playing two audio sources at the same time I'd go with a cheap mixer, but if you are looking to upgrade your home theatre system in the future, then maybe consider investing in a receiver. You'll need a set of speakers for either one, and probably adapter cables if using a mixer.

I would highly suggest getting a Dynamic mic. I have used a condenser mic in the past, and I had the same issue as you with white noise and it hearing every possible noise in the house. Currently I use the atr 2100 by Audio Technica. I picked it up for $100 and have not regretted it since. It comes with both a usb cable and an xlr cable (if you use a mixer, which i also suggest getting.)
Edit: http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATR2100-USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B004QJOZS4

I use a mixer, to mute my mic, for the moments when someone barges in my room or i have my parents yelling at me from outside my door. Its also a great way to change the levels of your mic (for example the highs and lows. I currently use and suggest the Yamaha ag03 as it doesnt take up a huge amount of space and has a perfect amount of space for a single pc stream setup and ive made it work for two pc's. http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-AG03-3-Channel-Mixer-Interface/dp/B00TY8JE60

Hope this helps and good luck on your search for a new mic!

Awesome thank you! I'm on a MAC so I think the audio interface would be better than software. What about these other ones from amazon? I'm a cheapskate what can I say. Would they be just as good, or would the one you recommended be better because it works with Traktor?

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-302USB-Premium-5-Input-Interface/dp/B005EHILV4/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1409689712&sr=1-1&keywords=audio+interface

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA202-Audio-Interface/dp/B000KW2YEI/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1409689712&sr=1-2&keywords=audio+interface

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-XENYX502-5-Channel-Mixer/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1409690145&sr=1-5&keywords=audio+interface

Cheap if you don't mind swapping cables:
2 input Interface (one mic one line) but pairs nicely with the mixing board I suggest below for more inputs - 99$ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E6T56CM/ref=s9_acsd_top_hd_bw_boEu3_c_x_1_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=EZHZBK8WK13BRVK7F6FK&pf_rd_t=101

Microphone - $94 - https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2020-Cardioid-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B0006H92QK/ref=pd_sim_267_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0006H92QK&pd_rd_r=YC9JK5873KG0PKYJ97JP&pd_rd_w=cB3Pr&pd_rd_wg=V6k1t&psc=1

Alternatively the Shure SM58 for vocals and 57 for drums are worthy checkouts at a similar price point.

MIDI controller w/drum pads - $99 - https://www.amazon.com/Akai-Professional-MPK-Mini-Controller/dp/B00IJ6QAO2/ref=pd_sim_267_16?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00IJ6QAO2&pd_rd_r=YC9JK5873KG0PKYJ97JP&pd_rd_w=cB3Pr&pd_rd_wg=V6k1t&psc=1&refRID=YC9JK5873KG0PKYJ97JP

You can spend your remaining $200 on:
Cables (xlr/trs) ($10-20)
Mic boom or desk mount ($25)
Pop filter ($10)
A second microphone ($99)
A pretty sweet small mixing console ($99) https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Premium-12-Input-Multi-Fx-Processor/dp/B000J5Y214/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1485406829&sr=1-1

Hey there :) thank you so much for your reply

The reason for which I wanted to go for for an amped signal into onboard sound card was that I wanted to eventually get a good PCI-E sound card for virtual surround sound for gaming. I was looking at mixers like this.

I'm now going to start to look for a USB sound card that facilitates good ingame sound -> virtual surround sound capabilities. In case you have recommendations (I need to make full use of the potential of the Teufel Real Z, I want good audio quality, and at the same time I want to be able to have it calculate virtual surround from gaming audio output), please tell me what you would get!

Here's a mic that is good for cancelling out background noise while picking up voice really well. It needs a nice audio interface too. That's the setup I'd go with. The interface mixer combo allows for precise equalizing to your satisfaction and the mic is a neat entry level vocal mic that can be upgraded later on if you feel the need for it. Great starter kit around the desired price point if you ask me.

Sorry if this question is coming in a little late. I'm looking at two audio interfaces to use for 4 mics for a podcast and I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with them.

The first is the Behringer U-PHORIA UMC404HD.

The second is the Behringer Q1202USB 12-Channel Mixer.

I'm leaning towards the UMC404HD, it's got a smaller footprint and is lighter by 4 lbs (so it'll be easier to transport), but it seems to be on perpetual backorder pretty much everywhere. The Q1202USB is available and about the same price (and most importantly available), but I don't really need the mixing board aspects. I'm also seeing varying reports of whether or not it outputs via USB to a single or separate tracks. Help? Thanks!

What controller models?

I have a Hercules MK4 that has inputs and outputs. I can select whether each of my channels is dedicated to an analog input or to the USB Midi interface. I've done it in the past where I hooked up a friends controller to my input on deck 2. When we're getting ready to hand off I make sure my last song is played on deck 1, then I hit the button to switch deck 2 to the analog input and crossfade into his set.

If neither of your controllers have this capability you'll need an standalone analog mixer like this: http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-XENYX502-5-Channel-Mixer/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1346170758&sr=1-1&keywords=mixer

Not to name drop but I met Maron at one of his shows a few months ago and he gave me a few tips for my setup. He recommend a good stage mic if you don't want to drop too much money. I went with these mics https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IEVDOXC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and this mixer https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008O517IW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 this mixer price is good the mics are a little pricey. You can get a shure set for cheaper. Hope this helps.

I use

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Q1202USB-12-Channel-Mixer/dp/B008O517IW

And its always been good to me. To be fair I haven't really tried others but this works well just grab a couple splitters for the headphones. The compressors on the 4 main inputs is quite useful although I'm sure there are better ways to compress it makes it easy for a noob

Perfect! Ive just done some research and I wont need a USB version will I, so i will go with the cheaper one.(https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000J5XS3C/ref=dp_cerb_1)

Yes I would like to use it for my game chat, I have thought about this and think it would just be best to use a webcam mic or something similar. Please tell me any alternatives.

Thank you so much for the response.

No need to go used. The XR12 is $249 brand new:

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-XR12-12-Input-Digital-Mixer/dp/B00ZR77GGC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486486698&sr=8-1&keywords=behringer+xr12

It is a great little mixer. I use mine for small gigs that normally don't need more than 4 mics but I have also used it for a band that needed 8 mics and the TRS line inputs are clean enough that I was able to plug in dynamic mics with XLR>TRS cables and get plenty of gain without noise. I am impressed.

The one thing to consider though is that you must have a tablet to control it. I bought an Amazon Fire HD 8 for $89. Works great.

EDIT: I just noticed the OP is in Canada. I guess he might have to go used or refurb.

If you are looking for a mixer that will have EQs on more than just the channels with microphone pres, I'd recommend this one. Still has 8 channels and effects as well. I can vouch that Alto is a pretty good mixer for the price. I've not had any issues with mine that I've had for 3 years. It's pretty compact for the channels as well. Hope this helps.

https://www.amazon.com/Alto-Professional-ZMX122FX-8-Channel-Compact/dp/B004TM31FG/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1493434497&sr=1-1&keywords=alto+professional+mixer

Sorry if this isn't the right sub for this

Reposting due to formatting issue in previous post.

So I'm currently trying to figure out how to split audio from all of my consoles.

The best setup I can think of at the moment is splitting the audio off of the second output from my HDMI splitter I use for my PS3. I could try to move the HDMI splitter after my capture card, so then I'd still hear all audio from the currently active console.
The above visualized: Current into new

My main issue is finding a cheap stereo mixer that takes single, stereo, 1/4" plugs to the Mini-mixer, as the one I recently got is exactly what I need, except that it's mono only. I've been able to find a few passive mini-mixers, this one being the most likely. The reason I can't go with that, is because it's likely the game's audio will be too quiet for me and I'd to boost it, which requires an active mixer.

Every single other alternative has been the Behringer Xenyx 502, which may work, but I'd need to buy 3.5mm/RCA to L/R 1/4" adapters, which would be an extra $20-$30 plus I want a bit more scalability for future audio inputs.

Lastly, for a bit more info, I use the VST plugins within OBS Studio, so I sadly cant just plug these into my current mixer, a Yamaha MG10XU, or else it'll come out of where my mic is, as well as likely being too loud for viewers when I boost the volume for myself.
The only alternative would be to upgrade to a Yamaha MG12XU for the extra Aux bus's, which would be an extra $130 for only the extra aux bus's I'd be using, since there's nothing else that i feel warrants the extra cost.

So in summary, has anyone found a better way to get console audio to headphones while keeping it separate from the stream audio?

I have this set and its absolutely great, crystal clear audio in games. Picked it up to try and get into podcasting. I've also upgraded to a pair of Sennheiser HD 598s and they are wonderful, sound great through the Focusrite interface.

If you just need a cheap budget mixer for a few mics and game input I would look at this.

The best (and often only) way to improve your sound on no budget is to move your existing microphone closer to the source. There's no cheap way to get good audio from mics that are 10-15 feet away from the audio source.

Can you put the snowball on the boom closer to everybody? You say you're thinking about a shotgun on a stand, so it sounds like everyone is stationary. A usb extender would let you get it closer to everyone.

A shotgun might pick up everyone equally at 10-15 feet, but it isn't going to sound much better than the Snowball. If you can set it up closer, it isn't going to be good for 5 people because it's very directional, so it'll pick up one person fine and the rest will sound wrong. The Snowball Ice is directional, but has a wider pickup than a shotgun so it might work ok.

It sounds like you're doing some kind of talk show? You could get a non-Ice Snowball and set it between everyone, kind of like Rhett and Link do with their much nicer mic (A Moue by Blue).

Here are two other options that might work, but are probably bad ideas.

You could get cheap lavs on Amazon for everyone and run them into everybody's phones, though that's prone to user error.

You could get a bunch of cheap lavs and 1/4 inch adapters and find a cheap mixer like this and run that into your computer.

You're unlikely to find a mixer that has those inputs built in. Your best bet would be to use adapters for all those sources and just plug those in on the 1/4in jacks. Keeping in mind though that you should also look for mixers that support panning individual channels; each jack on a mixer typically just supports mono audio, so you'd have to send it back to left / right.

For example, I use a Mackie 402 on my desk. If I want to plug in a stereo line on channels 1 and 2, that "STEREO PAN" button has to be enabled to keep it from mono'ing them both.

Off the top of my head, something like the X Air series supports linking two channels and simultaneously controlling them + L/R panning them, for multiple channels, which you would probably need with your amount of inputs. A quick look and the Mackie ProFX12 would also probably suit your needs. Both of these are probably a little overkill for exactly what you need, but generally they both have the ability to properly handle your sources once they're in 1/4in form.

I'm kind of going on at length on this because I 100% did not consider it as a problem to be aware of when buying my mixer for my purposes and just lucked out that everything works.

For those adapters, a bluetooth receiver and appropriate cables for that particular unit, optical converter, and if "A/V audio" means RCA, just slap that RCA-1/4 from earlier in as well.

Depends on what outputs you have on your controller. I have a DDJ-SX2 and it has XLR outputs, which is what most PA speakers use for input. My setup is Laptop->Contoller->Speakers. This is all assuming you have powered speakers as well. If your controller doesn't have XLR you'll want to go Laptop->Controller->Mixing Board w/ XLR outputs->Speaker. When I say external mixer I mean one of these. It has inputs for unbalanced connections and outputs for balanced. If your speakers are unpowered or "passive" you'll need to hook the outgoing signal into an amplifier before going to the speakers, so always get powered speakers if you can

The main advantage of XLR cables is reduced signal degradation. 1/4 inch and RCA cables work, but there's just two wires: signal and ground. When you have a single wire carrying electrical signals it essentially acts as an antenna. Any sort of background noise in the area will be picked up and heard on the speakers, usually a hissing or a hum.
With XLR you have three pins for each channel. One is a ground, and the other two have the same sound data but one is flipped. The receiving gear will flip the inverted signal back into its original orientation. Because both copies of the signal picked up the same noise as they traveled along the cable—and that noise is identical on the two wires in the cable—flipping the polarity of what arrives at the receiving gear will produce the original signal intact and noise which now has reversed polarity. Summing that gives you a welcome result: signal that’s preserved and noise that’s canceled. You can run an XLR for hundred of feet with very little noise, while unbalanced cables like RCA and 1/4 inch are recommended for no longer than 15-20 feet. It also means it takes a bit more power to use which is why they aren't on every controller, especially ones that connect just over USB and don't have an external power source. Converting unbalanced to XLR is pretty useless if you have a cheap adapter, but hooking it into an external mixer adds that extra power to the signal.

I don't know of a hardware capture card that accepts 1440p in any way. You're going to need some sort of scaler to handle it or just run in 1080p(which is a waste I know). Scalers can run a pretty penny for one that isn't going to shit out on you in a week. I don't know how well you're gonna get on with the 1440p and hardware capture as most hardware devices related to streaming are locked in at 1080p atm. What GPU are you using btw? You shouldn't have any issues with the image quality when down scaling.

I suggest upgrading to this mixer for only 15 bucks more.

I suggest investing in an XLR condensor mic if you're going to go with the mixer/audio interface. The nice thing about OBS is it can mix your mic as well as another audio input which makes it not a problem to use a USB mic but I PERSONALLY like having my mic controls external so I can rapidly adjust them.

If you find you need a pop filter I cannot recommend this

Edit: If you have any questions, feel free to ask, I'm interested in how this goes off as I've wanted to switch to 1440p for a while now.

I own two of those mics (along with 3 other mics). You're best off getting a mixer or audio interface, but you just need a basic one. Look at a Behringer Xenyx 502. It's $40 but worth it, and if you ever go to a better mic (I use an ATR2100 now, but honestly, I like the pyle ones almost as much) you already have a decent mixer.

For sound examples, a lot of my early videos are using a pyle and the 502, and I still use a pair of pyles for any of my couch recording stuff (Nick and Alan Show).

Another option is to go with a USB mic (my aforementioned ATR2100 is USB p or XLR) and a digital mixer (Voice Meeter Banana, etc). But a standard XLR to USB or 3.5mm ends up being too quiet (believe me, I tried out of curiosity).

Edit: no matter how you go your looking at being $65 into it. But it's worth it.

I think the general consensus of budget mixers with included FX is that they're not very good. I don't have firsthand experience with the 1202fx, but I'd rather handle the fx separately anyway as I have a lot of pedals. If you want fx, consider looking at one of the Zoom multifx pedals as they're pretty cheap but offer a lot of freedom in what you can do with them.

I have a Dude. I like it and use it with my portable stuff, but if you weren't aware, it's mono only and powered. I were to get another smaller mixer I'd probably go with the Maker Hart Loop Mixer. 5 stereo inputs with a lot more options, and you can stack multiple mixers together should you need more room.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M68UK38/?coliid=I2O0YX9QG0HL2U

Yeah, having a small interface can make those mics actually sound really good. For future proofing of better mics, i would recommend these at one point or another. If latency free monitoring is important, Use the first one

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UMC22-BEHRINGER-U-PHORIA/dp/B00FFIGZF6/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520099372&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=behringer+uphoria+umc202hd
https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1520099360&sr=8-3&keywords=behringer+mixer&dpID=51GyTA4WTHL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

I don't believe that there is a way to have a zero delay software solution. Since it has to pass through your computer, it needs to be processed in some way before it can be played back. Perhaps an external mixer like the one that i'm currently using would work well for you, if you need a mic monitor with no delay. I'm using a XENYX X1622USB in the pic, but for your needs, a simple XENYX 502 could suit your needs perfectly.

EDIT: the Zalman mic that you mentioned requires a boost if you want to plug that into a mixer. Something like this and a 3.5mm to 1/4" audio adapter would be required.

Just a quick thing to mention, the AT2020 is not a Dynamic microphone as OP requested. The Shure SM58 ($100) would be a great starter, it's a solid microphone and priced well.

I personally use a Rode Procaster ($230) and Yamaha MG10XU ($200) and think the sound is great, though the mixer is almost certainly overkill so it ends up a little out of budget there. The Scarlet 2i2 u/Triksterism mentioned is a very popular and solid choice for the interface.

Edit: Either I'm stupid or reddit's new interface makes it a pain in the butt to create links compared to the old system.

Whoops - you'll want a small cheapo 8-track mixing board to dump the drums out to a single output like this one. Spend as little as possible, you just want basic levels and 3-band EQ functionality for this.

I'm also of the opinion that OP should get at most the 4-mic kit I linked for the drum kit. He doesn't know shit about recording yet, so it's best to KISS - keep it simple, stupid. Just drop a kick, a snare, a toms, and an overheads mic. A good kit, tuned well, and a good drummer are way more important than getting an individual mic on every single bit of the drum kit. It will teach him to figure out good mic technique as well as save him hundreds of dollars as a high school student.

Your absolute best bet is an external audio interface with XLR mic inputs if you want more than a single in mic input to a pc. You CAN use something called 'Voicemeeter' to try to use three USB microphones...but you're opening a headache inducing can of worms unless the PC has killer specs.

This interface is about $100US https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-1202FX-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B000J5Y214

Couple that with 3 super cheap mics: https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Professional-Broadcasting-Recording-Microphone/dp/B00XJF56O8

You'll need XLR cables as well but they're cheap too.

Best of luck.

I just got the maker hart loop mixer delivered last week. I was gonna get the Volca Mix but read a lot of complaints about it, so ended up on the Maker Hart.


The little I've tried so far is reasonable. Of course it's not going to be the best mixer ever at that price, but it's certainly portable and solid enough. Having 5 stereo inputs is great, too.


https://www.amazon.com/Maker-Hart-LOOP-MIXER-Portable/dp/B01M68UK38

OK awesome, thank you I will keep that in mind a long with the picture / diagram that I made. Looks like I will be investing in a smaller sound mixer - Are you aware of one any smaller / essential for this task other then the Behringer q502 USB?
ORRRRRR
Wouldn't the Behringer 1202USB Sound Mixer allow me to use the microphone pass through AND the whole task I am trying to get right now at the same time on this sound mixer?

Hello, I am looking to buy a mixer to reduce background noise, equalize my voice, and add a bit of treble and bass to it. Normally I do all of this in audacity, but sometimes it's just not enough if something isn't quite right with the source.

I have a phantom powered microphone that outputs through a 3.5mm auxiliary.

I'm still pretty new to audio and broadcasting, so I was wondering if there was a mixer I could get ~$60 or less that would help make my audio quality sound better. I'm just looking at this right now, as it's cheap on amazon https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B000J5UEGQ/

Thoughts? Suggestions? Tips?

I can think of three alternatives:

1. Small Mackie/Yamaha mixer. Something such as this already has two unbalanced inputs (tape) or two balanced inputs (line)
   
   
2. A pre-made device. Such as this or this
   
   
3. If remote power is a problem something like this could work, and this happens to be one of my favorite handy "adapters"
   
   The only possible downside I see with your idea is attenuation. You may not get a "hot" enough signal at the far end. A couple solutions I provided are powered and have some sort of trim/gain controls, so you might be better off with them. As far as the "no boxes on the ground", i'm not sure what you are getting at. Compact? Tamper proof? Weather resistant? What is the purpose there? It could be as simple as a outdoor electrical box and stuff whatever you need inside of it.
   
   
   I think if you were to better expand on what you were trying to accomplish I could provide some better answers.

Don't apologize for giving it to me straight! I took everyone's word here and decided to help myself out a little. Snagged a $70 gift card from amazon and that helped my budget out immensely, ended up getting a sweet deal on a Yamaha MG10XU (got it used for $160 dollars well within my budget when combined with the gift card)

There is a way using Soundflower if you're on a mac or try this other reddit thread if you're on a PC.

However, that is definitely going to be a bit of headache. The much easier, but obviously more expensive solution, down the line would be to use two XLR mics and a mixer. A mic like the ATR2100 that is USB / XLR is a very good choice and what my wife and I use on our show. From there any of the inexpensive Behringer mixers are really all that you need. So for just over $200 you have a very scaleable set-up. Add in a Zoom H1 / H4 and you don't even need the computer anymore.

You can't turn one down without turning down the rest of the chain. At least, not without some likely menu-diving. You also have to try to manage all that gain-staging, creatively. You might be reducing your dynamic range, compositionally, for the sake of dancing the line between too quiet and clipping. There's just no beating a mixer, when it comes to, well, mixing.

I highly recommend getting a mixer. They have some reasonable portable ones now- the rolls and nady mixers come to mind. More featured ones have recorders built in, which could be helpful. Consider the Zoom R16 for this, as it gets plenty love. 8 inputs at a time. If you don't mind being plugged in, nab yourself a cheap behringer mixer used and keep it pushin. I'll link u in a sec, I'm at work lol.

edit: yeah, highly recommend a mixer, but you'll be find daisy-chaining while you research and save up. just be mindful of your needs and how you'll need to route your audio so you're minimizing compromise.

there is a Makie mixer with better preamps that will run quieter, the 402VLZ4 and the larger 802VLZ4.

But I promise you that what you really want is an interface, not a mixer. this one is very popular and will allow two mics. there are more expensive ones with more inputs. Then for a mixer, use a DAW. Reaper is free and fully functional.

After doing quite a bit of research, the ctrl out is independent, so if anyone is looking for a solution to this problem, this mixer is a perfect solution. It allows you to independently control the two outputs!

Thanks again to /u/Dodgeballrocks for the help!

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

i would suggest getting a mixer over a strict interface like the 2i2 or Mtrack, a mixer will give you all the features of an interface as well as a ton of extras like on board EQ, vocal fx, and multi channel support.

something like this is very popular with Twitch streamers

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Q1202USB-12-Channel-Mixer/dp/B008O517IW/ref=sr_1_4?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1483156636&sr=1-4&keywords=usb+mixer

As far as a mic. You have a lot of options. You can go with a USB connection. Which is a reasonable option with good quality in products like Blue Yeti or going with a much better studio quality mic like MXL or even Audio-Technica however going with the studio mica I have listed you will need an audio interface. Like the scarlet or Yamaha

What mic should I buy?

Budget = <300

I want a nice condenser mic at less than 300 (less than 200 is preferred)

And also, would an audio interface such as this one http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-XENYX502-5-Channel-Mixer/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1344058823&sr=1-3&keywords=mixing+board

work with any sort of condenser mic I choose? The description says it has phantom power , and I know you need that for a condenser mic, but can I connect it to my Mac? And is there any other accessories I need like cables and whatnot?

And final question, if I want audio quality like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOn1vY7_2b0

Just judging by your ear, would you say that was recorded on a thousand $ mic or what? can I achieve vocal quality like that with a condenser mic that costs less than 300?

• I just used "Alexa add cat food to my cart" and she said "sure, cat food is now in your cart" but when I pulled up the Amazon app it asked me to choose what kind to get. I'm not sure if this would change had I any cat food in my history but there doesn't appear to be any default brand that gets added.
  
• I just used "Alexa make a phone call" and she asked for which contact name but also accepted a phone number.
  
• To splice my computer audio with my Alexa into the same speakers, I bought this and it works great, just make sure to get the right cables

You could use something like this: A mixer with a sound-card from ASUS, or Creative to take the output from that mixer as input for your computer. This won't let you edit each mic separately after the fact, without sticking one mic on the left channel, and the other two on the right channel, then later making the audio file mono, after you do whatever editing it is you want to. I believe that this is one of the best ways to do this, if you really need multiple microphones. A lot of podcaster duos just sit pretty close around one mic.

Very cool. I wasn't 100% sure those existed until I looked. Something like this will only work with powered studio monitors (not passive ones, those would require a separate amp).

This is a much nicer suggestion than that other one I looked up - both of these were just quick Google searches, not well researched on my part. https://www.amazon.com/Rolls-MX42-Stereo-Mini-Mixer/dp/B00102ZN40/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1539275837&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=stereo+mixer&dpPl=1&dpID=517QoJlNM0L&ref=plSrch

And the cheapest mixer you could go with

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1539276002&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=mixer+audio&dpPl=1&dpID=51GyTA4WTHL&ref=plSrch

Although, honestly, I'm not sure I'd get a behringer for something that I would trust to be on all the time. Their build quality isn't great (they're the cheapest for a reason). If it were me, I would get that $50 rolls above. It's simple, unpowered, and will probably be reliable for decades and the extra inputs and volume attenuation would make it far more usable. Just my 2 cents!

Hey there dude,

You're going to want a mixer for that. The quality of audio going from audio out on one pc to mic in on the other will sound terrible, and most likely cause some ground noise loop problems.

If you're not looking to spend any money, I would recommend checking out NDI. It's an OBS plugin that would allow you to send your game video and audio over to your streaming PC over a wired network connection. As long as both your PC's are hardwired to your network, you're good.

Here is a permalink to another thread where I explain how NDI works, and how you can learn about it. In this thread i'm talking about VR, but the process would be the same, just capturing normal game play instead of VR.

Alternatively, you could spend as little at $60 on a mixer to make what you need happen, if you decide to go that route. Good luck!

I guess a mixer maybe.
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-802-Premium-8-Input-Preamps/dp/B000J5XS3C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426823016&sr=8-2&keywords=behringer

But honestly you should really just use a DAW and a sound interface to record the guitar. It sounds like you're trying to use your OP-1 like its a DAW and thats simply not how it should be used for. Its a synthesizer and sampler. You'd be better off recording into a cheap standalone recorder then to use the OP-1 as a recording tools. Its better at taking samples.

But the mixer would at least allow you to plug both your mic and your guitar into the OP-1 and manage the levels of each. But be careful I've heard that ghost power can blow out the Op-1. I'm not sure if thats input or output that does it.

For for a behringer mixer, best price and they are pretty awesome.

Edit: Check this out. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000J5Y214/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1419909593&sr=8-3&dpPl=1&dpID=615fg7u4QVL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

OK your best bet is to Buy a separate microphone, a mixer and headphones.

Gaming anything is just marketing you will end up paying a premium for something that you really don't need.

For first timers I would recommend a cheap XLR microphone into a cheap mixer. DO NOT GO WITH USB MICS or USB AUDIO INTERFACE.

If you buy a USB device that uses a regular windows generic driver. windows will muddle your audio. This is commonly known by advanced users.

Instead plug in your mic using your mixer to your mic jack on the back of your motherboard.

Here are some affordable but great mic/mixer combo you can even maybe get them on eBay for Hella cheap.

Neewer NW-700 Professional Studio https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XOXRTX6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_iDwIAb8DBK7RA

BEHRINGER XENYX 502 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_BFwIAbG6B1SAT

Yeah, that list contains a set of quality sound cards, but you should ask your friend more specifically what he needs recording-wise. If he needs to record something like 4 devices at once, he might just need a hardware mixer instead. Something like this.

If you have the ability to mic your drums and mix that signal with what you're playing with it will help, a lot.

But the 215's dampen the volume, but don't completely block it out. So you can still hear your drums at a lower volume but can easily hear the music. For the price they cannot be beat.

If you have some cash flow check out a small mixer, something like this, it will allow you to add a mic and control the balance. When you play with a mic you can really hear every little thing you do. It forces you to pay attention to the details.

You could do something like this:

• $99 Behringer USB Mixer
  
  
• $54 x 4 Audio Technica ATR2100 USB
  
  
• $13 5-Pack Foam Pop
  
  
• $26 5-Pack MF XLR Cables - 10'
  
  
  Then you just need mic stands. You could probably even find cheaper Pop filters and/or XLR cables, I just did a quick search. Those mics are both USB and XLR and they are actually pretty decent for the price, so not a bad investment. You might want to look at different mixers, but that Behringer is one of the most affordable USB ones. I prefer using a Focusrite, but those are 3x the price usually.
  
  Edit, those mics actually come with XLR cables! I forgot. Not sure if they are long enough, but they should work fine too. Although some pack in XLR cables are super cheap.

I plug the Chromecast Audio into the aux-in for my PC, then in Windows' Sound -> Recording -> [your sound card's aux-in] -> Properties -> Listen, flag it as "Listen to this Device"

Also confirm your levels and whatnot.

This introduces a small latency (I forget... maybe 400ms) in Windows' mixer for that input, so you may need to tweak your Google Home setup to delay the other Chromecast Audios a little bit (if you have multiple Chromecast Audios). Otherwise if it's just the one, it won't matter one bit!

Though on that note, just being in another room will necessitate a bit of latency tweaking anyway; that's just how sound works over distance.

Edit: I think using two different Sources with a normal splitter will introduce interference/noise. It's fine splitting to two outputs from one source, though. The Chromecast Audio is technically a source since it's outputting streaming audio to your speakers. The right way to combine two sources is using a mixer. Steinberg-Yamaha makes pretty good ones, but generally you can get a couple of channels mixed together at a good quality for $70-200 CAD pretty readily.

Edit 2: Here are some examples in Canada:

A small mixer: https://www.amazon.ca/Premium-5-Input-2-Bus-Preamp-British/dp/B000J5UEGQ

A USB audio device with built-in mixer/amp: https://www.amazon.ca/Steinberg-Advanced-USB-Studio-Interface/dp/B003WI3LNU/ref=sr_1_8?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1511565564&sr=1-8&keywords=steinberg (I use one of these for other purposes, but I don't remember it costing this much)

Excellent thanks for the help. I found this which I am hoping will work.

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-XENYX502-5-Channel-Mixer/dp/B000J5UEGQ/

You're asking for a lot of pieces here. How much are you looking to spend? Seems like you're already pretty invested on the amp side.

A mixer like this will set you back $200 but might be overkill.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IBIVL42/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_S2bLDbAS9B86G

You plug the output to your amp, and then plug in everything you want into the different inputs. You will need some extra cables for your phone. This amp also lets you plug your computer in as an input (so you could play music from there).

Hook everything up right and you'll be able to control the volume of each input (along with a bunch of other stuff) to get the sound coming out like you want it.

Once you get it all sounding right, write another post about your setup and how to record it. That's a whole other matter.

I personally use this.

I have my PC on one input, and my TV on another input (so I can watch a movie or something on my PC and play console games with one pair of headphones)

With the mixer I linked, you can have three inputs and two outputs, which is perfect for your setup.

You'll need three of these to connect to inputs 2/3 and 4/5 as well as the main out output. Then you also need two of these to go to the first input, and the other output.

I highly recommend that mixer, it works fantastically and is built tremendously.

All told it will run you about ~$50

If you have any questions let me know!

This was pretty common on my Z97 board, basically it boiled down to unclean USB power delivery and interference from near by devices from said port. Newer boards like my C7H have much better power delivery and less signal interference on my DAC, and even have specific USB ports for DACs like Gigabytes "DAC up". I got one of these to test my Scarlett 2i2, but was actually an issue with my DAC and ended up picking up a Yamaha AG03. Not to shit on your choice of DACs, but some are made way better than others.

We're going to need more information to be able to help you.

What are you trying to accomplish? It sounds like you might want a mixer with [at least] one mic input and be able to control the volume of two separate outputs from it. Is that correct?

If so, nearly any mixer will work. Here's one: https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-Premium-5-Input-British/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ The Main Outs are two mono outputs controlled by one knob on the bottom right. The Phones output is a second stereo output controlled by the other knob on the bottom right. Since it sounds like you only want a single mic, the signal is already mono, so either output will work the same.

So, a headphone splitter will only feed outward from a source, you would not be able to capture a microphone and feed that into a computer to mix into your stream. And like I said, if you want the best quality, have 1 mic per person.

For up to 4 mics I would get these microphones: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002KZAKS/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=292074DNOL1VR&coliid=INXXPO6Y015HZ

This audio mixer, which will only connect up to 4 microphones via XLR: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008O517IW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=3QOBG8ZG11MY7&coliid=I2FAJU33T9L7ZR

Something like these for XLR cables: https://www.amazon.com/Pack-Foot-Female-Microphone-Cable/dp/B00X7YJUGG/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1492408487&sr=1-3&keywords=xlr+cable+4+pack

And these stands for the mics: https://www.amazon.com/PYLE-PRO-PMKSDT25-Adjustable-Desktop-Microphone/dp/B005MII5MK/ref=sr_1_10?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1492408533&sr=1-10&keywords=mic+desk+stand

Mixer is hardware. It allows you to plug multiple devices into one "source" that you can then listen to. I'll put a link to a good starter one below. H.264 is still the best way to encode which is all CPU driven so adding a GPU won't help you unless you are going to use NVENC or AMD encoding via a GPU.

Another question, are you a partnered streamer? If not, you won't always have transcode available so streaming at 6000kbps will limit the amount of people who can watch you. Streaming at less than 6000kbps on a 1080p60 stream will make it look pixelated. This also matters on the type of game. If you're playing an RTS like civilization where there isn't a lot of movement on screen you can get away with a lower bitrate at 1080p but if you're playing games with a lot of fast movement you're better off streaming at 720p60 at 3000kbps because then even mobile users can watch you if they are in a decent signal area.





https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-Premium-5-Input-British/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1550249364&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=behringer+mixer&dpPl=1&dpID=51GyTA4WTHL&ref=plSrch

As others have said, your budget options is an analog mixer or doing it in software on a computer. The software part is probably the best if you're only using one sound source in addition to the mic. Just plug the headset in the USB sound card, the USB mic to the computer and dick around in the sound mixer. For Windows 7 it's right click the tray icon, "recording devices", click "properties" on the mic, "listen", check the box for "listen to this devices", select the desired output channel and click "OK". I got ~200ms latency on my system, but others might help you get this lower. I've just used Windows for games the last decade, so this is as far as I can help you.

I personally route/combine the sound from two computers using a Behringer 502 mixer, but I'm sure there are newer alternatives, and there is a 502 USB which is probably better for routing the end result to a computer. The disadvantage of analog is that quality cost money, and you might end up degrading the signal with enough steps. I also had to "airgap" the computers from the mixer using optical cables and cheap DACs to avoid a ground hum, but I'm sure there are better ways of dealing with this. I'm using a Windows/Linux pair of computers and a USB mic connected to a USB switch connected to both (and regularly switch the mic between the two systems), which is partly why I'm doing it this way. In a pure Linux environment I'd rather just fix everything with a few low latency Pulseaudio JACK sinks and route all sources from one computer over the network to the other and mix in software there, but my analog solution "just works" and has snazzy physical knobs for individual channels and monitor volume.

http://www.dx.com/p/digital-optical-coaxial-toslink-signal-to-analog-audio-converter-adapter-black-391637
https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B000J5UEGQ

Gonna jump in and suggest a behringer mixer. Comes in different sizes for relatively cheap. Super versatile as well, i use it for tons of different things. Also has phantom power in case a mic comes into play. 1202 is at a good Price Right now

Hello currently I have this setup:

https://imgur.com/a/0Ex48 The output goes to my monitor speakers, 3.5mm output goes to headphones.

The two inputs are from my PC (using RCA via a DAC) and a turntable

Now my question is how would I go about upgrading to this? (and do I even need to upgrade to this, I heard sound would be better?) :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000J5XS3C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

How do I now connect my RCA stuffto the 1/4? jacks? and would this help with sound?

Is it ok to use something like this to connect the output to my speakers? https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01CT1XHMU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Same goes for my 3.5mm output

Sorry for all the questions,

Hope you can help!

Yeah, sounds like you've tried everything. That's odd. It might be a problem with your PS4 but I don't know. You could check your PS4 video output settings. Maybe playing with those settings will fix the issue. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

I will say that I'm happy I upgraded to the Pro. It's not a huge improvement but games do look a little better and have a higher/smoother framerate. Plus, it has an optical audio output, so if you still have trouble with audio extractors, you can use a digital to analog audio converter to get audio from your PS4 to headphones or speakers. You can also add a mixer and get volume control. That's what I use now and it's great.

Digital to analog converter

5 channel mixer

Well then I can't answer about the amp, but here's the mic I bought: https://www.amazon.com/Shure-SM48-LC-Dynamic-Microphone-Cardioid/dp/B0002D0HY4
It's the Shure SM48 which is a budget model of the Shure SM58(the model used during pretty much all beatbox battles). It costs less than half what the SM58 costs with very minor differences in audio quality. If you really want bass to come through as well, I would also reccomend you get this mixer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000J5UEGQ/ref=oh_aui_i_d_old_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's only $40 which is the cheapest you'll find a mixer of this quality. You can adjust the bass settings to your liking no matter what set up you're using, on an amp or recording on a computer.

Unfortunately I'm no expert in the area.

You'd probably be better asking in something like /r/WeAreTheMusicMakers

Getting a mixer second hand is probably your best bet, but off the top of my head you'd need something like:

• Behringer 802 - 8 Input 2 Bus Mixer
  
• Dynamic XLR Microphones x2
  
• XLR cables x2
  
• Dual 1/4 inch jacks to 3.5mm Microphone Jack cable
  
  But please ask some experts, I've no idea if that setup would actually work. You'll be needing those 6 things though (1x Mixer, 2x Mics, 2x Mic Cables and 1x 3.5mm Mic jack to Mixer connection cable), maybe not those specific models though.

Could use more info on your current setup equipment wise. I think the easiest way to do what you want is to get a cheap mixer like this one. You just split the output and route it to both computers.

It might also be possible in software with something like synergy. http://synergy-project.org/

I'm trying to buy a mic/effect pedals set up for my friend for his birthday. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to do it cheapest? I specifically am thinking about guitar pedals as I have some I could lend him.


I've been reading through threads and it seems like these are some options (please correct me if I've made a mistake)

​

1. Clip on mic ->phantom power supply-> xlr to 1/4 inch converter (or passive DI?) -> guitar pedal
   
2. Clip on mic -> pre-amp or active DI -> guitar pedal
   
3. Clip on mic -> mixer input, effects send out -> guitar pedal -> back to mixer
   
   ​
   
   Am I missing anything out from these? I've no experience mic'ing acoustic instruments so a lot of this info is cobbled together. I would want to avoid option 3 because i think a mixer would be overkill. Any advice would be really appreciated, thanks!

Cool thanks.
So something like this would be a good choice.

Amazon!

The Behringer 802 is going for $65 at Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-802-Premium-8-Input-Preamps/dp/B000J5XS3C

That can do two mics on xlr and two more on 1/4" plug, all mixed and going to your computer via USB cable.

I was going to recommend the ATR2100 mic but I noticed they jumped from $35 to $60. I must have got mine on special.

Audacity is free and available for mac.

Well in this hypothetical, assuming my friend doesn't live in a van down by the river, couldn't we share his amp, iPhone, tablet or computer while we jam? But if you're going to jam with your friend at his house and he only has a single input on his amp, perhaps he was equally foolish and bought a Fender frontman 10G then I guess I need a 1/4" Y splitter for $5.00.

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-YPP-118-inch-Dual-Cable/dp/B000068O56/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1480701257&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=1%2F4+Y+splitter

But if that's what I do, if that's how I play guitar, then there are other types of gear I'd spend money on:

https://www.amazon.ca/Behringer-MX400-Ultra-Low-Noise-4-Channel/dp/B000KGYAYQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480701616&sr=8-1&keywords=4+channel+mixer

https://www.amazon.ca/Mackie-402VLZ4-4-Channel-Compact-Mixer/dp/B00EDRUQXC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1480701709&sr=8-2&keywords=4+Channel+mixer

Any of these three purchases are for gear that I will use and reuse if I become a professional musician. The Frontman 10G, I will discard into the trash bin when I get a good practice amp or rig.

A small company called Maker Hart sells a small mixer like this. I bought one for my Volcas and Tb03 and its pretty great. https://www.amazon.com/LOOP-MIXER-Portable-Channels-Stereo/dp/B01M68UK38

Yeah, just had to get home to get the model number:
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-XENYX502-5-Channel-Mixer/dp/B000J5UEGQ

I use Shure SM-58 Mics simply because they are pretty much bomb-proof and do a great job of canceling out background noise.
I've never been a fan of USB mics.

But I have both my mics and my computer audio coming into this so that I can level out everything and then run it back into recording PC as a single stream.

Being able to hear yourself while you stream without the software delay of using a separate mic line is, what I consider, a must-have.

I don't know your budget, but I recently needed a mixer for the first time in a long while, and I spent a bit under $500 on this 16 channel, 6-bus yamaha. Might be something that can help you and will be more than you need now, but also be able to keep you happy and equipped in the future. I bought the model with an integrated FX unit not because I use it, but because I figured "why not have it just-in-case"... you can knock a further $50 bucks off by getting the model without.

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-MG16XU-16-Input-6-Bus-Effects/dp/B00I0Q8LIO

Are you going to be running your mics through an audio board (I would suggest that) or try to go straight into your computer?

These are the mics I use:
http://www.amazon.com/MXL-990-Condenser-Microphone-Shockmount/dp/B0002GIRP2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1422462371&sr=8-3&keywords=MXL

Windscreen:
http://www.amazon.com/Nady-MPF-6-6-Inch-Microphone-Filter/dp/B0002CZW0Y/ref=pd_bxgy_MI_img_y

Audio board
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-1202-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B000J5Y282/ref=sr_1_19?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1422462418&sr=1-19&keywords=audio+board

These are doing to be your main components, if the mics are too expensive I can recommend some cheaper ones. Ideally you want to record to hardware (not your computer) then transfer it. I usually also record on my computer as well just to have a backup. I use Audacity to record on my computer

I use this to record to SD cards to put it on the computer.

http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-Handy-Portable-Digital-Recorder/dp/B001QWBM62/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1422462555&sr=1-2&keywords=h2n

Let me know if you have any questions.

A basic USB mixer like this Behringer (with external power supply) should handle the monitor switching. Mackie (not USB until it's around $300) and Alesis are higher end (better featured, sounding, durable) and will cost around 3x as much. Plug the computer via USB (the mixer is now your new soundcard), and the POD through the line-ins. I recommend getting active monitors, ideally used to maximize your budget. Get cables from monoprice.

Sounds like you need a mixer.

Behringer and Mackie both make great products. Remember that most of your devices are probably stereo, which is two inputs each.

So you need to mix 6 inputs to two outputs (right and left).

Behringer 1002 is a good example of this.

Channels 1 and 2 work as two independent mono channels. So it would be more convenient for you to plug your 3 devices into inputs 3/4, 5/6, and 7/8. This would give you a single volume knob per device.

From there, just plug your headphones into the "Phones" output. You might need to get a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter. They're real cheap.

We personally use 4 AT2020 and an MGXU Mixer:

https://www.amazon.ca/Technica-AT2020-Cardiod-Condensor-XLRM-type/dp/B0006H92QK/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=at2020&qid=1554514257&s=gateway&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.ca/Yamaha-MG10XU-10-Input-Stereo-Mixer/dp/B00IBIVL42/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=mg10xu+mixer&qid=1554514302&s=gateway&sr=8-1

As long as you're all facing the same way (NOT even slightly towards each other or you get bad echo) this turns out great.

We even ended up getting a second mixer so we could use the EQ on all four mics. Have a nice carpetted/padded room, and again make sure you're all facing the same direction, a very important lesson we learned. Audio syncing the video is also very much needed in this case.

We record with VERY low gain so there's little noise pollution, then up in post.

I would suggest this mixer as a cheaper alternative. When we first started my podcast we got these mics which although slightly different work well enough (we still use both, added in another MXL990 and a Shure SM57A Beta which although more a live sound mic works okay). The MXL990 is nice though a little more expensive individually. Add in stands and cables and you have a package right around your limit. I would also suggest pop filters. The extra $10-15 for them pays off in the end.

Hope that helps.

Yes - so what we are saying is that you can mod the connector or use a mono to stereo converter - or just use as is and one of the channels out/in will be shorted to ground which shouldn't pose a huge problem, however it would require testing to see what actually happens - hopefully it doesn't introduce noise.

Also as long as your guitar outputs enough voltage you can use this item as is - if you need extra volume, then perhaps you will need to get a mono preamp ???

You can use this type of preamp to go from mono to stereo with gain (only if necessary) : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UIP0IPO

Keep in mind with that mixer you have no real room for expansion. It only has two ports for XLR. Spend a little extra and go with this one if you're on a budget.

I honestly wouldn't use behringer for mixers after my personal experience with them. They make pretty decent mics (I've been using a set of these for years and have been very happy although I wouldn't discourage you from getting the mics you linked), but I had one of their mixers and it crapped out in less than a year. Maybe if you've got a stationary setup it will do better, but we're kind of a mobile operation and those mixers are not durable.

Here's a (more expensive but pretty versatile) alternative - mini mixer - you'll want some cables to go with that (3.5mm to L+R jack from phone to mixer plus a stereo 6.35mm to jack from edrum brain to mixer) then plug your headphones into the mixer too. You could also pipe the output to your computer to record what you're doing so you can hear your progress.

The XF100 does output as dual mono, it's the Intensity Shuttle that's interpreting the audio as stereo - presumably you've got it plugged in by HDMI so it's assuming that channel 1 is L and channel 2 is R.

It sounds like you're using the camera for streaming - a better solution for audio than using the camera's XLRs would be to use a USB Audio Interface and a software mixer, giving you far more control over the audio without having to reach up and fiddle with the camera.

You could also use an inexpensive mixing desk, and plug the desk outputs into your camera's inputs.

I have a pedal board (Muff, Klon Klone, Delay, Compressor) that runs into the effects loop of my Laney Cub 12R amp. I really can't crank this thing even 1/4 of the volume without my neighbor going crazy. I'd like to be able to:

A) Play this thing through headphones so that I can crank it up

B) Play along with a backing track that comes from my phone. Bluetooth would be a bonus if possible.

I was thinking that buying a small mixer like this could be a solution but I was wondering if there is any other similar gadget ($100usd or less) that would work. I know the sound won't be quite the same as I will use the external speaker out of the amp and into whatever I get. Any help?

OK this all makes sense. One concern I have is that right now everyone is using mod mics because it's equipment we already had. The sound is pretty good so I'm happy with them for now. If I grab this Mackie Mix Series Mix8 do I have more spending to do or is this good? Is there cheaper options?

Strongly urge you not to use a condenser mic live, particularly with cheap sound equipment. You're likely to get huge problems with feedback, and with your budget you could easily pick up a different mic and still come out ahead.

Secondly, condensers are fragile. You need to be babying the shit out of that thing when you move it around.

Here's my suggestion:

Get an SM58 in your life. With this you can go straight into your amp with the right conversion cable (bypassing the need for a more expensive mic interface).

If you can't run dual inputs to your amp, you can get a cheap mixer like so and run both through it into the amp.

If you have 2 devices and you want them both in your headphones then that's perfect for a basic mixer.

However the MX400 looks like it's mono, so not the right one for what you want. Look at stereo mixers like this one.

Edit: or this

I have a similar setup (Behringer 502, different XLR mic and different headphones (no mic). Here's what I do and it works flawlessly.

• Mic -> Channel one (XLR) of the 802
  
  • https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=4754
    
• PC Line Out (Green hole) -> Channel 3/4 of 802
  
• Game audio if using console. (from TV or PS4 controller) - > Channel 5/6 of 802
  
  • If using PC games, ignore this \^\^
    
• Main out -> PC Line In (Blue hole, I think)
  
  • 3 x https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=601040
    
• Headphones -> Phones on 801
  
  • https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=115&cp_id=11509&cs_id=1150901&p_id=4791
    
• Tablet, phone or second computer with twitch open -> 2 Track Input (this way you can hit the "2TR to Ctrl Room" button to monitor the actual stream on twitch.)
  
  • https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5597
    
• The mixer I have: https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B000J5UEGQ
  
  ​
  
  ​
  
  Everything is fed through the mixer.
  
  IF USING ELGATO and a PS4/XBOX/other external system:Turn down the audio from the ElGato in OBS. All audio will come from "Line In (High Quality Audio Device)" or something like that. You'll have to add some delay to either the video or audio in OBS to get video to sync with audio. (I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but can get them later if you like.)
  
  What I love about this setup is my mic, my game (Ps4) and my PC sounds (steam, spotify, etc..) are all on separate channels and what I hear in my headphones is exactly what's being streamed. There's none of this sudden realization that after an hour of playing my voice has been too low on stream, but sounds fine to me.
  
  Edit: added examples of cables
  
  Edited again: to clarify the use of ElGato, if needed)

Sounds like you only want to play sound from both places into one pair of headphones. One way like someone else suggested is to use an audio recording software to do that. Another would be to get a cheap mixer and input the output of the computer and the drums into it and mix it into your headphones. Something like this should suffice BEHRINGER XENYX 502 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_tJiZBb4ZEABBE
You might need a couple of these to go from 3.5 cables to stereo 1/4” for the board Hosa YMP-434 3.5 mm TRSF to Dual 1/4 inch TS Stereo Breakout Cable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0010D0HO0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_bXiZBb8B904E4

What we use :) Just grab some pop filters too.
Good luck!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000J5Y282/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002HJ61PK

You might not strictly need one but it's useful to have because if those monitors are anything like my Rokit RP8s they take XLR or balanced 1/4" TRS, and your computer probably doesn't have those cables. You can use an audio interface (which usually has one of them) or you can just run it through a simple mixer, which also usually does. you can get these pretty cheap but as usual you have to pay for proper quality/durability.

The interface will generally sound quite a lot better than most computers' internal sound hardware (just because computers deal with a lot of RF interference and often cut corners) so it's a good idea to get eventually, but you don't 100% have to have one just to use monitors.

This won't work and could cause damage.

However, a simple mixing desk, such as this will do the trick. You'll need the correct adapters porssibly, but effectively it will allow you to merge the two signals.

This is a simplified way of how I merge the audio from my PC, PlayStaion and guitar at once :)

The presonus fader port isn't really going to be of any use if you are doing multitrack mixing. It is useful if your just demoing/playback a track that is already mixed.


There is no such thing as "best" for FL studio. There is only what fits your needs. So you need to figure out what your trying to do and invest in a tool that helps you with or fulfills that need.


Obviously digital consoles would work best with FL studio but an analog console will also work. For example, lots of twitch streamers use analog consoles like this one. I don't recommend Berhinger as a brand. Instead a Mackie would be a better choice. Such as this one


There is also mastering consoles but they tend to be very expensive.

The most straightforward way to do this, IMO, would be to use a "monitoring mixer". It'd be a simple hardware mixing board in-between all your audio sources and your speaker system.

So the turntable (after a preamp to take it to line-level) stereo outs go to the monitor board. The computer-out goes to the monitor board. The synth-out goes to the monitor board. You can leave them all connected, all the time, and just move the faders up and down for however loud you want to hear things.

Something like this with enough inputs to not worry would be ~$70-100 from Mackie or Monoprice. A little less from Behringer, but I'd avoid that brand in general if possible.
Here's an example of an 8-channel Mackie for $75:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ND1KGEI/

I've used a basic setup idea like this (and another small mixer on input) ever since I got into making music, and it works really well. Very flexible.

Thanks for the awesome reply. I realize that the unit I linked above would not work that way I wanted it to. That's why I figured I would ask here. Would something like this one work for my purposes? Here is a diagram of it.

So basically I would plug in my mic into 1, turn the level pot all the way down and the fx pot all the way up. plug my pc into 3/4 and console into 5/6 both with level adjusted accordingly and fx all the way down. Then for outputs the FX send would be plugged into my sound card for the mic and I would plug in my speakers to the main out and headphones to phones, correct?

Oh, so i just read that the unit I just linked has 2 busses but in the details it says that it has POST fader aux sends which is bad, right? maybe I should look at something else. Are there any recomended brands? My budget is higher than the $65 cost of the unit above. I could easily go double that, but I'm trying to remain cost effective.

> Would this particular mixer allow me to do that?

I'd highly suggest getting a mixer with 4 XLR inputs but yes, it would work. I would suggest 4 XLR and a few other inputs say for sound effects music or Skype and a USB out to a computer to record on. Also, while on the subject of Skype, look for as least one of something called an Aux Send (some times called FX Send or Monitor Send). I won't explain why but it's needed for Skype calls in the mixer if that is a concern. I use a Mackie mixer and am moving over to a FocusRite Scarlett 18i20 once I finish wrapping my head around it but those are possibly outside your price range. A decent Behringer mixer like

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Q1202USB-12-Channel-Mixer/dp/B00CTKI45M/

would do but I'd ask for other opinions.

I'd also suggest a decent mic for each person. The Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB or AT2005-USB are solid choices ($60-$50 each currently). They are essentially identical from your point of view with the difference being the 2100 has a lifetime warranty and the 2005 having a one year warranty. Each comes with a 6 foot XLR cable and a crappy stand in the box. They are a little quiet but sound good and can be used USB or XLR. They do a good job of rejecting noise from outside sources or others in the same room.

There are much cheaper mics like the Nady SP1 but I have no experience with them.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003I5JMIA/

!

I agree with tplgigo. Here is a link to a decent mixer, mics and mic cable.

MIXER:

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-802-Premium-8-Input-Preamps/dp/B000J5XS3C?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B000J5XS3C

MICS:

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Ultravoice-Dynamic-Microphone-Cardioid/dp/B0002KZAKS/ref=sr_1_4?crid=16DVZ2YVY2R7F&keywords=behringer+xm8500+microphone&qid=1571594175&sprefix=behringer+xm8%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-4

XLR Mic Cable (Pic the lenght that works best for you).

https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Male-Female-Microphone-Cable/dp/B01JNLTTKS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=xlr+cable&qid=1571594240&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzME9ZTFFaNERWU1dFJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjk3ODA0MzdCSks2STBYWlVQTSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDQ3NzA5MjIyT1oxTjVDUkdBUCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

You could technically use your Pyle as a preamp volume control, but needing RCA to XLR/TRS and losing the benefits of balanced connectors would make it kind of not worth it considering how affordable mixers are.

Something like this Behringer Q1202USB would work perfectly fine and is cheap. Connects to your computer through USB. You can get them cheaper and simpler, or progressively more complex and expensive. Really up to you.

What you need is a board
BEHRINGER XENYX 1202 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J5Y282/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_KgURAbGQA217A

3 mics

Monoprice Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone - (600800) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AJHBVMU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_yhURAb1K08J02



3 mic arms


Neewer NW-35 Metal Suspension Boom Scissor Arm Stand with Built-in XLR Male to Female Cable, Shock Mount and Table Mounting Clamp (Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AK7SKL4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.hURAb4CEZSSE

Some kind of pop filter too.


It’s a little more than what your budget was but this is all really cheap gear and you won’t need any sound proofing and your audio will be clean once you get settings all set up. I strongly recommend this as a starter build. I’ve been using a similar setup for years.

This combo has been very nice for me. Input for my PS4, Alexa, PC (through usb), and phone audio.

Here’s a diagram I made on my phone. Running audio for an event at the moment.
https://i.imgur.com/Z6zhI4P.jpg

Plug the usb card into your PC. plug the items into the mixer. Plug the Audio output from the mixer into the IN channel on the usb audio card. Flip on the “Monitor audio” switch. Plug your headphones into the convenient jack on the USB audio card.

ALTERNATIVE:

only buy the usb audio card. You don’t need a mixer. Get a 3.5mm stereo to RCA stereo (headphone jack to red white cable). Plug this into the in slots on the usb audio card. Plug the card into PC. Plug headphones into jack on the card. It has a volume knob on headphones that will let you control it.

I would heavily recommend the usb audio card I linked. If you want more versatility, grab a mixer too. Message me if you do grab anything and need help setting it up.



BEHRINGER XENYX 502 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_YzONBbJV9RHD7

BEHRINGER U-Control Uca202 Ultra Low-Latency 2 In/2 Out Usb/Audio Interface With Digital Output https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KW2YEI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_TAONBb1FJ01ZQ

I wish someone would have given me this list when I started. For about $360 the list below gives you everything you need. I highly recommend against recording on your phone. There is also a lot of great free software out there for recording video for both PC and Mac. I use XSplit personally, even if I'm not streaming. You could probably find the light set without the green screen for a little cheaper if you want, but I wouldn't go any cheaper on the microphones, soundboard or webcam. With all this you'll have a semi-professional setup at an affordable budget.


2x Microphones ($70) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XOXRTX6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


2x Microphone XLR Cables ($20) https://www.amazon.com/XLR-Microphone-Cable-Feet-Female/dp/B06XC6435F/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503965340&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=xlr+male+to+female&psc=1


1 USB Mixer ($60) https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-802-Premium-8-Input-Preamps/dp/B000J5XS3C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1503964969&sr=8-3&keywords=xenyx


Light Set ($150) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019GTCNXC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Webcam ($60) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006JH8T3S/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

i can definitely afford something better, i just wanted something on the cheap end so i could practice at home. do you have any recommendations? i was thinking something maybe like this

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-802-Premium-8-Input-Preamps/dp/B000J5XS3C/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1398712839&sr=1-3&keywords=small+mixer

> ATR-2100

At that price range I can recommend this mixer.

Yamaha AG03

This would almost certainly get you a better DAC, and allow you to replace at least some of your VSTs, as it has a built-in EQ and compressor, although the settings for these are controlled from a Windows app-- there are more effects than there are room for physical controls on a compact mixer.

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-AG03-3-Channel-Mixer-Microphone/dp/B00TY8JE60?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_6

Setup? As in equipment right? I’m pretty sure that mixer is this Behringer Xenyx 502 Premium 5-Input 2-Bus Mixer with XENYX Mic Preamp and British EQ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_I5BZCb5EM3X5V
The rest idk lol

Would not recommend this, Thunderbolt connections are not completely common at this point. The advantages of one aren't even necessary unless you need very low latency. A USB interface would work just fine, would recommend: http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Q1202USB-12-Channel-Mixer/dp/B00CTKI45M/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1462939004&sr=8-5&keywords=4+channel+mixer This would work well considering it has 4 XLR pre-amps and a USB out so it also works well as an interface. Would also work well if OP doesn't want to mix inside the box.

Do one stop shopping and get yourself the Yamaha MG10XU. Pound for pound I don't know anything that delivers better in it's price range. It's easy to set up and gives you a wealth of options.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-MG10XU-10-Input-Stereo-Effects/dp/B00IBIVL42/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=yahama+mixer&qid=1556628901&s=gateway&sr=8-2

> topics could include - different types of mics - mixers demystified - how to use EQ to improve the sound of your voice - what is compression and why you need it ...etc.

I could totally go for this. I'm getting a mixer and would love to know how to utilize it fully as I have a basic knowledge of what to do.

Mixer: Behringer XENYX502 5-Channel Mixer

I currently own Senn 650, 6xx and 800s as well as Beyerdynamic DT 770/880/990 and T1 2nd gen.

For gaming I will swap between the 990 and 6xx depending if I'm upstairs or downstairs as they are the ones I have on the desk. Both rigs are using Yamaha MG10XU mixer and schiit Jotunheim amps

I personally prefer the comfort of the DT990 but the soundstage/positional audio for gaming is superior on the 6xx.

Mackie makes a good 8 channel mixer for $75 with phantom power. They are a long time maker of mixers and this one has a ton of input and output options as well. The Behringer Xenyx 802 is similar in functions and layout for about $60. I've used a lot of Behringer stuff with no issues in the past.

Also, f you haven't checked them out, MXR makes some great sounding condenser mics that are inexpensive. I bought one new, and found two more on Craigslist.

Edit: If you need the mixer to go into your computer, Behringer sells a DAC for $30 (or cheaper used) and the tape out from the mixer goes into that, and then the digital out from the DAC goes to the usb on the computer.

You need a DAC (and I would recommend a MIDI to USB interface so that he can plug in a midi keyboard)
and a pretty inexpensive MIDI interface as well as a small mixer to balance his inputs:
https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-802-Premium-8-Input-Preamps/dp/B000J5XS3C/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1479741584&sr=1-3&keywords=mixer

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MTrack2x2M

If he plan to do all music via software only, then all he needs is a DAC for his monitors.

I own this mixer and I won't say it's great, but if you need an inexpensive way to unify the audio output of various devices this will do that for sure. I mean obviously there are better mixers out there but to give you a place to start there's one.

You will also want a sequencer of some sort, I don't have any recommendations on hardware for that, I am still figuring that part out, I use Ableton for now.

In that case you'll need an audio interface like the Behringer Xenyx 802, for example. If you want the output to be through USB then make sure the interface you go with has one.

And that microphone stand is basically as cheap as they get, you're gonna have a hard time finding something cheaper. Remember, you get what you pay for.

Since it's a condenser mic that means it's gonna pick up background noise fairly easy so you're gonna want a stand that gets the microphone close to your face so that you can bring the sensitivity down.

Is your co-host local? If so

• Behringer Q1202 USB Mixer - $100 (Amazon)
  
  
• Behringer XM8500 X2 - $20ea (Amazon)
  
  
• Good XLR cables - I've been told you should be spending around $15 per cable, but buy what's your comfortable with.
  
  If they aren't local? I know blue makes some higher tier USB mics.

that is quite an expensive thing to start with. I'll cut that price tag in half and still show you something way more than I'm sure you will need...


https://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-MG10XU-10-Input-Stereo-Effects/dp/B00IBIVL42/ref=sr_1_3?hvadid=178358016906&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9031285&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=4127858809264975478&hvtargid=kwd-66694691191&keywords=yamaha+mg10xu&qid=1556581041&s=gateway&sr=8-3


I use the Yamaha MG10XU for my stream, it's an amazing mixer for it's price, it has some built in effects you can apply to channels if wanted, supports up to 4 XLR mics and then some. It doesn't necessarily have the Fader sliders you mention, but it has a volume nob which has the same function. So as long as you are cool with twisting as opposed to sliding, BAM.

Here is our usb mixer setup. We run XLR mics (60 bucks for a 3 pack).

Link: BEHRINGER, 12 Mixer - Powered, Black (Q1202USB) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CTKI45M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_CMTXDb9TG5MT6

Like I said above, it's usb and we record using Audacity.

Here is an example of us with a blue snowball:

https://youtu.be/ksLciGbLDfY

Here is an example with the xlr mic and mixer:

https://youtu.be/ksBsOAKj3U8

The best thing...we can tune it to a particular vocal range. Don (guy on the left) has deeper tones, while Beau (guy on the right) needed emphasis on the mid range.

We just export to mp3 when we are done recording. It's been a game changer for us.