Microphone for streaming recommendation
August 30, 2020 1:38 PM Subscribe
I’m looking for a decent sounding microphone for streaming (speaking/vocal only). However, I’d prefer to not have the microphone blocking my face or even on screen, so it needs to be about 6-8 inches away from my face on a boom stand or desktop below the camera. What kind of microphone do I need?
The answer seems to be a condenser mic like the Audiotechnica AT2020, but from the reviews I’ve seen (example) the audio drops off once you move away from the mic. Or can that be overcome by boosting gain? Will that cause distortion or loss of sound quality?
Would a lavaliere mic be a better option?
My setup right now is a Behringer Q502USB audio interface (has phantom power) and a Shure PG 48 (dynamic mic). The audio quality is fine for me, but only when I am speaking close to the mic.
I’d prefer to spend less than $100 (used is ok).
The answer seems to be a condenser mic like the Audiotechnica AT2020, but from the reviews I’ve seen (example) the audio drops off once you move away from the mic. Or can that be overcome by boosting gain? Will that cause distortion or loss of sound quality?
Would a lavaliere mic be a better option?
My setup right now is a Behringer Q502USB audio interface (has phantom power) and a Shure PG 48 (dynamic mic). The audio quality is fine for me, but only when I am speaking close to the mic.
I’d prefer to spend less than $100 (used is ok).
Lavalier mics are more discreet and you won't have the distance issue but the audio quality will not be as good/pleasant to listen to than with a condenser mic.
posted by SageLeVoid at 4:34 PM on August 30, 2020
posted by SageLeVoid at 4:34 PM on August 30, 2020
I have a Shure SM-7B on an arm. I've been able to get reasonable audio quality for video conferencing with two people sitting side-by-side, and the mic centered between us, just out of frame below. I just flex the arm around 'til it's set up that way -- you can sometimes see the top of the arm in the shot but for my use case (my wife and I playing games with friends) it doesn't matter. You could probably get the same result with the mic on a stand. Not a cheap solution, though!
posted by Alterscape at 5:16 PM on August 30, 2020
posted by Alterscape at 5:16 PM on August 30, 2020
the audio drops off once you move away from the mic. Or can that be overcome by boosting gain? Will that cause distortion or loss of sound quality
That's just physics and no mic can break the laws of physics. Any reasonable mic/preamp combo will be capable of being boosted to the level you need. The trade-off will be an increased boost of background noise as well.
The AT2020 is a fine mic for its price point. The cheaper mics can sound as good or better but because of quality control issues can also sound worse or be less reliable. They can also have some really wacky pickup patterns which can increase the background noise.
If you want to stretch a little bit on budget, I love the Sennheiser E865 for pretty cheap mics. It's got a tighter pattern than the AT2020 which will help reject some background noise and it's designed as a stage mic so it has a pretty good built in wind filter.
My experience with cheap lavaliers has not been great but I've got limited experience with the inexpensive ones. I do have one that was around $60 and it's useable but way less clear than the above mentioned Sennheiser or the more expensive Shure, Sony, and Sennheiser lavs that I have a lot of experience with.
posted by Candleman at 5:55 PM on August 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
That's just physics and no mic can break the laws of physics. Any reasonable mic/preamp combo will be capable of being boosted to the level you need. The trade-off will be an increased boost of background noise as well.
The AT2020 is a fine mic for its price point. The cheaper mics can sound as good or better but because of quality control issues can also sound worse or be less reliable. They can also have some really wacky pickup patterns which can increase the background noise.
If you want to stretch a little bit on budget, I love the Sennheiser E865 for pretty cheap mics. It's got a tighter pattern than the AT2020 which will help reject some background noise and it's designed as a stage mic so it has a pretty good built in wind filter.
My experience with cheap lavaliers has not been great but I've got limited experience with the inexpensive ones. I do have one that was around $60 and it's useable but way less clear than the above mentioned Sennheiser or the more expensive Shure, Sony, and Sennheiser lavs that I have a lot of experience with.
posted by Candleman at 5:55 PM on August 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
no mic can break the laws of physics
Occasionally they do do some clever engineering that makes it look like they do - the famous ElectroVoice RE-20 avoids proximity effect through some very clever engineering. But sound decreasing with distance isn't something that can be worked around.
posted by Candleman at 5:58 PM on August 30, 2020
Occasionally they do do some clever engineering that makes it look like they do - the famous ElectroVoice RE-20 avoids proximity effect through some very clever engineering. But sound decreasing with distance isn't something that can be worked around.
posted by Candleman at 5:58 PM on August 30, 2020
Here are your obvious options:
Lavalier -- Good at rejecting room noise and relatively easy to use. May pick up rubbing noises from clothing if mounted carelessly or if subject is especially hyper. Can be pressed into double service micing some instruments in a pinch.
Shotgun -- Can get good sound from out of shot. Noise rejection second to none. Down-side is you have to stay in the very specific sweet spot, or have a person dedicated to running boom.
Condenser -- Best vocal sound bar none. Down-side: will pick up every little ambient noise. Limited dynamic range -- you can't mic drums with one. You need a separate pop filter with these, as any trace of moisture will heck them up.
Dynamic -- Good all-rounder. Tends to reject room noise well. Cost effective and flexible. Not as nuanced for vocals as a large-diaphragm condenser.
posted by sourcequench at 7:02 PM on August 30, 2020
Lavalier -- Good at rejecting room noise and relatively easy to use. May pick up rubbing noises from clothing if mounted carelessly or if subject is especially hyper. Can be pressed into double service micing some instruments in a pinch.
Shotgun -- Can get good sound from out of shot. Noise rejection second to none. Down-side is you have to stay in the very specific sweet spot, or have a person dedicated to running boom.
Condenser -- Best vocal sound bar none. Down-side: will pick up every little ambient noise. Limited dynamic range -- you can't mic drums with one. You need a separate pop filter with these, as any trace of moisture will heck them up.
Dynamic -- Good all-rounder. Tends to reject room noise well. Cost effective and flexible. Not as nuanced for vocals as a large-diaphragm condenser.
posted by sourcequench at 7:02 PM on August 30, 2020
Whether the mic is visible/blocking your face will depend on where your camera is. I have a mic on a desktop stand that comes up quite high -- the top of the mic is 18" above the desk, and the top of my head is maybe 10" taller than that -- but because my webcam is at the top of my monitor, the mic appears much lower when I'm recording or streaming.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 8:02 PM on August 30, 2020
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 8:02 PM on August 30, 2020
P.S. My mic is dynamic -- one of these, which I bought years ago as much for the aesthetics as the performance. A good dynamic option that's still in production is the trusty Shure SM58.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 8:06 PM on August 30, 2020
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 8:06 PM on August 30, 2020
the audio quality will not be as good/pleasant to listen to than with a condenser mic.
FWIW most if not all lavalier mics are in fact condenser/capacitor mics.
And such a lapel mic is what I would go with in your situation, probably one of the Audio Technicas. I can vouch for the 831b, which is a bit above your price range, but you could probably get a used pro 70 for $100.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:13 PM on August 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
FWIW most if not all lavalier mics are in fact condenser/capacitor mics.
And such a lapel mic is what I would go with in your situation, probably one of the Audio Technicas. I can vouch for the 831b, which is a bit above your price range, but you could probably get a used pro 70 for $100.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:13 PM on August 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Just to clarify a few of the terms being used.
Condenser and dynamic mics are different technologies for transducing sound. A lavalier mic can be either thought they're very often condensers. Both dynamic and condenser mics can be used for the application you're describing - two of the iconic radio announcer mics, the Shure SM-7/7B and the EV RE-20, are dynamic. That said, condensers do have more detail, particularly to transients. They have more dynamic range than dynamics, though they may require padding to avoid clipping on close, loud sources like a drum.
A shotgun mic is ill suited for this purpose - they have weird frequency responses in parts of the pattern and have giant lobes to the back and sides. They're a necessary evil for location shoots and a few specialized things but not recommended for something like streaming. If one wants a tight pattern for that, hypercardiod or supercardiod are generally what's recommended.
Most lav mics are omnidirectional, so they'll pick up sound from all around. This is somewhat mitigated by being close the the speaker's mouth so it doesn't pick up as much background noise as something further from the speaker, but for eliminating background noise, you still may be significantly better off with a directional mic pointed at the mouth.
posted by Candleman at 8:30 PM on August 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
Condenser and dynamic mics are different technologies for transducing sound. A lavalier mic can be either thought they're very often condensers. Both dynamic and condenser mics can be used for the application you're describing - two of the iconic radio announcer mics, the Shure SM-7/7B and the EV RE-20, are dynamic. That said, condensers do have more detail, particularly to transients. They have more dynamic range than dynamics, though they may require padding to avoid clipping on close, loud sources like a drum.
A shotgun mic is ill suited for this purpose - they have weird frequency responses in parts of the pattern and have giant lobes to the back and sides. They're a necessary evil for location shoots and a few specialized things but not recommended for something like streaming. If one wants a tight pattern for that, hypercardiod or supercardiod are generally what's recommended.
Most lav mics are omnidirectional, so they'll pick up sound from all around. This is somewhat mitigated by being close the the speaker's mouth so it doesn't pick up as much background noise as something further from the speaker, but for eliminating background noise, you still may be significantly better off with a directional mic pointed at the mouth.
posted by Candleman at 8:30 PM on August 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
If your budget were bigger and you didn't mind the mic coming into the shot, I'd definitely be recommending one of the classic large-diaphragm dynamic mics Candleman mentions above - I have and love both of those microphones, but they are a. quite large; b. significantly out of stated budget; and c. would likely require you to upgrade your interface, because both are super gain greedy.
For the best rejection in-budget, if you can find a mic placement that gets it out of the shot, an SM57 with a pop filter would be a significant upgrade from your budget PG 48, and holds its resale value more-or-less in perpetuity.
Overall, I'd still see if you can test an AT Pro 70.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:55 AM on August 31, 2020
For the best rejection in-budget, if you can find a mic placement that gets it out of the shot, an SM57 with a pop filter would be a significant upgrade from your budget PG 48, and holds its resale value more-or-less in perpetuity.
Overall, I'd still see if you can test an AT Pro 70.
posted by aspersioncast at 8:55 AM on August 31, 2020
Best answer: To answer your first question -- the AT2020 (or any other large diaphragm condenser) will sound significantly better if it's closer to your mouth, although you can absolutely get away with 18" or so and still get a big, close sound.
With a dynamic microphone, the proximity effect will be even more important, so if your goal is to get it out of your face, a large diaphragm condenser will work better.
You might try using "podcast microphone" as your search term...that's a huge market now, and the goals are pretty much exactly your goals.
posted by nosila at 10:09 AM on August 31, 2020
With a dynamic microphone, the proximity effect will be even more important, so if your goal is to get it out of your face, a large diaphragm condenser will work better.
You might try using "podcast microphone" as your search term...that's a huge market now, and the goals are pretty much exactly your goals.
posted by nosila at 10:09 AM on August 31, 2020
It's interesting that Wirecutter's testers for podcast/usb mics didn't like the AT2020 (a great inexpensive condenser mic!) compared to Blue Yeti or other models? I think maybe the AT2020 is much better for music/home recording, but maybe not as flexible/flattering for just a quick pod set-up?
For an alternative to the Shure SM58 (great mic) I really like the Senn E865 that Candleman mentioned, it's also inexpensive and has a nice crisp sound. I dig it.
You may want to consider a headset mic. I don't have any personal recommendations for a model.
posted by ovvl at 2:54 PM on August 31, 2020
For an alternative to the Shure SM58 (great mic) I really like the Senn E865 that Candleman mentioned, it's also inexpensive and has a nice crisp sound. I dig it.
You may want to consider a headset mic. I don't have any personal recommendations for a model.
posted by ovvl at 2:54 PM on August 31, 2020
Response by poster: I ended up getting a Fifine K678 (Blue Yeti clone) which is working so far. I'm debating whether to try the Yeti to see if the sound quality is better and worth the additional cost. I'm still not completely sure the difference between these "podcast microphones" and other condenser mics, but according to the instructions they are designed to be used on a desktop 6"-8" away. Thanks everyone.
posted by roaring beast at 12:13 PM on September 8, 2020
posted by roaring beast at 12:13 PM on September 8, 2020
I believe the difference is that most podcast mics include a USB connection so you don't have to have an external audio interface. Other than that, they're about the same.
posted by nosila at 2:03 PM on September 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by nosila at 2:03 PM on September 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
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