Need some help buying a microphone

I need a decent microphone that connects to my computer. Mostly for quality voice recording and real-time communication. Not going to record instruments, but need those lower frequencies and good signal-to-noise ratio.

I’m torn between trying a relatively cheap no-name USB microphone, going for a brand USB microphone or just buying a low-range professional XLR mic plus an audio interface. Or maybe buying dynamic XLR and plugging it into computer sound card directly?

It seems USB microphones can be pretty good and relatively cheap, but they’re not something I would be able to use with other equipment I have (like recorders, synthesizers, my camera).

Technically, my Tascam recorders can serve as pretty good microphones, but they require separate power. I could plug DR-05 into USB for power and then plug it into my sound card like in for recording, but that seems like a huge hassle.

Damn, too many options.

I guess I have some specific questions.

  1. Does anyone have any experiences or opinions on plugging “professional” dynamic mics directly into computer’s integrated sound card? Are AD converters in those things good enough to get good quality? Or do you really need a preamp?

  2. If I go with USB, what’s the reasonable price to pay for quality voice recording? I’m eying Audio-Technica AT2020USB+ and M-Audio Uber Mic. Overkill or not? Not sure I can trust consumer brands like Blue or Samson.

Hey,
it’s been decades that I tried doing anything with internal sound cards. I would certainly suggest to go with another option. Shielding has always been a problem and I believe restrictions in component size as well.
Usually I’d suggest going with an external audio interface and a “regular” XLR mic, but the main point for that is flexibility and expandability later on. If you’re 100% sure you’re only going to use it to record voice into your computer, USB might be the better option.
Another thing to consider: In my experience, the higher you go in mic quality, the more important other factors become, especially the room you’re recording in. I have a somewhat treated room and a voiceover booth and my most high end mics I can only use in the booth because of the room reverb. For voice recordings I’m actually going with a relatively cheap lavalier mic (~30$), adding some EQ and iZotope RX dialog denoise in post.
Sound-wise it’s a good compromise and relatively low hassle.
I use the Zoom H6 and I love it for the flexibility it offers. I actually bought it because it could replace 3 or 4 other pieces of gear for me. In your case it could be used as an USB mic or as an external audio interface for other mics.
Well I guess I have raised more questions than I answered. It’s just a very complex subject. I can recommend watching some videos on the youtube channel “Booth Junkie”. He does a lot of comparisons and I think he might have done some USB mic vs. XLR mic.
Cheers
Gero

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Appreciate the reply. Yeah, I figured integrated sound cards are not great for recording, since no one would shell out a few hundred dollars for a sound interface otherwise.

I’ve watched some reviews. Conclusions so far: audio interfaces matter, USB microphones aren’t very good on average and consumer brands like Samson and Blue are mostly trash. I guess this shouldn’t have surprised me, but consumer electronics has gotten so much cheaper and better in the last couple decades that I’ve forgotten some professional equipment still takes expensive materials and sophisticated manufacturing to make well.

Zoom H6 is a nice thought, but I already have couple recorders and it’s a bit too high-end for my needs. You’re right, though, if I went with something that can work as a microphone, audio interface and a multi-track recorder, I would probably save money in the long run without compromising on the quality. Those recorders are surprisingly good at everything they do.

Hah. Apparently, my Senheiser e835 I bought zillion years ago still works. I thought it broke, but that was just a crappy cable. Sounds pretty decent. I guess there is no point in buying something fancier. Just need an audio interface and something to mount it. I haven’t ever used it with my audio equipment, so might as well make it a semi-permanent computer mic.

Fun fact: you can record your voice through headphones. I knew that, but never tried it. Did it on accident right now by plugging stuff into the wrong slot. My HD 238’s actually sound pretty damn neat. They are open-ear and have great low-frequency response, apparently. Noisy, though. AT-150’s sound tinny. Good to keep in mind if you ever need an emergency mic.

(The way it works is your voice excites the diaphragm of the speaker and it induces current by interacting with the magnet. Wouldn’t try doing the opposite and plugging a microphone in the headphone socket, though. It will probably kill it. Hm, not sure what happens if you do this with powered speakers. Not going to try.)

So, uh, what are some good cheap audio interfaces?

Edit: Most of those interfaces have tons of negative reviews complaining about driver issues in Windows. Leaning towards PreSonus Audiobox USB 96 now. It has the least amount of driver complaints, it’s class-compliant and it has midi ports. I can even buy it in a nearby store.

Great about the Sennheiser! I knew about the “reverse exciting” thing and a buddy of mine actually build a whole mic kit for his drums just using speakers he got for free. Typically the audio qualities work the same both ways so treble heavy speakers work good for cymbals and the snare, subwoofers work good for the bass drum etc.

I’ve had the Presonus thingie, it was decent, but that was a long time ago. No experience with Windows though. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 also gets mentioned a lot. I also like the Zoom U-22 especially considering it is battery powered and can work on the go easily. With the dynamic E835 you could try adding a “lifter” later on if you need more gain and/or less noise. I would go for the FetHead but there’s also the CloudLifter CL-1.

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Bought the Presonus in the local store. Had some issues making Windows recognize it. Tried different USB cables, reinstalling the driver and so on. Turns out it doesn’t work with my front USB panel and needs to be plugged directly into the motherboard USB. Thank god someone on Sonus support website mentioned this can be an issues. (I’ve had similar issues with other hardware before, but somehow I didn’t think of it now.)

I love their design, but they have dozens of reviews complaining about Windows driver issues.

Yeah, it seems very quiet. I have to crank up input gain to ~98% to get decent volume, and even then I have to place the mic right in front of my mouth. One the positive side, this means it’s good at ignoring background noise. On the negative, it means using it as an “everyday” mic would be rather annoying.

I guess that’s why it’s considered a “stage” microphone. I had no idea what I was doing back when I bought it. Volume issues aside, it sounds good, though.

I’m not sure it’s better to buy a $74 preamp like FetHead instead of just buying a used condenser mic for the same price or less. There seem to be a lot of them on Ebay. E835