- In this video, we're gonna show you
the three best microphones for podcasting, broadcasting
and vocal recording.
We're not making a video about the three least expensive,
the three most popular,
or the three newest podcast microphones.
We're gonna talk about the three best microphones,
the three no-brainer decisions that you can decide between
to make sure that you're getting an awesome microphone,
that's a good value that will last you between
10 and 15 years of consistent high quality recordings
for your podcast.
Now, of course, if you are looking to record a podcast,
there are hundreds, there might even be
a thousand different microphones out there
that can give you a high quality consistent recording.
What we're doing in this video is we're gonna show
how we narrow down those thousand or hundreds,
or however many microphones are out there,
down to these three microphones for recommendation.
What criteria do we use?
What features do we look for specifically
in a podcast microphone,
then we're gonna show you the three that we recommend
and explain why and let you listen to them,
so you can make up the decision for yourself
as to what the best podcast microphone for you is.
Now, first and foremost,
price is always the deciding factor
when you're making a big purchase.
For us, we would never feel comfortable
recommending a microphone to you
that's worth less than a hundred dollars.
There's just not enough quality there
for me to say with a straight face
that this will last you for the next 10 or 15 years
with a good high quality recording.
And you're never gonna want to upgrade that microphone.
Now on the high end,
over a thousand bucks is completely prohibitive.
Anywhere between a hundred bucks and 500 bucks,
you can get some really good options for your podcasts.
Next, we're only gonna recommend microphones
that have an XLR output out the back.
I don't think it makes a whole lot of sense
for us to recommend a microphone that has a USB output
for somebody who's really interested in podcasting
for the next 10 years.
I think a USB microphone here is really reasonable,
if you're committed to only doing a one person podcast
for that duration, you can make a USB microphone work.
But if you're ever wanting to do a group podcast
or anything, if you're wanting to integrate
with an audio interface or an audio mixer
or any type of broadcast style equipment,
you're going to need an XLR microphone.
So our recommendations in this video
are all XLR microphones, they all have an XLR output.
Next, in terms of plosive protection,
we're only gonna require microphones
that have a foam wind screen like this one.
We would never recommend a microphone for podcasting
that has a large external pop filter.
A large external pop filter like this is unwieldy,
it's not camera friendly, it's ugly, it's distracting,
it's not conversational,
you can't really have a conversation with somebody
with this large windscreen right in front of your face.
I don't find them comfortable to use
for long periods of time,
so most of the microphones that we use
will have this foam kind of slip over wind screen.
I think it's a lot more suitable for a podcast
or broadcast type environment.
Next, in terms of orientation of the microphone,
we prefer end address microphones,
where you speak into the smallest end of the microphone.
For side address microphones, I do find them bulky
and not very conversational for the same reason
of the big pop filter that we just talked about.
The biggest part of the microphone is facing your face,
and it can be distracting, it's not as camera friendly,
it's not as conversational.
All of our favorite microphones are end address microphones
where you speak in the smallest part of the microphone.
Next, all the recommendations that we have
are more broadcast style like the microphone here
and they're not a handheld microphone like this one here.
A broadcast style is generally heavier,
generally yolk based.
It's a lot more comfortable to mount on various stands
and boom arms.
A handheld microphone, in my opinion,
really belongs on the stage.
Now I do know that the Shure SM58,
right here I have the Beta 58,
was designed as a studio broadcast microphone.
The SM stands for studio microphone.
That being said,
microphones have evolved a long way since the SM58.
And I think a more broadcast oriented or styled microphone,
both from a looks perspective and functionality
and sound quality perspective is a better fit
than a handheld microphone.
We also recommend that use a dynamic microphone
for your podcast recording.
A dynamic microphone is much more suited
for rejecting background noise
and really focusing on the frequencies that are important
for voice recording and voice reproduction.
A condenser microphone can be really high quality,
can be very clean, very articulate, but all those things
that are good about a condenser microphone
can also add to distraction.
You can pick up background fan noise a lot easier
with a condenser microphone.
Mouse clicks and pops, shuffling, and rustling.
All those types of sounds, keyboards, drinks,
all of that will get picked up much more easily
with a condenser microphone than with a dynamic microphone.
Well, in my opinion, a dynamic microphone
always does a better job of eliminating
some of those distracting frequencies
and really focuses on the core voice and intelligibility
and makes for a better broadcast or podcast microphone.
Next, in terms of the pickup pattern
of the microphone that we recommend,
we always recommend using a cardioid pickup pattern.
A cardioid pickup pattern
generally just comes out the end of the microphone
and it does its best to ignore all the frequencies
on the backside of the microphone.
Again, this is important for a podcast
or broadcast style recording
because it will help eliminate clicks and taps
and paper shuffling and all the frequencies
and sound that is not coming directly
from where the microphone is pointed.
So if you point the microphone right at your mouth,
a cardioid polar pattern will pick up the frequencies
out of your mouth a lot better
while rejecting that background noise as much as possible.
Lastly, in terms of quality,
we're only recommending microphones from companies
that have a longstanding high quality reputation
for creating consistent and reliable products
that lasts for a long period of time.
Now, the first microphone that we're gonna show you
is the Shure MV7.
This is a very interesting microphone
for a couple of reasons.
Now I said before that I don't recommend USB microphones
for podcasting because of connectivity issues
and just long-term compatibility issues.
The Shure MV7 comes in two different variants.
The first variant is the one that I have here.
This is a hybrid microphone.
It's a fully capable XLR microphone.
I'm recording right now, just using the XLR cable,
but it's also a USB microphone, has a USB output.
So if you do do a lot of traveling or say,
you do a YouTube show and while you're traveling
in hotel rooms and whatever,
you need something super portable,
this is a great microphone
because you can do all of that with it,
and you don't need to carry around an audio interface
or anything like that.
But then when you do walk into more of a
group podcast environment,
you can bring this and the XLR compatibility will work well.
Now, the other variation of this microphone
is an XLR only version, that's the Shure MV7X.
So if you are only interested in XLR version,
because we generally don't recommend USB microphones
for podcasting,
then you can get that and save a couple bucks
because you're not paying for all the USB stuff
that's inside this microphone.
Now, aside from that,
this is a purpose built podcasting microphone.
It has the legendary Shure build quality.
It has a nice yoke based design,
which makes it extremely comfortable,
no matter what type of mic stand or boom arm you're using
and being on the lower price point
of all the microphones we're recommending,
I think that this thing adds a ton of value.
I do expect that the legendary Shure quality here again
will last you 10 to 15 years or more
for your podcasting or voice recording.
Now, the next microphone that we're gonna talk about
is the Shure SM7B.
Of course, no podcast or broadcast list is complete
without mentioning the Shure SM7B.
This thing is built for broadcast and podcast.
Of course, the history of this microphone goes back
way beyond before podcasting was even a thing,
but this is extremely suitable for that application as well.
Not only does it have a legendary reputation
and build quality and all of that,
it has a ton of internal shock mounting,
electronic noise rejection, it's really suitable,
it's good looking, it has a nice built-in cable management,
the build quality again,
this should easily last you 10 to 15 years.
There's a lot of these things that already have
10 to 15 years of abuse on them,
and they do work extremely well.
I could talk about this microphone for the next 20 minutes,
but all you really need to know after watching this
is that this belongs on every single list
about podcasting and broadcasting.
Next, we have the EV RE20.
This is by far my favorite microphone on this list.
The other two Shure microphones here are really good.
They're really compelling,
But the EV RE20, the best way to describe it
is it's like the Shure SM7B,
except it's just a little bit more clear.
You have a little bit more annunciation and clarity.
The Shure SM7B is known to be a little bit on the dark side
and you don't quite have that darkness with the EV RE20.
The EV RE20 also has what they call Variable-D technology,
which means that this venting down
the side of the microphone will help it sound the same,
whether or not you're really close to the microphone,
or really far away from the microphone.
It helps to get rid of some of that proximity effect
that will usually boost the lower frequencies
when you get really close to a microphone like this.
So to sum up the microphones on this list,
I believe the Shure MV7 is a really good capable microphone.
It's really cool that you can get it
with the USB functionality if you do a lot of portable type
on the road stuff, or if you're gonna and from work,
and you do a lot of video conferencing
where you might not always want to hook up
an audio interface or an audio mixer
every time you need your microphone.
Next, we have the Shure SM7B,
that does an insane job of capturing vocals.
It's built as a vocal microphone.
It has a legendary reputation for quality.
It has a high level of electronic noise rejection
and internal shock mounting.
It has a built-in cable management system.
It's probably the best looking microphone on this list.
So if looks are important to you,
you can't go wrong with the Shure SM7B.
The ergonomics, the yolk based design,
all of that make this microphone a no brainer for you.
My personal preference is the EV RE20.
It's like the Shure SM7B,
has a slightly different form factor,
but it is a little bit more clear
and a little bit more articulate, especially now
that they have the black edition of this microphone,
I'm a lot more comfortable recommending it
for video podcasts as well.
If you have any questions or comments about
either of these three microphones,
please leave a comment down in the comment section below.
Again, if you are looking for current pricing or specs
or more information,
we have some links down in the description below
where you can find current up-to-date pricing
for all three of these microphones.
And if you want to see more videos like this in the future,
please like, and subscribe.
Thank you for watching.
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