Ultimate Podcast Microphone Shootout recording hacks. Two weeks ago I published my claim that podcasting is just another form of broadcasting, and therefore anyone looking for a great podcasting mic should consider first the greatest radio microphones of all time. Then I used all those great radio microphones to record a short narration, and published the unlabeled sound clips. My idea was that you, the readers, would choose which mic is best for me. Were ready to share the results. But theres more, much much morePodcast microphone lineup. Audio samples narration, sibilance, plosives, proximity. Off axis rejection tests. Survey results. Crowning the winners. Related Recording. Hacks Editors Choice Podcasting Gear. Dynamic Podcast Microphones. The most popular microphones used in broadcast today, the grandaddy dynamics without which any such shootout would be fatally flawed, are the Electro Voice RE 2. Sennheiser MD 4. The latter is considered a major boon, as with cellular support the new Apple Watch will not need a phone in order to pull off crucial smartwatch tasks like texts. Apogee products are Awardwinning USB, Thunderbolt and Pro Tools audio interfaces made for recording music on iPad, iPhone and Mac. Shure SM7. B. The Electro Voice RE2. It is praised for its unhyped sound, controlled proximity effect, and its uncolored off axis response. Watch What Happens In Vegas Mediafire on this page. The Shure SM7. B is a surprisingly versatile microphone. From broadcast to voiceover to sung vocals, kick drum to snare to guitar cab, you really cant go wrong with this mic. Its usable everywhere, and great in most of those places. The Sennheiser MD 4. II is another studio standard, showing up on drums, cabs, and brass, and of course throughout the broadcast industry. To these three, I added four newer dynamics that promise to give the old guard a good fight for the title The beyerdynamic M 9. EQ positions, making it potentially useful for numerous instrument and voice applications. Denver police are investigating an incident involving cheerleaders at East High School being forced to participate in painful and possibly abusive practice routines. You are looking at Apples next iPhone. It was found lost in a bar in Redwood City, camouflaged to look like an iPhone 3GS. We got it. We disassembled it. Its. Catch up on all the latest TV news, photos, videos, and opinion. The M9. 9 was the only mic of the bunch to include a shockmount. The Heil PR 4. 0 is a cardioid dynamic known for its extended frequency response and excellent rear rejection. It has won many fans in the broadcast industry, notably including Leo Laporte. The Electro Voice RE3. NAMM show. Although presented more as an instrument mic, its obvious design debt to the RE 2. It has two passive EQ circuits that were carefully contoured through 1. Watch Hardware Online Mic' title='Watch Hardware Online Mic' />The mics kick drum mode, which we termed scoop for the shape of the icon on the EQ switch, introduces a broad low mid cut and 3d. B more presence around 3k. Hz. These two changes dramatically affect the tone of the mic, especially on instruments but more on that next week. The Neumann BCM 7. Neumann. What Neumann makes dynamic microphones Like the M 9. I/41PMh6v7WrL._SL500_AC_SS350_.jpg' alt='Watch Hardware Online Mic' title='Watch Hardware Online Mic' />Finally, I rounded out the test with a few mics from my own locker. These are not necessarily broadcast mics, but I included them all for a reason. The Shure SM5. 7 needs no introduction its a Swiss Army mic assuming the Swiss Army ever needed to close mic drums, guitar cabs, cajon, or just about anything else. Watch Viceroy`S House Megavideo'>Watch Viceroy`S House Megavideo. To those who say the SM5. Id point you at any Presidential inauguration from the past 4. Thats not a pair of U4. Also, consider the cost. The SM5. 7 can be had for about 7. If the SM5. 7 makes a great podcasting mic, every podcaster on a budget would want to know. The Electro Voice 6. A has a history in broadcasting, although more in the field than the studio. Its an omni mic, which means it is more forgiving of sounds mouths that move off axis. Also it means the mic has less bass boost proximity effect for close sources, which works to the recordists advantage for extreme close miking applications. These mics are also inexpensive, about 9. The last mic in the list is a cult mic, the beyerdynamic M3. I did not expect this mic to perform well due to its generally dark sound. But it provided some entertaining sonic contrast to the other mics in the lineup. Why only dynamics Dynamic microphones tend to be less sensitive than condensers, so they hear mostly whats in front of the mic rather than whatever is going on in the next room. For recordings made in non optimal spaces like, say, 9. Further, all the great radio microphones are dynamics. Does this mean condensers cant be used for podcasts Of course not. Any mic can be used for anything. Just be careful to avoid anything with a crispy, sibilant, hyped high frequency response. Had I included condenser mics, my first picks for the lineup would have been the Charter. Oak S7. 00, the Kel HM 2. D, and the Audio Technica AT4. But I digress. Signal Path. Dynamic microphones tend to have low output. Advertised sensitivities for the microphones in this test range from 1. VPa as compared to condensers, which typically range from 1. VPa. Because a single speaking voice is relatively quiet, clean preamp gain is required to get the most out of any of these mics. As noted in the survey, I used a Cloudlifter CL 1 to boost the output of all these mics by about 2. B, allowing me to use moderate gain on my BLA Digi 0. See updated section on inexpensive USB preamps that work well with these dynamic mics. Note to listen to these blind, go back to the survey. Audio Samples. There are three audio tracks for most mics. Drake Et Josh Season 4 Episode 16'>Drake Et Josh Season 4 Episode 16. The first is the narration from the survey recorded at 3 inches. The second is a sibilance and plosive test recorded at 3 inches. The third is a test of proximity effect. All these were RMS gain matched across mics in PT. Download 2. 4 bit WAVs here narration, sibilance, proximityWhy do some mics appear twice I started with every mic in its flattest EQ position. This worked well for the RE2. MD4. 21, but not for the M9. The mics that seemed to benefit from alternative EQ settings were tested a second time in the alternate configuration. The third audio sample for each mic is revealing. Not only does this demonstrate each mics degree of proximity effect, it also helps identify each mics sweet spot. Compare the two M9. With flat EQ, the M9. In PE mode, the mic sounds great at 2 inches. That is in fact what the PE switch is for counteracting proximity effect for close miked sources. Comparing Frequency Responses. Pictured at right is an overlay of the frequency graphs for the brightest and darkest mics in this test the PR 4. M3. 80. Check out the 1. B difference from 5k. Hz1. 2k. Hz The Mic Database allows you to compare any two mics this way just click the frequency graph on any mic profile page to get started. RearSide Rejection. A mics rear rejection is its ability to attenuate sounds coming from behind the microphone. On stage, this is critical for preventing feedback from the wedge monitors at the singers feet. In a studio, rear rejection can reduce ugly bleed from other instruments in the room. In a bedroom podcast studio, microphones with good off axis rejection can cut out room reflections from walls, windows, flatscreen displays that would otherwise muddy the sound of the recording. Cardioid microphones are least sensitive at 1. Hypercardioid microphones have two so called null points, at 1. But the degree of attentuation varies by microphone model. Furthermore, few directional microphones are uniformly directional across the frequency spectrum for example, many Cardioid mics become nearly omnidirectional at low frequencies. I tested all these mics ability to attenuate off axis sounds. I used a sample of pink noise, and I recorded the mics at 0, 9. The test was conducted outdoors to eliminate standing waves and other room reflections. Gain was matched at 0 to within 0. B across mics the numbers in the table below represent the difference in signal level in d. B between 0 and whatever angle is being reported. Mic. Pattern. 901. M 9. 9Hypercardioid 1. B 1. 1. 5 d. B 7. BElectro Voice RE 2. Cardioid 6. 1 d. B 1. BElectro Voice RE 3. Cardioid 6. 6 d. B 1. B 1. BHeil PR 4. 0Cardioid 9. B 1. 4. 2 d. B 1. BNeumann BCM 7. 05. Hypercardioid 9. B 1. B 7. BSennheiser MD 4. IICardioid 7 d. B 1. B 1. 3. 3 d. BShure SM5. Cardioid 7. 1 d. B 1. BShure SM7. BCardioid 6. B 1. 9. 1 d. BHow is this information usefulApogee Products Audio Interfaces for i. Pad and Mac Apogee Electronics. For nearly three decades, Apogee products and technologies have setthe standard for audio recording. Countless GRAMMY and OSCAR winning performances by the worlds most successful artists have been captured with Apogee gear. From personal recording interfaces for i. Phone and i. Pad to multi channel Mac based systems for studios and live venues, all Apogee products are designed by the same team in Santa Monica California and made in the U.