5 ms·
> I think a lot of people get wrapped around the axle of having the "right" $500 microphone whereas there are a ton of decent USB mics under $100 There are dim
by hctaw 5y ago
> I think a lot of people get wrapped around the axle of having the "right" $500 microphone whereas there are a ton of decent USB mics under $100
There are diminishing returns for sure. But something worth considering is anything priced over $200 is likely closer to "pro" than "sumer' and is priced accordingly. You don't need an SM7 if you're not making money with it... and it's priced for those folks.
It's actually remarkable how much better all-in-one USB mics have gotten in the last 5-ish years since everyone began streaming - a Blue Yeti has an integrated ADC/preamp, its own stand, and comes with a cable. A SM58 ($100) will require an XLR cable ($10-15), audio interface ($50-100), and mic stand ($10-20) to have the same experience. Granted, that 58 will outlive you and you can mic anything with it anywhere, the cable will probably last a long time and can be repaired by hand, and the cheapest USB audio interfaces have lower noise and better preamps than any USB mic. So you get what you pay for.
- ghaff 5y agoI usually use a Blue Snowball although I also have Behringer XLR mics that plug into my mixer for specific purposes (mostly recording podcasts whether remote or in-person).
- hctaw 5y agoI know they've made great strides but "Behringer" is a bigger indicator of quality than XLR or USB in that sentence. Blue at least has been making good mics for their entire existence (I use a Snowball too, it's great for my day to day calls). They've managed to stay pretty good since the Logitech acquisition, and prices have come down with scale.
- ghaff 5y agoI don't know. I don't exactly have a "radio voice" and my Behringer mics seem to work fine--together with a mixer that is way higher-end than the mics in general. Again, for most people, there's a huge leap from built into laptop to just about anything else.
- kps 5y ago> You don't need an SM7 if you're not making money with it... Or maybe not at all. Someone actually measured one against an SM57: http://www.3daudioinc.com/3db/showthread.php?17046-SM57-vs-SM7-listening-tests&p=180046#post180046 http://www.3daudioinc.com/3db/showthread.php?17046-SM57-vs-S...
- hctaw 5y agoThe results are not horribly surprising, the SM7B has the same capsule as the Beta 57 which is awfully similar to the 57/58.But notice there's a 10-15dB boost below 80Hz on the SM7. They also didn't analyze the off axis response or proximity effect - the vents on the enclosure impact both drastically. Don't look at a frequency response chart like that for insight. Anyone who has recorded a bass cab or kick drum with an SM7B would look at you sideways if you tried to use a 58 as a replacement unless you were really in a pinch.
- formerly_proven 5y agoArguably SM7Bs are prominently placed in videos / video podcasts because "pros use SM7Bs" and therefore displaying that you are using SM7Bs for all speakers shows what a pro you are. Not because a 50 year old dynamic mic design is actually The Literal Best Thing Ever For Human Voices.
- slantyyz 5y agoI have a Shure MV7 USB/XLR microphone, and while pricey, I like it a lot, as it's very easy to tune how you sound using the ShurePlus Motiv software. It also has a headphone jack that you can use for monitoring. Unfortunately the USB connection on the microphone is micro-usb, which is pretty sad for a microphone that was released in 2020. It also doesn't come with a stand.