Whether you’re shooting a short film or starting a new podcast, audio quality is very important to production value. While many creators make a lot of great content with just a smartphone, you may want to take your project to the next level. The problem is that figuring out which microphone is best for you can be daunting.
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Much of the technical jargon surrounding audio isn’t important, but it can be hard to separate the fluff from the good stuff. No matter what your project, starting a YouTube channel, upgrading your podcast rig, or tracking a singer, there are a few things you should know about microphones before you go shopping.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on April 25, , to update the formatting and change some terms into more updated terminology.
Arguably, the most important step in picking a mic is figuring out exactly what you’re going to record. You can get the most expensive microphone and still not get crisp, clear audio if you’re in the wrong environment. It’s likely that if you’re reading this, you mainly only care about recording vocals or instruments. Knowing which is most important to you will help you decide which type of microphone to get.
Once you know what you’re trying to record, it’s time to determine what kind of tool you need for the job. Not all microphones are built equally; some perform better than others in certain contexts. There are two main kinds of microphones: dynamic and condenser. (There are others which we’ll get to.)
If you picture the mic that a singer or even your favorite comedian uses on stage, it’s most likely a dynamic microphone. These microphones work great in noisy environments. You can use these to record a performer on stage, if you’re interviewing someone on the street, or even a guitar or drum kick. The way dynamic mics function is relatively simple: Inside a magnetic field is a small coil of wire, which is attached to a diaphragm that’s sensitive to sound vibrations. As soundwaves move the diaphragm, the coil converts the movement into an electrical signal that can be recorded.
Dynamic mics are great for most recording environments because the magnets and coil inside are fairly durable and can take a beating without getting destroyed. Most people recommend the Shure SM58 ($99 at Amazon) as it’s a pretty tough and versatile microphone that works well whether you’re on location or recording at your desk.
If you like the idea of a dynamic mic and want something a little higher up on the spectrum, the Telefunken M80 Dynamic microphone ($249 at Amazon) is another great pick and it’s the microphone of choice for our Editor at large, Chris Thomas.
The other type of popular microphone type is a condenser mic, which works differently by using capacitor plates instead of a coil and magnets. It’s easy to go further down the technical rabbit hole, but the practical thing you need to know is that condenser mics can be much more sensitive to smaller vibrations than dynamic mics. While dynamic mics are fine with bass drums, condensers are not. You’ll want to use these if you’re trying to pick up the subtleties in a voice (e.g., when recording a podcast or a singer in a booth).
If you’re looking for a solid all-around mic to use at home for vocals or string instruments, my personal mic of choice is the Rode NT1-A ($199 at Amazon) condenser mic which does a fairly good job with almost everything.
Phantom power is required for condenser microphones.Condenser mics require an external voltage source to function, known as phantom power, and a preamp. So you’ll need something that can provide this to your mic, like an audio interface, or mic pre-amp. All it means is that whatever you plug the microphone into has the ability to send a DC voltage of +48V through the balanced cable to the mic. Usually, this is found in audio interfaces or some portable recorders like the Zoom H5.
Ribbon mics are much less common and work on a slightly different principle. Essentially, a conductive ribbon rests between two electromagnetic poles, which respond to your sound source. These mics are technically a sub-type of the dynamic mic category. Think of early crooners in the studio who probably have a ribbon mic in front.
AEA R84 Series Newer ribbon mics can handle high SPL sounds, and bidirectional ones can record from either face of the microphone.Newer ribbon mics have sturdier builds than old ones, often using stronger nanomaterials. Generally, you should still avoid placing a ribbon mic in front of a guitar amp, unless approved by the manufacturer, like the Pinnacle FAT Top ($233.75 at B&H), whose mics are designed with amps in mind. This is because of the mechanically delicate ribbon structure. Usually, these mics have a bidirectional polar pattern, which works well for recording two sources simultaneously on either face of the mic, like two people speaking.
Ribbon mics make great vocal microphones too, and were used extensively in the early days of broadcasting. If you want a different tone, try a ribbon microphone. These mics used to be prohibitively expensive, but companies like Golden Age Electronics and Studio Electronics make more accessibly priced options like Studio Electronics X1R ($229 at Amazon).
USB microphones are not only convenient and easy to use but are also typically cheaper than XLR microphones. USB mics are great for making podcasts or voiceovers.
The MV7 accepts the simultaneous use of the XLR and microUSB outputs.However, if you intend to record vocal or instrumental music, or want a higher quality sound for your podcast, go with an XLR mic. XLR mics can be pricey and require the purchase of an audio interface, but they typically produce audio of higher quality than USB microphones.
This is because, as well as the microphone capsule itself, USB microphones have a built-in analog-to-digital converter (ADC), which won’t necessarily be set up optimally for the sound level you’re putting into it, plus the whole package is generally built to meet a more accessible price point. XLR microphones, on the other hand, don’t include the ADC and will have an analog output stage that is typically balanced on pins 2 and 3 of the XLR connector to reject noise induced in the cable connecting it to the recording equipment.
Once you’ve figured out what you want to use the microphone for and in the environment you’ll use it in, the next step is to determine what you want your microphone to record. Do you want your microphone to record only what is perfectly in front of it, or if you want to pick up sound all around you?
A cardioid pickup pattern can record sound from the front and sides of the unit.These directivity charts are called polar patterns, aka recording patterns, and they’re easier to read than they look. The names for the different kinds of patterns can be intimidating, but they don’t get any more complicated. They’re all just different names for “Where do you want the microphone to record?”
One very common polar pattern is the cardioid. This one is super easy to understand as the root word the pattern gets its name from means “heart-shaped” in Latin, so these microphones pick up sound within a heart-shaped periphery. Another fairly common polar pattern is omnidirectional, which, as you may have guessed by the name, picks up sound in all directions. There are a few others, such as super-cardioid and bidirectional, but I’m willing to bet you can guess what those look like.
Frequency response refers to how well the microphone can reproduce the signals it picks up. In a perfect world, it’d be a one-to-one reproduction. The microphone will “hear” a sound and perfectly convert it into an electronic signal that’s perfectly transferred into the recorder. In reality, some vibrations get lost along the way, and some of the information never makes it to the final recording.
In the user manual, Samson provides the frequency response of both polar patterns.How well a microphone can reproduce the acoustic signal can be visualized as a frequency response graph. In simple terms, if a certain tone comes out of the mic slightly weaker than it went in, this is visualized as a slight dip in the graph. If it comes out stronger than it went in, it is visualized as a slight hump.
There are all kinds of information in frequency response charts, especially once you know which products you like or dislike and can see their charts to compare with other products. With a deeper understanding of how this affects your sound and your music, you’ll develop skills for choosing which mics best suit a sound source and how to edit it later.
You will also see the term sensitivity when looking at tech specs. This tells you what the electrical output of a microphone will be (usually in millivolts or dBV) for a given acoustic input, in Pa for Pascals, or dB(SPL), usually measured at 1kHz. The higher the number, the more sensitive the microphone is. For example, the Rode NT1-A condenser microphone has a rating of 25mV/Pa, whereas the dynamic, Telefunken M80 has a rating of 1.4mV/Pa, so the NT1-A is clearly more sensitive. This means you don’t need as much gain (amplification) from the preamp (or as much loudness from the source creating the sound) to get the more sensitive microphone to an adequate recording level.
Sensitivity provides information on how much amplification is needed so a mic can capture quiet sounds. Max SPL refers to the maximum sound pressure level (at a given frequency, usually 1kHz) the microphone can handle before it begins to distort the audio. Rarely will that SPL figure lead to a microphone breaking, though it’s possible.
To complicate it further, because max SPL figures listed are usually measured at the 1 kHz frequency, a mic can distort at higher or lower SPL depending on the design of the mic at a different frequency than 1 kHz. For instance, ribbon mics tend to distort at lower SPL readings than the max SPL specification with sources (bass drums, bass guitar) that produce lower frequencies than 1 kHz.
Knowing the ins and outs of a microphone is important if you’re serious about your craft, but knowing what everything means isn’t going to turn you into an audio engineer overnight. You need to mess up a few times before knowing exactly how each factor will affect your final product.
Proper acoustic treatment is the most important and underrated tip no one talks about. It’s arguably more important than what mic you pick up. Recording in a properly treated room will take your audio from good to great. However, the cost of good acoustic treatment adds up quickly. Singers on a budget can try placing a sound isolating shield around the mic stand. This isn’t as good as a fully treated vocal booth, but it’s better than nothing.
Any acoustic treatment is better than nothing.To keep some money in your pockets, one tried and true method, believe it or not, is a simple blanket fort, although it won’t help to clean up bass frequencies. If you’re recording your voice, you’ll be surprised how much throwing a blanket over yourself and your mic can clean up your sound quality. My favorite is to flip up my mattress to help absorb even more of the reverberation caused by ricocheting sound. In the worst case, you can try to fix what you have in post with software.
Pop filters are a great tool for improving your audio. These diffuse the pressure of the air coming from certain vocal sounds, for example, plosives (p sounds), fricatives (th sounds), and sibilants (s sounds). This helps capture a cleaner recording without annoying “popping” sounds or ear-piercing exaggerations. Typically, condenser microphones do not have built-in pop filters, so you’ll need to get one. Many (not all) dynamic mics like the Shure SM58 do have a built-in pop filter, but, you may still want to use a separate one or a foam cover that slips over the grille, depending on the application.
The Beyerdynamic M70 Pro X includes a pop filter and a shock mount.Most condenser microphones include a shock mount, which can help reduce vibrations transferred by handling or through the floor. Handheld dynamic mics generally don’t need a separate shock mount, as there’s one built in. Studio style mics, regardless of type, whether dynamic, condenser, or ribbon, should be used with a shock mount for the best possible recording.
Ever wonder why lavalier mics are always positioned right under the chin in the chest area? There’s another reason, besides being close to the mouth of the person speaking: Lavalier mics have to be small and innocuous, which doesn’t allow for much protection, so careful placement is one way of avoiding ear-popping thumps.
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A shotgun microphone is a great choice when you plan to record people on camera. You’ll usually see the person holding a shotgun mic over the heads of the actors, pointing down in a behind-the-scenes video shoot. Shotgun mics are a type of condenser microphone, so they’re usually fairly sensitive to loud noises.
If you point the microphone upwards into the person’s mouth instead of their chest, you’ll pick up everything behind the person too. Outside noise can really hamper recording quality, so you’ll want to learn more about positioning your mic and recording techniques. It’s a bit easier to edit out extra room tone when you record something inside, but you’re still adding another step.
Now that you know the important aspects of what to look for in a microphone, it’s going to be much easier to figure out which is the right one for you. Of course, USB microphones require nothing but a computer, so that’s still a good option.
Due to the increase in remote working, there’s an increased market for audio recording devices: remote workers who want to sound better over conference calls like Zoom. You may have noticed that the microphone built into your laptop sounds pretty rough. Video and voice chat apps will compress your audio data as it moves across the series of tubes that is the internet, so XLR recording mics like the ones we’ve been discussing are likely overkill. If you’re looking for something that will strike the right balance of ease of use and noticeable improvement, the USB microphones we mentioned are probably the best option. If even that is a little daunting to you, even a decent gaming headset will make a big difference.
For short cable lengths, the effect the quality of a cable has on your audio is very negligible (more likely, imperceptible). And with USB microphones, because the signal is just a stream of digital data, rather than analog information, so it really doesn’t matter so long as the cable is compatible.
Unless you opt for a USB microphone, chances are you’re going to need an audio interface, as most microphones come with an analog (XLR) connection. To record anything digitally into a computer, you’re going to need an interface that you can connect to your computer. Most provide the phantom power needed for condenser microphones.
The XLR cable for microphones features 3 pins for a balanced connection.The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 ($248 at Amazon) is a basic audio interface that won’t break the bank, and should work with most microphones, although some may find that input gain is lacking for low sensitivity microphones. Alternatively. if you’re going to be recording on location, you might want to look into a portable recorder that accepts XLR inputs.
You might likeThe Realtime and Technology Resource Committee is taking your questions on topics surrounding realtime and technology. Send the questions you want the Committee members to tackle to .
Dear Techie:
I am a court reporter who freelances with several different court reporting agencies. My trusty laptop is on its last legs, so I am going to purchase a new computer and will use my existing machine for backup purposes.
One of my upcoming assignments is a jury trial — a first for me. The courtroom is in an old courthouse and so I am unsure about the acoustics and whether I will be able to hear all of the participants. The voir dire is scaring me to death, actually. There will be no microphones for prospective jurors. I need my backup media to be as clear as possible.
Yikes! Please help! I need some guidance about which microphone options I should be considering.
Muddled Mike
Dear Mike:
Good luck on your upcoming assignment. It’s always good to go in prepared to handle anything. Here are a few recommendations from some of the Committee members.
Myrina Kleinschmidt, RMR, CRR, CRC, a freelancer and agency owner in Wayzata, Minn.: I have used many great microphones. Now I am using the SoundTech CM- 3.5 mm Omni-directional Conference Microphone. I use the SoundTech to connect to my separate recorder (Marantz Professional, which is plugged into a power strip). I have connected up to three via daisy chaining down a long conference table. There’s a USB version if you want to connect to a computer and then daisy chain more from there. The microphone costs about $39.
I currently use CaseCat and DigitalCAT, and I have a Dell Latitude; but I do not use a microphone with my computer at this time. In the past, I used the DepoBook Stealth Microphone and that was a plug and play, which worked well with my Latitude. Since all software and computers have different audio systems, it’s best to have your CAT company and the microphone company help you get the settings perfected.
I like the low profile of the SoundTech, the daisy chaining ability, and the fact the SoundTech can be plugged into my computer (USB version), sound amplifier (Pocketalker), or recorder.
I don’t use a microphone connected to my computer. I use the Williams Sound Pocketalker (personal amplifier, $189) on many of my depos. The SoundTechs connect to the Pocketalker as well. I set it all up and have it ready to go — if the deponent is difficult to hear, I then turn it on at the next break, or stop the proceedings and turn it on if need be. When I can hear the words more clearly in the first place while writing, I write better, have a better record, which means that I have an easier time editing and I am less tired at the end of the day.
Recently, I connected a lapel mic (Sony ECMCS3 Clip style Omnidirectional Stereo Microphone – about $20) to a low-speaking witness. The lapel mic was connected to the Pocketalker and then I had an earbud to listen with one ear. Also I recently used the Pocketalker on a two-week arbitration where the background noise was awful. I again connected lapel mics (using a splitter cable so as to have both mics go into the Pocketalker) and had the witness and the questioning attorney wear the mics. The arbitrators kept asking participants to repeat, while I had no difficulty hearing.
Lynette L. Mueller, FAPR, RDR, CRR, is a freelancer based in Memphis, Tenn.: I use the MXL AC-404 Conference microphone. This microphone is designed to capture crystal-clear intelligibility for multiple uses and has easy plug-in-play connectivity. Bonus: There are no drivers to download! It is compatible with Windows and Mac. For my Luminex, I utilize the Martel HGM-2. The cost is about $99, but check online for the best price. Some vendors offer free shipping. My go-to sources are either Amazon or B&H Photo Video. The cost of the HGM-2 is around $179.
I am on Case CATalyst. I find that the microphone settings that get me the best audio quality are as follows:
As a freelancer, my court reporting assignments involve a variety of venues: depositions, arbitrations, hearings, and courtrooms. The number-one reason I landed with the MXL microphone is for the judicial reporting aspect. Backup media is an important tool for us. I go into several different courtrooms and am the official court reporter for trials and hearings. I wanted to ensure a seamless way to handle bench conferences. Since the courtrooms are on the small-ish side, it is easier to stay in my seat, slap some headphones on, and I’m ready to roll! Some other court reporters were using Scotch tape to adhere their microphone to the judge’s bench. Needless to say, the finish is wearing off on his bench. This conference mic has a low profile and will lay flat on any surface.
The second reason I bought the MXL was for the sound quality. I’ve utilized several different brands of PCs over the past five years. Each laptop has different specs for the audio quality. With each one of my purchases, though, this mic has always enhanced my BAM with generally no concerns.
The third reason was the USB plug-in-play. I like the idea of never having to install drivers. When I do have the need to switch to my backup computer, I know I am ready to go at a moment’s notice because of the plug-in-play feature.
Keith Lemons, FAPR, RPR, CRR, a freelancer based in Brentwood, Tenn., (and frequent JCR contributor): It depends on the venue. Right now, for most applications, I use my HGMUSB mic and set it up on the table for a deposition or on a tripod at the bench for bench conferences and normal courtroom sound. I also have purchased the SP-USB-Mic-Model-6-Plus from Sound Professionals that I can also use as a standalone mic in depos, or with two boundary mics at the bench and at the witness stand via a 10-foot cord. It sells for about $300 from Martel. The Model 6 plus with the boundary mics was about $525 together.
I’m currently on Case CATalyst, and I use the default settings on the USB mics. Using the noise-canceling feature may work in some really bad deposition suites, but I’ve found that noise canceling will keep you from hearing the whispered bench conferences. Most of the time, I keep the mics at about 80-90 percent, keeping watch on the sound bar provided by my CAT system. If it starts to run to red, I reduce the volume. If it barely registers, I increase it. I set my systems to always listen and set my default audio as the USB devices. That forces you to use an earbud or headphones to monitor or play back. But there’s nothing worse than having your monitor be your system speakers: You cannot stop the caterwauling feedback quickly enough.
I’ve bought the cheap ones and the not-so cheap ones. Frankly, I had a lot of problems because the Lenovo Yoga Power Converter interfered horribly with all of my USB mics. Once I bought a different computer, I could hear again with crystal clarity. So my reasons for setting on the HGMUSB mic were: 1) Reliability; 2) Sound clarity; and 3) Ability to adjust the sound easily. All USB devices are similar. Cost is not a true consideration when a lot of my cases are realtime jury trials. I have to hear. These mics (and a great pair of Bose headphones) allow me to hear the bench conferences without too much difficulty.
As far as microphones for my writer, I use the Martel HGM-2. It’s a condenser mic with a battery that lasts forever, almost. I’ve used this mic on my writer as a backup to the CAT system numerous times. A USB is subject to audio environmental whims more often than I’d like, and the writer backup stays consistently outstanding.
Lou Chiodo, CLVS, a videographer who has also earned NCRA’s Realtime Systems Administrator and Trial Presentation Professional certificates, of New York City, N.Y.: I use the following two types of microphones in every deposition. These particular models are somewhat pricey, but I believe the audio is as important or likely more important than the images. If you want a demonstration of why, put the news on your TV at home sometime and move to the next room; and you will (if audible) hear and understand the information. Try that with the picture only — and even stay in the room — and it likely will not convey the information being provided.
There are a myriad of available models and styles that may work for videographers and court reporters alike. The Audio-Technica AT899 lavalier microphone is designed to be mounted on or hidden underneath clothing. Its slim low-profile design is ideal for depositions and broadcast applications. The tailored frequency response accentuates the frequency response of voices while minimizing low frequency noise, such as the air conditioner in many board rooms where depositions take place. A low-frequency roll-off switch further minimizes noise due to hum, ambiance, and proximity effect. The AT899 features a condenser element with a cardioid polar pattern. The cardioid pattern is effective in minimizing noise and ambiance at the off-axis sections of the microphone capsule. (The most common unidirectional microphone is a cardioid microphone, so named because the sensitivity pattern is “heart-shaped,” i.e. a cardioid. The cardioid family of microphones are commonly used as vocal or speech microphones, since they are good at rejecting sounds from other directions.)
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