I use a Zingyou condenser mic for my gaming setup. I think it was $35 on Amazon, and it came with a crappy stand. The other mic I have is a nameless shotgun mic I think I paid $25 for on Amazon. It actually sounds amazing, too. Both are XLR and I use a Behringer XENYX 302USB audio interface. Really great setups can be had for cheap. I think most condenser mics share the same diaphragms as some of the most expensive brands, which is why the quality jump isn't that large even between the $30 and condenser $1000 mics, although there are some discernable differences.
Your main space needs something on those flat walls you showed in the tour video. With your shotgun you are getting wild reflections every vid. Studio space sounds great. That big room though... yea.
I know a lot of mic tests are done with just a single person, but with the size of Senpai Gaming now, I feel like having multiple people doing mic tests (maybe not in this instance, but future 1v1s for instance) would be interesting. Having multiple voices on the same mics (EQ'd or not) can really help people figure out which mic might better fit their voice!
Even in a mix situation, you don't really want subterranean lows or piercing highs on your vocals. If the difference between a crazy expensive mic and a cheap one is up there, it's going to get cut on the mixing room.
Love the MKH416. I have two just so I have a backup and it sounds great in my videos. The Neumann had some great high end to it that wasn't too sharp. Tons of room to manipulate it. Totally worth the price IMO, lol.
That MKH was the best sounding to me, I have a blue yeti nano and honestly I’m glad Harris did this video, if I’m going to upgrade it’s not going to be until I can afford one of those. I was thinking about going to the shur sm7b i think it’s called? That all the streamers use lol but after this video I don’t think I will
@@CrackedZac This what I'll say having wandered around in the audio wilderness until eventually I went premium (MKH 416 and RME Babyface Pro FS interface), you can get some sick quality at a relatively low price. If I had $500 to spend, I would probably go with the Audient iD4 mkii and Electro-Voice RE320. I feel like the quality you can get from that combo will easily have you in the top 2-3% on Twitch/CZcams especially if you learn how to process your audio correctly. With that in mind, there is a reason why you pay for a premium. Example would be that your microphone just plugged in is going to sound better. You also get lower latency when you want to process your audio. All I need to do is give the MKH416 a high pass filter on the Babyface Pro FS and it is literally sounding fantastic once gain staged correctly even in an untreated room. Once you sprinkle in some EQ (remove muddy frequencies) and compress it with an Opto Compressor for thickness (or VCA compressor if you want clear sound), you'll literally sound better than everyone else that you hear on Twitch/CZcams. I do this in my DAW and I have 3.5ms latency? The question though, is it worth the extra price? It just depends on how much you value audio quality. If you go down the rabbit hole, you'll eventually want a setup kinda like mine and trust me, it won't disappoint. If you go with something like an RE320 and Audient iD14 mkii, I feel pretty confident you'll be satisfied with the results you get too. Reason why I say RE320 is because I think the mic sounds more modern and punchy than an SM7B, especially in kick drum mode.
The Neuman ($7500) and the AT2020 ($100) were my favorites, with the Neuman sounding just a bit smoother and just a bit fuller in a side by side comparison. It was definitely not 75x better though I'll say that...
That’s not the actual brand of the mic, it’s just the store that sells it; you got to realize that half of Amazon stores/companies are just random letters out together so people who are just gonna buy without looking into credentials are gonna get some of the profit
Before your thoughts: I think its very hard to hear a difference when everything being said is different. But there were some in the lower cost that sounds better than some of the $150+ ones and then you hit a CZcams peak on quality just before the SM7b. After your thoughts : I agree that the best sounding with the shotgun mic; you should do another comparison to some shotgun mics in the 100-400 range. One that I found and love is AT875R for 150-170. Also maybe try to EQ them for best experience.
But you will never make a shotgun mic sound great indoor, unless it´s the MKH 416 and it´s completely acoustically treated, the quality jumps way higher when he is in studio recording with it, then when he talks to you on camera from that big room. These microphones are designed for outdoors so they have those " holes " on the body and when any sound gets picked up from any reflections, it sounds muddy and bad, that´s why it sounds totally different in those situations. I would rather look up to some small diagraphm microphone like the Beyerdynamic M201 it sounds so nice and warm and it doesn´t pickup any reflections so the sound isn´t muffled
Sennheiser MKH 416 is chefs kiss for me, I'm always drawn to slightly more treble in a mic and that one just ticks all the boxes. I think I have one somewhere, I should set it up at my gaming PC for literally no reason.
There's a reason many voiceover artists like the Sennheiser. For a studio recording vocals the other mics will fit the use case better for sure. But the Sennheiser fits Harris well.
Why has no one mentioned how amazing your dramatic reading of TikTok trending sounds was?! 😂 SO good, the straightforward dry delivery was everything 😅👏🏻
idk why i get so excited seeing little reminders that harris is also a resident of utah. makes me happy knowing theres someone i look up too who is where im at rather than LA or New York or somewhere similar.
This is probably one of my favorite videos you've ever done. Any of this format always are. I absolutely love to actually see things tested against each other. I have negative money in life and if I ever want to save for anything, I always struggle to make a purchase because I'm so afraid of making the wrong decision for quality to cost. Not to mention, I would live for more... Literature shows. 👀
I was hoping you'd do the Blue Snowball mic as well. An old mic, only 50 CAD which is like 35 USD, been using it for well over a decade and it sounds great. Would have loved to see you review it along side the other mics. I'm confident it would have been your #1 budget pick. Even putting some of the mid tier priced mics to shame.
one thing i've Learned from this channel and others that review microphones is that training your voice is greater or equal importance for the mic you use.
I love my TLM 103. Really does well in all aspects (music and streaming). Neumann makes great mics and if you can’t get the U67 the 103 does awesome for much cheaper
from what I'm hearing on my phone, the Neumann and the Upton were better than the previous, but not to a level where it was worth it. I definitely agree with the standouts you gave in the $30-$400 range. as someone who wants to get into voice acting, I'd honestly go for something $30-$100 to start and get the controller or check out other options. definitely appreciate the effort you put into this.
The mics realy standing out for me are the Beacn, the SM7B, the Sennheiser (god it sounds so good) and the Neumann but as you said, that's a matter of color and possibilities. I'm reviewing a Neat King Bee this week, a 179$ XLR cardioid microphone, and I've been suprised (check their brand for science, that's not bad at all). I'm not gonna change my Rode Procaster for it, it's my go-to and it's following me for years, but it's a decent mic for streaming, voice and instruments. Always happy to have your thoughts on peripherals, and as always, +1 and happy streaming.
I'm super stoked you covered the FiFine. I've been looking at it for a basic mic since it hit the market. I won't be streaming so I didn't want to sink a huge cost into a mic.
Neumann functions are related to Bessel functions which are solutions to physical problems having cylindrical symmetry (particularly cylindrical boundary conditions where the boundary is a node), such as a circular drum membrane that has been stimulated into vibration.
You should've put the pop filter on all mics Harris :). Otherwise at least to me it is very hard to separate when something sounds bad because there isn't a pop filter and when the mic is actually terrible, especially on shorter sections.
When choosing a mic you should always think of your audience. I say this because there is a factor that wasn't discussed in this video and haven't seen in the comments. That is how is your audience listening? Everyone can hear a bad microphone no mater what you are listening with (headphones, your phone speaker or studio monitors) but with the good microphones, you are going to miss a lot of the advantages if you are using a typical set of headphones to listen to it. The rights speaker and amplifier can make a huge difference in what you hear from an audio source. So if your steaming or creating content on a social platform then go with a great sounding mic that isn't too expensive. But if you want the control to produce amazing, hifi music or doing studio grade voice overs for big name studios, then the more expensive mics make a huge difference and you can hear it with the right setup. Thanks for the video! will def help when trying to find my next microphone!
I think this is a very fair comparison and ties in nicely with Bandrew Scott's video this week on Podcastage. His point (and yours) is that there exists a point of diminishing returns in every microphone selection. For a high-quality studio with proper sound treatment, a studio-quality condenser mic makes perfect sense for that clarity and openness. However, for entry-level streamers or folks at home in an untreated room, a lower-quality mic (and usually a dynamic microphone) can provide equally good results. No sense spending the $7500 on the cream of the crop mic when you have a hard floor and no wall treatment and the echo is atrocious... The only mic I didn't see covered which is often overlooked is the Behringer XM8500. I've used them for years with great success for at-home types of environments, and as Bandrew rightfully says, "These perform better than they have any right to..." at just $20 for an XLR dynamic mic which sounds very close to the Shure SM58 at a 5x MSRP. Granted, you covered 21 microphones, which is ridiculously thorough for your premise; this is an awesome perspective, especially with the focus on video/aesthetics.
Musician here, for gaming you should go dynamic mic. In music we use large diaphragm condenser mics like the u67 into a vocal chain. I would never ever use a condenser for gaming as any “S” or “T” sound would be too sharp. I think the SM57 is the best sub $100 mic here
I think that after 100$ it just became a little clearer maybe some were a little deeper sounding anything else i didn't really see a diffrence about. Great video :D
i agree 100% with what you said, i currently have a rode podmic (actually because you made a video with that vs the sm7b years ago) and i kinda like the sm58 sound better so my next mic if im going to buy a new one might be a sm58 if not a shotgun mic
before thoughts: i would prefer the most expensive ones for producing as im expecting them to be flat. though for streaming, defo a nope for me. after thoughts: the $30 mic shocked me after the $15. i want to look into dynamic mics now as a secondary mic for when i feel like singing along to songs on stream :D
That Fifine was ... shockingly good. I used to use a Yeti and man, if the tFifine was out back when I was shopping for a USB mic I would have snagged that. Now I'm on a Rode NT-1 and it's pretty great and flexible. No where near the dynamics of the $1000+ mics b ut does the job for music as well as for my gaming.
Holy sh**. The jump from the Shure SM7B ($400) to Sennheiser MK416 ($1000) was huge. It went from streamer/podcasting quality to blockbuster movie voiceover quality. I'm starting to understand the difference between a mid-range XLR dynamic mic and a high-quality XLR Condenser/Shotgun mic.
Dude those super expensive mics sound insanely good and different since I like prepping for the edit. The beacn mic was great. That senheiser is definitely what I would use for general purpose video recording when able. Beacn - stream Senheiser - video $4500 - music and voiceovers
I think this is the go to video when you need to compare mics, nothing else. If you want some other opinion, then go to another video, but I think this has to be the best mic comparison video.
I really like the sound coming out of the Deity V07u. Currently I use a Yeti Blackout Edition I bought in 2012. I am at the point I am so tired of it picking up every random sound in the room. I've been debating on going for the Elgato Wave 1, but for $50 more I feel like the Deity has a better sound. I'd love to see a break down between all three head to head to head. I know there are a bunch of people still using the old Blue Yeti microphones and a video on what those users should move onto in 2022 would be an awesome idea.
I found that the $30 mic was really good. For a majority of my listening i listen on a set of Klipsch The sixes. 1 of the things that i noticed for vocals, is that almost all of the usb mics drop off weirdly on the low end. like there is a roll off on the USB's were built in to prevent booming? not sure what caused it. The samson on bigger speakers was well colored on the low end. not offensively so, but not what you like to hear for a raw recording. the sennheiser caused some interesting bright notes on my speakers that none of the other mics had. Female voices could be harsh on that sennheiser. the extremely high end mics have a lot of detail. without causing listening fatigue. as for the most competitive category, the mid range doesn't really matter. i think you are correct about the elgato. it comes down to the software. i know that this was supposed to be listened to on headphones, but i listen on big speakers almost always. so, i wanted to know how these sound on my primary listening device.
I dunno, speaking as a novice (but perhaps therefore unbiased) for me all the mics below the Beacn sounded like I was listening to you over a cubicle wall or hiding in the cupboard with the door ajar. Maybe it's the foam windscreens. (When I get a mic I'll probably explore using a pop filter and take the foam windscreen off.) When we hit the Beacn there was a jump in clarity or lack of muffling, for me, like, I had opened the cupboard door wider. The Sennheiser shotgun mic was the first to step out of that and sound like you are here. And the top mic was clearly the best, clearly better than the $4500 for me.
I was listening and comparing the Samson q9u to the microphones recorded and edited to be near it, and I don’t quite see why Harris says it sounds “bad”. I just think it sounds different. Even the Razor one too. Neither recording qualities were my cup of tea, but I don’t think their bad (the $15 one was objectively awful tho). What makes some mics good and others not good?
ever since you tested the rode podmic with the wave xlr. Thats been my go to pairing for twitch. My voice is very nasally and was using the wave 3 mic, and could just never get it dialed in and sounding great for me, rode podmic's kinda flat broadcaster sound, works great for evening out my nasally voice.
I have the same setup, Rode Podmic/Wave XLR, but also using a lifter cable that unfortunately Amazon doesn't have anymore because they stopped making them. I have mine turned at about 35-ish percent and man, for about 290 bucks total it just sounds phenomenal after applying a little VST love.
the fifine is such good value for money. i have had one for about 3 years now and not only has it been reliable but also reliably geat. sounds much more expensive than it actually is and the build quality is great
Great video great content my friend been along time sub of yours for a while now but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you compare any mic to the audio technica bp40.
I'll be honest, even with headphones I don't really hear that big of a differance between most of the mics. I think it's because of CZcams compression + BG music. If you could leave a google drive link or something to get the raw audio that would help.
Once you got to the Sennheiser and hit that $1k price tag it was massively different. This is VERY WEIRD but the upton and neumann when you were speaking felt and looked more effortless for lack of better terms. Best way to describe it is… Imagine an artist singing into a mic.. there will be an effort for them in order to sound good and hit their key notes.. IMO. With the Neumann and Upton it just seemed very graceful.. minimum effort into capturing True Tones… 🤘🏽✌🏾✌🏾🤘🏽
Thank you for this video. I neede an update of all these microphones. I have the rode NT-1A but all of my friends ask me what is the best budget mic and I always look at your videos for clarity.
I watch a norwegian streamer who uses the Sennheiser MKH 416 and it sounds absolutely phenomenal. The Beacn, for me at least, is a small - but noticeable - step down compared to the rest in the same pricerange. Not as bad as the Razer and the samson, but still noticeable in my ears. Would have love to see you also compare the Rode NT1-a which I personally think is one of the cheaper champions. Still an amazing video, and I can't wait to see what Senpai Gaming will bring in the future!
fifine and seiren mini owner here and i agree.. for the price they sound awesome and are also budget friendly. great for starters and with some plugins you can make them sound really expensive... guide from one your videos How To Make A USB Mic Sound Like A $2000 Studio Microphone - CZcams
I think you should try out a pencil mic like the Samson C02 or Rode M5. For rooms that don’t have sound treatment (like most streamers) a pencil mic is a great option that no one talks about.
You really can hear the difference. My heart will always be with the Shure Sm58 though. Been doing live performance my whole career and that Shure is the most reliable, best sounding, solid microphone I have worked with.
Just proves how subjective this stuff is. I was thinking damn that Samson Q9U sounds amazing for the money and it was one of the first to get slammed by Harris. Also, so hard to take any advice on CZcams seriously when tests like these don't match previous reviews - the Beacn Mic, for example. It got shouted from the rooftops as an amazing mic during the release video then pretty badly beaten down during the 3-month-later review. In this video it sounded great.
I have used a couple of different microphones, and I have in a past life a ton of experience with them. So for my current setup, after some comparison, I have ended up with the AT2020 XLR. I benefit from a good mixing console (Soundcraft) and I can get really really nice sound that rivals much higher price mics. I tried various USB mics (dynamic and condenser) and found that the USB connection itself was a problem. USB seems to squish the sound in a way, it's a bit hard to explain but it is noticable. Also, the processing time for USB can cause issues as well, making it hard to monitor yourself as there is a delay on the sound at times. Sticking with a pure XLR situation, I can monitor my own voice directly without consideration, and also bring all the other audio sources to the mixer giving full control without "processing" being an issue.
00:38: *_DUDE! GAFF YOUR CABLES!!_* It's only a matter of time before you trip over that and your expensive light crashes to the ground. 4:25: Back in the 1980's, Steve Allen had a stand-up schtick where he did a deadpan read of the lyrics to Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff." 6:47: Is there something wrong with me that I dislike the Deity mic because of its appearance? Not because of the RGB, that's fine, but because they made it look like a side-address condenser, but it's in fact an end-address dynamic? Am I being too snooty? AITA?
The problem with this test is, nobody watching is going to be using any of them (unless they're going for the top end), in a room that sounds as good as that studio there hehe. Being an audio engineer and musicians for over two decades now, I've seen this a LOT: People don't realize how much the sound of the ROOM affects whatever it is you're doing in there. Most budgets spent on gear would've been a LOT better spent if they used the money to treat the room. I'm sure you've experienced it while planning and building the new place ;-)
Also, the audio clarity and quality would be really useful at higher ends for engineers. Since there is editing that occurs at those levels before compression for general use like my janky ear buds. Same reason a lot of people record in 4 or 8 K. Then ship a product at 1080p
Indeed. I've tried 10+mics and could only get decent results with dynamic mics, because all the rooms I recorded in were trash. And still, if the room isn't treated, there's going to be a huge difference.
@@GMRod well I'm not exactly saying that. I'm saying you can't fully appreciate a certain level quality of audio output, without a certain level quality of audio device. If you're relying on the "listen to this" method that is. However the information can still be conveyed though. If you show some visual representation or have say, an audio engineer, work with samples made from each device and give a few examples of situations where you can feel the effect of high quality audio in the workflow. Or the contrary effects of low quality. Techy info dumps are a love language
The top level mics is much better than the worst but the middle lot weren't much different (but I am no sound expert just my opinion), On a side note, Harris you read very well :D
The Q9U had something that a lot of the other mics didn't and I can't for the life of me work out what it was? I've listened 100's of times and at different speeds. My best guess is that it doesn't have that electronic feel to it perhaps? It's not the best in terms of crisp clarity but theres something different. Maybe the voice register for that script was unique perhaps?
Hey 👋 real cool comparison ! Can you do a vlog camera comparison and review ? (M50 MK2 / ZV E10 ... Etc ) it would be great as you're an inspiration for future content creators
Only one Shotgun mic? The Sennheiser MKE 600 is close to a quarter of the price of the MKH 416 and sounds great! If you haven't heard of it I recommend looking into it!
I got late to this video, but the difference with the MKH 416 its hilarious, but when i was studying filmmaking, the mkh 416 was a standard for shortfilms in general, its a really powerful cardioid. And of course, the microphone it's for music and films, while we had a ton of different streaming microphones here which are made for platforms that will compress the quality of your audio anyways.
You're using the shotgun mic on the multi background studio scenes right? Dunno if it's just me but it sounds like it's picking up echos in that area but within the audio studio that mic sounded insanely good. The neumann sounds really clean and natural.
Great! Awesome! 10/10 video... now... mixers? A big fan of the budget/midrange/highend segment and would love to see that bit in a mixer theme. ALSO! Not sure who might see this, but my wife and I have our gaming desks right next to each other and deal with a lot of bleed when we are in the same discord chatting with our friends. My thought was setting up a mixer with each of us having a dynamic mic that just leads to one of our PCs to help with that.. thoughts on that solution or a best resolution to that?
Alright so I stop the video before listening to your thoughts duuuude ! best thing I did is for sure putting on my headphones but man why are the 200 < range < 1000 mics sound so bad to my ears ? the fifine sounded suprinsingly great as well as the seiren mini and no surprise the wave 1 did too . Then ccame the big guys at 4500 and 7500 and my gush do they sound perfect. So I guess there is a huge difference but I think the price gap ain't worth it unless you're a pro.
100% agree with what u said here about the mics. I feel like the cheaper mics are more then enough for CZcams productions, since the difference especially on YT is so small. When it comes to professional production i would 100% prefer the shure sm7b and above. Cant beleave that there was no EQ being used on some mics tho, since i tested some of the cheaper ones myself, like the Elgato Wave and mine never sounded as clear or full without EQ. Maybe u just got that crazy good voice tho lol!
PLEASE don't run music under a mic test! You're bound to mask background noise, and the subtleties of an expensive mic that way. (And the biggest problem heard with most of these mics was talking directly into, instead of over the mic, and not using a pop shield.) The Seiren and the unnamed mic sounded unbelievably bad- like an on-camera mic! I would have liked to have heard my own value favourite, the Behringer XM8500, against those others (I use 5 of those for podcasting, and a Rode Procaster for solo streaming)
My friend was looking for a mic arm and like there was a mic arm for like 5 dollars and it came with that microphone so she gave me that microphone, and honestly I have never used it but I collect crappy microphones and I added it to my collection and intend to keep it that way, as when I use it my voice constantly cuts out and I feel like without the echo feature it doesn’t pick up my voice. Would recommend the bm800 for a comparison or the five below microphone
Don't forget to check out Tommy John bit.ly/tommyjohn_alphagaming and use my code ALPHAGAMING to get the best in comfort!
Hey man do you know who is the first senpai viewer,its me.
can i apply to work for you?
Timestamps!
I use a Zingyou condenser mic for my gaming setup. I think it was $35 on Amazon, and it came with a crappy stand. The other mic I have is a nameless shotgun mic I think I paid $25 for on Amazon. It actually sounds amazing, too. Both are XLR and I use a Behringer XENYX 302USB audio interface. Really great setups can be had for cheap. I think most condenser mics share the same diaphragms as some of the most expensive brands, which is why the quality jump isn't that large even between the $30 and condenser $1000 mics, although there are some discernable differences.
Your main space needs something on those flat walls you showed in the tour video. With your shotgun you are getting wild reflections every vid. Studio space sounds great. That big room though... yea.
I know a lot of mic tests are done with just a single person, but with the size of Senpai Gaming now, I feel like having multiple people doing mic tests (maybe not in this instance, but future 1v1s for instance) would be interesting.
Having multiple voices on the same mics (EQ'd or not) can really help people figure out which mic might better fit their voice!
CZcams is cutting some high and low frequences, so better drop this sound tracks on Google drive to hear real difference.
You see, I believe this was the point of the video, to show streamers and youtubers that most mics sound the same to the end user.
Even in a mix situation, you don't really want subterranean lows or piercing highs on your vocals. If the difference between a crazy expensive mic and a cheap one is up there, it's going to get cut on the mixing room.
Love the MKH416. I have two just so I have a backup and it sounds great in my videos. The Neumann had some great high end to it that wasn't too sharp. Tons of room to manipulate it. Totally worth the price IMO, lol.
That MKH was the best sounding to me, I have a blue yeti nano and honestly I’m glad Harris did this video, if I’m going to upgrade it’s not going to be until I can afford one of those. I was thinking about going to the shur sm7b i think it’s called? That all the streamers use lol but after this video I don’t think I will
OH WOWEE ANOTHER CZcamsR IN THE COMMENT SECTION MAYBE ILL GO WATCH HIS VIDS
@@CrackedZac This what I'll say having wandered around in the audio wilderness until eventually I went premium (MKH 416 and RME Babyface Pro FS interface), you can get some sick quality at a relatively low price. If I had $500 to spend, I would probably go with the Audient iD4 mkii and Electro-Voice RE320. I feel like the quality you can get from that combo will easily have you in the top 2-3% on Twitch/CZcams especially if you learn how to process your audio correctly.
With that in mind, there is a reason why you pay for a premium. Example would be that your microphone just plugged in is going to sound better. You also get lower latency when you want to process your audio. All I need to do is give the MKH416 a high pass filter on the Babyface Pro FS and it is literally sounding fantastic once gain staged correctly even in an untreated room. Once you sprinkle in some EQ (remove muddy frequencies) and compress it with an Opto Compressor for thickness (or VCA compressor if you want clear sound), you'll literally sound better than everyone else that you hear on Twitch/CZcams. I do this in my DAW and I have 3.5ms latency?
The question though, is it worth the extra price? It just depends on how much you value audio quality. If you go down the rabbit hole, you'll eventually want a setup kinda like mine and trust me, it won't disappoint. If you go with something like an RE320 and Audient iD14 mkii, I feel pretty confident you'll be satisfied with the results you get too. Reason why I say RE320 is because I think the mic sounds more modern and punchy than an SM7B, especially in kick drum mode.
The Neuman ($7500) and the AT2020 ($100) were my favorites, with the Neuman sounding just a bit smoother and just a bit fuller in a side by side comparison. It was definitely not 75x better though I'll say that...
Harris: "It doesn't even have a brand name..."
Editor: *proceeds to show clip of brand name "Ttstar" in Amazon page b-roll*
That’s not the actual brand of the mic, it’s just the store that sells it; you got to realize that half of Amazon stores/companies are just random letters out together so people who are just gonna buy without looking into credentials are gonna get some of the profit
Before your thoughts: I think its very hard to hear a difference when everything being said is different. But there were some in the lower cost that sounds better than some of the $150+ ones and then you hit a CZcams peak on quality just before the SM7b.
After your thoughts : I agree that the best sounding with the shotgun mic; you should do another comparison to some shotgun mics in the 100-400 range. One that I found and love is AT875R for 150-170. Also maybe try to EQ them for best experience.
But you will never make a shotgun mic sound great indoor, unless it´s the MKH 416 and it´s completely acoustically treated, the quality jumps way higher when he is in studio recording with it, then when he talks to you on camera from that big room. These microphones are designed for outdoors so they have those " holes " on the body and when any sound gets picked up from any reflections, it sounds muddy and bad, that´s why it sounds totally different in those situations. I would rather look up to some small diagraphm microphone like the Beyerdynamic M201 it sounds so nice and warm and it doesn´t pickup any reflections so the sound isn´t muffled
Sennheiser MKH 416 is chefs kiss for me, I'm always drawn to slightly more treble in a mic and that one just ticks all the boxes. I think I have one somewhere, I should set it up at my gaming PC for literally no reason.
That one actually wasn’t my favorite
There's a reason many voiceover artists like the Sennheiser. For a studio recording vocals the other mics will fit the use case better for sure. But the Sennheiser fits Harris well.
Why has no one mentioned how amazing your dramatic reading of TikTok trending sounds was?! 😂 SO good, the straightforward dry delivery was everything 😅👏🏻
I couldn’t stop laughing during the demos 😂. Thank you Harris!
🤣🤣🤣
Same what the heckkk Spoken word album from harris would be great from stream beats
Sir! That's a child!
idk why i get so excited seeing little reminders that harris is also a resident of utah. makes me happy knowing theres someone i look up too who is where im at rather than LA or New York or somewhere similar.
This is probably one of my favorite videos you've ever done. Any of this format always are. I absolutely love to actually see things tested against each other. I have negative money in life and if I ever want to save for anything, I always struggle to make a purchase because I'm so afraid of making the wrong decision for quality to cost. Not to mention, I would live for more... Literature shows. 👀
I was hoping you'd do the Blue Snowball mic as well. An old mic, only 50 CAD which is like 35 USD, been using it for well over a decade and it sounds great.
Would have loved to see you review it along side the other mics. I'm confident it would have been your #1 budget pick. Even putting some of the mid tier priced mics to shame.
one thing i've Learned from this channel and others that review microphones is that training your voice is greater or equal importance for the mic you use.
I love my TLM 103. Really does well in all aspects (music and streaming). Neumann makes great mics and if you can’t get the U67 the 103 does awesome for much cheaper
The Fifine sounded great! The others didn't really catch my interest until the Sennheiser test.
Honestly the Fifine was probably one of my favorite sounding overall mics from the group aside from the wave 1 and the mkh416
I agree, and the best part it’s so affordable.
from what I'm hearing on my phone, the Neumann and the Upton were better than the previous, but not to a level where it was worth it. I definitely agree with the standouts you gave in the $30-$400 range. as someone who wants to get into voice acting, I'd honestly go for something $30-$100 to start and get the controller or check out other options. definitely appreciate the effort you put into this.
The mics realy standing out for me are the Beacn, the SM7B, the Sennheiser (god it sounds so good) and the Neumann but as you said, that's a matter of color and possibilities. I'm reviewing a Neat King Bee this week, a 179$ XLR cardioid microphone, and I've been suprised (check their brand for science, that's not bad at all). I'm not gonna change my Rode Procaster for it, it's my go-to and it's following me for years, but it's a decent mic for streaming, voice and instruments. Always happy to have your thoughts on peripherals, and as always, +1 and happy streaming.
The Deity sounded so similar to the beacn just more sensitive to the plosives. With a pop filter the sound would be very close.
I'm super stoked you covered the FiFine. I've been looking at it for a basic mic since it hit the market. I won't be streaming so I didn't want to sink a huge cost into a mic.
Neumann functions are related to Bessel functions which are solutions to physical problems having cylindrical symmetry (particularly cylindrical boundary conditions where the boundary is a node), such as a circular drum membrane that has been stimulated into vibration.
You should've put the pop filter on all mics Harris :). Otherwise at least to me it is very hard to separate when something sounds bad because there isn't a pop filter and when the mic is actually terrible, especially on shorter sections.
When choosing a mic you should always think of your audience. I say this because there is a factor that wasn't discussed in this video and haven't seen in the comments. That is how is your audience listening? Everyone can hear a bad microphone no mater what you are listening with (headphones, your phone speaker or studio monitors) but with the good microphones, you are going to miss a lot of the advantages if you are using a typical set of headphones to listen to it. The rights speaker and amplifier can make a huge difference in what you hear from an audio source.
So if your steaming or creating content on a social platform then go with a great sounding mic that isn't too expensive. But if you want the control to produce amazing, hifi music or doing studio grade voice overs for big name studios, then the more expensive mics make a huge difference and you can hear it with the right setup.
Thanks for the video! will def help when trying to find my next microphone!
I think this is a very fair comparison and ties in nicely with Bandrew Scott's video this week on Podcastage. His point (and yours) is that there exists a point of diminishing returns in every microphone selection. For a high-quality studio with proper sound treatment, a studio-quality condenser mic makes perfect sense for that clarity and openness. However, for entry-level streamers or folks at home in an untreated room, a lower-quality mic (and usually a dynamic microphone) can provide equally good results. No sense spending the $7500 on the cream of the crop mic when you have a hard floor and no wall treatment and the echo is atrocious...
The only mic I didn't see covered which is often overlooked is the Behringer XM8500. I've used them for years with great success for at-home types of environments, and as Bandrew rightfully says, "These perform better than they have any right to..." at just $20 for an XLR dynamic mic which sounds very close to the Shure SM58 at a 5x MSRP. Granted, you covered 21 microphones, which is ridiculously thorough for your premise; this is an awesome perspective, especially with the focus on video/aesthetics.
8:47
When the Neumann recording played....I felt like my earphones gained clarity 😂
Musician here, for gaming you should go dynamic mic. In music we use large diaphragm condenser mics like the u67 into a vocal chain. I would never ever use a condenser for gaming as any “S” or “T” sound would be too sharp. I think the SM57 is the best sub $100 mic here
I think that after 100$ it just became a little clearer maybe some were a little deeper sounding anything else i didn't really see a diffrence about. Great video :D
i agree 100% with what you said, i currently have a rode podmic (actually because you made a video with that vs the sm7b years ago) and i kinda like the sm58 sound better so my next mic if im going to buy a new one might be a sm58 if not a shotgun mic
9:21 I like the shotgun mic
before thoughts: i would prefer the most expensive ones for producing as im expecting them to be flat. though for streaming, defo a nope for me.
after thoughts: the $30 mic shocked me after the $15. i want to look into dynamic mics now as a secondary mic for when i feel like singing along to songs on stream :D
That Fifine was ... shockingly good. I used to use a Yeti and man, if the tFifine was out back when I was shopping for a USB mic I would have snagged that. Now I'm on a Rode NT-1 and it's pretty great and flexible. No where near the dynamics of the $1000+ mics b ut does the job for music as well as for my gaming.
god, I just love the sound from the Sennheiser mkh 416. I honestly just love shotguns in general when it comes to spoken word.
Holy sh**. The jump from the Shure SM7B ($400) to Sennheiser MK416 ($1000) was huge. It went from streamer/podcasting quality to blockbuster movie voiceover quality. I'm starting to understand the difference between a mid-range XLR dynamic mic and a high-quality XLR Condenser/Shotgun mic.
Dude those super expensive mics sound insanely good and different since I like prepping for the edit. The beacn mic was great. That senheiser is definitely what I would use for general purpose video recording when able.
Beacn - stream
Senheiser - video
$4500 - music and voiceovers
I think this is the go to video when you need to compare mics, nothing else. If you want some other opinion, then go to another video, but I think this has to be the best mic comparison video.
I really like the sound coming out of the Deity V07u.
Currently I use a Yeti Blackout Edition I bought in 2012. I am at the point I am so tired of it picking up every random sound in the room.
I've been debating on going for the Elgato Wave 1, but for $50 more I feel like the Deity has a better sound. I'd love to see a break down between all three head to head to head. I know there are a bunch of people still using the old Blue Yeti microphones and a video on what those users should move onto in 2022 would be an awesome idea.
I found that the $30 mic was really good. For a majority of my listening i listen on a set of Klipsch The sixes. 1 of the things that i noticed for vocals, is that almost all of the usb mics drop off weirdly on the low end. like there is a roll off on the USB's were built in to prevent booming? not sure what caused it. The samson on bigger speakers was well colored on the low end. not offensively so, but not what you like to hear for a raw recording. the sennheiser caused some interesting bright notes on my speakers that none of the other mics had. Female voices could be harsh on that sennheiser. the extremely high end mics have a lot of detail. without causing listening fatigue.
as for the most competitive category, the mid range doesn't really matter. i think you are correct about the elgato. it comes down to the software.
i know that this was supposed to be listened to on headphones, but i listen on big speakers almost always. so, i wanted to know how these sound on my primary listening device.
I dunno, speaking as a novice (but perhaps therefore unbiased) for me all the mics below the Beacn sounded like I was listening to you over a cubicle wall or hiding in the cupboard with the door ajar. Maybe it's the foam windscreens. (When I get a mic I'll probably explore using a pop filter and take the foam windscreen off.) When we hit the Beacn there was a jump in clarity or lack of muffling, for me, like, I had opened the cupboard door wider. The Sennheiser shotgun mic was the first to step out of that and sound like you are here. And the top mic was clearly the best, clearly better than the $4500 for me.
Hard to tell when you use diff lines for each. Sometimes I like the sound because the line pulls in your deeper vocals.
Also can you do a video of EQ software for microphones as well as a tutorial on how to eq.And as an extra show us some eq settings for your fav mics
YESSS PLEASE. Agreed
I was listening and comparing the Samson q9u to the microphones recorded and edited to be near it, and I don’t quite see why Harris says it sounds “bad”. I just think it sounds different. Even the Razor one too. Neither recording qualities were my cup of tea, but I don’t think their bad (the $15 one was objectively awful tho). What makes some mics good and others not good?
These last few videos from you have been fantastic bro, thank you for sharing with us!
Before the SM7B only the PodMic got my attention. And the last two were pure ear candy.
ever since you tested the rode podmic with the wave xlr. Thats been my go to pairing for twitch. My voice is very nasally and was using the wave 3 mic, and could just never get it dialed in and sounding great for me, rode podmic's kinda flat broadcaster sound, works great for evening out my nasally voice.
I have the same setup, Rode Podmic/Wave XLR, but also using a lifter cable that unfortunately Amazon doesn't have anymore because they stopped making them. I have mine turned at about 35-ish percent and man, for about 290 bucks total it just sounds phenomenal after applying a little VST love.
had me laughing at some of those lines lmao. great reviews also
The sennheiser MKH 416 was the best, I still want it for myself in voiceover, podcasting, streaming.
the fifine is such good value for money. i have had one for about 3 years now and not only has it been reliable but also reliably geat. sounds much more expensive than it actually is and the build quality is great
I recently bought a $39 mic from kmart (about $28 US) in Australia for a video, I was expecting it to be terrible... it's not at all, it's fantastic!
Great video great content my friend been along time sub of yours for a while now but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you compare any mic to the audio technica bp40.
I'll be honest, even with headphones I don't really hear that big of a differance between most of the mics.
I think it's because of CZcams compression + BG music. If you could leave a google drive link or something to get the raw audio that would help.
So happy to see my AT2020 make the cut! Love that microphone!
Quick Question, why do you have the two expensive microphones together on the same stand? Is the $4500 mic used for a backup?
Once you got to the Sennheiser and hit that $1k price tag it was massively different. This is VERY WEIRD but the upton and neumann when you were speaking felt and looked more effortless for lack of better terms. Best way to describe it is… Imagine an artist singing into a mic.. there will be an effort for them in order to sound good and hit their key notes.. IMO. With the Neumann and Upton it just seemed very graceful.. minimum effort into capturing True Tones… 🤘🏽✌🏾✌🏾🤘🏽
The Tommy John stuff is super soft! I’m using your code for a Father’s Day gift! Thanks Harris!!
Glad to see my favourite mic (sennheiser mkh 416) showcased in this video.
You came here to listen to mics
I came here to listen to Harris` speaking
We are not the same
Thank you for this video. I neede an update of all these microphones. I have the rode NT-1A but all of my friends ask me what is the best budget mic and I always look at your videos for clarity.
I wanted to start streaming and just ordered the BEACN :) cant wait for it!
Quite surprised by the Sennheiser, didn't expect that, very nice.
I watch a norwegian streamer who uses the Sennheiser MKH 416 and it sounds absolutely phenomenal. The Beacn, for me at least, is a small - but noticeable - step down compared to the rest in the same pricerange. Not as bad as the Razer and the samson, but still noticeable in my ears. Would have love to see you also compare the Rode NT1-a which I personally think is one of the cheaper champions. Still an amazing video, and I can't wait to see what Senpai Gaming will bring in the future!
fifine and seiren mini owner here and i agree.. for the price they sound awesome and are also budget friendly. great for starters and with some plugins you can make them sound really expensive... guide from one your videos How To Make A USB Mic Sound Like A $2000 Studio Microphone - CZcams
New channel name 👀
I think you should try out a pencil mic like the Samson C02 or Rode M5. For rooms that don’t have sound treatment (like most streamers) a pencil mic is a great option that no one talks about.
I have a Sennheiser MKE 600, and i love it. Comes quite close to the 416 but for a third of the price :)
You really can hear the difference. My heart will always be with the Shure Sm58 though. Been doing live performance my whole career and that Shure is the most reliable, best sounding, solid microphone I have worked with.
This video was secretly just Harris trying to convince us he's "hip" and "down with the kids"
Just proves how subjective this stuff is. I was thinking damn that Samson Q9U sounds amazing for the money and it was one of the first to get slammed by Harris. Also, so hard to take any advice on CZcams seriously when tests like these don't match previous reviews - the Beacn Mic, for example. It got shouted from the rooftops as an amazing mic during the release video then pretty badly beaten down during the 3-month-later review. In this video it sounded great.
I have used a couple of different microphones, and I have in a past life a ton of experience with them. So for my current setup, after some comparison, I have ended up with the AT2020 XLR. I benefit from a good mixing console (Soundcraft) and I can get really really nice sound that rivals much higher price mics. I tried various USB mics (dynamic and condenser) and found that the USB connection itself was a problem. USB seems to squish the sound in a way, it's a bit hard to explain but it is noticable. Also, the processing time for USB can cause issues as well, making it hard to monitor yourself as there is a delay on the sound at times. Sticking with a pure XLR situation, I can monitor my own voice directly without consideration, and also bring all the other audio sources to the mixer giving full control without "processing" being an issue.
At 90 bucks, that Shure SM58 sounded smooth as silk.
It’d be intwresting to see how this would go in an untreated/minimally treated room
I could not focus on the audio quality at all. the content is golden xD
00:38: *_DUDE! GAFF YOUR CABLES!!_* It's only a matter of time before you trip over that and your expensive light crashes to the ground.
4:25: Back in the 1980's, Steve Allen had a stand-up schtick where he did a deadpan read of the lyrics to Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff."
6:47: Is there something wrong with me that I dislike the Deity mic because of its appearance? Not because of the RGB, that's fine, but because they made it look like a side-address condenser, but it's in fact an end-address dynamic? Am I being too snooty? AITA?
PLEASE review the: Maono AU-PM422.... or just any Maono mic, its such an underrated company and no one talks about them.
The problem with this test is, nobody watching is going to be using any of them (unless they're going for the top end), in a room that sounds as good as that studio there hehe.
Being an audio engineer and musicians for over two decades now, I've seen this a LOT: People don't realize how much the sound of the ROOM affects whatever it is you're doing in there.
Most budgets spent on gear would've been a LOT better spent if they used the money to treat the room. I'm sure you've experienced it while planning and building the new place ;-)
Also, the audio clarity and quality would be really useful at higher ends for engineers. Since there is editing that occurs at those levels before compression for general use like my janky ear buds. Same reason a lot of people record in 4 or 8 K. Then ship a product at 1080p
@@noveganpowers5604 yeah we need this content somewhere without CZcams compression.
Indeed. I've tried 10+mics and could only get decent results with dynamic mics, because all the rooms I recorded in were trash. And still, if the room isn't treated, there's going to be a huge difference.
@@honestnerd Oh yeah, it's easy for people to think "better mic better sound".
It's actually "better mic more transparent" LOL.
@@GMRod well I'm not exactly saying that. I'm saying you can't fully appreciate a certain level quality of audio output, without a certain level quality of audio device. If you're relying on the "listen to this" method that is. However the information can still be conveyed though. If you show some visual representation or have say, an audio engineer, work with samples made from each device and give a few examples of situations where you can feel the effect of high quality audio in the workflow. Or the contrary effects of low quality. Techy info dumps are a love language
So I just got a BEACN mic and the mix creat. And that mic sounds so damn crisp I’m in love w it atm….
How do I get a hold of you?
NEVER did I know I needed Harris ASMR, but now my life is complete. THANK YOU
The top level mics is much better than the worst but the middle lot weren't much different (but I am no sound expert just my opinion), On a side note, Harris you read very well :D
The Q9U had something that a lot of the other mics didn't and I can't for the life of me work out what it was? I've listened 100's of times and at different speeds. My best guess is that it doesn't have that electronic feel to it perhaps? It's not the best in terms of crisp clarity but theres something different. Maybe the voice register for that script was unique perhaps?
I swear harris's intro makes me feel so relaxed. Like "Hello! How are you?". Like, God!
Hey 👋 real cool comparison ! Can you do a vlog camera comparison and review ? (M50 MK2 / ZV E10 ... Etc ) it would be great as you're an inspiration for future content creators
Ho ! And maybe testing some camera mics too, like rode vidmic / canon mic 🎙️ ...
That 15 dollar one to the fifine was a huge jump
Only one Shotgun mic? The Sennheiser MKE 600 is close to a quarter of the price of the MKH 416 and sounds great! If you haven't heard of it I recommend looking into it!
I got late to this video, but the difference with the MKH 416 its hilarious, but when i was studying filmmaking, the mkh 416 was a standard for shortfilms in general, its a really powerful cardioid. And of course, the microphone it's for music and films, while we had a ton of different streaming microphones here which are made for platforms that will compress the quality of your audio anyways.
You're using the shotgun mic on the multi background studio scenes right? Dunno if it's just me but it sounds like it's picking up echos in that area but within the audio studio that mic sounded insanely good. The neumann sounds really clean and natural.
You should check out the Sennheiser MKH50 to replace that 416 for your indoor talking head shots.
Harris: Good Morning 😊
Me, watching at midnight: 🤠
"That's a big word for elmo" killed me
Great! Awesome! 10/10 video...
now... mixers? A big fan of the budget/midrange/highend segment and would love to see that bit in a mixer theme.
ALSO! Not sure who might see this, but my wife and I have our gaming desks right next to each other and deal with a lot of bleed when we are in the same discord chatting with our friends. My thought was setting up a mixer with each of us having a dynamic mic that just leads to one of our PCs to help with that.. thoughts on that solution or a best resolution to that?
Nyman that natural reverb add music to speech :D
Alright so I stop the video before listening to your thoughts duuuude ! best thing I did is for sure putting on my headphones but man why are the 200 < range < 1000 mics sound so bad to my ears ? the fifine sounded suprinsingly great as well as the seiren mini and no surprise the wave 1 did too . Then ccame the big guys at 4500 and 7500 and my gush do they sound perfect. So I guess there is a huge difference but I think the price gap ain't worth it unless you're a pro.
100% agree with what u said here about the mics.
I feel like the cheaper mics are more then enough for CZcams productions, since the difference especially on YT is so small.
When it comes to professional production i would 100% prefer the shure sm7b and above.
Cant beleave that there was no EQ being used on some mics tho, since i tested some of the cheaper ones myself, like the Elgato Wave and mine never sounded as clear or full without EQ.
Maybe u just got that crazy good voice tho lol!
PLEASE don't run music under a mic test! You're bound to mask background noise, and the subtleties of an expensive mic that way. (And the biggest problem heard with most of these mics was talking directly into, instead of over the mic, and not using a pop shield.)
The Seiren and the unnamed mic sounded unbelievably bad- like an on-camera mic!
I would have liked to have heard my own value favourite, the Behringer XM8500, against those others (I use 5 of those for podcasting, and a Rode Procaster for solo streaming)
I really like the look and sound of the Blue Spark.
I ended up with the Deity after the last USB mic video, if i was ok spending more I would definitely get the BEACN
I want that script! I’ll use it if I can’t think of anything to say while I’m on stream! 😂😂
That $30 Fifine mic sounds great for the price, id be happy with just one of those haha, but those $1000+ mics sound amazing
My friend was looking for a mic arm and like there was a mic arm for like 5 dollars and it came with that microphone so she gave me that microphone, and honestly I have never used it but I collect crappy microphones and I added it to my collection and intend to keep it that way, as when I use it my voice constantly cuts out and I feel like without the echo feature it doesn’t pick up my voice. Would recommend the bm800 for a comparison or the five below microphone
I think the big change for me was when the smb7 mick came on I heard a big difference there.
Good grief. There's a reason the Sennheiser MKH416 is a standard in the voice acting world. Absolutely stellar for speech.
Barely noticed it but watching Harris try not to laugh at this 5:19 - 5:22