The 9 Best Microphones For Streaming | Musician Nerd

If you've ever watched the Breakfast Club, H3, or Joe Rogan, you might've seen this used as a podcast microphone. This is because the Shure SM7B was originally designed for broadcast purposes, and tailors to every detail of one's voice. You are guaranteed to sound exquisite when you use this microphone for streaming.

The reason for this pure & polished detail comes from the air suspension shock isolation & internal pop filter. These eliminate mechanical noises as well as breathiness. When you remove these unwanted sounds, all that remains is your words, with solid clarity. As a supercardioid microphone, the Shure SM7B is designed only to record what's fed directly through the front of the capsule while muting the rest. However, the icing on the cake is the electromagnetic shield that defeats humming noises from nearby devices, whether it's your modem, computer monitor, or amplifier.

The Blue Yeti is popping up all over the place, thanks to the affordable cost, high-quality sound, and ease of use. We've chosen it as the best microphone for streaming because of the many different features that allow even a novice to take full advantage of and stream great sound.

The first major advantage of using this streaming microphone is, of course, the USB connection type. Unlike XLR microphones, which may require extra equipment to connect properly to your recording device, you can plug the Blue Yeti straight into your computer and go!

This streaming mic uses three condensers, with a frequency response rate of 20Hz to 20kHz. This is the standard wide-range response we look for to capture the full depth of your audio. This means you're getting studio sound at a reasonable price.

As a unidirectional condenser microphone, the Audio Technica AT2020 finds a great balance between capturing high-quality audio without picking up all the background noise. It is side-addressed, allowing you to suspend the microphone in an upright position while singing into the side of the capsule. This feature offers a wider surface area for picking up both vocals and music.

A friend uses this microphone in our virtual meetings, and many streamers enjoy it for speech purposes. However, some of your streamers might be more interested in the music capabilities. The Audio Technica AT2020 is by far one of the best microphones for acoustic guitar, as well as the drums thanks to the high SPL and wide dynamic range, allowing you to record loud sound sources with very complex sound waves (like the vibration of your guitar & drums) with absolute ease.

Similar to its older sibling, the Blue Snowball iCE is a very popular streaming microphone for those who are starting out and can't spare a lot on their equipment. Luckily, even with a microphone like this one, you're still going to produce great-sounding audio. It's very simple to use thanks to the plug-and-play features that USB microphones provide us.

The 40Hz to 18kHz gives us a smooth frequency response with high-quality sound. You'll also have the choice to switch between cardioid & omnidirectional polar patterns, which correlate to recording sound through the front or from all sides of the microphone capsule. Using the Omnidirectional mode can record more audio depth, while cardioid will help you prevent background noise.

In terms of the microphone itself, the Elgato Wave:3 uses a steel grille for exquisite sound diffusion, which also adds to the mic capsule's durability. The u-mount microphone stand suspends the mic capsule offering high-quality shock suspension, preventing any handlings noises, even if you kick or bump into your desk. The onboard controls include a zero-latency monitoring headphone jack & gain control.

My favorite feature, which I've included on this list, is the Wave Link software. Wave Link allows you to stream with up to 9 sound channels at a time, including your microphone, your game audio, extra sound effects, and maybe some music for gamers. And similar to what we'd get in a recording studio, you'll be able to control each channel as you see fit. This software can prevent a lot of time in production when putting together the audio for your videos.

The first feature I love is the option to choose between XLR & USB. Connecting via USB is optimal for many people as you won't need extra equipment to process or record the audio. However, as some may argue, XLR is a little more high quality, so the choice is yours, and I love that. The Audio Technica AT2005USB only picks up noise from the front of the capsule, giving you better sound isolation than its 2020 counterpart.

The 50Hz - 50kHz frequency response is not the most detailed, but this streaming microphone has a low-mass diaphragm that will do more than enough to get your voice across to your fans in a powerful manner. It comes with a desktop tripod stand and weighs nearly half a pound!

The Electro-Voice RE20 is one of the most high end podcast microphones on the market right now and has a strong history around voices. If you watch a lot of sports, you'll be pleased to hear that most radio announcers use this very same microphone in their booth. It offers incredible sound and an amazing vocal presence.

The first feature that separates the Electro-Voice RE20 from others on this list is the Variable D. This helps the microphone avoid proximity effect, allowing you to move around in your seat without the audio gain shifting. It's also a true cardioid (unidirectional) microphone with absolutely no coloration at 180 degrees off-axis! The powerful sound protection is by both an internal pop filter and an element shock mount.

Of course, cool colors and designs don't make a streaming microphone more effective. Fortunately, the HyperX QuadCast has enough amazing features to be worth your time and money. It's not too expensive that it'll break the bank, and the sound it can produce is comparable to others in its price range. Similar to others on this list, there are switchable polar patterns to control the open capsules on the microphone.

It comes with a desktop stand and an anti-vibration shock mount, reducing handling noises from banging into your desk or moving the microphone around during your streams. It also comes with a mount adapter, so if you wish to use a microphone boom arm stand, so it's suspended in front of your face, you can do that too! I recommend you do it because it will look fantastic.

The convenience of a streaming microphone like the Samson Go is that you can fit the case in your pocket, and getting it set up with your computer is as easy as plugging it in. That being said, the audio quality reminds us why appearances can be misleading.

With a frequency response of 80Hz - 18kHz when using their Cardioid setting, as well as a range of 20Hz - 20kHz on their omnidirectional setting, the audio records with great detail. Further supporting this is their sample rates of 16-bit/48kHz. This means high-quality recordings with a lot of detail.