#XLR Mic

[adamharkus]

Maono PD200X USB/XLR Podcast Dynamic Microphone Review

Review of the Maono PD200X USB/XLR Podcast Dynamic Microphone. I’ve been recording my own music at home for almost 30 years now, from a Tascam Porta 05 cassette-based multi-track, through most of the BOSS BR series, and finally onto GarageBand for iPad. In all that time, I’ve only ever used two mics: The Shure SM58 and a RODE Videomic Me. Truth be told, neither of those mics were ideal for home…

[catastrophic-crow]

gods i love wired headphones. love having headphones with a headphone jack (and thus a replaceable cable) and no other way of playing music. love 10 foot long audio cables. love dedicated usb DACs. love headphones that are designed primarily for long-term listening comfort and don't need to have extra bulk in hinges or padding to make them more sturdy or flexible to accommodate being shoved in a bag when you're done with your commute. love high-quality audio with no perceptible delay and no fucking battery life and no extra mass from a bluetooth module and microprocessor and flashable ROM and a battery and charging circuit and onboard DAC and amp driving the speaker(s) weighing my head down.

[gadgetgeniusinsights]

FIFINE XLR/USB Dynamic Microphone

🎤 New blog post alert! Dive into my review of the FIFINE XLR/USB Dynamic Microphone. Perfect for podcasters, streamers, and more! #PodcastGear #MicrophoneReview #Podcasting #Streaming #AudioGear

Visit the FIFINE Store Color: BlackRecommended: Streaming, Podcast, Vocal, Recording, GamingBrand: FIFINEModel Name: AMPLIGAME AM8Connectivity Technology: USB, XLRConnector Type: USB, XLRSpecial Feature: Headphones Jack, Monitoring Volume Control, Buitin 3/8″ and 5/8” Threads, RGB Lights, RGB Control Key, Volume Control, Mute Function, XLR/USB ConnectionCompatible Devices: Laptop, Desktop,…

[mahbubulalam-799]

[flesh-into--gear]

late night smoked out slow jammin’ in the dark. sorry about the hum, single coils be like that

i need to start using my recording equipment again, i haven’t opened studio one in like three years. gotta get off the lazy train. especially since im not really streaming consistently anymore

[sirfrogsworth]

Whenever I see an up-and-coming Youtuber I notice they often make the same mistake. When the time comes to increase production quality, the absolute first thing you should do is invest in improving your sound. Not the camera or the lens or lighting or set design. Audio quality trumps all of that. People being able to understand what you are communicating should always be the highest priority.

And the cool part is you can do this with a cheap lav mic. There are some that can just plug right into your phone. The next priority is learning how to set levels and make sure your voice isn't distorting from being too loud. You can even record a little quiet and bump up the levels later on. But if you record too loud to begin with, you can't fix that.

After that you can "treat" your room. Which just involves controlling echo and reverb. Foam acoustic panels are expensive and not necessary. You can do the same thing by just filling your room with stuff. Furniture, books, blankets, pillows. You want to eliminate large flat surfaces. If the sound has to bounce around on 20 different surfaces before it comes back to your microphone, it will have much less energy.

You can also figure out which wall is the biggest echo offender and hang a couple of heavy blankets in front of it. If you can score those moving blankets on the cheap, those work great. And if you can put a gap in between the blankets that will further reduce echo/reverb. You don't have to cover the entire wall, just the main area in front of where you are speaking. If you can reduce that very first reflection, the sound will have much less energy to bounce off other surfaces.

All that said, sometimes people will go overboard with sound and buy that giant phallic SM7B dynamic microphone. I see those things everywhere. Yes, Michael Jackson used it and it does sound great. But with so many quality USB mics that plug straight into your computer, it is a huge hassle and really overkill unless you just enjoy audio tech and want a cool toy. The SM7B requires extra equipment to make it sound good. It's XLR so you need a special interface. And most people add a "cloudlifter" because it isn't very sensitive and can be really quiet without it. Plus, dynamic mics need to be super close to your mouth and I think covering half your face with a giant mic isn't the best visual. There are lav mics in a wide spectrum of price ranges that can be hidden and sound great. Or you can do a shotgun mic like they use in movies. It can be hidden offscreen and pick up your voice from a distance.

Big dynamic mics are great for people with baritone voices. If you are James Earl Jones and you want to show off your voice, the SM7B or something similar makes more sense. Beyond that, most of your viewers just want clarity. Good room treatment and a $30 lav mic can achieve that pretty well. And if you watch a few tutorials on how to EQ and process audio, you can do a lot to make a cheaper microphone sound great. Reaper is a wonderful audio program with professional features and a reasonable price.

TLDR... fix your sound first!

[themarkofoxin]

dnp hardware information i'm collecting from this stream

they seem to have bought an elgato that allows them to stream from their DSLR rather than their webcam which is why it looks so much nicer

seems to have been a different DSLR than their youtube one, because they switched to their youtube camera a little way in

dan mentioned a stream deck which would allow them to map shortcuts to buttons but they haven't used it visibly so he may have just called the elgato a streamdeck (same company)

they have a boom arm and a nice microphone! i didn't immediately recognize it but it looks like an XLR mic rather than USB which means the audio quality is nicer

they send their audio through a goXLR which means they do use a nicer XLR mic now, and can mix channels as they record

they only have one battery for their camera lol

[jessepinwheel]

thinkin about microphones

obviously if you have different computers or different uses for audio recording you can end up using multiple of these. pick whichever one you feel like you use the most often.

bonus question tell us about the microphone you use

[lucifer-kane]

spent 20 minutes troubleshooting my microphone after shifting my setup around my desk because my mic wasn't working.

the xlr cable sitting, not plugged in, directly in front of the interface

[castleaudios]

I’m not really up to date on your social media stuff so I don’t know if you said this already but I just remember something. A while ago I asked you about some technical stuff (this came to my mind because I’m upgrading my set up) and I was wondering, did you upgrade to the XLR mic already? If so, how is it? (I hope I remember the mic correctly) Looking for a new mic so I’m open for recommendations :)

Another thing: do you prefer getting questions one by one or should I just write them in one message?

Have a great day, drink water, and expect questions from me <3

I tried upgrading to the XLR mic but after several days of fighting with it, it's just not gonna work out so I'm looking for other options! I'll post updates as I make the upgrades to my equipment

Personally I prefer when people send all their questions at once. I'd rather work on one long submission than do seven individual ones.

I hope you have a great day as well! I look forward to your questions

[sassylich]

ok question for the VA and ttrpg folks on here: whats your fave usb mic for streaming/video content?

i have a great XLR in my booth, but i can't do fun themed backgrounds in there, and i MUST do fun themed backgrounds

[sirfrogsworth]

I have been noticing a few people using this microphone on some of the channels I follow and it has really impressed me. A lot of microphones are designed to show off deeper voices and I feel like people in higher registers get ignored. With this mic, higher pitched vocals sound very full and natural. You don't get that sometimes sought-after boomy proximity effect for deeper voices, but I think it still has a very smooth pleasing sound. If you have a baritone and you really want to show it off, there are plenty of options, but I think this mic is really well-balanced for any voice and really shines for tenors on up.

It is called the Earthworks Icon microphone. It comes in XLR or USB. It's about $300, but I think that is a reasonable value for a professional quality podcast/streaming microphone. It does not need to be right next to your mouth, so you can put it outside of frame or in the corner. I think it is fairly attractive, so either way is good.

Here are a few videos so you can hear it for yourself.

EposVox shows off the USB and XLR versions. They sound pretty close.

[glasspyramid2211]

yarr me matey (pleasedontkillmeitsajoke)

I'm only doing this for mic. he likes pirates...and XLR Cables.

[pleasestopthese]

more audio shenanigans

so, i got this old mic. it's my second from the sennheiser MKH series of RF mics (they use radio circuitry to cut down noise and withstand moisture in the air, instead of just being normal audio circuits). in both cases, they use T-power or AB power (same thing), which is totally different from and dangerously incompatible with phantom power, which most modern equipment uses. these mics are older than me, i could afford them because they're so old and so unsupported but they sound fucking good. mostly people get the newer versions, they work phantom powered and sound mostly identical. not me!

my bigger field mixer and recording rig both have switches for T power (the switch in my FP33 is what got me looking for these mics) so mostly it's not a problem.

except my smaller recorder (this old MR-1 in the pictures) and my very tiny FP24 very much do not have T power.

so, i found the manuals for these old mics of mine online and in both there's a little circuit diagram for powering them with a 12v supply and that's what i did here in a cable: attached a couple 180-ohm resistors to the ends of the leads of this A23 battery holder (this would also work with smaller A27 batteries) and stuck them to pins 2 and 3 of an XLR connector, finished up this cable, stuck it inline.

turning everything on, i listened to the resistors charge up and come online, and the sound over the mic was,

i forgot to turn down the gain in the recorder!

i went into the menu of the MR-1 and set gain to -26dB, and the sound over the mic was just silky.

this whole rig fits in my purse, without emptying it.

i ordered a few more resistors to go with some capacitors i have to make a low cut filter inline, and then i'll have all the channel strip i want for this rig.

my FP24 does not work with this setup (i'd tried to use it for its LCF during this whole process) so i'm guessing i'll need to make an adapter to go from phantom power to T power so that it can hopefully more easily pretend this mic is no different from the other mics, but that's not urgent or anything i'm super curious about just yet. soon enough.

including screenshots here of the manuals for the MKH 406T and the MKH 815T showing identical schematics for providing power to a T powered mic. looking at the simplicity of it, i don't know why phantom power became the standard.

[mokeymokey]

Why do middling professional internet media people love to yell at their juniors about using high quality gear like you are telling jokes online. No one cares. I genuinely can't fathom why anyone would need an XLR mic at all for like twitch streaming. The 0.8% of your audience that watches you through like a 9 million dollar home cinema hifi setup can cry about it in their perverted little audiophile cave. But I'm not in the business so maybe I just don't get it..!?

[wisdomdoggy]

how to improve audio for videos!

I'm making this post so others can get better vocal audio in their video projects. It is EZ!

STEP 1 - Record your audio

Whether it's from a live stream or prerecorded, just create the audio. I suggest using a Hyperx Quadcast or anything that can capture 16-bit or higher. I suggest the Hyperx Quadcast because of its simplicity. The mic is USB, so it just plugs right into your computer and it's ready to go. This is way easier than getting a mic with an XLR which requires an audio interface that can double the cables and price for almost the same result!

You must have a pop filter! Without one, your audio can suffer from plosives- sounds like P (puh) and B (buh) carry a lot of bass frequencies and will mess with the volume/peaks of the recording. Some microphones don't need this, like an iPhone or a laptop microphone. Either way, I highly suggest a pop filter!

When you record, make sure the mic's gain control is low. Having high gain on your mic can lead to your audio sounding like this (yes that is exactly what it sounds like). High gain can lead to clipping and just terrible results.

After that, just find a program to record your audio. I use FL Studio. You can use any DAW or audio recording program (I think Audacity can record too!).

STEP 2 - Editing the audio

Some pretty simple steps here, just trust the process. I suggest any DAW, but I'll be using Audacity.

In Audacity, go to the top and find "effects" and place these effects in this order

Compressor

Threshold: -13.0

Ratio: 10.0:1

Attack: 0

Release: 1

Gain: 13.0db (optional if you have a different compressor)

2. Filter Curve EQ

just select the low roll off for speech preset lol

(Manage > Factory Preset > Low Rolloff for Speech)

3. Truncate Silence (Not for live stream audio)

Threshold: -20

Duration: 0.5

Truncate to: 0.7

OPTIONAL: Noise Reduction

If you're recording off a poor mic, chances are you'll have a loud background noise. Just use this effect to remove the room noise. Essentially a noise gate but for post-edit!

What this does -

The compressor makes all the quiet and loud parts of your audio the same volume, making any recording more intelligible. The EQ is for removing unwanted- or useless frequencies. In this case, the rolloff on the bass eq will remove any potential plosives and generally tighten up the audio. If you have a poor microphone this may require some more specific EQing (high end hiss, specific frequencies needing to be removed). The truncate silence will remove unnecessary length between each sentence and make your flow way more fluid. Do not do that for live stream audio, it will unsync your audio with the visuals.

If done correctly, this is the result!

go make videos suckars