Podcasters love to geek-out about podcasting gear. So here's a blind test with four popular podcasting microphones.
Each microphone is a studio dynamic microphone connected via XLR to a Behringer X1832USB mixer. The preamp and EQ settings is identical. Each recording has been adjusted only to -19 LUFS and limited to -1 dBTP, but is otherwise raw (no EQ, no compression, no noise gate). These samples were recorded into Adobe Audition via a Behringer U-Control USB audio interface.
The following samples are in uncompressed WAV (and thus may be slow to start playback).
Mic 1
Mic 2
Mic 3
Mic 4
Guess and vote!
(Disable your ad-blocker on my domain if you don't see the following survey.)
My guesses are:
1. Electro-Voice RE 320
2. Heil PR-40
3. Share SM7B
4. Audio Technica ATR2100
Based on these 4 recordings, I would rank them 1, 4, 2, 3.
I’m pretty sure they are all the same mic 🙂
He he.
Right! He recorded them ALL with the Audio Technica BPHS-1 just at different times of different days! =)
Mic4 sounds the best to me but I have no idea which mic that is.
I’m pretty sure it’s the Audio Technica BPHS-1, right?
I prefer mic 3. Hopefully we’ll get the results soon.
Through my Apple ear-bud (one in, the other out), the way I listen to most podcasts:
3, 4, 1, 2
Through my studio monitors (a lot harder to pick, and more subjective, as what qualities do I like more?):
4, 1, 3, 2
Interesting!
2 sounds best in my ear buds.
1 was clear, and a close second.
3 was the most crisp, but a slight tinny sound. Not bad though.
4 was muffled, with muddy low end.
I cannot than you for sharing this test. I am convinced that any of the first three would be fine, with only a slight EQing, and/or processing.
Tell me 2 is the Audio Technica AR-2100, and I will not be spending any more money on a new mic, any time soon.
Thank you again.
Do we ever get the answers? 🙂
I liked 3 the best
1. Sounded good but flat and muffled
2. Sounded enhanced to much on the top end with not enough mids.
3. Sounded good and clear with more balanced presence.
4. Sounded okay, clear but had a lot of sibilants.
I monitored by way of an old Samsung laptop with built in speakers that tend to sound light and hollow with little low end.
Pod casting technology is now more developed in the world. There are more people are more interest about this audio program. So i am very hope about this technology in here.