A podcast’s perceived quality is at least partly tied to the quality of the audio. Poor quality audio can deter people from listening to great content.

In this chapter, we address some of the factors to consider when selecting microphones. The best microphone for you is the one that that works well with your voice and your recording environment. We’ve included lists of several popular podcast recording microphones below. Before selecting a microphone, you may wish to read online reviews and listen to some of the many available YouTube videos in which microphones are compared against each other.

Dynamic, condenser, or ribbon microphone

Dynamic microphones are powered by sound vibrations in the air. These do not require external power, but are less sensitive. In practice, this means that more distant sounds are less likely to be captured by the microphone. This makes dynamic microphones the best choice for podcast audio recorded in noisier environments.

Condenser or ribbon microphones require phantom power that is provided by a mixer or a computer (generally through a usb port or on phantom power provided by a mixer or interface through an XLR cable). These are the best options if you are working in a soundproof room with good sound isolation. (Ribbon microphones were the most common recording microphones until the 1970s as condenser microphone use increased, but have had a resurgence in the last 20 years.)

USB vs XLR microphones

Another choice that you will face is between using USB or XLR microphones. USB microphones are typically condenser microphones (but are sometimes dynamic mics) that are powered by a computer’s USB port. USB microphones are generally (but not always) less expensive than XLR microphones. Most modern operating systems will allow you to plug in more than one USB microphones (with appropriate software installed), but the signals are combined and cannot be separated later. This limits post-recording editing possibilities. Some podcasts are recorded using stereo microphones (such as the Zoom H1, H2, H4/H4n, H5, H6, or H8) to provide stereo separation when recording two or more guests in close proximity. Commonly used mono USB microphones are those sold by Blue (the Snowball, Snowball Ice, and the Yeti series: Yeti, Yeti Nano, and Yeti X mics), Rode (NT-USB, NT-USB mini, and Podcaster), Audio-Technica (the AT2005, AT2020USBi, and ATR2100), Sennheiser (the Mk 4), Shure (such as the MV51 or the dual usb/XLR MV7), and Samson ( the Q2U). (There are many others as well.)

XLR microphones are connected to a mixer or other interface device that has a usb or other audio output. The advantage of using a mixer  is that it allows for separate audio settings on each mic and provides either a stereo or multi-channel output (depending on the device) that can be recorded directly on your computer or recorder. This may cost a bit more than a usb mic, but using a mixer allows for more inputs and provides more control over the audio from each participant in a recording session.

Omni-directional, cardioid,  super cardioid, bidirectional, or stereo?

• Omnidirectional mics record in 360 degrees (in all directions). These are best used when podcast participants are located in close proximity to each other (with the microphone centered among the participants).
• Cardioid microphones are directional and ignore most sound from behind or to the side of the microphone.
• Super cardioid microphones record over a more focused angle than cardioid mics. They result in less bleed from other sound sources than do other microphones.
• Bi-directional microphones record from both the front and back (in a figure-8 pattern) and reject most audio from the sides). This option is available in some condenser microphones and is often used with the mic placed in the center of a table between the two parties being recorded.
• Stereo microphones can be used to record a group of speakers and replicate the spatial orientation of the podcast participants oriented from left to right. (Binaural and ambisonic  microphones can create 360 degree spatial audio reproduction on an X-Y or an X-Y-Z coordinate system – i.e., binaural microphones allow sound to appear to be coming from anywhere on a 2 dimensional plane, while ambisonic mics combined with surround sound systems, extends this in a vertical direction to allow sound to also  appear above or below you )

Smartphones, laptop mics or usb headsets?

• The internal mics in smartphones and laptops work if nothing else is available. Audio quality is generally fairly low. (External mics plugged into smartphones, though, such as the Shure MV88, Zoom iQ6 X/Y or IQ7, or the Rode SC6, VideoMic Me, or IXY-L can provide high quality stereo recording from a smartphone.)
• usb headsets can work if only a single person is being recorded or if the recording is done with remote guests, But there are many audio problems associated with these:
  • the mic is generally  close to the mouth, resulting in pops.
  • the earphones and mic are in close proximity, often generating bleedthrough if used with remote guests.
  • the microphone element in most usb microphones is of much lower quality than most microphones in laptops and smartphones, resulting in low quality audio.
• Bluetooth headsets – Most bluetooth headsets have the same issues as usb headsets, but also experience even lower audio quality due to the degradation of the audio signal due to the current state of bluetooth connection speeds. (Airpods, connected to Apple devices, though, provide better audio quality than most wireless headsets, unless long hair rubs against the microphone ends when the person being recorded moves).

Ancillaries

To help improve the quality of your audio, you may wish to invest in microphone shock mounts and/or pop filters.

Shock mounts for microphones (reduce noise associated with surface vibrations).  Pop filters reduce the loud “pops” (aka “plosives”) that occur  when someone says words beginning with hard consonant sounds (such as “p”, “b”, “d”, “t”, or “k”) directly into a microphone that is close to and directly in line with the person’s breath. (Good microphone technique is also helpful in avoiding this, but most podcasts guests – and podcast hosts – have not been trained in good microphone techniques.)

Our current (tea for teaching) equipment

Studio

• • 4 Heil PR-40 dynamic microphones
  • 1 Shure SM7B dynamic microphone
  • Shock mounts
  • Overhead boom mic stands
  • Rode RODECaster Pro Podcast Production Studio
  • 2 Cloud Microphones Cloudlifter (CL-2) 2-channel mic activator (a mic pre-amp that is powered by phantom power from the mixer – large diaphragm microphones such as the PR-40 and SM7B provide a wide frequency response, but can require an inline pre-amp unless the mixer has a powerful pre-amp)

Home/remote recording

• • • Podtrak P4 (Rebecca) – Rodecaster Pro or Podtrak P4 (John)
    • Shure SM7B dynamic microphone (John)
    • Shure Super 55 (Rebecca)

 Travel

• • • • 2-Shure Super 55 super cardioid mics
      • 4 Shure 57 cardioid mics & 3 Shure Beta 57A supercardioid mics
      • One of the following mixers:
        • Zoom H8 – 8-12 inputs (most flexible with multiple XLR inputs and microphone attachments)
        • Zoom Podtrak – P4 – 4 inputs (including one dial-in input through a bluetooth or direct connection to smartphone)
        • Zoom L-8 (bulkier, but with 8 inputs)  (including one dial-in input through a bluetooth or direct connection to smartphone)

Hardware cost

Lowest cost option

• Equipment: laptop, smartphone, or Chromebook
• Hosting: SoundCloud or free cloud storage
• Software: Audacity
• Cost: the value of your time and hardware (monetary cost is zero)

Low cost option

• Equipment: laptop
• Hosting: free podcast hosting service such as Anchor or Acast
• Blue Yeti (used in stereo or bidirectional mode) for local host(s)
• Zoom, Skype, Facetime, Microsoft Teams to interview remote guests
• free Google sites podcast website
• free transcription service (such as uploading the audio as a video file to YouTube and downloading and posting the autogenerated transcript)
• Approximate start up cost:  $120-150 (depending on which version of the Blue Yeti you purchase)

Medium cost option

• Equipment: your own laptop or desktop
• Hosting: free podcast hosting service such as Anchor or Acast or low-cost podcast hosting plan from Podbean, Blubrry, etc
• Podtrak P4 and 2-4 dynamic mics (such as Shure 58) with desktop stands and XLR cables
• Zoom, Skype, Facetime, Microsoft Teams to interview remote guests
• free Google sites podcast website  or basic website provided by podcast hosting service
• free transcription service (such as uploading the audio as a video file to YouTube and downloading and posting the autogenerated transcript) or using otter.ai with annual license
• Approximate start up cost:  $400-650. Annual costs of $200-250 (after acquiring equipment)

Higher cost option

• Equipment: your own laptop or desktop
• Hosting: low-cost podcast hosting plan
• podcast website
• Rode Podcaster Pro II recorder/mixer with 2/4 dynamic mics (such as Shure 58)
• Basic Squadcast or Riverside.fm recording of remote guests
• free transcription service (such as uploading the audio as a video file to YouTube and downloading and posting the autogenerated transcript) or using otter.ai with annual license
• Approximate start up cost:  $1200. Annual costs of $400-500

Generate your own budget estimate

We’ve created a Google sheet document that provides a budget estimator and the urls to Amazon and B&H current prices of commonly used podcast equipment and services. Click on the link to this document to download this spreadsheet so that you can estimate the costs for your planned podcast.