The Best Podcast Equipment for 2023
No matter whether you are just obtaining started off or seeking to enhance your podcast recording setup, accumulating all the requisite gear can appear to be complicated. Immediately after all, a good pair of studio headphones and a major-notch microphone can established you back a significant chunk of modify. The sheer selection of selections isn’t going to enable issues, either.
Thankfully, you you should not want to spend a fortune to critically enhance the high quality of your recordings (while you surely can). Right here, we’ve collected some of our most loved options for household recording studios throughout a array of budgets. Whatsoever mic you pick will assist you history crisp, broadcast-design vocals, and all of the headphones can reproduce audio accurately without leaking seem. Further than mics and headphones, we also include some equipment, these as desktop mic arms, cables, mixing stations, and audio interfaces to support you achieve the most professional podcast set up feasible.
Superior-Close USB Mic
The Apogee HypeMiC takes USB mic recording to an additional stage, making use of analog compression to the sign just before digitally converting it. That usually means you get the usefulness of USB connectivity, alongside with the achieve and compression of an analog sign, in a single straightforward-to-use package deal. The HypeMiC is just not excellent for purists who most likely want the XLR route, but if you are wonderful with USB connectivity, this is an excelent option from an business titan that specializes in analog-to-electronic conversion.
Apogee HypeMiC Assessment
Budget-Pleasant USB Mic
You have almost certainly seen this mic somewhere—the pretty interesting (no pun meant) Blue Snowball Ice has turn into a conventional of sorts for online video productions and podcasts alike, delivering good quality audio totally free of electronic signal processing (DSP) for an impressively reduced rate. Whilst it does not quite contend with other mics on this listing, it’s reasonably priced plenty of that you can acquire a number of of them for the price of a single increased-tier substitute. And if you pay consideration to your mic placement and technique, you can get good recordings out of it.
Blue Snowball Ice Evaluation
Hybrid USB and XLR Mic
The MV7 takes its structure cues from the famous SM7 mic that Michael Jackson made famed, but adds the solution for USB connectivity. If you really don’t need to have USB features and can afford to pay for it, springing for a genuine SM7 is almost certainly the greater go, but few mics that audio as excellent as the MV7 are as versatile—it’s 1 of the only we have observed with equally XLR and USB outputs. In testing, it sent quality vocal audio that did not require processing, but you can, of course, use the Shure Motiv suite of EQ and compression resources to thoroughly clean up your recordings.
Shure MV7 Overview
Secondary XLR Mic
The Rode PodMic is a uncomplicated XLR workhouse that is conducive to multi-speaker podcasts because of its affordability. The audio is reasonably uncolored, and, while you may possibly want to include a little bit additional crispness to the significant-mids or dial back the lows somewhat in put up, the initial sign is crystal clear more than enough that performing so is not a requirement. And the designed-in pop filter works fairly effectively (as long as your recording subject vocal has good mic system), which means you probably never need an external a person.
Rode PodMic Review
Pop Filter
The Royer PS-101’s metallic monitor should be the first indication that this is no back garden-selection pop filter—the louvered metallic redirects air passing via downward and the filter by itself disperses plosives in a all-natural-sounding fashion. Absolutely sure, dispersing plosives is what all pop filters do in a bid to protect the mic’s capsule, but some of them can be a tiny louder than many others. The PS-101 is equally aurally and visually clear on the latter front, the capacity to see the mic by way of the filter can be a true edge for precision vocalists. Royer can make the PS-101 as the ideal complement to its ribbon mic lineup, but the pop filter get the job done wells with just about any mic with which you pair it.
Desktop Mic Mount
A studio arm allows you make fast, quiet mic adjustments, frees up desk place, and, let’s be trustworthy, appears awesome. With the Rode PSA+, vocalists can go the mic although it is reside, and as very long as they use a mild touch, the mic should not choose up any appears or vibrations. It can tackle just about any mic weight, from the really light to the cumbersome, and also makes cable administration a breeze. Make absolutely sure you go for the new PSA1+ over the first PSA1 the former presents numerous improvements that enable far more sleek actions.
Rode PSA1+ Critique
Significant-Stop Studio Headphones
The Beyerdynamic DT 700 Professional X headphones are our select for premium studio over-ears in addition to currently being exceptionally at ease for very long listening sessions, they deliver accurate audio with a aim on clarity and harmony. They don’t exaggerate possibly the bass or the highs, so if a keep track of capabilities deep bass, you hear it as it’s supposed. The headphones also passively block out ambient noise and don’t leak a lot audio, which tends to make them best for podcast recording and mixing.
Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X Overview
Finances-Friendly Studio Headphones
The Sennheiser Hd 280 Professional headphones have been a staple in recording studios for many years, and are our go-to recommendation for monitoring and mixing audio on a finances. The earpads aspect generous cushioning, although the thick, semi-coiled cabling is strong, and the pair stays in location for musicians (or podcast hosts) who tend to transfer all over in the course of recording. If you require to hear audio obviously and exactly in the studio, these about-ears are an outstanding price.
Sennheiser High definition 280 Pro Critique
Audio Interface
If you prepare on recording your audio to your computer system and intend to use everything other than USB mics, you require to incorporate an audio interface to your set up. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is effectively built, simple to function, and provides quality, transparent audio. Its two XLR inputs double as quarter-inch instrument inputs, so you can record synths and guitars specifically, as properly. On top of that, an Air button allows for brighter, crisper vocals, while you get individual knobs for monitoring quantity and headphone concentrations. Focusrite also bundles a novice model of ProTools for those people fascinated in trying out one of the sector-regular audio enhancing suites.
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (3rd Gen) Assessment
All-in-A single Recording Station
If recording to ProTools or GarageBand is more included than you want to get, an all-in-a person recording process like the Rodecaster Professional could be a improved healthy. This mixer has 4 mic inputs, is effective with equally XLR and USB mics, and even has Bluetooth channels to loop in distant friends. It also features built-in seem outcomes and is intuitive to use. Plus, it appears to be like great on a desktop.
Good quality Mic Cables
Most USB mics appear with their cables, but most XLR mics really don’t. For that reason, if you prepare to record with a good quality XLR mic, you have to have a high-quality mic cable. You can blow some major dollars on cables if that is your point, but Mogami cables strike a stable harmony in between general performance and price—a 6-foot cable fees only about $60. This cable terminates in gold-pin Neutrik connectors and can transmit audio cleanly, clearly, and reliably.
(Credit history: Rode)
Your Podcast Journey Doesn’t Stop Listed here
Even though squaring away your hardware demands is an critical to start with step, that’s not the only point you have to fret about. You also will need to contemplate how you are going to report and edit your audio, as effectively as the place you can host it, which we deal with in our tale on how to generate a profitable podcast. And if you want a bit of inspiration to enable get you started off, test out our roundup of the greatest podcasts.