Everyone says XLR mics are the gold standard. But, for most people, USB mics are not only more convenient but also just as good—without the hassle of extra gear.
Why You Don’t Need an XLR Microphone Setup
There are lots of microphones you’ll end up getting suggested in your research. And while having a setup as professional as possible using an XLR dynamic or condenser microphone can yield amazing results, there’s a high chance you won’t need it and a USB microphone will be better instead.
XLR is the industry standard because it’s an upgradable system. A singer or voice actor may have their own microphone which they can then plug into any XLR system that the audio engineer is likely to have.
Recording at home using an XLR microphone is also an option as you can quickly adjust many things with knobs on your mixer or audio interface. However, you can get excellent results using a fairly affordable USB microphone, often indistinguishable from an XLR setup.
A USB Microphone Is More Than Enough in Most Cases
Unless your work calls for studio-quality recordings, you can easily rely on a USB microphone for almost every use case. Possibly even professional use cases as well. Take a listen to this quick voice sample video I made between the Rode VideoMic Go II and the Focusrite Scarlett Solo Gen 3 paired with the Audio Technica AT2020.
In the video, I used a Razer Seiren Mini for the rest of the video except for the comparison. This is to prevent any bias from being familiar with the audio of one microphone over the other before the test.
While editing the video, I was also quite impressed by the sound of the Razer Seiren Mini. I bought it for about $20 from a friend who barely used it. Had that been an option before I bought my XLR setup, I would’ve been happy to use it even for situations where quality is important.
Different Types of USB Microphones to Consider
There are two main types of USB microphones that you can buy for different applications, condenser and dynamic microphones. Here’s what you need to know and some buying recommendations.
Condenser Microphones
If you’re looking to buy a USB microphone for your desk, you’re more likely to come across condenser microphones than any other. All microphones in the previous videos were condensers, for example.
Condenser microphones offer great sound for great prices. Some popular examples include the Razer Seiren Mini, Audio Technica AT2020USB-X, Blue Yeti, and Fifine K669B. These microphones offer great detail for the price.
However, this sensitivity also has drawbacks as it collects unwanted background noise easily. The Rode VideoMic NTG is great for precision, however, as it’s a long shotgun microphone that captures mostly what it’s pointed at and not what’s around it.
A way around this is to get closer to the microphone and lower the gain setting so it captures more of your voice than the surroundings. Still, this usually results in a bassy voice recording that you might want to adjust in software or post-processing.
The Focusrite Scarlett Solo Gen 3 has the Air button that makes using condenser microphones close-up less bassy. If having the Air button is more convenient than portability, additional software, and post-processing, then XLR might be worth it for you.
Dynamic Microphones
Dynamic microphones are usually inexpensive in XLR form. However, USB dynamic microphones are quite the opposite.
USB dynamic microphones tend to be more expensive because they’re higher quality and provide a lot of benefits over condenser microphones. Firstly, they’re less sensitive without sacrificing detail as they have a smaller pickup range. This means background noise is minimized.
Some of the most popular USB dynamic microphones are the Shure MV6 and MV7+, with the MV7+ providing both XLR and USB capabilities. Razer also has a USB dynamic microphone, its top-of-the-line Seiren V2 Pro as opposed to its more budget-oriented Seiren Minis which are condenser microphones.
Fifine has come out with the Amplitank K668, one of the first budget USB dynamic microphones to rival Shure’s MV7+ with XLR and USB compatibility.
There are clear benefits to both XLR and USB, but for most people, a USB is more convenient, portable, and straightforward versus an XLR which would require some additional equipment in between.
