It’s time to have “The Talk” about USB microphones…

Enough is enough. Too many people JUMP to dunk on USB microphones, when they're more than good enough for most people to do their jobs. Sure, early 2000s/2010s USB microphones weren't great - but these days? You could run an entire career from one, if you pick a good one. Let's talk about this and check out #sennheiser new mic in today's video.
SHORT for AI audio will be released in the near future.

TIMECODES:
00:00 Enough is Enough
01:40 Why USB mics are great for most people
03:15 "Professionals never use USB mics" isn't true
04:24 "Gear doesn't matter"
05:14 The Sennheiser Profile USB Microphone
06:25 Handling noise? NONE
08:20 Specs
08:55 iPad & Mobile Support!
09:22 USB Microphones SHOULD be your default/starter position
10:05 5 Tips to get the best results with USB mics
14:30 Taking your microphone qualtiy even further
15:30 My processing settings
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Any links to products or services may be affiliate links that give me a small kickback at no cost to you, with no influence on the content. #eposvox #streamprofessor

[tombuck]

I admit that I was stuck in the “USB mics aren’t great” mindset for a long time, but over the past few years there are so many awesome options (like the Profile) where I sometimes prefer USB mics now just for the simplicity:quality ratio.

[UocLv]

The decision to upgrade from a Blue Yeti to an SM7B microphone proved to be a less-than-optimal choice for me. It took nearly a year of tweaking and adjusting to achieve the desired sound quality. It is crucial to understand the intricacies of high-end audio equipment, as proper setup and calibration are essential to make the most of its capabilities. Without this knowledge, such an investment may not yield the desired results, and the expenditure may be considered a waste. It is worth noting that not everyone is an audio engineer, and therefore, it is vital to do thorough research before making any significant purchases in this field.

[PerhapsGuy]

As Booth Junkie would put it:

"Grab yourself a microphone, any microphone, and record something amazing!"

[CGamer]

When I first got into content creation my goal was to get an XLR mic because "everyone" said the sound quality was superior. However after getting into doing tech reviews I've learned a majority of decent quality USB mics sound just as good if not better than similarly priced XLR mics

[JoshRazauskas]

I have the EL Gato Wave 3 and I got it because I’m a wheelchair bound content creator and I needed something that was going to help me utilize VST‘s to sound better on a naturally weaker, sounding voice, that has been problematic in the past with dynamic microphones. Condensers sound better for my voice and something that I could physically do myself and it worked perfectly! I have never sounded better, in all the years that I’ve made YouTube and now Tik Tok videos. I had no idea that this was a stigma, but I really appreciate you doing this video to set the record straight and the new sinhizer sounds great!

[BoothJunkie]

I'm an XLR guy myself too, but we've certainly seen USB Condenser mics that have great quality.

[deltax-ray]

The anti-usb mic take is based on old knowledge when they were objectively bad, lots of good options now

[djp_video]

I would say that USB microphones are fine for people who intend to only use a single mic. Starting to do things like mixing sources from multiple microphones gets awkward with USB, where an XLR mic with a mixer with USB would make more sense.

[nickqqqq]

I bought a Wave:3 2 years ago and it has been my favorite mic I’ve ever owned and outclasses a lot of my friends XLR mics as they aren’t versed in how to properly set them up. With the addition of the Wave Link software, especially now with the addition of built in VST support, IMHO its the best usb microphone available and is one I will always recommend.

[OfficialMyMindset]

I have the Earthworks ICON USB and its amazing. Don't need an extra USB audio device for that extra cable and mess on the desk. Like with any other mic you need to do some processing to remove background noise etc. EQ APO with Re plugs is so good for that.

[CoffeeTalkandTechJohnRyan]

I love the fact you can add any usb mic or a audio interface with the streamdeck plus and it can be a do it all or as simple as you want.

[AVDRE]

I have a usb mic (MV7) which has an xlr port as well. Even though i have an audio interface, I still prefer the usb option. To use an xlr mic you need other things set up for it to work, people forget that...

[JudgeCastle]

Due to your recommendations over a year plus a go, I went with the Samson Q2U. USB/XLR combo. I used the USB portion for months. Sounded great. Much better than the Astro A50 headset mic for streaming. I ended up moving to XLR when the Wave XLR interface went on sale and honestly, I got tired of Windows and VMB making things more painful than needed.

I will say, having solid software makes these experiences much better, also being able to do research onto proper tuning, gating etc, makes a WORLD of difference that most people don't seem to be aware.

For those instances, you really don't hurt going with a USB mic and honestly, in the past 5 years, they are some of the best mics at affordable price points. Great video, as always.

[dayulPH]

Thanks for talking about this. I've never owned an XLR mic only because I don't really want to spend extra on another piece of hardware apart from the mic, and mostly because whenever I do watch reviews, from you and other mic review channels, the quality of audio I get from the USB mic reviews I see on youtube are honestly incredible, and to none the wiser, would probably be near impossible to tell the difference.

My girlfriend got me an Elgato Wave 3 and I have been blown away from how it sounds out of the box. The best part is that I still can give it more life by using equalizers as well to edit frequencies I want more of and less of.

USB microphones are incredible and I can definitely say that because I've started with an ATR2500 back in 2014-2015ish for my first mic and I've used that mic until I got my Elgato Wave 3 around 1-2 years ago.

[tristanrujano]

I have had a static sound issue in a dead quiet room that I thought may come from it being a usb mic, but this helped me rethink returning it and trying to make it work.

[HappyNBoy]

I appreciate this video and product description so much. Too often people who review and talk about audio equipment are audiophiles and recording engineers and their use cases are so incredibly different from the use cases of streamers, hobbyists, telepresence professionals... People for whom the max bit and sample rate can be a lot lower or for whom aesthetics, or versatility, or ease of use are of much greater concern. They don't need 32bit 96k audio for their weekly team meeting, they need a mute button so they don't annoy their coworkers when their partner is in the room.

[smoothvelvetsinger]

Thanks man, this video was a relief. I've made these points for years now, glad to hear you're on board with usb microphones. The best of them really are very very good.

[annoholics]

So you use a XLR Sennheiser MKH-416 when you are not getting sponsored? Very convincing.

[rdsii]

Would you consider the blu yeti mic a decent microphone?

[warpathh]

Can it work far enough away so it’s not in the camera shot? AKA would this work for an office with some background noise, vs the Samson Q2U that works pretty well in that scenario.