Posted on by Terry White

Which USB microphone sounds best?

blueyeti

A couple of weeks ago I did a review of my NEW Rode Podcaster microphone and while I’ve been enjoying the mic there was one thing that stuck with me from the comments section. It was the fact that a couple of people commented that they actually thought the MKL Studio 1 mic sounded better! What was funny is that was my least favorite choice. I didn’t think it was bad, I just thought the Rode sounded better. This got me thinking that maybe it’s not my ears that matter. After all YOU’RE THE LISTENER! So what sounds best to you is what really matters.

Since that time I came across a deal on the Blue (another favorite brand of mine and many of yours) Yeti THX certified mic and I couldn’t resist and rather than do another simple review talking about what I liked and what I didn’t like (by the way I like it a lot), I thought it would be even more fun to let YOU decide which one sounds best?

 

Your vote matters

I put together a quick test. I wanted to compare the Rode Podcaster against the MKL Studio 1 (that many of you thought sounded better) and my NEW Blue Yeti mic. I thought it would be fun to have a blind taste sound test where I would record the exact same thing (my voice) using all 3 mics and put the sample recording here for you to judge. Whichever one that you pick as the best sounding one will determine which mic I use from here on out. I’m making this a blind test so that brand loyalty doesn’t enter the equation. Next week I’ll reveal the winner from your votes and which sample belonged to which mic.

My Testing Setup

At first I thought about simply plugging in each mic one by one and recording the same thing. However, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to say the exact same thing the exact same way 3 times in a row. So instead I connected each mic to a different computer and placed all 3 mics as close as I could distance wise from me. I used the exact same software, input levels and settings running simultaneously on each intel Mac. Then I hit record on each Mac and spoke (that’s why there will be a couple second delay in at least one track as I only have 2 hands.) After I recorded each movie, I brought all 3 clips to the same computer and opened them up in QuickTime. I extracted the clips as Audio Only AIFF format. I then brought all 3 clips into iTunes to convert them to .MP3 (160kbps) and AAC (iTunes plus). This way it’s as fair as It could be given my setup.

 

Sound off challenge! Which one sounds best?

Take a listen to each sound clip, then vote for your favorite below.

Sample 1 MP3    Sample 1 AAC

Sample 2 MP3    Sample 2 AAC

Sample 3 MP3    Sample 3 AAC

Since some of you are really into audio I’ve also provided the uncompressed AIFF files for download here.

 

 

See the Results on Monday, February 22, 2010

Check back next Monday for the results and I can’t wait to see which one wins! (The Results Are Here)

Links to the 3 mics (in no particular order 🙂 ) Rode Podcaster, MKL Studio 1 and Blue Yeti THX Certified

19 Replies to “Which USB microphone sounds best?”

  1. Hey Terry,

    Good interactive post… like the survey. Look forward to the results. Heard more feedback from the second two mics but that should be adjustable. Can you give any idea of cost and where you purchased them? Good Selling, DTG

  2. Hi. The first thing that I noticed was that sample 2 seemed to have more background noise audible, especially at the beginning. The next difficulty was that 1 and 3 were at very different levels. Sample 3 sounds as if you are almost in the mic, or listening from an enclosed chamber. Not a good sound. With the level on sample 1 turned up that one seemed the best and most natural. Interesting test. Thanks.
    John

  3. I have been struggling with buying a mic. Now I will wait for the results. I know which one I like and I hope it is in my price range.

  4. #2 & #3 both had a background noise when Terry wasn’t speaking, not a specific sound, just something that let’s you know a mic is open in an otherwise silent room. Maybe the sound is something left over from the Big Bang. The level on mic #1 was significantly lower than the other two. I’d be curious as to why, but #1 had the best sound (IMHO).

  5. Mics 2 & 3 had significantly more background noise, even when adjusted for different levels. While the gain level on mic 1 was lower, it was head and shoulders above the other two in clarity and lack of distortion.

    I’ve never heard your podcast, but if you record it in the same environment as this test, you should find a way to cut that low end noise — move the offending fan/hdd/whatever out of the room, or at least cut it down with some kind of filtering. Fatiguing to listen to. (Maybe it’s due to having 3 computers running at the same time?)

    1. Replying to my own post….

      Terry, with 180 votes, 53% choosing Mic #1, your results are not going to change (statistically speaking) by waiting a week, even if you have 600 people take the survey by then. Put us out of our misery and let us know which model Mic #1 is! 🙂

  6. With the room tone so loud, it’s hard to tell what’s background noise and what’s self-noise from the mics. I’m going to assume that the background noise could be fixed by adjusting the recording environment and the gain. I find #3 lower in quality so am ignoring it 🙂

    My thoughts after listening to the aifs with $100 Sony headphones:

    #1 sounds OK to me, but I find the vocal quality thin. I think this would be even more evident with a female voice.
    #2 sounds better, fuller, and richer (if you ignore the room noise). It’s also hotter, and might do a better job of recording quieter subjects.

    I voted for #2, but if you just want something easily recorded on the fly in your computer room, #1 is better. If other reviews of #2 show decent self-noise levels, and you are willing to take more pains with your recording environment, I think #2 is capable of better results than #1.

  7. Sample one is by far the best. Two and Three both have a considerable amount of background noise.

    I wonder if the results would be the same if you played three cord monte with the mics.

  8. Terry,

    At my age of 63, I have about 20% hearing loss from my past rock-n-roll days…so

    Its #1 for me…a smooth sound, sounds more sounds like your voice is “softer” .

    From Ky that is how I hear it….

    Ken
    PS. Photoshop User magazine (April issue) has a tutorial on skin softening by Karen Eiseman that is the best, lucid method with more realism of skin tones that I have been able to achieve. Whatever I paid in subscription, I got paid in spades with that nugget. I think its on page 52. I reduced my PS time by 20 minutes on skin tones…

  9. Like David above, ignoring background noise, I liked #2 the best.

    Since people here are much more experienced then myself, I’d like to throw out a question/scenario and see if anyone could point me in correct direction. Would one of these mics work if I were trying to record a speaker in a small conference room (say 10’x15′) and also get questions from others in the room? Or should I really mic the speaker and have a separate recording device for rest of room?

    Sorry if I’m taking this off track!

    1. Yes, at least two of them would work for that. The Blue Yeti actually has a selector switch to choose between different environments and one of those environments is Yeti Omni (Omnidirectional to pick up sound in all directions) and another choice would be Yet bidirectional to pick up sounds in front and back of the mic (great for interviews). During this test I had the mic set on “Cardioid” which is supposed to be best for a single speaker/podcasts.

      1. Awesome Terry! Really appreciate the feedback! I’m going to look closer at the Blue Yeti.

        Thanks again!

  10. Hi Terry!

    Great comparo! Got here a bit late, dying to find the results.

    I’m new to voiceoover work. My produceR advised me to find a good UBS mic for home work, so here I am!

    Thanks again!

    Mike

  11. So which one is which? I am looking into purchasing a usb mic and I thought mic #1 won heads over heals and I would like to know which one it was????

      1. I know this is an old post @2e2dce39210d1418eeabe738a0bdef1b:disqus but that link is broken. So, which was the winner or, more important, which mic was sample #1 ?

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