If you’re an online creator, picking the right hardware can be tough. Whether you’re a streamer, a podcaster, or a voice actor, nobody wants to get short-changed on sound quality. If you’re looking to improve your home set-up with crisp, studio-quality recording, here are the best microphones for feeling more important and professional than you actually are.
1. Blue Yeti
Blue’s famous Yeti is a staple among home creators, and with good reason. It’s arguably the best desktop mic on the market, and desktop mics are perfect for someone of your current paygrade. Clean and compact, the Yeti can easily fool your first-time Twitch viewers into thinking that this is just an off night for you and that you usually get way more viewers than this. Put a pop shield on there, why not? It probably does something.
2. AT2050
If you can afford to splurge a little bit, Audio Technica’s AT2050 is one of the most powerful microphones available for people whose creative careers will be taking off any day now. After you hang some loose-fitting bedsheets on the walls, this mic is one step closer to being able to call your bedroom a “studio.” The main drawback is the cost—the AT2050 is sporting a price tag that’ll make your bank account say, “Jesus, who do you think you are, Marc Maron?”
3. AT2020
After you’ve decided that the 2050 is way too expensive, the AT2020 is a perfectly suitable downgrade. Featuring a remarkably low price for its blistering audio quality, the AT2020 might actually earn back the money you spent on it in a couple years or so. You’ll be putting the word “influencer” on your résumé in no time.
4. Samson Go Mic
This handy little standby is portable, versatile, and comes with the added benefit of being thirty-five dollars, the cost of your average eating-alone-at-Olive-Garden-again. It has a little switch in it to change the condenser’s sound mode, or something, so just feel free to flip that son of a bitch and pretend you can tell the difference.
So, what are you waiting for? Get your three friends in your garage with the really loud fridge and start a gaming podcast, you trailblazer, you!
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