I’ve purchased and used the Blue Yeti microphone and Audio Technica AT-2035. I was gifted some high quality microphones from RØDE as well. You can see my video comparison between 4 microphones here:
Here is another video where I compare the Blue Yeti, RODE NT-USB, NT1, and LogitechG ProX headset.
Free Audio Software
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to use some audio software with your microphones. Whenever you hear a sexy microphone on the internet, it’s rarely just the microphone with no extra help. A lot of times a microphone will use a noise gate, a noise filter, a compressor, an equalizer, and more. Personally I use a compressor and a noise filter. I recommend spending a few hours to learn how to use the software below. It will make crappy mics sound good. It will make great mics sound amazing. The best part is that it’s free.
Blue Yeti USB Microphone — By itself the Blue Yeti is an ok entry level mic for the casual streamer. I think the Blue Yeti needs some help to make it sound sexy, and luckily there is free help on the internet. I’ve taken advantage of the free VST Host effects with reaper plugins to make it sound a lot better.
The main benefits of the yeti is that it’s easy to set up since it’s USB. It does not require a mixer, preamp, XLR cables, etc. You might need a better microphone stand to get the mic closer to your face. All microphones (especially the yeti) benefit significantly by bringing it very close to your face. If you cannot bring the yeti close to your face, then it might not be worth the price tag. The yeti far way does not sound very good unless your goal is to just capture room audio.
Foam Windscreen for Blue Yet — I use this as my pop filter / windscreen. It’s low profile and gets the job done.
Audio-Technica AT2035 Large Diaphragm Studio Condenser Microphone — If you’re willing to spend a little bit more money, the AT2035 is a solid choice. It costs about $150, but it is an XLR mic and will require additional hardware. It will require some kind of USB audio interface and/or preamp. More information on those is below, but you’re looking to spend at least another $50-100 on an interface and preamp.
Rode NT1KIT Condenser Microphone Cardioid — The RODE NT1 is a fantastic condenser microphone. Even by itself with no software help it sounds amazing (as seen in my Youtube comparison video above). This is slightly more expensive than the AT2035, but you do get what you pay for. This is also an XLR mic that will require additional hardware to make it work with your computer.
Rode NTG4 PLUS Shotgun Microphone — The RODE shotgun microphone is a useful microphone to place around the room to pick up extra audio. Although, a normal condenser microphone would also probably do the trick, the shotgun microphone is nice because it helps reduce the chance of picking up my voice when I’m standing at my desk. This is also an XLR microphone. The NTG4+ in particular is nice because it has a built in Lithium Ion battery. This allows me to use these shotgun mics on my DSLR camera if I ever do filming on the go.
RODE PSA1 Swivel Mount Studio Microphone Boom Arm — This mic arm comes in at a much higher price point, but you truly get what you pay for. The build and quality on this arm is fantastic. The reach is very long (almost 1 meter) and it works very well for my stream where I like to get up and walk around the room. The mic stand swivels with me on the fly while live and the viewers hear nothing. I also use my desk for work during the day and need to get the microphone out of my face. This arm makes moving my mic a breeze.
Yamaha MG10XU 10-Input Stereo Mixer with Effects — This Yamaha Mixer is a beast and will stay with me forever. I need this mixer because it comes with so many microphone inputs and I use multiple microphones around my room to pick up the audio. It also features built in sound effects which is helpful for adding in some fun voice tweaks during the stream. This mixer should be able to handle almost any complex future setup you might grow into.
Samson XPD1 Wireless Microphone — Whenever I am doing a meal prep stream, I use this wireless USB mic. It is very minimal, but high quality. The microphone is very fragile so do not use this for weight lifting or exercising. Since it is a USB mic, it requires no mixer or no special hardware. This mic can easily plug into any computer.
