Help me choose a usb microphone!

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panoskikas

New member
Hey there!,
Me and my friend have a youtube gaming channel and we decided to upgrade from our headsets to a professional usb microphone. So we made a research and we found these microphones:

1.Audio technica atr2100
2.Audio technica atr2500
3.Audio technica at2020 usb
4.Blue snowball
5.Blue yeti
6.Akg perception 120
7.Samson co1
8.Samson meteor
9.Samson co1u

We want this microphone mainly to record ourselves while playing games and in the furute there is a chance that i will record guitar or vocals. So the question is which of these microphones dont record so much background noise such as keyboard and mouse while playing games and has the best sound quality(smooth and loud)?
*If you have any other suggestions please write it down. Note that the money i can spend is around 130-150 euros.\
Thanks for reading!
 
A condenser mic will typically pick up every noise in your room. I do not know of many 'dynamic' USB connected models. Well one, Samson Q1U. Another HERE. I am not sure why there is not a larger market for the use of USB dynamic mics. Sounds of keyboard and background noises seem to be a common issue with gamers.

Other options are to use a filter of sort to minimize background noises. That not going to work so well, unless you both lean in to speak into the same mic.

You may be best to invest in a interface that allows two input channels of mic's with XLR cables, and using two separate dynamic mics. Or even headsets.

I am just reaching for ideas here. Commentary while gaming is not my thing. It just seems strange to me that this issue has not been addressed already. Well, it may have been, I just am not the right source for info there.
 
Do you think that all condenser microphones will pick the slightest noise even if you have the gain lower because many youtube gamers i saw like pewdiepie(at2020 usb) i think they use condenser microphones and they dont have problems. Also in a dynamic microphone you have to 'Kiss' the microphone to hear yourself or you can sit about 7 inches away and sound properly?
Unfortunately i dont have the money for an audio interface :/
 
arcaxis said:
For the list of mics you have, do a search on Youtube to get an idea of how they sound. Below are a couple of the Audio Technica ATR 2100.....
Click to expand...
I searched youtube of how the sound but i want to know who dont pick so much background noise such as keyboard and mouse
 
If I understand you, you want the mic that picks up the least background noise?
There isn't one.

Well, I haven't scrutinised the choices but I guess they're all cardioid condensers, right?
If they are, they're all the same for background noise. If you can hear it, the mic can hear it.


Things that help reduce recording of background noise, in order of preference and effectiveness.
These are general points and may not be feasible or applicable.


  1. Remove the noise completely.
  2. Reduce the noise.
  3. Increase the distance between the noise and the mic, effectively reducing noise.
  4. Decrease the distance between the voice and the mic, effectively increasing voice.
  5. Keep the noise in the microphones null. ie. behind the mic.
  6. Place some sort of absorbent panels between the noise and the mic.

Polar pattern will effect the direction from which a mic picks up sound.
I didn't put it in the list because it probably won't make a massive difference in this context.

3+4 both do the same thing. Increase voice/noise ratio from the perspective of the mic.
Jim recommended a dynamic mic. That's good advice.
You can often get much closer to a dynamic mic without pop/blast issues. (4).

Bottom line: A mic more or less works like an ear. If you can hear the noise, the mic can hear the noise.
 
panoskikas said:
I searched youtube of how the sound but i want to know who dont pick so much background noise such as keyboard and mouse
Click to expand...

Dood, that is why you don't want to use a condenser mic. Or get a quieter mouse and keyboard. A condenser is still going to pick up a fart. Maybe that is what you want.

I am only suggesting a type of mic, based on your desire to keep out background noises. Either you take care of the issue that is making the noise, place the mic further from the keyboard, or place the mic closer to you. If you need to be 7" or so away, then maybe a condenser is right for your voice. It will also pick up everything else in the room. Your proximity to the mic in relation to the gain level of the preamp it is connected to, has everything to do with how loud you will sound in relation to the keyboard and other background noise. Sorry that this is not my field of expertise (Commentary while typing), but I know I can hear the neighbors talking across the street with a condenser mic. With a dynamic, I can leave the windows open and the dogs can bark at the neighbors without tainting a recording.

You can use what others use if it sounds like you want it to. Just make sure you are using it in the same way that the ones you hear, are doing it.
 
jimmys69 said:
With a dynamic, I can leave the windows open and the dogs can bark at the neighbors without tainting a recording.
Click to expand...

Apparently everyone in my street bought a terrier in the last year.
I'm listening to a chorus of the little bastards right now.
Something's gona get killed.
 
jimmys69 said:
Dood, that is why you don't want to use a condenser mic. Or get a quieter mouse and keyboard. A condenser is still going to pick up a fart. Maybe that is what you want.

I am only suggesting a type of mic, based on your desire to keep out background noises. Either you take care of the issue that is making the noise, place the mic further from the keyboard, or place the mic closer to you. If you need to be 7" or so away, then maybe a condenser is right for your voice. It will also pick up everything else in the room. Your proximity to the mic in relation to the gain level of the preamp it is connected to, has everything to do with how loud you will sound in relation to the keyboard and other background noise. Sorry that this is not my field of expertise (Commentary while typing), but I know I can hear the neighbors talking across the street with a condenser mic. With a dynamic, I can leave the windows open and the dogs can bark at the neighbors without tainting a recording.

You can use what others use if it sounds like you want it to. Just make sure you are using it in the same way that the ones you hear, are doing it.
Click to expand...
Yeah but whith a dynamic microphone how close am i supposed to be to record my voice loud ?
 
It's exactly the same as not being able to hear your friend talk in a pub.
You either move closer, get him to speak louder, move away from the noise, or get everyone else to shut up.

Someone with super sensitive hearing wont fare any better than you, because he'll hear the background noise better too.
 
jimmys69 said:
Dood, that is why you don't want to use a condenser mic. Or get a quieter mouse and keyboard. A condenser is still going to pick up a fart. Maybe that is what you want.

I am only suggesting a type of mic, based on your desire to keep out background noises. Either you take care of the issue that is making the noise, place the mic further from the keyboard, or place the mic closer to you. If you need to be 7" or so away, then maybe a condenser is right for your voice. It will also pick up everything else in the room. Your proximity to the mic in relation to the gain level of the preamp it is connected to, has everything to do with how loud you will sound in relation to the keyboard and other background noise. Sorry that this is not my field of expertise (Commentary while typing), but I know I can hear the neighbors talking across the street with a condenser mic. With a dynamic, I can leave the windows open and the dogs can bark at the neighbors without tainting a recording.

You can use what others use if it sounds like you want it to. Just make sure you are using it in the same way that the ones you hear, are doing it.
Click to expand...
Whith a dynamic microphone how far am i supposed to be to be heard smooth and loud?
 
Dynamics and condensers of the same pickup pattern at the same distance from the source get about the same bleed from unwanted noises, but dynamics tend to be a bit less bright and they are often placed much closer to the source, both of which reduce the effects of bleed. I suggest you use a dynamic vocal ("ball" style) mic and speak into it with your lips on the grill. Applying a low shelf cut of about 6dB with a roll off somewhere in the 300Hz to 1kHz range will reduce proximity effect and plosives.
 
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