What Mic to go for USB - 3.5MM

[rtimms]

Hello,

First off i do not have any knowledge of microphone.

I currently have a YouTube channel and doing commentary. I want to improve the capture i am using the sennheiser 360 headset mic to capture the commentary and i am having to edit the audio and quailty is not the best.

I don't mind spending money to get the a good quality recording. Currently i have a very good sound card its the Asus Xonar Phoebus (stats at the bottom)

Option-1 - 3.5mm mic and using sound card.
Option-2 - Get a blue yeti via USB
Option-3 - Get the blue yeti Pro and convert the XL adapter to a 3.5mm, i am Not sure if this will work or there is a point

If option one is the one to go for can you make some recommendations of mics to go for i have background noise sometimes when the air con is on but i can edit the audio if need be.

Thanks for you help

Analog Playback Sample Rate and Resolution :
44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16bit/24bit
Analog Recording Sample Rate and Resolution :
44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16bit/24bit
S/PDIF Digital Output :
44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16bit/24bit
S/PDIF Digital Input :
44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16bit/24bit
ASIO 2.2 Driver Support :
44.1K/48K/88.2K/96K/176.4K/192KHz @ 16bit/24bit with very low latency

 

[Steenamaroo]

Hi there,

First things first. Why do you have to edit the audio? What problem are you having?


You can get usable results with onboard sound but it's usually not ideal.
The inputs are unbalanced, they may not have enough gain for your mic, and the expected input level may not even be appropriate for certain mics.
This combination can leave you will all sorts of hiss/buzz/general interference.

The best way around this is to get a decent mic and interface. Maybe an sm58 and something from presonus/tascam/focusrite?

It's probably fair to say that the benefits of a good mic are probably outweighed by the drawbacks of onboard sound.

Since you're dealing with aircon and things like that, I'd stick to dynamic mics and stay close to them.
Also position the mic so the sources of noise are in the null areas.

If you have issues then it'll be down to the environment or technique rather than the gear.
I don't have experience with USB mics so I'll leave that to someone else.

Edit: Blue yeti pro XLR requires phantom power, so converting to 3.5mm won't work.