Top 5 Microphones for streamers (Full guide)
- F1ndIt
- Aug 18, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 23, 2022
Microphones have various diferent and important porperties you should know if you want to do your own research. I will get very specific in this, so if you simply want to see the best microphones skip this or close the list.
- Frecuency response
This the range of sound the mic picks up, the golden standard is between 20Hz - 20kHz as your vocal cords can't go any higher/lower.
- Connection Inputs
These are the interfaces used to comunicate between the mic and your computer, there are mainly two:
USB
This is one of the more commonly used, as the USB port is widely available and most of the mics that have USB ports are cheaper, however they come with a con of less personalization and lower quality sound; and
XLR
More profesional than the USB as it has higher personalization and higher quality in sound, but with a great boost in price.
- Polar pattern
It may sound complicated but in concept is really simple, it refers to the range a microphone has to recieve sound. These are the 3 main types: Cardioid, Bidirectional and Omnidirectional, ordered from left to right.
Microphone with a Cardioid Polar Pattern
Cardioid, the name refers to the shape it has, as the mics that have this polar pattern only recieve sound from where it is pointing at, and when seen from above it looks like a heart.
Microphone with a Bidirectional Polar Pattern
This type of polar pattern is very simple to understand if you imagine it as to Cardioid microphones back to back.w
Microphone with a Omnidirectional Polar Pattern
Even simpler than the bidirectional polar pattern, the omnidirectional style receives audio from every direction, as seen in the image
- Digital Signal Conversion
This sounds very complex, but I'm going to resume it as best as I can. The audio signal has to travel from your mic (analogical) to your computer (digital) therefore there has to be a way to convert the signal. The way the convertion is measured is by the sample rate and the bit depth. These refer to the amount of times the analog signal is read and transformed into digital (the standard rate is about 44,1 kHz to 48kHz) and the depth of the audio data that is recieved, this is important as it's the higher the number the higher the fidelity with the original audio will be and it is generally a 16-bit signal.
- Capsule type
The capsule type is the type of actual micrphone sensor the micrphone has, there are two main types, dynamic and condenser styled. The first one is greatly used because is reliable, sturdy , more economic , and don't have great difference in audio quality in comparison to the condenser type of microphone. The condenser microphone, the one seen in the image, is much more sensitive to sound in comparison to the other type of capsule, but this also means that is more sensitive to background noise from your computer or keyboard.
Top 5 microphones for streaming in 2022
So, for those who have read the section above I will list their characteristics so that you can make your own choice, but for those who haven't I will give my opinion at the end. Also, you can go to all of the microphones through the links in their names and pictures.
This microphones needs no explanation, most of the streamers you see use it and that is for no reason.
Frecuency Response | 50 - 20,000 Hz |
Connection Input | XLR |
Polar pattern | Cardioid |
Sound Conversion | External (not included) |
Capsule Type | Dynamic |
Price | $499 or $528 (with arm) + $300 aprox. (for external equipment) = $799 / $828 |
So, in my opinion the great advantages this microphone has are that it is perfectly suited fro streaming, doesn't receive background noise, comes with an anti-pop filter, if you choose the arm version it has a lot of mobility, and because is one of the most used worldwide, you can find lots of help online and on the manufacturer's page to setup the external devices.
However, the downsides are that it costs almost $900 if you want to fully install it and can't work otherwise (except for the arm price), plus this is may not be a fully profesional sound, yes it is as profesional as you will ever going to need, but it is highly dependent on the external devices you plug it on and their build quility.
In conclusion, if you have the money to buy all of the add-ons and the mic itself and the time to spend looking up all of the needed accesories you don't need to keep reading this post, but if you can't spend that amount of money in a microphone you can keep reading to find the one that fits you the most.
This microphone is less known that the Shure SM7B but it is not worse by any means. To easily put it, it is like a transition microphone between XLR and USB microphones.
The main reason why you should buy this microphone is what I think as its main advantage, it serves as a transition between USB and XLR. For example, you buy this microphone as an starter because it has the quality and specifications for it, and then you realise that you have grown your chanel or brand so much that you need an upgrade and this mic serves perfectly as it will help through the transtition to XLR because you will always have the backup of the USB while your are configuring it or if something happens.
Even though, it still has some setbacks, as it is not the cheapest microphone to start with and it doesn't come with a stand.
To conclude, this mic is perfect if you have the money to buy it and its stand. It will follow you throughout your evolution with its plug-and-play capabilities and will never be a bottleneck for the quality of your streams as you can change between USB and XLR.
This microphone, as well as the Shure, have a very high quality of sound, with vibration supresion, XLR interface, and Dynamic Capsule it will most probably be everything you will ever need.
-The advantages are clear, you are paying for a very high quality build, with durable materials, and a high quality sensor that rejects most of the background noises, as well as an XLrinterface that makes it fully customizable and permits the quality sound you are paying to pass on.
Nevertheless, it also has clear flaws, as the external equipment needed will bump up the price up to $900 aproximately and the quality of the sound will also depend on the quality of those external devices. ,
However, if you have the money and the time to install an buy the parts, the obvious conclusion is that this is a great microphone and once correctly installed will perdure throughout the years.
HyperX is a well-known and stablished gaming brand. Their microphone is what you would expect from them, a highly versatile microphone with those colrofull gaming leds.
-The advantages that the HyperX's microphone has overall are that it profives clear and realistic sounds, while being able to change between polar patterns as you wish. Apart from this it has a vibration supressor, a built-in pop filter, and the usability of the plug-and-play USB interface.
However, it has the downside of using a USB connection as its audio con be even better. You should also take into account that there have been cases in which this microphone has been noticed to boost certain sounds (f, s, sh, and similar) slightly.
In conclusion, I woudl by this mic only I you already have taken into consideration the aesthetics, as the lights can't be turned off. Apart from this, it is a perfect mic to start off with, very easy to configure and with software to control it actively.
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