I am looking for a microphone to run on my PC with Audacity to record for podcasts. I am looking to spend less than $100, is that realistic for something with good quality? I realise that sound quality is in the "ear of the beholder" but I would appreciate any informed input. I have been using the mic on my crappy $40 Logitech webcam and it is not up to the task unless you want to sound like a Dalek!
Microphone for PC to Record with Decent Sound Quality?
Matt G on 31/10/2009 - 03:10
Comments
I would be stunned if you were unable to find a podcast quality pc microphone for under $100. You can buy a cheap audio mixer for about that price which would probably be overkill for your needs.
Have you tried emailing the hosts of your favourite podcasts to ask them what equipment they use?
A few tips:
* While you are recording, make sure your speakers are completely off. Unplug them if you have to.
* Sound travels through solid objects, so it may be unwise to place the microphone on your computer desk while you are recording.
* Audacity's noise reduction tool can make a big difference.Wow thanks for the advice, much appreciated Lacerta. Of your three tips I have been doing none of those things. I will now! I thought I could get a decent mic for less than $100 but I was hoping for some advice on brands as I have no experience. OzBargain is my newfound brains trust.
it actually is not the mic as much as its the device your recording onto. now most pc's will have an inbuilt sound card which is not that great to say the least for recording depending on the pc. if you bought your pc with the sound already installed then you may run into problems and this is further more if it is a laptop because they are much smaller. your better off with an actual dedicated sound card or interface which will give you better quality audio when you record and you can pick up half decent vocal mics for around 50 - 100 dollars at a music store. audacity is a brilliant program and should do fine for podcasts as it even allows mp3 recording for small format. also with a dedicated card it will give you the choice of asio as a format to record which will mean less lag and will be lighter on recources on your cpu. LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED MORE HELP.
Thanks interiordesigns, when I get set up & buy sound card (as per advice)& mic I probably will ask for help! Thanks for the offer, much appreciated.
go to revision3.com and watch the "tekzilla" series. About 3-4 episodes ago they had a segment on improving podcast audio quality
I'll do that Davo, I watch tekzilla (one of the only worthwhile unmetered things on bigpond!) but I must have missed that one.
lol sounds like the only good reason to get bigpond!
hak5 is also good (until recently)
the tekzilla show was about 4-5 episodes ago, just have a look at the shorts, it was about microphones.
Couldn't really give you informed input, but maybe you could look around at some reliable online reviews such as these?
http://reviews.cnet.com/microphones/blue-microphones-snowfla…
http://homerecording.about.com/od/microphonereviews/Micropho…