The best USB microphones in 2022
The best USB microphones in 2021
Included in this guide:
The best USB microphones combine top-quality recording with a simplicity that makes them easy to set upward and use, even if you've never handled a defended mic earlier. While some can be fifty-fifty better with additional software, unremarkably all yous need to do is plug and play — or plug and record, as it were.
In other words, anyone can requite themselves a dramatic heave to how they sound in remote meetings and social chats, granting even better clarity than the all-time headphones with a mic for voice and video calls. But which should yous buy? Our listing of the best USB microphones can respond that, as nosotros've tested them all.
- Our best microphone picks include XLR and camera-mounted mics also
- We've tested the all-time podcasting microphones too
- The best figurer speakers for enhanced playback
The best USB microphones: Black Friday
If you're thinking of starting a podcast before the holidays, you may want to hold out a bit longer because yous might finish upward finding some of the all-time USB microphones as part of this twelvemonth'southward Black Fri deals.
And let's not forget some other audio hardware essentials, many of which are listed on our best headphones, best laptops, and all-time webcams guides. Go your setup started early — and for a smaller outlay.
What are the best USB microphones?
Our choice as the overall best USB mic is the Blue Yeti. Despite being over a decade erstwhile, no other mic in the Yeti'south course has fully bested its combination of affordability, ease of use, build quality and detail-rich recording adequacy.
Another great pick is the JLab Talk, a slightly cheaper USB microphone that nonetheless stands upward on sound quality. Information technology's also got a range of directional recording patterns, which can exist useful if you desire to record multiple speakers with a unmarried low-cost mic.
We're likewise addicted of the Blueish Snowball Ice equally a simple, upkeep-friendly option; it doesn't have the recording finesse of its cousin, the Yeti, but its low price and easy setup brand it a greater starter microphone.
The best USB microphones y'all tin can buy
The Blue Yeti is ane of sound tech'southward timeless classics: a USB microphone that'due south adept at just about everything, and bad at pretty much nothing. Other than a relatively inflexible stand up at that place's everything a domicile recorder could want here, from first-class recording quality to a sturdy (but not too beefy) blueprint.
If you like you can simply plug in and start using it in cardioid mode, but the Yeti's versatile mix of recording patterns also makes it viable for recording a group. Bidirectional mode records both in front of and behind the mic, for example, while the omnidirectional mode records in a full 360-degree radius.
Read our full Blue Yeti review .
Despite JLab's relative lack of experience with dedicated mics, it's put out a stellar USB microphone in the Talk. This affordable, tripod-mounted number has the same set of recording patterns as the Blue Yeti, and is roughly a lucifer for it on the clarity and warmth of its recordings.
Some may find the JLab Talk even improve, every bit its tripod base is more than adjustable than the Yeti'southward fixed stand. We also like how the gain and headphone volume controls use a large calorie-free-up ring to indicate current levels, so information technology's easy to tell at a glance what your electric current settings are. Lesser mics don't always make these details articulate.
Read our full JLab Talk review .
Small, circular and enticingly inexpensive, the Snowball Ice is a microphone with bundles of grapheme. More importantly, it sounds very good for the money, so if you desire i of the best USB mics for occasional meetings or remote social gatherings, this could be shut to perfect.
Yous volition get audibly better sound quality from the Blue Yeti or JLab Talk, though these are twice the price at the to the lowest degree. Anyone simply concerned with coming through clearly on Zoom, as opposed to starting a podcast or streaming career, should count the Blue Snowball Ice high on the list of suitable candidates.
Blue has yet another elevation-notch USB microphone in the Yeti X. Equally the name suggests, information technology's basically a souped-up Blue Yeti, with a similar overall design and high standards of recording quality. That goes for a range of supported directional patterns, likewise.
It does cost more, in exchange for a scattering of blueprint improvements: the gain switch is positioned on the front, for easier access, and a ring of LEDs can keep you informed on how loud you are in real fourth dimension; a handy alternative to using headphones for monitoring. We'd still say the standard Blue Yeti is the amend bargain, especially for casual users, just the Blue Yeti X is a fine USB mic.
Read our total Blue Yeti X review .
Non dissimilar the JLab Talk, the Movo UM700 aims to put category-leading sound quality into a somewhat more than affordable package, without sacrificing build quality or utility. In fact, information technology was originally pitched to us as a "Blueish Yeti killer."
The Yeti is conspicuously even so breathing, merely the UM700 can put up a decent fight. It'southward sturdy and, as per usual with the best USB mics, works easily every bit soon every bit you plug information technology in. Its recording capabilities held upwards well in testing too, even if some periodic proceeds adjustments were necessary. Happily, yous can do this with the onboard controls, without the need for separate software.
Read our total Movo UM700 review .
Yep, another one. Whereas the Blue Yeti X is a more than refined take on the microphone at the top of this list, the Yeti Nano is an attempt to make it simpler, cheaper and more portable. All without dropping into the outright budget territory already occupied past the Snowball Ice.
The result is a microphone that sounds crisp and takes up less space on your desk, while maintaining the elegant ease of use that Blue mics are loved for. The Yeti Nano does drop bidirectional and stereo recording modes, and so it's non as versatile equally the similarly-priced JLab Talk, but since yous only demand cardioid for directional recording, this remains a practiced pick for calls or the odd spot of gaming.
Read our full Blue Yeti Nano review .
The Wave: 3 is i of the pricier cardioid-only models we've tested, only information technology'south ane of the best USB microphones for a reason. Information technology sounds nifty, has easy-to-utilize controls and even looks rather handsome, what with its slim sideways profile and steel grille. Information technology'due south also cheaper than the EPOS B20, another streaming-focused mic.
Its real force, though, lies in its bonus features for streaming. It's designed to closely integrate with Elgato's Stream Deck, a 16-button keypad that tin control all style of functions while yous're in a middle of a stream. This can include the Wave: three, so y'all can adjust your mic input properties with just a few simple button presses. Not-streamers can wait elsewhere, merely this is one of the best specialized USB mics we've seen.
Read our full Elgato Wave: 3 review .
Nosotros're fans of the standard HyperX QuadCast, and the QuadCast S model ups its game by adding customizable RGB lighting around the grille. Gamers and streamers in detail might capeesh this extra bear upon of flashiness — later all, who says a USB device can't look interesting?
Clean, clear recording quality also ensures that the QuadCast Southward isn't just a shiny bauble, and the built-in stupor mountain and popular filter help out as well. If yous're willing to spend a lilliputian more for some hardware extras, the QuadCast S has you covered. A total set of cardioid, bidirectional, omnidirectional and stereo modes are on hand too, though again this doesn't overcomplicate things if you only want to popular in the USB cable and go.
Read our full HyperX QuadCast South review .
How to cull the best USB microphone for you
Toll
All of the best USB microphones take broadly like class factors and, of grade, connectivity. Equally such the offset matter you may wish to consider is price: do yous try to stick with a cheap $50 model, or spend over $100 for a more than fully-featured model?
In truth, $100-150 is nonetheless relatively depression past defended microphone standards, and yous can get several rich-sounding mics in this price range solitary. Information technology's fine to store cheaper, though, if yous simply desire a USB microphone for merely occasional use.
Sound quality
None of the mics on this list sound bad, or else they wouldn't be hither. Simply information technology's natural to want want the highest recording quality that your upkeep allows for, which is probably why the Blue Yeti remains and so popular. Integrated pop filters can aid silence distracting popping sounds when you're speaking close to the grille, but these aren't essential for high sound quality. It'due south more of import to make sure yous have the microphone angled correctly while yous're using it.
Recording patterns
If yous're only going to be recording yourself, whatsoever mic that uses a cardioid recording design is fine; this just means the mic simply records the area in front of it, i.e. a single user.
If y'all want to dabble in making podcasts or anything else that requires recording multiple speakers at in one case, bidirectional and omnidirectional capabilities are a must. Some USB microphones also have a stereo mode, which isn't much better than cardioid for individual speech, but tin be good for recording music. Console discussions also lend themselves well to stereo recording, as you'll get an idea of where each speaker was positioned when you mind back.
How nosotros test the best USB microphones
To test USB microphones, we'll record ourselves speaking into them and play back those recordings to hear how they sound with different settings. Fortunately, most models keep these uncomplicated, but tweaking the controls that are available and re-recording also lets usa judge both how convenient these mics are and how easy information technology is to discover the ideal gain, book and positioning for them.
Naturally we'll repeat the process if a USB mic supports different recording patterns. Nosotros tin examination bidirectional and omnidirectional modes only by speaking into the microphone from different angles, merely sometimes we tin put them through the ultimate exam with a alive podcast recording. Alternatively, we'll utilize a mic for voice and video calls, and ask other members of the telephone call how we sound.
- More: Check out the best streaming microphones
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-usb-microphones
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