Streamer Microphones | The best of 2022
Clearly, quality aside, the product should also be selected based on your needs : if you usually shoot videos on vacation or, in general, love to shoot yourself around, it is certainly more advisable to use a small microphone to attach to your clothing; different speech instead if you recover from your room or from a study. In this case a table microphone is the best choice, whether it is a Yeti or a Rode depends entirely on your budget. That said, let's get started!
The best microphones
Blue Yeti Lavalier, Rode Tonor Rode NT-USBBlue Yeti, the best value for money
Not we could not start with him, a microphone that, over time, has earned the esteem of many users, becoming a highly recommended purchase for all interested parties. It is clearly not the best microphone on the market, also because, if you want, you can always find better, budget permitting. However, it remains a very valid choice.The design of the Yeti is simple but captivating, worked with care and above all built with excellent materials which give back a resistant feeling. On the front, in addition to the logo clearly visible, we have two buttons: the first allows you to change your voice (very useful action; never have a sudden allergic crisis), while the second is actually a small knob through the which to adjust the volume. On the sides, on the other hand, we have thin cranks positioned specifically to fix the microphone and avoid possible oscillations. And on the back we find two other options: one for gain adjustment and another for switching the various audio capture modes. We would like to point out immediately that, if your intent is to use it only during streaming, the ideal choice is the penultimate, that is the pattern designed to capture a single voice coming from the front.
Finally, let's close by spending a few characters on connectivity. To connect the microphone to your computer you simply need to have an unoccupied USB port, after which the drivers will be automatically installed and ready for use. There is even a headphone jack input that is very useful for listening to your voice, so you can proceed with the adjustments carefully.
The microphone is useful for both live streaming and video recording. Obviously, however, it also depends on the type of content you want to develop: if you usually go around and make Vlogs, it's a wrong purchase. So keep in mind what you want to do, as we said at the beginning.
Rode Lavalier, the best for making Vlogs
As discussed in the previous paragraph, if you love making videos in motion rather than sitting in your bedroom, then you need a very different microphone from the common Yeti.Here, we recommend the purchase of a small product to attach to your clothing. It is appropriate to suggest this Lavalier device by Rode, very useful to carry around and designed mainly to be used with smartphones and reflex cameras. Little to laugh about the design, built with excellent materials and already equipped with anti-pop filter; it is even resistant to water. A practically perfect purchase for those who love to film themselves on the go and on the go.
Nothing prevents you from using it even for classic home recordings or for live on Twitch and YouTube. While designed for making videos on the go, it goes well with the rest of the activities you might want to do. Furthermore, as with the Yeti, it is immediately recognized by programs such as OBS or Audacity, so you will be able to use it very easily and, in the case of Audacity, also to record audio and improve it in post production.
TONOR, the cheapest
Do you have about 40 euros to spend and are you looking for a good microphone? The answer could be this TONOR product, absolutely already equipped with everything necessary and useful for many activities. From the usual group chats, video recording and live streaming, this microphone proves to be a good choice and, as for the devices we told you before, it is plug & play: connect the microphone to the USB port, and it's done. br>The design is rather classic, nothing extravagant, and perhaps it is better this way. What matters is in fact the audio quality, and considering the price of the product we are faced with one of the best purchases you could make, with nothing to envy to other microphones. Moreover, obviously it is perfectly compatible with the most common programs, so you will be able to make the most of it.
Rode NT-USB, the best in absolute
Here we are at the top step of this ranking, clearly occupied by Rode. If you hang out in the field, you know: Rode has always been a leader in this market, thanks to products characterized by an enviable quality, a bit like Logitech for webcams.The model we recommend is Rode NT-USB, characterized by a simple and clean design, extraordinary audio quality and good connectivity. In addition to the classic USB, as always useful for connecting the microphone to the PC, there is a jack cable that allows you to connect headphones and listen to your voice in real time.
In short, if you have enough budget to invest, this microphone is absolutely for you.
How to choose a microphone
As we said at the beginning, a microphone is essential to improve your live streaming. The reason? Well, it's easy to say: imagine listening to a broadcast for hours and hours accompanied by poorly amplified voices, not very clear and not at all clear. For this reason, even before improving the video quality, the advice is to invest in a good microphone, whether table or lavalier will depend only on your needs and the format you bring to live. So let's find out what are the key features to bring home a good microphone.Audio quality
To choose a good microphone it is not necessary to keep many things in mind, the important thing is that your voice is reproduced in a crystalline way. In this regard, we must first of all have a clear idea of the type of use. The speech, therefore, is mostly related to the quality of the microphone, and often also to the price. A low-end microphone, in fact, will hardly satisfy you fully, except to settle and evaluate the purchase as a sort of first step in the world of streaming.That said, being that most of the live broadcasts are set to the same way, that is, with the streamer positioned in front of the microphone and the camera, it is worth spending a few characters on cardiode microphones. Well yes, as anticipated they are microphones that capture the voice mainly from the front, therefore suitable for audio recording such as amateur dubbing, or for live streaming, as mentioned, considering the typical setup that we have all learned to know.
Ease of use
It is important not to underestimate the ease of use, the compatibility with programs such as OBS and StreamLabs and the download of drivers. All the models listed by us are very simple to use, thanks to the convenient plug and play system. In this way, once the microphone is connected to the computer, it will be immediately ready for use and will be immediately recognized by the programs. However, don't take these comforts for granted: from drivers to software compatibility, problems could arise out of nowhere, and frustrate you like there's no tomorrow. For these reasons, we always suggest looking at popular, well-known, plug & play and compatible models with the most popular streaming software. Throwing yourself into an unknown brand in order to save a little something could really be deleterious.Compatible programs
During the writing of this guide, we thought it well to recommend products that were the most compatible absolutely with the software out there. In fact, what we tend to take for granted often turns out to be the number one problem, and even before running into these problems we might as well make sure from the beginning that you are buying a microphone that is perfect for the purpose.Audacity, OBS, Streamlabs, and so on… all software designed to assist your streams and get them started. The selected microphones, especially the Blue Yeti and the Rode, are absolutely among the most compatible and widespread in the community, so we suggest you take them into consideration in order to avoid running into any problem that could even remotely be linked to compatibility.
Accessories and connectivity
Choosing a microphone that has good sound quality is the bare minimum. In fact, all the products we select, even the least expensive, will be able to satisfy from this point of view. What you may not know, however, is that in addition to the quality of the microphone itself, the accessories supplied and connectivity are equally important. To get the most out of your device, in fact, it is necessary that it is not only easily compatible with various audio and video software, even with your PC and operating system. The ideal choice, in this case, are plug and play microphones, products equipped with a USB cable and which only require connection to one of the many USB ports on your PC; once this is done, all the necessary drivers will be downloaded automatically.Finally, the accessories: to make your voice even cleaner and to use the microphone comfortably, you may need a rod and a filter anti-pop. Some microphones are already equipped with these accessories (the TONOR is a good example), in some cases you may be forced to purchase them separately.
Usage scenario
As repeated several times inside of this guide, even before establishing the budget, think about the format and the scenario of use. It sounds silly but it really is fundamentally and will make your life easier on more than one occasion. Below are the types of microphone related to the different usage scenarios, mainly summarized in two categories:Lavalier: Ideal for shooting videos outdoors or, always at home, but standing up. They are very small microphones that attach to clothing. Also compatible with smartphones, they offer an immediate and comfortable solution that adapts to every streamer and videomaker who intends to shoot standing or on the move. Tabletop: suitable mainly for live shows in which the protagonist of the channel is seated and has a desk and his own setup at his disposal. To microphones of this type it is also worth adding an anti-pop filter to clean the sound more, and an esta, necessary to position the microphone correctly, also improving the overall performance of the same,
