I use a Scarlett 2i2. I prefer it over the Solo because the input jack supports XLR and TRS (the 2i2 has a combo port where the Solo is only XLR). For vocals or recording yourself with a mic this isn't a big deal because mics use XLR connections but if you ever wanted to screw around with a guitar or another instrument then you'd be using a TRS cable.
Also for podcasters, if you ever end up doing a live show with a guest, having the 2 inputs is nice because then each of you can plug in your own microphone. You can't do that with the Solo.
The Solo is $110 and the 2i2 is $135. Given the above I don't mind spending the extra $25 for the 2i2.
The only downside I've seen with Scarlett's interfaces so far is that the USB connection is very sensitive. Every 6 months or so I have to reconnect it otherwise nothing works. This is with the 2nd generation interface. They just came out with a 3rd generation not too long ago, so maybe that has a more robust USB connection (I haven't tried it). I've had my 2nd gen for a few years and it's still going strong, you just need to be aware of the USB connection.
Overall it's decent. I haven't had any real complaints, other than maybe its pre-amp tends to slightly boost high end frequencies but I don't think it's worth replacing it for that alone. A lot of this stuff comes down to combinations of gear too, not just 1 piece. For example if the pre-amp boots highs and your natural voice is deep, and your mic is pretty neutral then things will sound good in the end. If you have a high pitch voice with boosted highs on your pre-amp and mic then you might sound a little thin.
You could get a shotgun to work in an untreated room, but the problem with shotguns is everything in the $200-500 range sounds pretty bad when you directly compare it to a dynamic mic. I have not experimented first hand with a bunch of shotguns so I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending anything, especially not in the $1,000+ to $2,000+ range.
Curtis is a really knowledge dude when it comes to audio and his channel has a bunch of great comparisons and tips. He has some videos where he compares dynamic mics to shotguns too.
Thanks also for the link to Curtis’s video. I get the impression I’m better off with a good dynamic mic for now. (Using a Rode Podcaster at the moment, which has great rejection of room noise and echo but leaves little control over tonality/gain and really stands out on video since it’s white. My experience with audio software for streaming and other live audio has not been great on macOS – crashes and delay being the main issues – hence why rack-based hardware appeals.)
Around half way down that thread, someone posted a sound attachment with a bunch of noise.
Mine sounds exactly like that if I crank the gain too. I keep the Scarlett at about 35% and do notice a lot of noise as I go above that. It climbs up quickly.
What's interesting is the DBX has enough gain on its pre-amp to keep the Scarlett at 0% with the AT2005 mic but I don't do that because I found with the AT2005 + DBX + my personal voice combo things come out a little too boomy on the low end which is weird because my voice is pretty high. So in this case I like having a little bit of the Scarlett's presence come through and at this amount of gain there's no real noticeable noise.
The DBX's pre-amp gain is really quiet. I have it at 100%. There's extra gain you can add on the output side too. I keep that one at -8 DB because if I go any higher than that it clips, which is nice because it means the DBX has a lot more power to give for a more power hungry mic.
I'm still not 100% happy with my audio. I think from a line noise perspective it's close to as good as you can reasonably ask for but I feel like it's still too boomy and slightly muddled on the low end. I keep the low end completely off with the DBX too (it has an "Enhancer" which is sort of like a basic EQ for highs and lows). I'm not convinced it's a pure DBX issue tho, or a problem with the microphone.
For example, this guy has the same AT2005 microphone https://youtu.be/g95hJZlWFwU?t=111 and personally I found his sound to be very natural with a great tone. It doesn't feel boomy and it has an even spread across the spectrum. I don't know what pre-amp or interface he uses.
Audio is super complicated because your real voice plays such a huge role. That and it's a rabbit hole that never ends haha.
> I think from a line noise perspective it's close to as good as you can reasonably ask for but I feel like it's still too boomy and slightly muddled on the low end.
You sound better than most presenters to me, your sound is really clean, and I spent your video listening to what you were saying and not wondering why the noise floor was so high. The OP sounds excellent too and his post, videos, and work are great but I had the same reaction as you to the noise level, particular for the channel intro post which does not seem environmental to me. I agree with others that most won't notice, though, and I think I only did because — like you — I have spent some time obsessing over such things in the past. So I wouldn't worry about tweaking your sound too much. (He says, heading to Thomann to fill a basket with a DBX 286s, an Aston Stealth, and a bunch of other things to start tending my audio rabbit warren again.)
I imagine you've experimented with mic placement such as talking into the barrel of the mic more directly? I notice you use it off-axis in the video you posted, but a more extreme off-axis rather than just slightly angled, presumably to reduce pops/breathing and so it doesn't block line of sight. In the “pick of the week” video that you liked the tone of you'll notice the presenter is talking into the barrel of the mic and it's only slightly angled at times; his voice is still going into the mic rather than past it.
I used to own a bunch of dynamic XLR mics but came away disappointed because of the noise floor at the gain I needed to get a good signal, so I sold almost everything to buy the Rode Podcaster USB mic that just works out of the box. I didn't realise at the time how much hardware and software processing people use. I expected to be able to get great sound with an XLR mic and USB interface alone. Few people used to talk about what they did _after_ they bought the mic and interface; they just said “I use an SM7B and a Scarlett Solo” or whatever, neglecting to mention they also had a Cloudlifter/Fethead in the line to boost the signal, bring down that gain, and reduce the noise floor, as well as a whole rack of stuff or software to tune their sound. It's great that people talk more openly about their setups now.
But spending hundreds on mics at least taught me that some cardioid dynamic mics have a very consistent sound regardless of placement and gain, but others (mostly mics with larger diaphragms) have a little off-axis coloration. I wonder if it would alter the sound quality for you at all to talk directly into the mic, even at the risk of more plosives and breathing sounds.
Not saying this is true of you, but I think a lot of people go through phases of buying new mics when really they just need to learn how to place and adjust the one they have better. It's certainly been true for me at times, although there are other times when switching mic has made a huge difference (I would never go back to a condenser mic after using dynamics, for example, unless I had the luxury of a treated room).
I wish more audio pros would offer paid home setup advice; I would pay for someone to check out an audio/video clip, see photos and screenshots of my settings and say, “that's an end-address mic; you should be an inch closer to it, talking straight down the barrel, and then you can pull back on the gain by 10%” or whatever.
> I imagine you've experimented with mic placement such as talking into the barrel of the mic more directly?
Yes but I don't think I experimented enough. You are right tho, I mainly did that to minimize plosives and breaths. The AT2005 is really sensitive to that (as you can see in that "pick of the week" video).
I ended up playing with it last night and you know, putting it a little more direct like that other video does make a huge difference for the better. Almost in an unbelievable way. Things went from sounding a little muddy and boomy to pretty even and clear.
What I ended up doing was positioning the mic 100% vertical, putting it about 1 inch below my chin and then I pushed it out to be maybe 3 or so inches past my face (in between my monitor and face). Then I tilted the mic about 15 degrees towards me. At this point my boom arm is almost 100% extended and I can't tilt it anymore without the mic falling out of position due to gravity (I have a cheap $15 boom arm).
In any case, this is really promising. My next video will be like this. I may tinker with it a little more before recording but with this new set up, the mic is almost out of frame. About an inch of it sticks out from the bottom in the middle of the screen.
I can't pull it down any lower because then the mic gets too far from my mouth and it starts to pick up echos from the room and also starts to sound thin, but I think as is this is a pretty big improvement.
> I didn't realise at the time how much hardware and software processing people use.
Yeah. It's a lot of effort. Although if you go out of your way to buy near silent computer fans (cpu, case and power supply) that helps a ton for cutting room noise. My next build will have that for sure, since it's a pretty cheap investment (maybe $30 in fans) to make a noticeable noise floor reduction of the room.
For comparison I recorded this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeSD17YRijk almost 3 years ago with the AT2005 directly connected to my computer over USB using a $10 pop filter in the same office. Since there's no webcam video, I had the pop filter covering like half my face with the mic positioned more like that pick of the week video.
There's no Scarlett, DBX or any processing in software other than running Camtasia's noise filter. So the total all-in cost here was $80 for the mic, and zero time spent processing it afterwards in software. I just pressed 1 button and waited a few seconds for the filter to apply.
I haven't listened to this in a long time and it for sure sounds less boomy than my current videos. It almost sounds maybe a little too thin but that could also be due to being pulled back a little bit since I put about a fist's width of space between the mic and pop filter, and then I was a good inch or 2 from the pop filter.
But, long story short, I think if you could kill the room noise you could get away with a set up like that where you just plug in a USB mic and go.
> Not saying this is true of you, but I think a lot of people go through phases of buying new mics when really they just need to learn how to place and adjust the one they have better.
I haven't gone off the deep end yet with mics but I've spent a stupid amount of time generally researching audio components. Prior to this mic I was using a Blue Yeti but got rid of it because it was too sensitive. It picked up everything. Then I went on a Youtube review binge quest on audio gear / microphones and learned about dynamic mics.
Some of my really old videos from 2016 use the Yeti such as this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjKVyePLmFM, but I also used to run it through REAPER in real time and did a ton of processing on it so it's not a fair comparison. Back then I had no idea wtf I was doing, and looking back at these old videos make me cringe at how overcooked my compressor was (I almost sound wispy and robotic). But to be fair, back then I had crappy Sennheiser HD201 headphones so I couldn't even hear anything and over time about 100 people who took the course mentioned they really enjoyed the clear audio so who knows.
> that's an end-address mic; you should be an inch closer to it
The crazy thing is, for dynamic mics that 1 inch makes a massive difference haha.
I'm not an audio expert but if you want to post some of your videos, I wouldn't mind having a listen and we can talk about your set up. If you don't want to do it openly, feel free to email me too. I don't know when HN stops letting you reply to comments due to nesting, so we'll probably end up hitting that point soon anyways here.
