Elgato - Wave:3

Elgato Wave 3, and then run the audio through Adobe Podcast AI to clean it up. I get tonnes of comments on the quality so clearly people like it.

Elgato Wave 3, and I get tonnes of comments about the clarity and quality. It's a lovely mic.

Vouch. Probably the best USB mic on the market. Good software too.

So yeah, there's a lot more to know before recommendations can be made: * What's your budget? * What's your environment like? Lots of background noises? Do you have loud fans / ACs? * How big of an audience do you currently have? * Are there future projects that you'd want to use your mic for? Will you be on screen with you youtube videos? Would you ever have a second person you need to mic up? * Are you good at projecting your voice or are you soft spoken? Considering you're coming at this brand new, sticking to a USB mic is the easiest way to start as you don't need to get an audio interface. You can't really go wrong with the Elgato Wave 3 for USB mics - it's a good price for a good mic with some solid software to make adjustments for most set ups. XLR mics give you more options and is better long term, but you need to budget in the USB interface. The Focusrite Scarlett ones are really nice for the price and the separate physical dials are really useful. The 2i2 is perfect for if you ever have a second person / such as getting into podcasts as well as doing music instruments. DON'T go all in on streaming focus interfaces - I don't know what the end result was but a lot of streamers got the GoXLR and then the company folded or something and there were no more support for the product. With the Focusrite Scarlett you're pretty safe that there will be support for a long time as their demographic spread across many hobbits and production types. I'll talk about the mics themselves in the next comment.

When I was looking for a new mic to replace my aging Yet, it came down to the HyperX QuadCast S, or the Elgato Wave 3. I went with the Elgato Wave 3. From what I heard in side-by-side recording comparisons I liked the Wave 3 more. An added bonus I didn't realize at the time is Elgato's software can utilize VST plugins, while HyperX's ngenuity software does not. They both have built-in features like noise reductions, but neither are great. There are better plugins out there. Elgato makes it easier imo. You can still use VST plugins you just need additional software. One one PC I use Voicemeeter Banana, and on another EquilizerAPO. At this price, it may be worth considering the Quadcast S. The Wave 3 is currently $150, but goes on sale for $100-120. I just want to make one more additional note. The EPOS Gaming B20 has been under $25 on amazon for months. It's a discontinued mic, but I like its sound more than my yeti (not as much as my Wave 3). But it was a quarter of the price for comparable quality sound. (That's the mic I use Voicemeeter for). While still available, that mic breaks the price/performance ratio. It's a steal for the price. (Worth noting EPOS branched off of Sennheiser)

If you want something budget friendly an Elgato Wave 3 is a solid choice \^\^ (I use it)

Yep! Elgato wave 3 seems to be quite a good one for its price. If you prefer a dynamic however, there is podmic usb. Its XLR only predecessor is loved by many which goes for this too as their audio quality seems similar but price is doubled with the inclusion of parts for making it a usb mic and that you cannot use both XLR and usb outputs at same time. You can probably find a usb mic cheaper yet similar. Both wave 3 and podmic usb seem to have good software but elgato probably has the best out there for now with how many features it has and the ease of use. I'm not an expert either however I've been researching quite a bit as I'm also after a new mic and am sharing my findings. \--- Condenser and dynamic is basically the driver they use to capture sound and turn to electric signal. Condenser uses capacitive drivers that basically use extra electric but for usb mics thats not really important. They are also more sensitive in picking up sounds and can be used from a bit longer distance than dynamics they also seem to be a bit louder (I think). Dynamic uses a coil and magnet. These are less sensitive so less room noise will be picked up but you need to be closer to be heard louder. From a few comparisons I've seen, both kinds pick up noise similarly and being closer to the mic helps a lot with that. This is one such reason people say dynamic is better against noise as you would prefer being close to it and condensers usually have a higher range proximity effect that changes the way you sound if you get too close. You can of course get really close with a condenser and that will reduce noise a lot as well. There is another difference I've observed but not sure if this is related to being condenser/dynamic or if its something else about the microphones and I observed it with cardioid pattern so IDK about others like bidirectional however I've seen or well... heard it with elgato wave 3, rode podmic and shure mv7. It is how well the mic blocks out sound outside its polar pattern. With wave 3, if you speak behind the microphone you can still hear the person but there is a very noticable quality loss (as it should) however with podmic and mv7 when you are behind it, it is much more silent. Its not just being behind it but the pattern's pick up shape in general as cardioid pattern is best in front and loses quality/gets silent as you turn around it and most silent at the back side. So my educated guess is that say if you have a fan or the pc case next to you, you can place the dynamic according to its pattern and reduce that noise significantly. You can do the same with condenser too but it won't reduce the noise outside the pattern as much as dynamic. About untreated rooms. Tbh I didn't notice a big difference between dynamic and condenser as most people say so if you can find a test between dynamic and condenser in such room and a noise source. I think there are videos of untreated room comparison however I've not seen anyone do it but add a noise source too so if you find one such test, let me know too. If there is anything wrong in what I wrote, please do correct me. As I said before, I'm not experienced myself and just spent many hours on youtube looking at mic reviews and comparisons because I'm obsessed with getting the absolute best I can find for my condition... Send help!

I believe wave 3 would be louder than the other as it is more sensitive to picking up sounds. You can always play with the gain and volume settings to increase and decrease the loudness. If you are breathing heavily, both would probably pick up if you are very close but if its not heavy breathing they shouldn't (I think). IDK about dynamics but condensers might pick up regular breathing too if you are super close due to high sensitivity and they are usually designed to have a little distance from you considering that you want to avoid the bigger proximity effect when speaking normally. In my opinion, neither would have a problem with breathing and if they do, the software of both have settings you can play with. Simplest solution would probably be setting a threshold to picking up sound so that anything below the threshold wouldn't activate it. This way it can pick up your voice when you speak but not your breathing if threshold is not passed. I have a friend who recently got a wave 3. I don't know how close he is to it but I don't hear any breathing and with a threshold I don't hear noise when idle. He also set it up so the fan noise isn't a big deal while he is talking. He also has an on-ear headphones that can almost be considered open back. When I sometimes scream while we are gaming, I can kind of hear my own voice very faintly, if he is also talking at the same time, but its barely hearable as if I'm speaking from so far away. That example might help you imagine how it is. Also check podcastage's reviews on them as he includes many comparisons and tests in his reviews. He tests that polar pattern angles I've wrote before too and noise test while speaking with a mechanical keyboard as the noise source.

Elgato Wave 3 i have it it's awesome

If background noise is an issue and you don't have the ability to get the room quieter you generally want to try for a dynamic mic not a condenser. Dynamic USB mics have gotten more popular lately, and some of them are dual mode USB and XLR. You can start by plugging them into USB, and down the road if you want an interface again you can keep using the mic. You didnt give a budget, but examples of dual mode dynamics in different ranges are: Shure MV7+ Rode Podmic USB Edition Samson Q9U Maono PD400X or 200X Fifine K688 (Warmer sound) Fifine Tank 3 (Neutral sound) Feelworld PM1 Then there's USB only Dynamics such as the Beacn mic with great software support, or the Elgato Wave USB mics and XLR interface with their software as well. The Wave USB mics are not dynamics but are well loved. On that note the software support, if any, could also be a big deciding factor as that allows you to tailor the sound before it reaches OBS. Elgato and Beacn are great, even the PD400X has a basic panel. For others that dont have one you could also try Steelseries Sonar, which isn't quite as polished but is free and works with any mic and adds a virtual mixer. (I advise to disable the Moments screen recording though, it seems to add lag to games for some reason.) People also use Voicemeeter but that's more technical to set up.

Still getting into streaming myself but I love my Elgato Wave 3 mic. Sounds fantastic and it comes with a digital sound mixer (Wave Link) that works really well. Don't have a great camera so no suggestion for you there

Games and Content Creation! The mic is pretty good from my experience. (Also elgato is rolling out some great features.)

Dude the Wave:3 from Elgato is a fantastic mic, and you get the WaveLink software with it which is really really fun and easy to use. Any mic you get you'll need to put a little time into like with gain and filters. Gotta have sound isolation/noise suppression, compression, EQ, etc. Elgato *really* makes that easy to do. Also with WaveLink you can add 3rd party audio effects using VST plugins, "Virtual Studio Technology". Like what they use in Logic.

Just realize that being "budget" on core infrastructure will result in an overall loss of quality, and you are in a competitive market in terms of content creation. Anyway, I really like my Elgato Wave 3 so far. Hope it'll keep working for a long time. Idk if budget, but really though, having a poor audio quality severely decreases retention rates.