Audio-Technica AT2020 vs AT2035 - One of These is The Best Budget Microphone for the Price

[@AudioHaze]

Here's the affiliate links in case the video helped make your decision, thanks for supporting the channel! Amazon: AT2020 - amzn.to/3tRMYXA AT2035 - amzn.to/3rhXJAZ Sweetwater: AT2020 - imp.i114863.net/yRxQW3 AT2035 - imp.i114863.net/7mBkdg

[@simonparkinson-jones2092]

For this test i preferred the 2020. The bass was rounder and seemed to have more character whereas the 2035 seemed crisper. The point made concerning the difficulty in getting identical recording situations was well-made!

[@ArtofZenDigital]

I’ve noticed that the 2035 sounds amazing with the Motu M4. The noise floor is very low on the M4, and it really does help lower what little noise the 2035 has. The ESS pre amp on the M2 and the M4 is amazing, at the 12 position on interface, there’s still a very solid wave file, which isn’t loud enough to add any noise, and it’s high enough that stacking vocal tracks isn’t required, nor is Logic Pro post production noise removal. In a way, the Motu M2 is essentially the same for a lower price, but it’s headphone amp, while very good, simply isn’t as powerful as the one on the M4. The added inputs on the M4 are nice too, everything else sounds the same between the 2 interfaces. Any room noise that’s present is gone with the Motu and the 2035 80hz cut. I had my overhead central air on, which is above my recording area, and I’m in a city, so as a test, I opened my window as well, which blocks outside noise incredibly well when it’s closed, to test that out. A siren was going off and none of it made its way into the recording test.

[@AudioHaze]

Nice! Yeah the Motu interfaces are absolutely amazing, if I could rewind time I may have purchased the motu rather than the interface I have now :)

[@Tennisers]

in the blind comparison for guitar, i liked at2020 more, maybe it's just because i'm used to how it sounds.

[@cjpreyes]

Love the self noise explanation. Very well said, learned alot

[@AudioHaze]

Thanks Christian!

[@cjpreyes]

@@AudioHaze congratulations!! Bought an AT2020 after watching your vids and other vids too. Then I saw another AT microphone.. What can you say about AT4033a and AT4040.. just love the way it looks. But can't understand the difference esp the much more expensive AT4050 and AT4050s (woah.. even the wire included for it is differennt) Anyways, just discovered about it in their website.. I don't think we have it here in the Philippines. How I found about it.. I google lens a picture I saw in KZbin cause the mic looks interesting. Large Diaphragm Condenser... but I stumbled first on Boya BY-M1000.. I was about to but it too.. just because I thought it was it. Then it kinda still looks different on some parts including the switches.. and there it was.. it wasn't a BOYA BY-M800 / BOYA BY-M1000 ....BUT.... an AT4000 series.. just because I'm not sure what specific mic it was. :) Oh yeah, lastly.. since this microphone brands popping out now in my youtube feed.. all these brands are now coming into place WOAH WHETHER for Camera Mics, Shotgun Mics, or even Dynamic or Condenser Mics I'll just put the mics I have been wanting to have in my bucketlist.. "HOPEFULLY ONE DAY... SOMEDAY" >Maono (AU-M320 [xlr-xlr], AU-PM360TR[xlr-3.5mm], AU-AO3[xlr-3.5mm]) - Condenser Mics >Audio Technica (AT4040 / AT4033a) - Condenser Mics >Shure (SM57, SM7B, Super55[not sure just like the retro look.. but I don't think I want it])- Dynamic Mics | (SM81[for acoustics too pro version of SM57?.. not sure if I need this? Especially if I have a condenser mic?] - Condenser Mic >Rode (M5 pair / NT5 pair [I'mnot sure about their differences too, but They are for instruments too. I think NT5 is the pro of M5?) - short/pencils condenser microphones | (NTG 3, NTG 5) - Boom/Shotgun Condenser Mics | (NT1) - love the flat response, the way it looks and how it is a quiet mic, awwww.. they don't sell the old shockmount that comes with it like the BOYA BY-M1000 shockmount semi rectangle triangle like.. they have the new one.. the circle one with RODE Logo) - Condenser Mic.... now I'm not sure what all these condensers differences are... specifically they have their purposes.. but you can make use of one with multipurpose as well right? >Boya (BY-M800[short condenser] / BY-M1000[Large condenser... I really thought this one was a Audio Technica 4040.. the one I've been looking at.. but it kinda looks like it haha.. plus loving the shock mount.. like that of the old NT1 shockmount) - Condenser Mics >Deity (D3 pro, D4 Duo) - On-Camera Shotgun Mics | (S-Mic 2, S-Mic 2s) - Boom/Shotgun condenser Mics With all these mics... what would I do with them... I don't know exactly. Make a review? Haha!! All these brands I hope to try someday.. someday. Haha. Also a small youtuber, but dreaming to have them someday.

[@Towert7]

You did a good job describing DBs of noise, but one thing to keep in mind, dB is logarithmic scale, so 15 dB is not half as loud as 30 dB. Each 3 dB is effectively a 'doubling' of loudness.

[@sec21]

Slight correction: 0 db SPL is not complete silence, it's 20 micropascal (the "absolute threshold of hearing"). Silence is negative infinity (0 pascal).

[@AudioHaze]

Thanks for letting me know!

[@sec21]

@@AudioHaze I only know this because of Microsoft's amazing video on their anechoic chamber (search "The quietest place on Earth?"). Super cool.

[@Prod.B-LOCZ]

4:50 Currently using the at2020 for recording vocals at my home studio. I was set on upgrading to the NT1 but your videos on the sm57 have me tempted to go for this instead. The at2020 definitely gets the job done especially since I primarily record rap vocals. My room has decent sound treatment but from time to time you’ll still hear background noise, either from inside my room or outside noises I have no control over. Now I’m thinking a dynamic & condenser mic combo is the way to go, at least for the time being.

[@lusiselmascapo]

Really great videos man!! And quality so good too, just discovered your channel and subbed inmediately!

[@AudioHaze]

Ah thank you dude!! Really appreciate your kind words :)

[@pakfumejia6951]

commenting for the algorithm before i watch the video! edit: no worries about.the male vocal test! the guitar test was great!

[@AudioHaze]

Eyyyy thanks dude!

[@JoshTolbertUrbana]

Very late comment...But you know the AT2020 will work in the AT2035's shock mount. They use the same shock mount. :) I have a pair of AT2020s...I'm probably going to pick up a pair of AT2035s. I like the more natural sound of the AT2035s, and the pad + 80Hz cut, plus the free shock mount and hard case make it _really_ price-competitive with the AT2020, especially if you buy the $39 shock mounts for the AT2020s. I would consider still using the AT2020s for far room mics or something similar when you're gonna crush them hard, but the AT2035s will (IMHO) be better for about everything else. I'm listening on a pair of Sony MDR-CD900ST cans, which are well-known for not coloring sound...

[@OhGummy]

As far as Voice Over is concerned, how would you place the AT2035 and Rode NT1 and NT1A? I keep coming across people using the AT2035 as it seems to be friendlier for lower voices and more common in VO, but is it worth getting that when the Rode mics aren’t much more expensive?

[@AudioHaze]

I think the AT2035 and the NT1 have similar sound profiles, the NT1a is a different beast, I think NT1a is a little nicer to higher voices. The AT2035 is definitely great for lower voices, that was the first think I noticed when I tried one. But it can get a bit weird, almost like some comb filtering or something in the lower register, but in general its nice. NT1 would probably be my choice, but its not as good as room rejection. Idk if that helps haha

[@hsjawanda]

Mic 2 seemed to get a little harsh on the louder notes, occasionally making me wince. Mic 1 didn't seem to have this issue. Mic 1 seemed a little smoother. Could that be because of the larger diaphragm (now that I know Mic 1 is AT2035)?

[@douglaskawaguchi]

What a great video, man, thank u so much

[@AudioHaze]

And thanks for watching!

[@LajosNagy]

RIP to the phone, my condolences. Great video as always!

[@AudioHaze]

Thanks dude! It was its time clearly

[@koolkd]

Great explanation, I was thinking of getting a at2020 usb x for music production. I know xlr mics are better , this is just momentarily but do you think it would preform well?

[@XisOnYT]

i got one and honestly it sounds great

[@colby69420]

I’ve actually heard some great sounding vocal tracks recorded through cheap USB mics. Haven’t heard the AT 2020 USB specifically though.

[@cavidhummatov4431]

What mic were you using in this video ?

[@MrPhins]

Was the broken phone a result of trying to explain self noise to us laymen? Because, I can totally understand the frustration lol. Keep up the good work.

[@AudioHaze]

hahaha honestly it was more like apple doesn't like third party modifications and also I kept dropping it. But yes, its really hard to explain dB conversion!

[@arunsiddharthsai6966]

Hi brother, Akg p420 or Audiotechnica 2035 ? Which is worth to buy!!!!!!!!!!

[@johnheiser2604]

I have both and each is an exceptionally good mic in itself.

[@AudioHaze]

Definitely true!

[@BojanBojovic]

I had 2035 and never liked it on guitars, but did many vocal recordings. You can come really close to the microphone with not much proximity effect, the only thing I did not like was the sibilants. I read somewhere that it is basically a 4035 but in a black case.

[@kickbuttowski6045]

Which would be better? AT2020 or Blue Ember lol Great vid :)

[@AudioHaze]

Hahah honestly I’ve never tried to blue ember, but I would still probably go with the AT2020

[@kickbuttowski6045]

@@AudioHaze nice, the blue ember has really nice low end, at least watching reviews, makes squeaky voices sound awesome lol

[@static-san]

I saw another video the other day saying to get the 2035 over the 2020... but really, I can't hear the difference. I'm very happy with my 2020 even though I don't actually use it that much and mostly for vlogging or video calls. But it was interesting to see if I could tell if the 2035 was better. So the 2020 was the best purchase for me.

[@angelmelody8187]

Please let me know Rank it please Which is the best for singing Akg p120 vs at2020 vs se x1a???

[@AudioHaze]

I would prefer the AT2020 over the AKG p120, but I haven't tried the se! Really depends on the tone you're going after though, the AT2020 is darker and pretty beefy. Good for spoken work :)

[@User-ec9yl]

Hey Man, I am getting the At 2035 with the Solo 3rd gen... Record Acoustic Guitar for original releases and vocals too.... will that be fine? I mean i saw a reddit post - stated that at 2035 will provide robotic sound on scarlett solo :-| although he says it was 2nd gen bro what should I do? in my country Scarlett is available, Evo 4 & PreSonus Audiobox USB 96 What Interface should I go with for best quality and build !! Please Help Bro 🙏🏻

[@AudioHaze]

Hey! The 2035 will be great! Don’t worry you don’t need to spend any more, this is Reddit we’re talking about. Try and find an audio thread that doesn’t have some dude saying your set up is bad, it’s impossible 😂

[@AvisBoone]

WOW!!! How in the world did you lose what you recorded? It did not go to the cloud?

[@AudioHaze]

No I didn’t have it set up, I live in Spain and don’t have any cloud network here :/

[@liz_lizy_liz-n9d]

just what I needed, u read my mind lolol

[@AudioHaze]

Glad I could help :)

[@eliotball655]

Great Video!!! you are amazing!

[@AudioHaze]

haha thanks dude :)

[@MichaelW.1980]

As far as purchasing it is concerned, the AT2035 - depending on the country you’re in - can be a lot better of a buy, compared to its ancestor. In Germany, the AT2020 is 89 EUR. The AT2035 goes for 153 EUR. Considering the 30 EUR the AT8458a (Shockmount) does cost, the price difference shrinks down to 24 EUR. With the self noise on the AT2035 being 8dB SPL lower and the dynamic range being 12 dB SPL higher, the AT2020 isn’t worth it to me. On another note: dB SPL is weird. How does one measure the SPL on a microphone’s self-noise? Let’s see if I can get any sense out of it… I presume anything below 12dB SPL cannot be recorded at all by that microphone, because of its self noise, right? Let’s see… conversational speech at 100 cm of distance is about 60dB SPL. But nobody in their right mind would use that microphone on this distance. I presume 15cm would be more like it. At that distance the same speech would result in 76.48 dB SPL. So the difference is roughly 64dB SPL. Let’s see… if I do a recording then, and the voice is recorded at -20dB In my DAW, the Self Noise of the microphone would be -84 dB? If I didn’t do a mistake somewhere, well… that would be quite nice actually… but is that how I calculate the self noise I’d have in a recording?

[@AudioHaze]

I'm really not sure! I'm not sure if its a subtractive thing so much as an additive thing? So rather than having 12 dB subtracted from the original sound source, I think they would sum together, so it would be a louder signal, not a quieter one due to self noise. In addition, I think the frequency might interfere with the incoming signals EQ curve. This is all guessing though, I'm not sure how the self noise affects the volume of an incoming signal. Regardless, with a low self noise the signal should be more than fine to record with :)

[@MichaelW.1980]

Wikipedia says, “Audio engineers use dynamic range to describe the ratio of the amplitude of the loudest possible undistorted signal to the noise floor, say of a microphone or loudspeaker.” And in a completely quiet room, the self noise of the microphone would be said noise floor. The numbers seem to agree to my theory: The AT2035 has a max SPL of 148dB , a self noise of 12 dB SPL and a dynamic range of 136 dB. 148-12=136. In a digital recording, The maximum usually is 0dB and the lowest signal is determined by the digital noise floor, in theory -144dB, but that’s not practical. No device ever got to even -132dB, which is the theoretical limit for a 24 bit audio interface. So the lowest noise of a 24 bit recording is pretty much limited by the device. That’s again subtractive. That’s why I believe it to be a subtractive thing, wether we’re talking dB SPL or dB FS. But like you said. The microphone will probably be low noise regardless.

[@climax7863]

@@MichaelW.1980 first of all 153 - 119 equals 34€, secondly there is no such thing as digital noise floor, please show me the source where you read that if you dont have one stop pretending that you know what you are talking about it makes me cringe, sorry no offense but still... And for your question how do you measure the noise floor of a microphone, you place it in a quiet room and look how much dbspl it is recording, thats your noisefloor pretty simple... Of course you can record lower than 12 dbspl but it will be buried beneath the noise, but u would still hear it, and obviously if you play a sound thats 12db spl loud that will get added to the noise floor which is 12db spl you get 24db spl if you add another sound it adds as well it makes no sense at all that you subtract that. By your logic if you play a sound at 12 dbspl you would have 0db spl how does that make sense? Lets go further and say, you have 40db spl of noise and you ADD(thats the keyword) a sound with 20dbspl to that noise your overall dbspl level would result in 60db spl and not 20

[@mixflawpjb3142]

At2020 or samson c1?

[@poggies]

what is the name of the song you are playing on guitar i really want to learn this

[@AudioHaze]

Aw thank you! Its one of mine, I've never released it, but I can maybe send you a video link so you can follow along at some point in the future :)

[@edmundleung2098]

Up grade to AT4xxx, they are made in Japan, not China.

[@gibson2623]

The 2020 sounds fuller to me, better....LoL

[@AudioHaze]

Nice!! Sounds like you get to save some money :)

[@gibson2623]

@@AudioHaze LoL :)

[@kavyanshjain777]

Could you please tell me it's very important, that my microphone weigh 406 g but they mentioned 403 g can you please weigh your one 🥺❤️ I'm your subscriber from a very long time and this will help me a lot, it's a request.

[@omerxoxo]

brother its fine

[@thebebeats2527]

could u please make vedio on at4040 vs rodes microphone

[@AudioHaze]

If I can get my hand on an AT4040 then sure :)

[@f2lo2]

Pity there is no usb version of at2035...

[@NicoDeclerckBelgium]

I tried both the AT2020 and AT2035 on spoken word/voice over (nothing else). I just can't see how they can get such praise. They are the only condensers I ever used that will never use again. Gave the AT2020 away (so noisy I wouldn't dare to ask money for it), and can't find anyone to buy the AT2035 from me. Even the Behringer B1 (similar price to the 2020 and a LDC, not an SDC like the 2020) outperforms both of them, easily. So does a cheapo t.Bone SC-450. No comments about the review though, we all have our opinions. My experiences just don't match with yours. Same goes for the MXL 990 that seems to get similar praise as the AT2020. My verdict on that microphone is similar too... I never tried it on voice, but I have spoken into an AT4040 and that did sound good, so it's not a 'brand' thing.

[@AudioHaze]

Interesting! Different ears will prefer different things I suppose, I happen to quite like the AT2020 and 2035 for their low end qualities, but they are certainly a bit EQ'd

[@DigitalArchdeacon]

Hello Nico. Can you sell the 2035 to me? You will send it to my US address. I want to use it with my Scarlett Solo for my KZbin channel. Thanks.

[@NicoDeclerckBelgium]

@@DigitalArchdeacon Great idea but not really logical. Shipping alone would be 30 EUR. Looking at eBay, these microphones remain unsold for 70 USD (which is way above my perceived value as well, but apparently not just mine), meaning that they are often sold for less than that. The economics don't add up.

[@DigitalArchdeacon]

@@NicoDeclerckBelgium Oh sorry. I thought you are in US.

[@Red.exe7]

What about a worker bee comparison?

[@AudioHaze]

;) stay tuned

[@yagonagos]

help

[@AudioHaze]

Kenneth, are you okay. You keep reaching out. I’m always here 4 u