ULTIMATE Podcast Mic Shootout

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[@RealCbase]

This test really shows that not every voice fits every microphone. Very different results for each voice. Thank you for doing this.

[@voodoohex72]

this is truth.

[@diepoldvoicestudios9814]

For my ears: Winner: Rode Procaster 2. re20 3. SM7b

[@mokan18]

The re20 and 7b stacks right beside the hefty $$$ sv33. The 7b has turned into the fan boy mic recently...understandably for all the right reasons...so smooth,well rounded and not over the top...it handled all three voices really well. It's the winner here!!

[@R.C.Bullar]

Give it a couple years and you will be repulsed by the SM7B's sound. Happened to me after owning it for 3 years. I can pick it out of a lineup now like a thorn to my fingertip. It is nice looking and built well though.

[@rubenalonsoviguerassalazar1539]

Procaster and re20 sounds great. Amazing comparison, by the way.

[@suspouce]

It's not my favorite for every voices, but I'm always amazed by how much SM7B is good on each one of them... In my opinion it's the go to mic for any voice if you're good at mixing voices after recording. And it's not that expensive!

[@dougosborn547]

Colt--outstanding shootout! Appreciate you having three persons--male and female--testing all the mic's. Excellent example of how some voices sound great on any given mic and others don't. Well done. Props to Sweetwater for this demo.

[@producerdanieldennis]

That Rode Podcaster actually sounded pretty great on everyone! Hard to go wrong with the sm7b though.

[@stefevr]

Thank you so much for this video, I'm so glad I found it. It's crazy how no one did tests with multiple voices AND in such a logical and clear way as you did. Awesome job!

[@WarmVoice]

Voiceover is my day job. Hands down I'd take either the Shure SM7B, or Electro-Voice RE20. I'd take an AT2040 when supported with a good EQ, but would probably get an AT4040 instead. The SV33 sounded great, but I discounted it and several other mics due to heavy plosives. I love my Neumann TLM103, but it's definitely best used in a vocal booth mic rather than as a podcast mic, since it doesn't have the noise rejection that some of these mics have.

[@ColtCapperrune]

The SM seven is amazing and it’s ability to make everyone sound good. I really liked the SV 33 as well, but it needs the pop filter attached which we did not have. That said, I could make all of them sound passable with EQ. Thanks for watching!

[@Brosfight_]

Its called the Rode PROcaster. They have a PODcaster microphone but it is a different one (white). I saw so many people calling it the PODcaster haha :) I just wanted to mention it

[@fragnet7673]

Loved this! In this shoot out I tend to be with the Shure gang. Thanks y'all!

[@tango_gru]

Loved how sneakily he professed his love for the 7b

[@martijn_nl]

My Favs on Colt: SM7B/SM58, Andrew: RE20, Rachel: SM7B/SM58. The Earthworks Icon pro unexpectedly disappoints! The Shure MV7 and Rode PodMic on the other hand surprised me.

[@yinYangMountain]

With quality headsets on, and listening again and again, I'm not sure which mic is best for podcasting, but the clearest overall voice on everyone is coming from the AT BP40.

[@martifingers]

With a few odd exceptions I agree there were minimal quality differences and I expect that others who claim a difference might be hard pressed to distinguish in a blind listen. Maybe placement, room treatment and technique are more decisive factors?

[@pjlira]

All Shure mics are my favorite, especially the SM-58 and the SM7B. I guess the Samson mic was there just as a joke.

[@yanossnicklefritz7064]

I like the Earthworks Icon in design, but the Shure MV7 sounded better there to me. It could have simply been an eq thing though as it wasn't as crisp and clear for spoken voice. Which I prefer.

[@kernelxsanders]

The Icon was pretty clear, but definitely has the worst plosives out of all of them

[@HarrisonPainter]

The RE20 is my favorite of all time. It just stands out by leaps and bounds to my ears. The Podmic sounded surprisingly good on all 3 voices too, that thing is a powerhouse for only $99.

[@RyanPoulter]

Would love to see this type of content within the context of Guitar amps, Vocals, Drums and Bass. As a Bassist it would be great to have a video about Bass amp mic shootout. I mainly use the DI and when needed amp sims such as Ampeg Suite, but when I do choose to mic up amps it would be nice to have more content for microphone choices.

[@ryanmbisson]

Great video, as always, Colt. For those interested in all different mics and hearing side by side comparisons, @Podcastage does an incredible job.

[@Drfresh1402]

I don’t know why so many people use condensers for audiobooks and voice overs. I think dynamics are perfect for capturing the most important parts of a voice - body and sibilance. Condensers just have too much detail.

[@caspermaster-com]

Earthworks with a pop filter

[@nitsan]

Thanks for this. Is it just me or does the zoom sounds way better than it has any right to at 50 bucks? 🤔 Though I really loved the re20. Though I'm very much biased towards warmer sounds profiles.

[@FieryArdent]

Thank you so much for this! I was already thinking of buying the MV7 and this sealed the deal for me.

[@RufusKSala]

What I’ve found with the Earthworks mics is realism. You don’t necessarily hear it at first, all these mics are basically good and already good enough, but what you begin to hear with Earthworks is that it just sounds like the person. You don’t realize how accurate the rest of your chain (and your speakers) already are.

[@theoutsiderjess1869]

The price for the longest time made it not worth it

[@Slipsch]

For podcast, I don't want to sound realistic, I just want to sound good.

[@JasonBuffin]

The SM7B is the most versatile hands down and was great on all 3 voices. I liked the RE20 on Andrew's voice.

[@matabercrombie3816]

I’ve always preferred the RE20 over the SM7, however, I think I preferred the Shure on Rachel’s voice. Either way, you can’t go wrong with either of them. I guess they’re classics for good reason. I will say, though, that the Earthworks SV33 stacks up nicely against them. As much as I hate to sound negative, though, the biggest takeaway I have from the shootout is how utterly unusable that PreSonus is. I don’t think I could make it through a whole podcast recorded on that thing. However, it does make me wonder how these mics would stack up going through a cheap preamp. Perhaps that crazy EQ curve on the PreSonus would balance out a dark and muddy preamp.

[@torta122]

RE20 in all voices, SM7B and MV7 in the girl

[@dandelay8377]

I have a severe microphone addiction. Thank you for adding to the itch. Lol

[@jasonhernandez7942]

Same here. I have 15 mics in my locker

[@eIijahhhhh]

the rode pro caster sounded good and both the shure's were great

[@MisterSliBanda]

For male voice, SM7B once again, blows them all away. Female voice needs de-esser or EQ, I can't focus on details with all the Sss in my head.

[@theoutsiderjess1869]

I agree all of the mic's sounded the same on the female voice and they all sounds different on everyone else's voice

[@yona9798]

Ok so ad one would expect I have completely different opinions between the different voices. What I certainly didn’t expect, is that the sm7b would just sound basically perfect on all of them. Sure, there might be a better choice out there for your specific voice, but if you can’t really test different mics or you have guests on your podcast, the sm7b really seems to be the perfect, universally amazing sounding mic!

[@thebr0wnhornet]

That’s why it’s the OG

[@kernelxsanders]

I guess you were the only one who didn't see that one coming lol

[@yona9798]

@@kernelxsanders I mean I was expecting it to sound good. I just wasn't expecting it to basically sound the best on literally everyone...

[@nathanedwards754]

Thanks for doing these one after another, really helps to compare! First impressions: The Earthworks mics both seem well balanced and pleasant - They have that "radio sound" The Zoom - Liked the tone, wouldn't have guessed it was one of the budget options The AT models seem more forward in the upper-mids Samson - Noticeably darker than the rest The Rode and Shure models all have unique qualities but all sound pretty good EV - Just classic Not sure how I feel about the others I didn't mention yet.

[@Matthew_Raymond]

The Samson sounded WAY better on Rachel’s voice, for some reason. Slightly muffled but usable. It sounded like muddy crap for the other two guys. Also, really didn’t care for the Audio-Technicas. They were a disappointment. By contrast, the Zoom mic does pretty well for its price point.

[@jonathangrover3176]

Great video. Efficient, honest, useful, succint. Really appreciated

[@trueneutral3092]

Shure SM7B owner here, as well as a few other microphones. Here's some good advice to save you money. If you're thinking about getting an SM7B, but would rather not spend $400, get the Shure Beta 58a. 95% of the performance of an SM7B, at roughly 33% of the cost. I did multiple mic shootout between the two and I can barely tell the difference.

[@kevingthemusicmaker]

Okay, yall gotta get off of the 7B hype train man! The RE20 is SOOOO much more robust, vibrant and lifelike than the 7b!! Plus, there is WAYYY more detail in the annunciation and it also has a higher db output if im not mistaken which is great if you dont always want that hard driven preamp sound. I would say the best cost effective alternative is the Pod Mic. It sounds INCREDIBLE next to all counterparts!

[@silentscope7440]

I bought the SM7B which I love, but I also like the Presonus PD-70 for its clarity and having less bass when it may be necessary in some situations.

[@Matthew_Raymond]

I hated the Presonus PD-70. It sounded to me like specific frequencies of their voices were being cut out. It did not sound natural at all.

[@jonasfrenzel7314]

well, there are a couple mikes I liked a lot, especially the sm7b. But the earthworks also sounded very very nice! So I can't really say which mic was the best, but the Samson Q9U clearly sounded worst on all voices😅

[@nathanedwards754]

The Samson seemed significantly darker than the rest.

[@FransJCMartins]

Shure SM7B all the way

[@DihelsonMendonca]

⚠️ Shure SM7B is roughly the same as SM57, same capsule, but a different shell. But you already have an SM57 or SM58, you can make them sound the same as SM7B. The problem is finding all of them from Shure, not a fake one made in China. 😮😮😮

[@Slipsch]

I like Rachel's voice on the Icon Pro the best. And prefer male vocals on the RE20, but the RE20 has know to have it's foam disintegrating on the inside, it's fixable but the hassle is just way to much. Because of that, I would go with the SM7B. But I would like to own the SV33 just to know that I have the most expensive mic for my podcast.

[@Drfresh1402]

Re 20 is always the winner.

[@aleksamrkela831]

SM7B all the way!

[@leeloodog]

There was only two that didn't sound good to me. They were muffeled. i'm not sure it's only about the voice only but also how they are used and how forgiving they are, for example plosives pickup etc. I think a good mic for most is forgiving since a lot of people don't sound treat, are on the move, and may not be trained or inclined to always have perfect technique and such. A lot of those mics did that well a couple seemed like they didn't. Having even more people say 10 do this and testing would be interesting. but this was one of the better more realistic tests i'd estimate.

[@jamcaseproductions8307]

thanks mate

[@sxbarral]

The Rode in the shootout is a PROcaster (XLR), not a PODcaster (USB). Those two are very different sounding mics, people can get confused and buy the wrong one.

[@ChitranjanBaghiofficial]

for me zoom zdm1 was the best sounding among all and I checked the price and I can say it is value for money.

[@Matthew_Raymond]

The Beyerdynamic was kinda interesting. Not necessarily the best, per se, but I felt like I could hear elements of their voices that I couldn’t hear in the other microphones.

[@samonthestreet]

This sold me on the sm58 just bought 2 and I’ll upgrade to the 7b when I can for the clout

[@JasonBuffin]

It would have been interesting to have a U87 (or maybe WA87) in the mix given that it's what NPR uses and what several podcasters and voiceover artists use.

[@ColtCapperrune]

Initially I had planned to include some common condensers… But once I opened that door there was really no where to draw the line for what to include, and what not to include. Thanks for watching!

[@JasonBuffin]

@@ColtCapperrune Yeah completely understand. This was a great shootout though and the separation between winners and losers was pretty clear

[@ezrachops]

I liked the Icon. It had some great top end and didn’t have as much of some of that like 3-5K (could be wrong) harshness in it

[@felixbigly]

To my ears, the Earthworks mics and the Rode Procaster sound the best

[@ThePostPatrol]

SM7b and RE20, loved em both.

[@Bonzvy]

Any of the earthworks, the sm7b and re 20 just sounded right for me

[@kyleolin3566]

SM 7B and Rhode Podcaster are the best. I have a few Sm 58s and am surprised how well the 58 stacks up.

[@DanielSilva_237]

The Rode Podcast mic actually sounded the cleanest and crisp !

[@fatlazycabs1688]

RE 20 sounded the best imo

[@mimibx6801]

Let me ask questions. What’s name that you talking last one ???

[@audios22]

RE 20 always for radio and pod casters

[@timcity]

Damn... No Earthworks Ethos? My favorite mic right now.

[@ScentsOverSense]

Great one! Question, Can you boom an SM7B just out of frame or does it really have to be right up to your mouth? Thanks!

[@Bravesparrow67]

I wouldn't recommend booming the SM7B. It really wants you to be close to it. It also has a low output already, so I'm not sure it would have the output to be that far away.

[@Ruben_granadillo]

Earthworks sv33 definitely 🔥🔥🤘🏼

[@saschaa7919]

By far Shure SM7B is the best sounding microphone. PERIOD!

[@f0ssig]

MV7 impressed

[@aeiplanner]

EV RE20 sounds incredible.

[@m-zurowski]

Podmic is surprisingly good :D (yeah, i want it now)

[@luk7n]

Colt, could you plase make a video or help me setup EQ and Compressor for the SM7B? I know everybody sounds different, I don´t have the same setup like you in the studio, I am just want a great audio for stream and youtube, I have TC Helicon GOXLR, which I think for the money is not worst it has good low noise preamp, good eq and compressor, but I just can´t tune it to my voice to make it sound great like you sound. I always find tuning my SM7B to sound boring. Would be lit if you could help me a bit.

[@mylifeisbroken34]

Hello. My friend and I want to start a podcast, but we don't have a lot of knowledge about the subject. However, we really want to do it as it is an event we've been wanting to do for a while. What kind of microphone should we choose for a beginner level? Do we have to choose a model with an XLR input? Or will the quality of our recordings increase "wow" significantly compared to USB models? Our budget is a maximum of $500. If you have any models or setups you can recommend, I would be very happy. Thank you

[@crumpetsbuttered]

What no Procaster, they all sounded great to me.... perfect for all diiferent kind of voices.

[@Positive_Tea]

Thanks Colt! I am researching mics for recording an audio book. Will these mics do the exact same thing?

[@charliebutcher373]

Quick question? How come you didn’t test the At2020? It’s really good for 100$ but even I am having problems with it I might just go to new universal audio mic! It’s like the output is low

[@Irshaad88]

EV RE20 then SM7B then the SM58

[@taslikesdogs]

colt, do you have any tips on how to get jacked? I'm really small and I need to change

[@ColtCapperrune]

Eat clean, with loads of protein. Lift heavy with low reps for size, lift less heavy with lots of reps for definition. There’s 1 million videos here on KZbin that will help you. But you have to eat a surplus of protein, and work out four or five days a week to have any progress.

[@daprincehwc]

do anyone notice the SV33 follow by the zoom ZDM-1 almost closed.

[@danielsan0912]

I noticed that yeah.

[@johnpilling741]

Colt in your opinion can a podcast mic record good vocals and vice versa?

[@KevinWood44]

how do you all think the Fduce SL40 would stack up against these? for $80 I think it is a good choice for zoom calls for work

[@danielsan0912]

Tbh, i think not that great. It has processed sound with way to much bass. But that's only my opinion.

[@ae86409888]

i think that female's voice sounds more similar from different mics (more high frequency less muddy) but it's completely different on male's voice (more low frequency more muddy) btw the q9u sounds really muddy to me even on female's voice and actually same from all the test videos on the internet...

[@DailyRiot]

2 fingers is way too close, you should be about a 4 fingers away. At 2 fingers away, the proximity effect is just smothering everything with low end.

[@SohItGoes]

awesome video!

[@Roqfort]

Rode Podmic sounds awesome for me...

[@ThePhiCode]

the Pre-sonus sounds like through a fridge

[@KNOBSFREAKZ]

What camera do use ?

[@HotBadBoyMagnifico]

AudioTechnica best for me

[@suparickyprime]

Awesome!

[@ragebait988]

I wish podcasters would move away from the headphones and large diaphragm Mics for small clip on mics and ear buds.

[@NoQualmsTheArtist]

I preferred RE20 on all the voices. My wallets not gonna be happy 😩 Surprised by the Zoom tho 🤔

[@rockostiffredi4276]

RE20, SM7B, RODE PODCASTER]

[@voodoohex72]

Yeah I totally heard the 2320 dollar difference between the zoom and the earthworks.... NOT!!

[@MoreMeRecording]

7b all day :)

[@KarenBasset]

Sm7 and RE20 sound the best. Samson was my least favorite.

[@chrisw443]

Gonna offend some people here. They are all in the same ballpark. Except the samson which sounded like garbage except with rachels voice. so buy a sm58 and be good.

[@PeterReesvan]

Sm58

[@hisroyalsucculence]

SM58 sounded best on your voice IMO.

[@Matthew_Raymond]

Coming after the SM7B, they all sounded a bit more nasal too me. It’s still fine for a $100 mic, though.

[@danymalsound]

The Samson is absolutely horrid lol

[@robindgordon]

that's what I was thinking. All the mics were either great or acceptable. the samson was terrible!!

[@whosyabobby]

Pop filters made this whole thing unusable. Unless you are going for that.

[@jonoville]

Just get a 58

[@ChaxSouthSide]

im surprised by MV7... especially on a girl`s voice... samson is by far the worst IMO

[@cotdd]

re20 ftw