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Nice. I use the logitech headset. It sounds awful compared to others you have used. Would love to know app. price in the notes.
Good show.

Hi homeion,

I was looking at prices for these after we made the recordings and they can vary. I don't know if Amazon still has such a good deal, but I saw the Audio-Technica Microphone for something like $92 USD.

It's definitely worth shopping around a bit to see what deal you can get.

Best Regards,
Matt Pierce
Training Manager
TechSmith Corporation

Thanks for this! I saw Betsy tweet that you guys were going to do microphone reviews and this was just what I needed.

Headed over to Amazon today to pick up the Audio-Technica (it's $117.28 at amazon today). That one sounded the best overall to me.

Do you guys use a pop filter when you do most of your regular screencasts?

Matt and Betsy - excellent short demo! I'll link to this in my screencast-tutorial series on the blog, it'll complement the 'how to record great audio' post very nicely.
For reference I use an sE2200a which Amazon lists at $299USD. It also needs a phantom power supply (mine in the UK would have been approx. $80USD) and an XLR->USB converter (I use a FastTrack USB - Amazon says $70USD).
If you want to hear an example see the previous post (Adblock Plus screencast).
It is great to clearly hear the improved sound of the more expensive condenser mics (especially the AT and Samson) over the cheaper dynamic mics.
Betsy - note that the bit.ly link to the AudioTechnica is broken (mal-formed url!). I'd also suggest linking directly to the non-flash version of the site, the Flash version insists that us Europeans visit a Euro-friendly page which promptly forgets the mic you were linking to!
Ian.

I use Zoom H2 for my audio.

It's less expensive than what you tested and has very interesting other features.

You can use it directly as a microphone into USB and also as a standalone recorder (I use an 8GB SDHC card).

You can hear a test of its audio (background audio is a separate track, also recorded with this mic at another point) on my http://www.harddiskcrashed.com site. You can hear the noise of my camcorder... :)

Love it!!!

That's amazing! Thanks so much for sharing! Really demonstrates the importance of good audio.

The Samson C03U and the Audio-Technica microphones sounded the best out of this bunch.

Thank you! Excellent post!

For years, I was down in the Microphone dumps -- until February, when an audiophile friend told me to get the Blue Snowball.

One of the reasons mikes go bad -- so quickly -- is the infernal line -- which starts to short out. With the Blue, it's a USB port. If my USB line starts to go south -- I'll go buy another! Plus, it's pretty sturdy, so I doubt it's going to go bust anytime soon.

My only problem -- not I'm chagrined to go listen to old screencasts. So scratchy and poppy... if you're going to screencast, get a good mike.

Thanks for the great post!

I use the Blue Snowball and the Audio Technica 2020 regularly. Both are good for the price (about $100 each). The Blue is bulky for taking it into the field (it's about the size of a grapefruit). The Blue has a couple of pickup patterns you can choose from; the "wrong" setting may account for the low level on the test recording above. The 2020 is better sounding to me by a little bit. It's also very well finished and more "pro" looking. However, the 2020 mini tripod is weak. Mine broke the first time I used it. I use a regular mic stand or the Snowball mic stand with the 2020. The room, recording level and mic-to-subject placement all are significant variables, so test before you record your masterpiece.

Great topic!

A trick I use is to always record in mono rather than stereo. Using stereo can imbed a lot of weird background noise, whereas mono is fairly clean. I've used Audacity, but also had a lot of luck with Windows Recorder. When I pull the file into Camtasia I use audio enhancement to filter for background noise, and get a decent audio track. I use a simple Plantronics headset with one of those black foam filters of the microphone to screen out the plosive sounds.

Great post. I too like the sound of the first and last mics best. I wonder about background noise - does anyone use a sound booth or a mini mic sound booth to isolate the audio? I came across this post that seemed like a good idea: http://blogs.oreilly.com/digitalmedia/2008/02/build-a-portable-vocal-booth.html

Is it redundant and unnecessary? My recording space is a 13'x11' office with a window.

I have both a Samson (C01U) and a Blue Snowball. I have the same problem with the Blue in that I just can't get a good level out of it...no matter what setting I use. I'm thinking that Blue might have a manufacturing issue as other have said they love their Blue. I should have sent it back right away for a new one. If anybody has any ideas I'd love to get the Blue working better.

This is a great demonstration of the different types of mics. I personally use a Rode Podcaster hung off a flexible mic arm and suspended in a shock mount. I get great audio with this mic for all my voice over work. I also use a cheap wireless lapel mic (because that is all I could afford) when I do on camera work and you can definitely tell a difference between the two mics when a video is all put together. I don't have the luxury of a sound booth nor do I have the room in my office for one but I desparately need something. My office is right next to an air handler it is rather noisy to say the least. But believe it or not, Camtasia Audio Enhancer does a pretty descent job of getting rid of the awful roar. What I do is put about 10 seconds worth of nothing but background noise before I start any recording. Then when I use the enhancer, I do the manual method, select that 10 seconds and remove it. It works pretty good.
I was also wondering, will the two styles of mics, studio and lapel mics, always have a sound quality difference regardless of cost? Is there something that I can do to blend them? Does anyone have any recommendations on this practice? I would be very interested to hear what the rest of the communities take is on this.

Thanks for a great demo.

David F

What happened with the logitech recording? I've never used that mic but surely its not the typical quality. Were the cables being pulled or something?

Stuart

David, here is a $150 solution: the Porta Booth.

http://www.harlanhogan.com/PortaBoothArticle.php

Use it with your rode.

Did you normalize the audio? It might be a better comparison if the audio was normalized across the different microphone recordings.

Stuart, Unfortunately, that is the typical recording quality of the Logitech. I use the Logitech for recording and the noise you hear is from the cord and earpiece. You can't move at all while recording or you get these 'pops' and 'thud' noises.

Excellent post, this was very helpful. Based on the round-up I included the at2020 and Samson c03u to my search criteria and ended up purchasing the at2020.

I haven't had a chance to record anything official yet, but it really shines with various test recordings and my own round-up with some built-in, webcam and other usb mics.

Now I can't get Alice and the rabbit out of my head...

Currently the setup is with a MXL WS-001 windscreen inside of a 10x10x10 canvas box. I don't have any acoustic foam yet for true porta-booth style (really no room in a 10" box), but for now I think it's working well to help absorb any sound or vibration bouncing around my desk.