Audio-Technica AT2005USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone,Black

I have used these mics to capture voice, piano, and violin. The sound is clean (very linear). I use the XLR inputs when you need a higher dynamic range and quality. Cables are soft and electrically quiet. The USB input (output) is also pretty good for general use and can be used to feed a laptop or mobile device directly. The headphone output works, but I almost never use it. In fact, it is a bit of a pain because plugging in this device into a laptop causes the default speaker to change to this headphone output and you have to reset it. The sound cone is about 30 degrees on both sides. That's good for situations where you don't want to pickup background noise and echoes (like in churches or large halls where the sound can get soupy). Vocals are rich at 6-12" spacing. For instruments try 1-5' spacing.

I have been a professional syndicator for 20 years working out of Nashville, and purchased this mic to use with my iPad for field recordings. The mic sounds good with it's own built in pre-amps through the USB and frankly, was everything I had hoped for when doing work outside the studio. It even has a headphone jack for live monitoring with zero latency. Sweet. On a lark, I decided to swap it out with my Electrovoice RE-20 on air studio mic. For this test I used the XLR connection instead of the USB, and ran it through the same audio chain as the RE-20. WOW...was I surprised! I think most listeners would not be able to guess which is the RE-20 and which is the AT2005. In fact it sounded so good, I just did a full show with it. It has a pleasantly warm low end and a clean high end that isn't tinny or irritating. Well balanced and perfectly to my liking. Note, it will sound much better using the XLR connection with a good board and digital converter, than it does through it's own internal pre's with USB, but this mic is a tremendous value no matter how you size it up. If you want to use it on the iPad, purchase the Apple camera connection kit and use the USB connector to simply plug it right in. This is an undocumented feature of the new iPad 3 (haven't tested the iPad 2) but it works like a champ. I use an app called AudioMemos that has some nice audio boosting features which you will find handy, as the audio levels can be a bit low when recording through the USB port. That said, this mic works with all the apps I've tried so far, even iMovie. So yes, you could shoot hi-def video interviews with this mic and an iPad 3. Just add a mic flag and you're all set. The only other thing you may want for video interviews is a Tri-pod mount. I use the Tournez2 carbon fiber mount by Joy Factory, available here on Amazon for under $70 bucks, but there are cheaper options too. Lastly, the AT2005USB includes a long thin USB cable (which comes in handy when connected to the iPad for interviews), an XLR cable, a small folding stand and a zippered pouch. You will likely want to get a foam windscreen for it to cut down on "p-pops". Nice job Audio-Technica. This is my new favorite mic!

I recently got this mic after envying the sound quality one of my cohosts had on the podcast we run together. I had previously been using the Blue Snowball, and the sound quality was "robotic" for lack of a better word. No amount of editing was helping to eliminate that effect. My teammates in games also complained that when I got loud over something exciting, it was very annoying and shrill. With the at2005usb mic, I sound like I am right there in the room! No distortion. No issues at all. Best part? I just opened the package, mounted it on my boom arm and plugged in the usb. I didn't need to to do anything from a software point of view either! I just started recording that night on audacity! This mic being a dynamic cardioid mic, my teammates never hear my mechanical keyboard clicking, since it only picks up sounds directly in front of it. If you live in a noisey house or appartment, this mic will help cut out all that extra noise that you and your audience want none of. I do run a little bit of a noise gate via Voicemeeter Banana, but you really should not have to. A boom arm is 100% recommended for gaming with this mic, if you are a streamer. A cheap $20 boom will easily support this mic. The reason I said this mic has room to grow, is the ability to also use this mic with an XLR setup. That requires more investment in the mix amp and phantom power though, so I am in no rush on that front. This thing sounds great via usb already! This mic competes with the Blue Yeti or HyperX quadcast on price, but competes with much more expensive mics in terms of sound quality! I'd recommend this to anyone interested in sounding good, be it for podcasting, youtubing, streaming, voice over work, etc. Update in 2024: I am still using this same mic with ZERO issues. I have upgraded every part of my setup from the PC, to the peripherals, monitor, desk... everything. But not this mic. Because it just works. And it's cheaper now than it was 5 years back. If you are on the fence, just buy it.

Estoy encantado con este micro. Es una maravilla lo bien que suprime el ruido ambiental. Tenía un AT2020 pero tenía que insonorizar toda la habitación cada vez que grababa algo. Con este micro evito tener que montar el chiringo de grabación y el resultado es óptimo. 100% recomendable

Très mauvais micro Mauvais qualité audio; soit on ne m'entend pas soit on entend énormément de bruits parasites Le pied est instable et ne tient que dans une certaine position Vraiment un mauvais achat

Sounds nice for the price. Also has USB or XLR connections.

Molto utile la regolazione diretta del volume , e' un microfono serio

Wat een teleurstelling! Binnen drie maanden ging het apparaat al kapot. Toen ik contact opnam met de klantenservice, werd ik behandeld alsof ik een kleuter was. "Met je bonnetje terug naar de winkel," werd er op een neerbuigende toon gezegd, zonder enige poging om mee te denken of het probleem op te lossen. Absoluut schandalig en onprofessioneel! Dit bedrijf heeft laten zien totaal geen waarde te hechten aan zijn klanten. Voor mij nooit meer – wat een ongelooflijke aanfluiting!