AT2035

This is an excellent studio mic to have in anyone's home studio. For that matter, it's an excellent mic in a professional studio. I'm a professional recording engineer, and I've always said there are NO RULES, JUST GUIDELINES. I'm not going to go into the technical whys and how comes of what makes a great microphone. You can read the tech specs and study that for yourself. I say use your ears as the best judge as to what sounds good. For me, the AT2035 is a goto mic for a lot situations in recording voice and instruments. It's reasonably priced so you can afford to have a pair. I've used this mic in live sound as well as studio applications, both indoor and outdoor venues, and the results are no less than perfect. Clean, clear, and hits everywhere in the common frequency range of human hearing. It's a warm sounding mic; very elegant and captures the natural timbre of unprocessed, acoustic sound. I feel this is a great choice for podcasts and even live radio broadcasts. One of my favorite times in using this mic was for an acoustic classical guitar played in a stairwell at a college. I placed one in front of the player, and another on the first landing of the steps going up to the second floor to capture the natural reverb of the room. Outside of "tuning" the room with EQ there was no other processing used and the recording was spectacular. Very powerful sounding, yet all the nuances of classical guitar playing were present. Bottom line is you can't go wrong with the AT2035. If you're new to recording and trying to decide what kind of condenser mic to get - this should be a first choice for you.

Note: Mic arm and pop filter are not included with this. I was a bit unsure about which model to buy between this and the 2020, but I'm glad I went this direction. If you're looking for a solid mic for voicework, this one is good for the price point (and just in general). Audio is crisp and clear, and I haven't had a single issue with sound quality, whether it be chatting with friends or recording audio. I haven't tested how this performs with music (especially instruments), so the jury is out on that. Get yourself a decent audio mixer and either a stand or boom arm, and you're ready to rock!

I lucked out when I bought this microphone, as it was only $70 and was practically new. And I can honestly say, it was worth every penny, and then some. First things first, as this IS a condenser microphone, you HAVE to give the room you plan to record in proper treatment. Otherwise it WILL pick up a lot of reverb and background noise. I have actually surrounded the microphone itself with studio foam inside of a cardboard box. It's not the prettiest sight, but it was inexpensive and works just as well as the upwards $100 screens they sell for these. Another thing to remember is to buy a proper interface for this. Especially if you are recording on a PC. I suggest using a Line 6 Pod Studio UX1, I managed to find one of those on eBay for about $45. It has an excellent noise gate with it that filters out the background noise in real time, without giving the vocals that robotic sound that noise removal in post tends to leave. Please note, the UX1 does not supply phantom power, so you will need a phantom power supply. I use a Behringer Micro power supply P5400 with it ($20). You will also need to buy at least two XLR cables, one for the power supply, and one to connect to the interface, but you can find some decent ones around $7 -$14, so that is no big deal. As for the sound quality, it is PHENOMENAL. Every syllable comes out clearly, and distinctly. Subtle nuances in tone that some lesser mics tend leave out are crystal clear, and, best of all, it can handle high vocals without peaking as easily like my other microphones did. I managed to go to ear piercingly high pitches, and still managed to keep it from peaking. If you want high quality, professional sound, and don't feel like spending over $300, this is definitely the microphone to get.

Most reviews I see on Amazon are for products that have only recently been received by the buyer, but my review is based on four years of use. The AT-2035 microphone, cord, boom arm, and shock mount have held up incredibly well over the years. It has survived weekly use, two full house moves, and curious toddlers who have knocked it down more times than I can count. It has proven to be extremely durable and performs four years later just as well as the day I bought it. The instructions for setup are easy to follow and online support from Audio-Technica has been more than enough to assist me in all of my needs. I've used it for live audio during Zoom calls, recording voiceovers for work projects, and personal projects. The audio is always crisp and clear and there have been no integration issues with the half-dozen different recording programs I've used over the years. If you are a first-time XLR microphone user, you will need to purchase a USB audio interface if recording to a PC or Mac. The Focusrite Scarlett Solo interface has been an excellent partner to the AT-2035 and I would highly recommend purchasing the two together. This has proven to be an excellent microphone for me as a beginner and has grown with my needs and skill level. If you want a purchase that will hold up over time, I can't recommend this one enough.

I'm a gamer who is really tired of shelling out significant quantities of money for lights and a wireless setup that requires constant charging, issues with connectivity, subpar audio for both input and output, and to boot, doesn't have a long life cycle. I just got weary of it. This pack was slightly more than a "good gaming headset" that might last a year. So far, the audio is wonderful. I've paired it with a simple, easy mixing board from Phenyx (the PTX-100) - very much a beginner's setup. I like my voice, I practice with my voice, I like to actually have my real voice and not the muffled version of it cutting in and out, when I game. The headphones are fine. Nothing crazy, but definitely usable. Love the shock mount, paired that with a simple pop filter, looks classy. The boom arm is hot garbage. I kinda thought it would be, but the final connection, prior to the 3/8" connector cannot be controlled. It swings very loose, there is no knob, just three screws/bolts. A pair of pliers could probably be used, but using pliers when you need to reposition each time is nuts. I know it had to be a less expensive arm for this to not cost Audio-Technica to provide. The mic on its own is superb. And the shock mount is great. Headphones eh. I still give a 5/5 for value.

If you’re looking to capture podcast style audio, this is the microphone that you should be looking at. Of course, when you look at the videos of all the big Podcasters and they’re using the shure microphones, it seems tempting to just get one of those microphones. But take it from a person who’s been in the entertainment industry for over 40 years unless you are a true audiophile, you will not hear the difference. This is a brilliant condenser microphone that if used properly in the proper setting is absolutely brilliant you will not use this microphone to capture audio for a feature film. You will not use this microphone in a concert setting you will use this microphone in online meetings, recording a podcast or any other environment where you need your microphone to pick up your voice and somewhat ignore the rest of the noise in the room. There’s lots of tacky stuff that goes into microphones and you can see some of it in the listing but in the end your question is, does this sound as good as a $600 microphone to 98% of the population it does, and until you can develop an ear that tells you the difference between that and this… just buy this. A couple things you should know. This is not a USB microphone. It uses phantom power the an XLR cable in other words you’ll need an interface that can supply that 48 V power to the microphone you will not be able to plug this in to your laptop and record, you can pick up an interface rather inexpensively. All in all, it may have the price of a mid tier microphone, but its performance is surprising. As I said, in the title, you should consider this microphone, but I will amend it here. You should SERIOUSLY consider this microphone.

This mic is ideal for the Behringer U-Phoria UMC404 series audio interfaces. Get a good well-balanced XLR cable, and you'll get great, well balanced mids, lows, and highs out of the large diaphragm on this mic. I stepped up from an ATR2500 (USB AT2020) to this + the audio interface when running into issues with Reason 9.5 and the whole ASIO4ALL memory leak/screeching/distortion issue. The ATR2500 is a perfect mic for all digital internet voice applications, including video conferencing, streaming, VOIP for games, etc. but working with a proper studio mic is basically necessary for digital music production/live recording. The ATR2500 has a studio-quality physical design and sound replication, but the USB-microphone protocol causes inherent issues (with Windows at least). The mic performs extremely well, and I like that the package includes a noise damper and stand head. It's great for recording dynamic sounds, like human voice and instruments, as well as for recording impulse responses. If you want to record things like effects, get a stereo mic for environmental or shotgun mic for point, this is not the mic for you (basic cardioid shape picks up too much of the reverb of the room for single point sound recording, but too little of the ambiance for environmental, also it's mono). But if you're looking for a dynamic musical recording mic, pro-quality studio recorder, or smooth deep mic for varied vocal recording in a talking setting, get this and an appropriate phantom power supply (required).

I was skeptical about this mic for high-end audio work. Lately, looking for good condenser mics is difficult, because so many people review these "budget" mics for various podcast or YouTube/Twitch uses, and while they are happy with results, would those same budget mics work well in a small production studio? Unlike the social media uses, I'm looking for something that when in a properly conditioned room, does it capture a neutral response, have head room and provide little coloration? I can say with this mic, all YES. For the price, this provides a very neutral color with little debit where it counts for most midrange instruments and vocalists. In fact, compared to some other mics in the studio, I actually prefer this for baritone-to-alto singers because of the clarity. There is a small decline in response on the high end (well outside most purposes), but that's what the other mics are for. This mic stacks up pretty well compared to some that are a few hundred dollars more, and for mid-range vocals or instruments, I think it provides a great sound for the money. I wouldn't want to use this for higher frequency instruments or things like bird calls, etc. compared to some other mics. But, if you don't have a choice (and many people might not), this mic would give very professional results for a really reasonable price. I am probably going to pick up another one soon.