More Mobile: Fun with Microphones (Premium)

When I’m at home, I use a professional podcasting rig that consists of a broadcast-quality microphone, a boom arm, and a USB audio interface. There’s a lot to like about this setup: it sounds great, and I never need to frig with the settings. But it has some downsides too. It’s expensive, for starters, though TWiT paid for it. And, more problematic, it’s big and bulky and not at all mobile, and it is thus not compatible with the more mobile lifestyle I see for the future.

In a way, this isn’t a new problem. I normally travel enough that I need to record many podcast episodes each year on the road, and I’ve spent much of the past 15 or so years packing various headsets and microphones for use on my trips. And while I’ve never found anything truly excellent, I could until now at least excuse that a way by the temporary nature of it: sure, I may be gone 4-5 weeks over the course of a year, but it’s OK if the podcasts I record then don’t sound perfect. That’s part of the charm.

The issue, going forward, is that I will almost certainly need a more mobile podcasting setup over a long period of time. The good news is that this need isn’t immediate: the very earliest we’ll sell our house and move is next year, and even then, we may temporarily be in a more fixed location for a while, which means I’ll be able to continue using my current setup. Regardless, I’ve been researching and experimenting with new (to me) and more mobile podcasting gear over the past few months. And the most important part of this setup, of course, is the microphone.

(Yes, the webcam is also important, but most podcast subscribers listen to the audio version, not the video version.)

Without getting into the technical weeds about the different types of microphones and interfaces, we can make this one simple: the most mobile setup possible is a smallish, travel-sized, USB-based microphone that simply plugs into whatever computer I’m using, just works, and works well (in the sense that it has good sound quality). And this shouldn’t be too complicated: just look at some reviews, try a few microphones, make a pick, and move on.

Unfortunately, it’s not proven so easy. As noted, I’ve never really found a truly excellent mobile podcasting setup, and so this year I’ve focused more on just finding a good standalone microphone. For example, before my trip to Mexico City this past August, I asked Leo for his advice and he recommended the Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB, which I promptly bought for about $100. It came with a small plastic tripod, and USB-A and USB-C cables, and it worked great when I tested it here at home, on my desktop PC. But when I got to Mexico, the quality was garbled garbage, on two different laptops. I had to scramble to find something that worked, and the Windows Weekly episodes I recorded from there sounded terrible.

When I got home, I exchanged the microphone, guessing that something might have happened to it...

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