Audio-Technica AT2020 usb mic sound is very bad

[HerstalP90]

Hey guys/ galls,

 

I just bought a new mic, boom arm, shock mount and pop filter aaaaaand now that i finally have everything set up and working propperly, i've found out that the sound that comes from this is incredibly bad.

The old mic i was using is from a Sennheiser pc350 headphone and that sounded better than this mic. 

I'm hoping i just need to do some things in a set-up of sorts or do some weird configuring but i have no clue about such things myself.

Hope you know what i should do since everywhere else on youtube and other websites, the sound was clear and amazing... For me it just sounds grainy and like theres an echo.

 

Would love to hear some tips and hopefully i don't have to send this one back.

[wyattzx]

• Have you tried plugging it into different USB ports? 

Have you configured the mic at all through the Recording Devices option of the Audio settings in Windows?

Where are you playing back your recordings from? (Audacity, versus a Skype call, for example.)

Does there appear to be any physical damage to the unit itself?

[jscho]

Hey guys/ galls,

 

I just bought a new mic, boom arm, shock mount and pop filter aaaaaand now that i finally have everything set up and working propperly, i've found out that the sound that comes from this is incredibly bad.

The old mic i was using is from a Sennheiser pc350 headphone and that sounded better than this mic. 

I'm hoping i just need to do some things in a set-up of sorts or do some weird configuring but i have no clue about such things myself.

Hope you know what i should do since everywhere else on youtube and other websites, the sound was clear and amazing... For me it just sounds grainy and like theres an echo.

 

Would love to hear some tips and hopefully i don't have to send this one back.

 

What are you using to playback your voice? I own this microphone and I'm using it right now and it's excellent. It's quality is extremely good. Something is wrong with either your microphone or your PC.

[HerstalP90]

 

• Have you tried plugging it into different USB ports? 
• Have you configured the mic at all through the Recording Devices option of the Audio settings in Windows?
• Where are you playing back your recordings from? (Audacity, versus a Skype call, for example.)
• Does there appear to be any physical damage to the unit itself?

 

 

What are you using to playback your voice? I own this microphone and I'm using it right now and it's excellent. It's quality is extremely good. Something is wrong with either your microphone or your PC.

Have tried plugging it into a different usb port, still no difference. A friend on teamspeak told me the sound quality was bad and i've use the Skype echo call to see for myself and it really does sound horrible. Might be skype, i don't know.

There isnt any physical damage to the mic, the box was in perfect condition too.

Is there maybe a way to turn down the sensitivity of the mic?

[jscho]

Have tried plugging it into a different usb port, still no difference. A friend on teamspeak told me the sound quality was bad and i've use the Skype echo call to see for myself and it really does sound horrible. Might be skype, i don't know.

There isnt any physical damage to the mic, the box was in perfect condition too.

Is there maybe a way to turn down the sensitivity of the mic?

 

Try a recording in Audacity. It's free. That's what I've used to test my microphone's quality. Skype's fucked bro. I hate that piece of shit. Hate it with a passion. Went TeamSpeak and never looked back.

 

And as for adjusting the sensitivity of the mic? Nah haha. Have fun. These mics will pick up EVERYTHING. Hahahaha :lol:

[HerstalP90]

Try a recording in Audacity. It's free. That's what I've used to test my microphone's quality. Skype's fucked bro. I hate that piece of shit. Hate it with a passion. Went TeamSpeak and never looked back.

 

And as for adjusting the sensitivity of the mic? Nah haha. Have fun. These mics will pick up EVERYTHING. Hahahaha :lol:

yea it sounds ok...ish in Audacity.

It really does pick up EVERYTHING, is there a way to make that a bit less? maybe in recording software like OBS? Since i want to go back to streaming but i won't like it if people can hear a dog bark from 100 km away.

[jscho]

yea it sounds ok...ish in Audacity.

It really does pick up EVERYTHING, is there a way to make that a bit less? maybe in recording software like OBS? Since i want to go back to streaming but i won't like it if people can hear a dog bark from 100 km away.

 

Mine sounds great in Audacity. I'd try it on a different PC before concluding it's the microphone. And no, unforunately, because it's driverless, you can't adjust the gain with software. You can adjust the volume, and have the mic nice and close to the microphone so your voice is considerably louder than everything else, thus drowning background noise out.

But otherwise, I'd RMA it if you aren't satisfied with the quality and it doesn't match up to what you've heard on videos.

[Verne]

yea it sounds ok...ish in Audacity.

It really does pick up EVERYTHING, is there a way to make that a bit less? maybe in recording software like OBS? Since i want to go back to streaming but i won't like it if people can hear a dog bark from 100 km away.

Go to Windows audio control panel (Sound > Recording) and turn down the sensitivity (Levels) there to as low as possible and bring the mic as close to your mouth as possible. Also try to position everything that makes noise behind the microphone.

[HerstalP90]

Mine sounds great in Audacity. I'd try it on a different PC before concluding it's the microphone. And no, unforunately, because it's driverless, you can't adjust the gain with software. You can adjust the volume, and have the mic nice and close to the microphone so your voice is considerably louder than everything else, thus drowning background noise out.

But otherwise, I'd RMA it if you aren't satisfied with the quality and it doesn't match up to what you've heard on videos.

I have 60 days to return it, might keep it a while and see how it goes... If i get everything to work smoothly than there should be no problem... since it also took me about an hour to set everything up i cba to take it all apart again atm hahaha.