Best microphone for $150

[GOJIRA229]

My current microphone has broke and I have a $150 budget if possible I would like to get an xlr setup because of the upgrade options 

[kevinisbeast707]

Depending on whether or not you already have a microphone stand or not then this is the combo that I use and I'm pretty happy with it. I have a Behringer xm8500 hooked up to a Focusrite scarlett solo gen3. I also have a cloudlifter in between these two to raise my gain a bit but that's not necessary. I'll also link the xlr cables I use and a cheap microphone desk mount if you need one.

 

Focusrite scarlett solo gen 3:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QR6Z1JB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_G241YJWP3E29ENC4AQ9Q?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

Behringer xm8500:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002KZAKS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_1FN4PER898FPMYD3TRS8

 

Xlr cables:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JY29Z5A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_SWJTMT8DZYE3B2ZFP7BD?psc=1

 

Foam pop filter:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006NMUK4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_E6EC4SDKN20FX0WZBY78?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

Microphone desk mount:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DY1F2CS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_RWN995Y560305NP71YGX

 

Shock mount:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083Q5T15W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_7TMR9GKFXNVGGQZ929C8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

Getting everything definitely goes over your budget but you can always leave out the stand and shock mount if you already have those or if you need them you can use something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K5WLJ6Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_H0VTN1NPHFPKSJPY3MQ6() and then you'd save money on both the adc and the xlr cable.

 

Cheers!

[GOJIRA229]

1 minute ago, kevinisbeast707 said:

Depending on whether or not you already have a microphone stand or not then this is the combo that I use and I'm pretty happy with it. I have a Behringer xm8500 hooked up to a Focusrite scarlett solo gen3. I also have a cloudlifter in between these two to raise my gain a bit but that's not necessary. I'll also link the xlr cables I use and a cheap microphone desk mount if you need one.

 

Focusrite scarlett solo gen 3:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QR6Z1JB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_G241YJWP3E29ENC4AQ9Q?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

Behringer xm8500:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002KZAKS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_1FN4PER898FPMYD3TRS8

 

Xlr cables:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JY29Z5A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_SWJTMT8DZYE3B2ZFP7BD?psc=1

 

Foam pop filter:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006NMUK4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_E6EC4SDKN20FX0WZBY78?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

Microphone desk mount:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DY1F2CS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_RWN995Y560305NP71YGX

 

Shock mount:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083Q5T15W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_7TMR9GKFXNVGGQZ929C8?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

Getting everything definitely goes over your budget but you can always leave out the stand and shock mount if you already have those or if you need them you can use something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K5WLJ6Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_H0VTN1NPHFPKSJPY3MQ6() and then you'd save money on both the adc and the xlr cable.

 

Cheers!

Wouldn’t you want to spend less money on the interface and more in the mic?

[kevinisbeast707]

9 minutes ago, GOJIRA229 said:

Wouldn’t you want to spend less money on the interface and more in the mic?

Not necessarily. The mic should probably be the first thing that you upgrade when you get the money but the xm8500 is an excellent microphone for the price. I'll link you a video where you can listen to the audio quality of the microphone.

One thing to note is that this is a dynamic microphone so it will better cancel out background noise but if you're not speaking directly into it you will also be very quiet. If you want a microphone that is better at picking you up from farther away/at other angles then I can try to find a condenser mic in your price range.

[kevinisbeast707]

Here is a condenser microphone that should be pretty good. I used the usb version of this microphone for a couple of years before upgrading to an xlr setup. This one comes in a kit with the pop filter, shock mount, and mic stand so that would save you some money.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XOXRTX6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_TY28ANN585G6A6PEXR30

[The Flying Sloth]

1 hour ago, GOJIRA229 said:

Wouldn’t you want to spend less money on the interface and more in the mic?

In short, definitely,

 

You have to consider how much background noise your room has. If you have a lot you may want to consider a dynamic mic in which case UMC202HD, Tbone MB75 and possibly Klark Teknik CT1 should be your go-to at this sort of budget.

 

If you have not much background noise I'm all for the UMC202HD and Behringer C2 combo, I own the much bigger brother of that interface and though I have microphones at my disposable with a couple more digits on their price tags I still use the C2 as a daily driver mic.

 

If you have no background noise at all, save up a little more and get a 3U Audio CM1 and the UMC202HD.

 

That's what I would do but what you do is entirely up to you, take a look at the link in my signature, you might find it very helpful.

 

 

 

 

 

[GOJIRA229]

Just now, The Flying Sloth said:

In short, definitely, you have to consider how much background noise your room has. If you have a lot you may want to consider a dynamic mic in which case UMC202HD, Tbone MB75 and possibly Klark Teknik CT1 should be your go-to at this sort of budget.

 

If you have not much background noise I'm all for the UMC202HD and Behringer C2 combo, I own the much bigger brother of that interface and though I have microphones at my disposable with a couple more digits on their price tags I still use the C2 as a daily driver mic.

 

If you have no background noise at all, save up a little more and get a 3U Audio CM1 and the UMC202HD.

 

That's what I would do but what you do is entirely up to you, take a look at the link in my signature, you might find it very helpful.

 

 

 

 

 

I live in the basement of a concrete house it gets to quiet so background noise isn’t a problem 

[GOJIRA229]

34 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

In short, definitely, you have to consider how much background noise your room has. If you have a lot you may want to consider a dynamic mic in which case UMC202HD, Tbone MB75 and possibly Klark Teknik CT1 should be your go-to at this sort of budget.

 

If you have not much background noise I'm all for the UMC202HD and Behringer C2 combo, I own the much bigger brother of that interface and though I have microphones at my disposable with a couple more digits on their price tags I still use the C2 as a daily driver mic.

 

If you have no background noise at all, save up a little more and get a 3U Audio CM1 and the UMC202HD.

 

That's what I would do but what you do is entirely up to you, take a look at the link in my signature, you might find it very helpful.

 

 

 

 

 

What about this https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2020-Cardioid-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B0006H92QK/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=xlr+microphone&qid=1614921245&sprefix=xlr+mic&sr=8-5

[The Flying Sloth]

1 hour ago, GOJIRA229 said:

What about this https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2020-Cardioid-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B0006H92QK/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=xlr+microphone&qid=1614921245&sprefix=xlr+mic&sr=8-5

For the price the 2020 is it's not a great choice, I go through this in depth on the link in my signature.

 

The 3U Audio CM1 is not much more expensive and it's an infinitely better microphone.

[H713]

Agree, on a $150 budget I wouldn't even think about buying anything Focusrite. They're good interfaces, but the performance improvement over the Behringer is unlikely to be something you'll notice in this application. For $80, there's nothing better.

 

 

[Tigerleon]

3 hours ago, The Flying Sloth said:

For the price the 2020

I saw a video on the 3035 which is even more expensive, compared to my budget SC 400 T.bone mic. They sound very very similar and the T.bone is only $50. I mean the build quality might differ but the sound just speaking into it is great.
EDIT: Even the 3035 not the 2025

[The Flying Sloth]

8 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

I saw a video on the 3035 which is even more expensive, compared to my budget SC 400 T.bone mic. They sound very very similar and the T.bone is only $50. I mean the build quality might differ but the sound just speaking into it is great.
EDIT: Even the 3035 not the 2025

The Tbone mics are almost always great for the money and the cheaper AT mics are just 'good enough'.
Tbone sources their mics from the same factories as many of the CAD/Cascade/Avantone and Nadys of the world but because they're such high volume products the margins an be significantly lower.

So far as mics go, the absolute sweet spots for price/performance in condensers are the Behringer C2 and the 3U CM1, the C2 because it's good for almost no money and the CM1 because it's freaking excellent for reasonable money. For tubes it's the Tbone SCT800 and for ribbons it's the Tbone RB500

[Ahoy Hoy]

8 hours ago, GOJIRA229 said:

Wouldn’t you want to spend less money on the interface and more in the mic?

Well upgrading the microphone is a better upgrade then upgrading a interface. So Id say get a decent interface first time round then upgrade the microphone down the line. Its not upgrading if you replace every component.

1 hour ago, Tigerleon said:

I saw a video on the 3035 which is even more expensive, compared to my budget SC 400 T.bone mic. They sound very very similar and the T.bone is only $50. I mean the build quality might differ but the sound just speaking into it is great.
EDIT: Even the 3035 not the 2025

Sadly hes American so makes importing a European only microphone into America a waste of money as by the time you add shipping and import duty you up near $100

[Ahoy Hoy]

Cheap things
M Audio MTrack Solo - $49 - Cheapest audio interface worth your time. It works sounds fine but its cheap so the knobs are a bit finerky.
Behringer C1 - $35 - On sale to 35 thats not bad.

Cable wise I dont recommend getting the cheapest thing around. At least make sure they have lots of good reviews.

Again stand wise especial if a boom dont get the cheapest thing around and read the reviews.

 

 

Now thats not a very good upgrade path of replace everything so lets think whats good which you may want to buy first time around.

 

Good interfaces

Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD - $79 - I personally dont rate it as good as the others but it is good for its price as it does punch up near the others.
Native Instruments Komplete Audio 1 - $109 - I like the big volume knob good if your going to have headphones plugged into it.

Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen - $119 - Its red

Audient EVO 4 - $129 - A interesting one, only interface to have some sort of inventive design to it. You just press the button and it sets the gain for you.

 

 

Good Mics

Rode PodMic - $99 - I really like this for tad under a hundred.
I dont have any other recommendations as American market is trash and everything is over priced to the point that I dont recommend it for that price.

Id personally go for a Native instruments k1 and then look for a second hand Behringer C1 on ebay. Then upgrade the mic in the future. A good idea is to buy the upgrade item second hand because then when you upgrade you can sell it for a similar price on ebay you bought it for.


Why XLR. 150 dollars there is some solid USB microphones for that price, a few of these USB mics are based of the XLR version and only $20 more. You can get a interface and cables for 20 dollars.
If your use case is just game chats and discord why does sound quality matter? Why do people in video games and discord need to hear you in super good quality. If you dont have a use case where you need the best audio quality maybe get a USB.

USB mics

Shure MV5 - Around 80 to 100 mark its a decent little USB mic. Again comes with its own little stand. It sounds very good if you get nice and close to it but its also happy sitting on the desk in the corner. Its my go to recommendation for this forum.

Audio Technica AT2020USB+ - Moving up another fifty or so to the 140 price point. Based of the AT2020 a very popular mic for youtubers and podcasters to do voice overs with. Has a little fold out stand. 

Rode NT USB - Similar price to the AT2020. Doesnt come with a stand so got to spend more on that. 

Samson Gtrack Pro - $140 ish has a built in stand. Easy to use dials on the front

 

[GOJIRA229]

Just now, H713 said:

Agree, on a $150 budget I wouldn't even think about buying anything Focusrite. They're good interfaces, but the performance improvement over the Behringer is unlikely to be something you'll notice in this application. For $80, there's nothing better.

 

 

 

4 hours ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

Cheap things
M Audio MTrack Solo - $49 - Cheapest audio interface worth your time. It works sounds fine but its cheap so the knobs are a bit finerky.
Behringer C1 - $35 - On sale to 35 thats not bad.

Cable wise I dont recommend getting the cheapest thing around. At least make sure they have lots of good reviews.

Again stand wise especial if a boom dont get the cheapest thing around and read the reviews.

 

 

Now thats not a very good upgrade path of replace everything so lets think whats good which you may want to buy first time around.

 

Good interfaces

Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD - $79 - I personally dont rate it as good as the others but it is good for its price as it does punch up near the others.
Native Instruments Komplete Audio 1 - $109 - I like the big volume knob good if your going to have headphones plugged into it.

Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen - $119 - Its red

Audient EVO 4 - $129 - A interesting one, only interface to have some sort of inventive design to it. You just press the button and it sets the gain for you.

 

 

Good Mics

Rode PodMic - $99 - I really like this for tad under a hundred.
I dont have any other recommendations as American market is trash and everything is over priced to the point that I dont recommend it for that price.

Id personally go for a Native instruments k1 and then look for a second hand Behringer C1 on ebay. Then upgrade the mic in the future. A good idea is to buy the upgrade item second hand because then when you upgrade you can sell it for a similar price on ebay you bought it for.


Why XLR. 150 dollars there is some solid USB microphones for that price, a few of these USB mics are based of the XLR version and only $20 more. You can get a interface and cables for 20 dollars.
If your use case is just game chats and discord why does sound quality matter? Why do people in video games and discord need to hear you in super good quality. If you dont have a use case where you need the best audio quality maybe get a USB.

USB mics

Shure MV5 - Around 80 to 100 mark its a decent little USB mic. Again comes with its own little stand. It sounds very good if you get nice and close to it but its also happy sitting on the desk in the corner. Its my go to recommendation for this forum.

Audio Technica AT2020USB+ - Moving up another fifty or so to the 140 price point. Based of the AT2020 a very popular mic for youtubers and podcasters to do voice overs with. Has a little fold out stand. 

Rode NT USB - Similar price to the AT2020. Doesnt come with a stand so got to spend more on that. 

Samson Gtrack Pro - $140 ish has a built in stand. Easy to use dials on the front

 

I had planned on already getting a rode podmic so I’m trying to fit stuff into my budget I found this a behringer uphoria um2 for 35$ and a m audio fast track ultra for 10$

[Ahoy Hoy]

48 minutes ago, GOJIRA229 said:

 

I had planned on already getting a rode podmic so I’m trying to fit stuff into my budget I found this a behringer uphoria um2 for 35$ and a m audio fast track ultra for 10$

The tricky thing with second hand interfaces is some company's dont support their older products well with driver updates.
The maudio product is nearly 13 years old so maybe good if your running windows xp or vista. Behringer uphoria um2 isnt the best it would do for the time being but your only saving $4.99 off the new price.

[GOJIRA229]

3 minutes ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

The tricky thing with second hand interfaces is some company's dont support their older products well with driver updates.
The maudio product is nearly 13 years old so maybe good if your running windows xp or vista. Behringer uphoria um2 isnt the best it would do for the time being but your only saving $4.99 off the new price.

What about these

[GOJIRA229]

7 hours ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

Cheap things
M Audio MTrack Solo - $49 - Cheapest audio interface worth your time. It works sounds fine but its cheap so the knobs are a bit finerky.
Behringer C1 - $35 - On sale to 35 thats not bad.

Cable wise I dont recommend getting the cheapest thing around. At least make sure they have lots of good reviews.

Again stand wise especial if a boom dont get the cheapest thing around and read the reviews.

 

 

Now thats not a very good upgrade path of replace everything so lets think whats good which you may want to buy first time around.

 

Good interfaces

Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD - $79 - I personally dont rate it as good as the others but it is good for its price as it does punch up near the others.
Native Instruments Komplete Audio 1 - $109 - I like the big volume knob good if your going to have headphones plugged into it.

Focusrite Scarlett Solo 3rd Gen - $119 - Its red

Audient EVO 4 - $129 - A interesting one, only interface to have some sort of inventive design to it. You just press the button and it sets the gain for you.

 

 

Good Mics

Rode PodMic - $99 - I really like this for tad under a hundred.
I dont have any other recommendations as American market is trash and everything is over priced to the point that I dont recommend it for that price.

Id personally go for a Native instruments k1 and then look for a second hand Behringer C1 on ebay. Then upgrade the mic in the future. A good idea is to buy the upgrade item second hand because then when you upgrade you can sell it for a similar price on ebay you bought it for.


Why XLR. 150 dollars there is some solid USB microphones for that price, a few of these USB mics are based of the XLR version and only $20 more. You can get a interface and cables for 20 dollars.
If your use case is just game chats and discord why does sound quality matter? Why do people in video games and discord need to hear you in super good quality. If you dont have a use case where you need the best audio quality maybe get a USB.

USB mics

Shure MV5 - Around 80 to 100 mark its a decent little USB mic. Again comes with its own little stand. It sounds very good if you get nice and close to it but its also happy sitting on the desk in the corner. Its my go to recommendation for this forum.

Audio Technica AT2020USB+ - Moving up another fifty or so to the 140 price point. Based of the AT2020 a very popular mic for youtubers and podcasters to do voice overs with. Has a little fold out stand. 

Rode NT USB - Similar price to the AT2020. Doesnt come with a stand so got to spend more on that. 

Samson Gtrack Pro - $140 ish has a built in stand. Easy to use dials on the front

 

Is the tonor tc20 a good mic?

[Ahoy Hoy]

1 hour ago, GOJIRA229 said:

What about these

 

The red one is a focusrite scarlet solo gen 1 for $25 thats a decent interface. If that works I wouldnt even bother upgrading. Quick google found this on the focusrite website which was updated a few months ago which says the 1st gens have working drivers for windows 10

 

 

4 minutes ago, GOJIRA229 said:

Is the tonor tc20 a good mic?

No dont even touch it with a barge poll.

[GOJIRA229]

Just now, Ahoy Hoy said:

The red one is a focusrite scarlet solo gen 1 for $25 thats a decent interface. If that works I wouldnt even bother upgrading. Quick google found this on the focusrite website which was updated a few months ago which says the 1st gens have working drivers for windows 10

 

 

No dont even touch it with a barge poll.

Are there problems with the tonor?

[GOJIRA229]

17 minutes ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

The red one is a focusrite scarlet solo gen 1 for $25 thats a decent interface. If that works I wouldnt even bother upgrading. Quick google found this on the focusrite website which was updated a few months ago which says the 1st gens have working drivers for windows 10

 

 

No dont even touch it with a barge poll.

Are these good

[Ahoy Hoy]

2 minutes ago, GOJIRA229 said:

Are these good

Podcastage does really god mic reviews and gives really trust worthy recommendations. In the MXL770 one he use a Gen1 focusrite.

[The Flying Sloth]

Ok, seriously, read through the link in my signature and whenever you have a question as to whether something is good or not go and look at reviews and see what Gearslutz say about it, 

 

We're always more than happy to help but getting us to rate the entirety of your local classifieds probably isn't the best use of your or our time in solving this issue.