Microphone to pair with my Essence STX

[sc1997]

I was considering the AT2020 XLR to use as my primary mic with my Essence STX.

 

The common use would be to use for voice chat and voice overs, maybe singing.

Now one concern about this mic is that as it only ahs cardioid I don't know if it will pick my voice up very well, look at my situation:

 

 

The orange lines represent what will I be looking at. Obviously I have to look at the monitor when gaming, so will the mic pick up sound good? The distance is arround 30cm and the mic would be over my desk.

 

Any other recommendation? Budget is arround 100, or like 150 if it is really worth it.

 

 

EDIT: I think I have to get a USB mic cause I have to provide power to the other one. This means either AT2020, Blue Yeti or Zoom H1.... (?)

[Excon]

Blue Snowball? Just a suggestion, I'm no expert on microphones.

[sc1997]

Blue Snowball? Just a suggestion, I'm no expert on microphones.

Yeah, looked into that, but it really seems that the AT2020 or even a Yeti or H1 are better.

[prolemur]

you would want a 3.5mm microphone not usb like the snowball and yeti

[ShearMe]

Like prolemur said, if you specifically want a mic to plug into your STX (why you'd want this over a good USB mic, I don't know) then you want one with a 3.5mm connection. The AT2020 XLR connects with - you guessed it - XLR and is not compatible with your soundcard.

[FanOfKOTOKO]

Like prolemur said, if you specifically want a mic to plug into your STX (why you'd want this over a good USB mic, I don't know) then you want one with a 3.5mm connection. The AT2020 XLR connects with - you guessed it - XLR and is not compatible with your soundcard.

I believe there are XLR to 3.5 or 6.2 connectors but something like the 2020 requires phantom power to operate properly, and I'm not totally sure if the STX can supply any. If you really want to use an XLR condenser mic, it's better to just have a mixer like the M Audio M Track instead to supply power. Although once you reach that point, unless you're going to have and use multiple microphones you're better off grabbing a cheaper USB microphone like the Snowball or the USB 2020

[sc1997]

Like prolemur said, if you specifically want a mic to plug into your STX (why you'd want this over a good USB mic, I don't know) then you want one with a 3.5mm connection. The AT2020 XLR connects with - you guessed it - XLR and is not compatible with your soundcard.

I wanted analog cause I thought it was way bettwr, but it seems it isn't. So now looking into USB.

[ShearMe]

I believe there are XLR to 3.5 or 6.2 connectors but something like the 2020 requires phantom power to operate properly, and I'm not totally sure if the STX can supply any. If you really want to use an XLR condenser mic, it's better to just have a mixer like the M Audio M Track instead to supply power. Although once you reach that point, unless you're going to have and use multiple microphones you're better off grabbing a cheaper USB microphone like the Snowball or the USB 2020

 

Good points, but I wouldn't recommend using an XLR to TRS connector when connecting to a PC. They're two interfaces that aren't really meant to work with each other, even if they sometimes do.

[Mogwai]

I wanted analog cause I thought it was way bettwr, but it seems it isn't. So now looking into USB.

With USB microphones you are going to have a lesser chance of noise issues, digital is better for signal representation. Though USB isn't completely digital, it is still digital.

Go with USB.

Get a Blue Yeti: http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Yeti-USB-Microphone/dp/B002VA464S

It's just at $100

[FanOfKOTOKO]

To be honest, unless you really need (or want) a really good condenser microphone, some of the sub-40USD options like the Audio-Technica ATR2100 or CAD U1 dynamic microphones are pretty decent value for the price when you compare it to the mostly more expensive condenser options. Ever since I got my ATR2100 I've been using it more and more compared to my Yeti; it's just a lot less bulky and I can hold it in my hand and still be able to talk to my friends while I'm grabbing something from the other end of the room. And while it does give you the option of XLR to a mixer, I doubt anyone on Skype will be able to tell the difference between that or USB, or even between a lot of the condenser microphones for that matter.

[Mogwai]

To be honest, unless you really need (or want) a really good condenser microphone, some of the sub-40USD options like the Audio-Technica ATR2100 or CAD U1 dynamic microphones are pretty decent value for the price when you compare it to the mostly more expensive condenser options. Ever since I got my ATR2100 I've been using it more and more compared to my Yeti; it's just a lot less bulky and I can hold it in my hand and still be able to talk to my friends while I'm grabbing something from the other end of the room. And while it does give you the option of XLR to a mixer, I doubt anyone on Skype will be able to tell the difference between that or USB, or even between a lot of the condenser microphones for that matter.

Good point, but from a theoretical stand point USB is better than analogue. Adding in a mixer, power amp, etc is just going make more noise and increase the amount noise interference with your microphone.