Content Creators Seeking Better Audio
Content creators, particularly podcasters and streamers, are struggling with inadequate audio quality and limited recording capabilities using basic USB setups. They are seeking advice and solutions for upgrading to XLR systems to improve sound, enable multitracking, and accommodate guests, often facing challenges with compatibility and portability.
SOURCES (60)
“Think of audio like a ping-pong ball. It hits something and bounces back. If you are in a square room, the audio will travel beyond the mic, bounce off the wall and head back to you and bounce off the wall behind you, etc. If…”
“Love this! We're in a corporate office so have a small room with carpet and will be set up in a corner. Does being near walls kill the audio?”
“wish someone had told me early that room treatment matters more than the mic itself — spent way too long chasing better hardware when a $40 reflection filter and moving the desk away from bare walls fixed most of my issues. shure sm7b is solid if you already have a decent interface with enough gain, otherwise a rode nt1 keeps things simple without sounding thin.”
“thats a valid reason. the beauty of the mv7+ is that you can use them connected with the shure app "motiv" wheren you can adjust eq compression etc. and the processing is done in real time”
“Honestly, I wouldn’t spend money on Riverside unless there’s a specific recording problem you’re trying to solve. You already have a studio and you’re recording together in person, so your issue sounds more like everything that happens after the episode is finished. I’d simplify the workflow before spending much money. One recording should ideally turn into the full episode, a handful of strong clips, a thumbnail, and enough scheduled posts to carry you until the next episode. If the main headac”
“Headsets. But I have to record podcasts so sometimes headsets dont work. So i take the throw pillows from the couch and put them around the computer. Works pretty well absorbing”
“solid advice, especially the part about treating three sides. that makes a bigger difference than most people expect”
“if you record as multitrack you will get a master track on your sd-card (this track is combining your audio and the audio coming from the computer into one track/ 1 audio file) and simultanousely you will see individual tracks on your sd card in a folder for the project. one of them will be your voice and one of them will be the audio coming from the computer. just delete the one coming from the computer and voila: you just have your mic recorded left”
“Does anyone know how I can get audio from my computer to come through the 'Zoom Podtrak p4 Next' but NOT be recorded directly on the SD Card. I know it must be possible but I can't seem to work it out. I want to make video calls through the USB connection but I only want to record my microphone. submitted by /u/schtompson [link] [comments]”
“If my cousin and I were recording together remotely with our own mics how does that work?”
“So when it comes to porous absorbers, thickness is one of the factors that determines how low of a frequency they can absorb, so either of those options will probably be better than a blanket. It also helps a lot if they can have an air gap behind the panels. It is also a good sign that they are both listed as being compliant with Flame safety regulations, which is a problem with cheaper products. The only things that bothers me with the 100 mm thick panels is that they don’t list what the fille”
“Thanks for the advice! Getting away from the wall will be a bit tricky, since I'm using my Audio Interface (which I also use for my synths) for recording, which is on the table (I could buy longer cables, but dunno if that's a better option than spending money on an acoustic panel). I'll see if I can find a cheap small clothing rack!”
“if you are doing video you want your room to look slick and i would go for the 3 panels. if you are doing audio only, you can improvise: e.g. clothing rack with blankets + jackets+ clothes behind you, a big pile of books arranged like a diffuser, a heavy bag as basstrap in the corner etc. etc. all acoustic treatment sold in music stores are not magical thingies, it is just stuff that absorbs and diffuses sound. a cushioned sofa in the room, some rugs/carpets on the floor, blankets on a wall, thi”
“Hello, in my first attempts of voice recording, I noticed quite a bit of room reverb in the recording. My setup is that I basically stand next to a wall, and one table between the wall and me where I can place stuff on (but the space on the table is limited, since there's already stuff on the table). One thing I tried last time (which worked surprisingly well) was to take an IKEA Enhet shelf ( this one ), put a summer blanket over it and put it on the table beside me. But, the ENHET shelf wa”
“Maybe I'm alone here, but I don't find the MDR-7506es very comfortable. I would go for the Audio Technica ATH-M50x.”
“Sorry op. I misread the mic you have. The sm7db does have a built in preamp as the other commenter correctly stated. The sm7b is the one that you need the cloudlifter.”
“I've had some good experiences with that Sony A440 series (mine are older, not sure if they even still exist in that form)”
“Se que no se pueden usar 2 micrófonos al mismo tiempo en una computadora por los errores que a veces marca y es muy tedioso por eso pregunto ¿si los micrófonos snowball ice son compatibles zoom podtrack p2?. A lo que eh investigado que está interfaz no reconoce todos los micrófonos USB y no quiero desperdiciar mi dinero. Quisiera escuchar alguna recomendación si alguien ya lo intento y si sirve o que me recomiendan hacer. Pd: tengo los micrófonos ya desde hace un tiempo y quiero hacer un podcast”
“Yes, Sony MDR-7506 are an industry standard at a reasonable price. Audio-Technica ATH-M50x are also good. There are even better quality professional headphones, such as Sennheiser HD 490 PRO or their HD 600, but the Sony or Audio-Technica should be more than adequate for your needs.”
“Sony MDR-7506. Get them with the deep ear pads. B&H sells them. They are the industry standard for a reason.”
“I have a very uncomfortable set of headphones and I bought third party earcups for them. That fixed them right up. Headphones for editing are usually flatter response on the EQ curve and are often but not always open back, which is horrible to record with. You might also look at monitors on the label as headphone monitors are aimed at the professional. Not sure how many wireless you will fine but... DISCLAIMER: Yes, I am in fact an asshole. !”
“We usually have a food processor with marbles in the background....not sure how to help?”
“Thanks. I'm a bit of an outlier in how I work, which is the problem. I need video recording to devise new fiction, then I record and mix that on an advanced DAW, then upload THAT stereo file to a hosting platform. So because I'm not editing or publishing the actual video recording (that's purely personal reference), I'm struggling to find the right platform. Appreciate the honesty though.”
“Wired headset costs less and you don’t need a pro mic for work. Spend maybe $30. No more.”
“Alternatively, and external mic like the Yeti. I've had great luck with that as I'm in a dining room with zero soft furnishings.”
“70dB ambient is brutal, that's like having a conversation happening in the next room while you're trying to record the 38-43dB reduction from new windows should get you into workable territory, especially if those car horn peaks are the real problem. most pro setups aim for under 40dB noise floor but honestly anything below 50 and you can clean it up without the audio turning to mush that SM7dB needs a lot of clean gain anyway, so you're probably cranking it and amplifying all that s”
“Since you're already using Reaper, I'd focus on Zencastr and test whether it preserves your stereo files all the way through publishing. Also worth checking if guests can join without creating an account. I used to work at an agency, and we ended up keeping things separate rather than relying on one platform. We used dedicated tools for recording and distribution, and Gumlet for hosting video episodes on websites. It gave us more flexibility without having to change our editing workflow.”
“I'm looking for a platform that: can host pre recorded stereo wav files (Riverside converts them to mono) has a video meeting recording option (substack requires guests to have substack accounts) can publish to the big podcast sites and maybe some custom ones X I do not need a DAW as I already use Reaper * a transcription from the video call would be a bonus I've tried literally scores and *might* have narrowed it down to Zencastr or Alitu, pending more poking. Any one know something tha”
“Echo is not a problem you'll solve with noise cancelling headphones. It gets very expensive very quickly to do a good job with microphones. You end up with arrays of sampling mics and processing that adds latency so you sound late in conversations and it's really hard with multiple participants. There is a lot of science in audio but entry level is not rocket science and not hard. If you can play pool you can visualize sound bouncing around in a space. For walls, acoustic panels work. Ta”
Question, is it possible to connect 3 mics to the receiver?
Question, is it possible to connect 3 mics to the receiver?
“Hi everyone, I am starting a podcast and before starting to buy expensive equipment I may not need. I want to see if my setup would work. I have the first gen H4N which I used to use for short films and I have a Rode Podmic XLR, and a fethead. If there is more equipment I should get or settings I need to tweak to make the sound be the best it can be. I tested it out but it sounded very echoy and I heard a hiss sound. Please feel free to give me suggestions. Thanks in advance. submitted by”
“A run a successful twitch stream for League of legends and Gta, I ended investing a couple of K into my setup. The coolest looking and sounding addition to my studio was the Kaotica Eyeball”
“I’ve been using the Advanced Audio Recorder plugin. You might have better luck with that. It gives you much more control over the recording such sampling resolution and format, noise cancellation ( although I’d really like it if it would filter out my clacky keyboard) , etc. It even supports transcription if you like. It also has a better recorder control for easier navigation.”
“Huh. I've done that and the quality didn't change really. I also use the same system mic in other apps and it sounds great”
“Would seriously recommend considering a wireless lapel mic set. I used to have dynamic mics and mic stands and mixing desk, and cables everywhere. Now just clip on the mics and go. Very happy with the hollyland lark m2s. But there’s lots of good options.”
“Heads up on the two PodMic USBs: getting two USB mics to record at the same time on one computer is more of a headache than you'd think. Most recording apps only want one USB mic at a time, so you end up messing with workarounds. The nice thing is the PodMic USB also has an XLR output. So you can plug both into a small two-input interface or a recorder like a PodTrak and each person gets their own clean track. That's way easier to edit. At 3 feet apart you'll get some of each person”
“Anyway I'm just getting things set up, finally we have some new equipment and I'd like to know if this is a good memory card for this recorder. https://a.co/d/0eY2q1cq submitted by /u/heckhammer [link] [comments]”
“you need a mixer that can handle 2 usb inputs like the "zoom podtrack p2" if you want to use 2 usb mics at the same time on one device or as alternative you can record on 2 different devices (1 for each usb mic). you will run in trouble otherwise. for room accoustics: clap your hands loud to hear the reverb in your room. your goal is to make the sound drier = less reverby. this will automatically reduce bleed.there are tons of ways to accomplish this - furniture, sound panels, book sta”
“Two usb mics? 🤦 get ready for some pain, unless you know audio post production.”
“if you're both facing the same wall 3 feet apart you're gonna get a ton of bleed into each others mics no matter what. dynamic mics like the podmic will help but honestly the room is gonna fight you sound panels would do a lot here, like a lot. slap some on the wall you're both facing and a couple on the ceiling above your heads, maybe a heavy curtain behind you if you can manage it. makes more difference than people think”
“For what you’ve described, I’d skip the Rodecaster because you’re paying for a ton of features you don’t need. Go with a traditional audio interface. Some options include: - Focusrite Vocaster One - Motu M2 - Universal Audio Volt 1 and Volt 176 I’d recommend holding off until the holiday pricing kicks in. You should be able to find a Vocaster One for something like $59…maybe $79. You can’t beat it at that price.”
“Yo utilizo hace unos meses la combinación M-Track Duo HD y un mic Maono P200X. Y me resulta bien. Es lo que mi presupuesto dio.”
“I have a Shure SM7B microphone then I want to use for live streaming, and I guess I need some kind of preamp, sound card or interface to connect it to my MacBook Pro? I know this is a cheap one, and I probably won’t get it, because I want something better that allows me to add my own custom sounds, but this is the thing I’m looking for, right? This board with all the sounds is called a sound card, right? It also duels the hub to connect my microphones. Am I wrong? https://a.co/d/01rSGB63 s”
“In following up on this situation, I used Riverside software and was able to make the recording. It took a little while to hook up the hardware but overall it was a good experience. I appreciate the recommendation!”
“Basically looking for any headset that has good quality audio for the listener, price range around £30 to £80, lemme know what you guys think. submitted by /u/AQUXS4184 [link] [comments]”
i always get overwhelmed choosing audio gear, there are so many options
“The problem is Bluetooth. It limits the audio spectrum. If you see other people using AirPods it’s likely they are only using them for headphones and are using separate quality microphones.”
“You’ll never get great audio with earbuds cause the microphones are just too far from your mouth. You could use them for monitoring but you need a mic in front of your mouth to get good audio.”
“Great, good to hear. I just started using behringer pre amp w analog digital converter was reasonable cost with it you can have 2 inputs, xlr with or without phantom power or 1/4 phone jack, adujust levels and run that into usb for computor or phone. My guess is you have a usb mic and there is no input for that”