Best microphone for streaming
In this series, we have already looked at the best webcam for streaming and we have also previously looked at the best microphone for podcasting, along with a whole host of settings tweaks for popular mics such as the Blue Yeti and Snowball. We haven’t get covered the best microphone for streaming so that’s what we are here to do today.
If you are keen on getting into Twitch and potentially even making money from streaming of one kind of another the absolutely essential piece of kit you need to spend some money on is your mic.
You can get away with a poorer webcam (or even no webcam), lights, green screen backgrounds, and the like, but if your audio sounds like crap people are simply not going to hand around and listen if it grates on them.
You would be amazed by the number of streamers who get absolutely nowhere by having poor quality audio. It’s hard enough to get an audience in this day and age, why lower your chances even more.
So, with that in mind, let’s have a look at helping you up your streaming game with what we believe are the best microphones out there right now.
Products at a Glance
Best microphone for streaming
- Great built quality
- Comes in several colors and models
- Four audio patterns
- Plug and play
- Only get the best out of it with tweaking.
- Aimed at vocals of all kinds
- Quality brand
- XLR not USB
- Very decent price point
- Good sound quality
- Great first mic
- Looks, er unusual
- Low tripod
- Extra audio interface
- Good build quality
- As good as the Yeti
- Might be overkill for streamers
Will my microphone work with Windows 10?
Obviously, if you go the XLR route then yes. USB is a slightly different beast.
This will come down, seemingly to how much you spend, otherwise, it is hit or miss. Any of the big brands, and certainly the mics listed here will work with minimal effort. Any USB mic that uses the generic Windows 10 driver, which is still broken after all these years, will only record audio at such low levels as to be totally useless. We can’t believe it hasn’t been sorted out yet, and it may well never be, but stick to the known brands, and you should be fine.
If you really do want to go for a cheaper option, there is a workaround here but it involves extra software and settings, so we aren’t recommending that as a route you go down.
Can I monitor my incoming audio with no latency even though it’s a USB connection?
You can, because all the mics here have an onboard headphone jack with allows you to get to the signal before USB can add some tricky old latency too it. It’s another wire snaking across the place, but if you are recording vocals, it is a Godsend of an option on all three.
Our Verdict
I seem to always pick the Blue Yeti in these roundups. I know it like the back of my hand and now how versatile it is with very little effort put in. There are other great options here too. I’ve spoken about how good the Procaster is but the fact it is XLR takes it away from the masses.
Both the Samson and the HyperX are great options too. I like the look of the HyperX but not everybody will. The Blue Yeti is tried and tested at this price-point though. You know when you get one it will do exactly what you need it to with the bare minimum for fuss. And for that simple reason, it wins again.