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The Birds and the (US)Bs: Let's Have the Talk About USB Mics.

Dear Emmett,
I have a Rode NT USB mic. I can’t afford to upgrade right now. Are USB mics really that bad? Do you have to have an XLR mic to get jobs?
Thx,
Kyle

 

Hello Kyle,


Let me start by saying something I say often: the best mic is the one in front of you. It doesn’t matter if it’s a $10 karaoke mic, if that’s what you have right now, using it is better than not using it. Now, I do have to say, the ways in which you should use a $10 karaoke mic are, well, limited. And that example is hyperbolic. I absolutely do not recommend actually trying to use a $10 karaoke mic for professional applications.


Also, can we not call them “XLR mics”? They’re just mics. The XLR connection makes them normal mics, with any other kind of connection offering novelty. Sorry, that’s not helpful to your question, it’s just something that bothers me.


No, USB mics are not inherently bad. In theory, it should actually be possible to make a USB mic that sounds better than an  XLR-connected counterpart. I’ve never seen that happen, but from a technical standpoint, it’s very likely possible.


Every mic chain has three basic components: a transducer, a preamp, and an A/D converter. With a traditional setup, these are more separated. With a USB mic, all three components are housed within the mic. Condenser mics will also have a power supply, of some sort, so condensers have four basic components. 


The biggest reason USB mics have a reputation for sounding bad, is because many of them do. This is less true now, than it once was, but first impressions tend to last. 


Most USB mics aren’t geared toward professional use. They’re built for content creators, like YouTubers and podcasters. 


Professionals tend to prefer professional connections. There just isn’t a huge market for professional-grade USB mics. Some have been made, and they’ve largely failed. The market segment that wants a professional product, wrapped up in a consumer profiled is simply too limited to be a good business decision. 


Length of cable runs. USB 2.0 is limited to a maximum of 16.4 feet. But given the power requirements for a USB mic, it isn’t uncommon to find a maximum of 9-12 feet for stable operation, and sometimes even less. XLR, on the other hand, can run 300+ feet, without a problem. This allows significantly more flexibility for separating the equipment from the recording space.


All of that, however, is about practicality, not a limit of the capability of the technology necessary to create a good sounding recording from a USB mic. For evidence of what’s possible, we need look no further than Neumann. Their Solution D and TLM 103 D were very high quality mics with a built-in A/D converter. They even had onboard DSP, so there was a lot happening inside that mic body. They were made to connect to professional equipment using S/Pdif or AES/EBU, but both of those are digital connections, just like USB. With minimal modifications, Neumann could have turned them into USB mics, without sacrificing audio quality.


So if the technology is there, why are USB mics almost exclusively low-cost/low-performance? Well, making them higher quality costs money, which is then passed on to the consumer. As mentioned, most professionals aren’t satisfied with just good sound quality. They want the other professional advantages, as well. And remember, spoken-word recordings are only a tiny portion of the market. Musicians make up a much larger segment, and additional interface features become even more important in a music setting.


The technology for inexpensive USB mics is, however, improving rapidly. You said you have the NT-USB, which is not a bad product, but still doesn’t sound as good as a comparable fourth-gen NT-1 with a decent interface. But the fifth-generation NT-1 has both XLR and USB connections, and the sound from the USB connection is on-par with a standard connection and interface. It sounds pretty solid. I’d still choose the XLR connection, along with a quality interface, but the USB connection does not provide a poor result at all.


Ignore anyone who makes a blanket statement that all USB mics sound bad. That isn’t true, and sound quality is not inherently limited because of it. But the vast majority are built to be a budget solution for less-professional applications. Most of them still don’t sound very good, and professional applications are best-served with professional products.


Emmett

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