Hello, this is my first post on this board and I usually post only on /g/. I could make this thread on /g/ too but as with Arduino stuff in the past where /diy/ had better info than /g/ , I have decided to first ask on the designated board as the anons there should have better information. So I need a microphone for work on AI PC control via Autohotkey+LilySpeech+VoiceAttack+Other software for interacting with LLMs via voice. I could probably write a lot about the idea but: the requirements are that a microphone must be able to record what i say very well, with no background sound and also around 60cm from my face, although it could be reduced to 40.As this is more of a software project than a music one, I do not want to spend big and have come across 2 choice combinations: Option 1 is the Fifine Ampligame AM8W / AM8 and its boom arm using no audio interface and USB directly - the cheaper option by a bit. Option 2 is Behringer XM 8500 ULTRAVOICE + Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD + some XLR cable + its mic boom arm and those 4 are more expensive by a bit but look like the more "professional" setup. I suppose that some professionals here should have used these more cheap setups and will have some idea which of the 2 options is better or if there are other in the same price range.
get the focusrite Scarlett gen iii and an sm58 or one of those warm audio Telefunken clones
>>122748702a bit expensive on the mic side ( like 5 times more ) but the Scarlett gen iii looks to be in the ok price range. thank you :D
>>122748734np uber cheap mics are cheap for a reason, an sm58 is the industry standard for vocal recording and is 100 bucks
>>122748798can you tell me what is the problem with Behringer XM 8500 ULTRAVOICE and why is that cheap? I mean the Fifine AM8 is a chinese mic and is still 2 times more expensive.
>>122748815i have not personally used that specific mic but i have owned a behringer mix desk and it hissed and popped like crazy i personally wouldnt go any lower quality than the sm58, its 5 times as expensive because its proven tech but its only 100 bucks thats like 2 cups of coffee lolthe behringer might be okay but it might be awful and you end up buying the sm58 anyway buy once cry once and all that
oh and its that cheap because behringer literally has an entire planned city in china where all of their workers live and work
>>122748861sounds logical>>122748871this is something i hear for the first time and I REALLY though they were german/australian or something like this. I mean it makes a big difference if I am comparing a chinese brand like Fifine knowing full well that it is a chinese brand and to a "german" brand that is also chinse. Kinda ... scummy desu
I blame myself here for not researching the companies well enough, but I guess as a new buyer in the field i cannot know it all.I just though it was some old German company or something like it.
>>122748904yeah its a weird situation behringer pisses a lot of people off for copying designs and selling it as a low quality knockoff for dirt cheapwhen it comes to synthesizers and stuff it makes sense, some of those synths they copy are thousands of dollars but the shit like the guitar pedals and recording gear is a big no from me at least, their claim to fame is quite literally being so cheap and low quality literally anyone can afford ittheyve solved some of the quality issues lately but again if its a mission critical thing like a mic i wouldnt bet on it
>>122748948its all good its not your fieldi actually have one of those uphoria interfaces, i use it as a doorstop and paperweight lol
>>122748997ok... i guess it is not that good. btw I know a stupid question... but is there like a youtuber or somewhere to see like a good comparison of different mics/interfaces? Like I know that the chinese are going to bribe the youtubers so Fifine probably gets all the praise by bribing people, but I literally do not know anyone who people listen for advice, so all the info i get is probably from popular youtubers who may have been payed.
>>122749035I am not saying that Fifine is bribing people, i am just saying that most of the "cheap good microphone" searches on youtube will display their microphones. Which may be a bit sus
>>122749035for audio gear?no not really theyre all mainly infomercial type channels or boomers in their 100k studio justifying why the gear was worth getting divorced over lolfrom experience, what i recommended will get the job done at an above acceptable level and thats really all I can speak for
>>122749053No its basically bribes, theres very few channels on YouTube that are honest, even the old impartial channels have been colonized by the manufacturerssay something bad? youre blacklisted and dont get free stuff anymore
>>122748642>Behringer XM 8500That's a dynamic mic, which is best used close to your mouth. You probably want a condenser mic for higher sensitivity. I have used a Rode NT1 (4th generation), which is superb, and a Mackie EM-91C which isn't bad but has audible background hiss. I've also used that Behringer interface, which is perfectly adequate.
>>122749067ok. thank you. Audio gear is strange to buy because to a layman (me) the difference between a 50$ product and a 1000$ is hard to detect. Sure with IEMs it used to be the case years ago that price somewhat justifies quality but these days I cannot hear the difference between a 20$ Moondrop IEMs and probably a 2000$ Moondrop IEMs (not that I have tested those). For Audio equipment like interfaces it may take a professional to know what is good or not as it is a type of gear that you do not interact directly with. A microphone is also strange to buy because especially in my case I can always say that my voice is bad and it is not the mic.
>>122749095I do not think I can have the mic that close to my mouth. is 50cm that long for a mic?
>>122749131its a constant argument in the audio world whether expensive gear is worth the price of admission or if its all just marketing and smoke/mirrors i personally land somewhere in the middle, there's definitely something to it but ther diminishing returns after a certain price point
>>122749151Condenser mics will have no problem with it. Dynamic mics might or might not. I don't have any experience using them at that distance, I just know it's not the normal way to use them.
>>122749179ok thank you, i will look more into the boom arm I get and if it can be just over my head thus making the distance like 20cm
dont forget a pop filter itll make your plosives and consonants not spike in the recordings good luck anon
>>122749216ok, thank you :D I think those are really cheap so i will get one for sure.
>>122748642Welcome to /mu/. Now get out.
