Nov 16, 2018 - Four people rated the Yeti the best of all samples, though it was also ranked. You will want to find the perfect mic (or mics) for your voice. Our picks for top 10 best audio interfaces The following is our list of top 10 best audio interfaces for both Mac and PC. Do some sifting through as we provide the retail price for your budget, the compatibility in terms of connectivity, how many inputs and outputs, as well as overall features for comparing.
If you have been looking into USB microphones, chances are you have come across the Blue Yeti multiple times. It's an extremely popular choice amongst podcasters, gamers, and musicians alike, and the reason it's so beloved is due to its impressive versatility and podcast veteran, Rene Ritchie, says it's his go-to option for a USB microphone. 'Blue Yeti is still my pick for best USB microphone — not just for the Mac but for anyone starting out doing anything, including podcasts, audiobooks, live streams, videos, and more. It plugs right into your device, no audio interface needed, sounds great out of the box, and has a few simple options if you need to adjust for particular circumstances, like two people sharing one mic. Of course, it can't beat a high-end XLR mic and interface, but at a tenth or less the price, it sounds so good you'll probably think twice, hard, before considering those higher-end purchases. It's the mic I used for years, still, travel with today, and always recommend to anyone who asks.' — Rene Ritchie, 10-year podcast veteran and host of iMore show, MacBreak Weekly, and VECTOR.
The Rode Podcaster is a very simple, but elegant USB microphone that Lory Gil has been using with great success for years. 'I use the Rode Podcaster bundle. It's easy to set up, sounds great, and the boom stand mounts to my desktop so I can swivel it into range when I need it. The Rode is specially designed for voice, so it has warm tones with even bass and the cardioid pattern isolates my voice so there isn't too much background noise being picked up.' — Lory Gil, Managing Editor of iMore It's formatted for Mac and Windows right out of the box, meaning if you want to switch back and forth it's just plug-and-play for both operating systems. The Snowball has become a beloved microphone for the budget podcaster, myself included, because of its low price point and versatility. It has three different modes: cardioid, which is great for single person recording; omnidirectional, a fantastic option for multiple-person recording; and cardioid -10 db, allowing for great noise reduction, which is perfect for video calling.
A USB microphone for your Mac makes video calls, streaming games, or recording any sort of audio easy and simple. Just plug them in and start recording! I still believe the is the best all-around microphone for most Mac users. It's four recording modes offer an incredible amount of versatility, meaning regardless of what you're trying to record, you should be able to get a high-quality recording. Updated October 2018: Added the Rode Podcaster to our list! This post may contain affiliate links.
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If you buy Dragon Dictate it comes with a built-in Microphone that will do the job, but if you buy the download version you’ll need to buy your own microphone. Here are some of the options you have. VERSION 1. An ‘analog’ microphone with a USB adapter. This is the most basic option. You need two items: a simple USB adapter that plugs into your mac USB port and a microphone that plugs into the adapter.
This is the kind supplied with Dragon Dictate. Dragon Dictate comes with a simple computer style headset mic that has a 3.5mm lead that plugs into a USB adapter and then into your computer. You can upgrade the analog part of the microphone later to a better microphone if you want to. Are some better quality headset mics you might like to upgrade to. I’d rate the built in Dragon mic about a 7/10.
I’ve used an SM58 vocal microphone (costs around $300) plugged into an Andrea USB adapter and I’d rate it 9/10, so it depends on the microphone you use. This Andrea Pure Audio USB adapter is a very good quality USB adapter. VERSION 2. A ‘digital’ Microphone.
A ‘digital’ microphone is not really a digital microphone at all – it’s just an analog microphone like the one above with a built in USB converter! The converter can be tailored to the mic however to achieve better results. I’ve used the Andrea NC181VM and it’s pretty good. I’d rate it about an 8/10.
It costs about $35-$40 on amazon.com, or about $119 in Australia from. Is a list of good ‘digital’ microphones. Bluetooth headset. There is a version of Dragon Dictate Bluetooth that ships with a bluetooth headset – I’ve never tried it. Voicerecognition.com.au says that the ‘DECT Headset offers far superior accuracy compared to Bluetooth.’ One of the mics that Nuance gives a high rating to is this available but you need to get two extra parts with it to connect to a mac: part number #094703 and #05374.
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I can’t comment, I’m just listing it for completeness. Wireless Microphone.
This is just an analog microphone like Version 1 above plugged into a USB adapter, but for the microphone you use a good quality wireless vocal microphone – the kind of mic you would use for singing and performing etc. See some examples. I use a SAMSON QV wireless headset mic.
It is designed as a vocal microphone for drummers so it has excellent background noise rejection. You can buy them from ebay or from any music store. I’d rate it a 9/10. The wireless mic has an Audio out cable that is plugged into a USB adapter. You may beed an adapter for soem professional quality mics – a mono 6.5mm to stereo 3.5mm lead, available at any electronics store.
You can get the Samson headset and Andrea adapter from and they will supply it with the leads. Plugged in Summary.
The easiest option is to use the cheap headset mic with USB converter that comes with Dragon Dictate. The next sstep up would be to buy a ‘digital’ mic like the Andrea 181. The best option is to use a good quality USB adapter like Andrea PureAudio and a good quality wireless mic (eg Samson QV10 Airline). For some other reading on mics see and and for some mic comparisons see. Another article on selecting the right microphone. Other posts on Speech recognition:.