USB Condensor Mics: Blue Yeti or Audio Technica AT2020?

[moon]

Originally Posted by themachinist

Here's one of my Youtube pals getting excellent sounds with the Zoom H2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rozvDssPEg

That is a good sound - and performance

[Steely Glen]

Thanks for all the input, everyone. The Zoom H2 looks promising, but I have a Boss Micro BR already, which is not the same thing, but in the ballpark (?). My first thought in going for a USB Mic was the ease of using computer-based software for editing. The biggest headache about the Micro BR is that recording on it is very akward due to the weird menus and button configurations. I've done some decent recordings on it, but it feels too much like rocket science just to get a final project. Perhaps the Zoom H2 is easier to use?

I feel like a USB Mic like the Yeti straight into Audacity would be a decent beginner's set up to get started. Editing and exporting to mp3 would be easy. Am I headed down the wrong road in taking this approach?

[jgillard]

I feel like a USB Mic like the Yeti straight into Audacity would be a decent beginner's set up to get started. Editing and exporting to mp3 would be easy. Am I headed down the wrong road in taking this approach?

This is exactly my set up! Works great for what I need.

[Steely Glen]

I just did a little more reading on the Zoom H2. That little bugger looks pretty neat. Apparently, it can function as a USB Mic and interact with programs like Audacity in addition to being a stand-alone, on-the-go recorder. I think a new toy just entered the conversation....

[themachinist]

Originally Posted by Steely Glen

I just did a little more reading on the Zoom H2. That little bugger looks pretty neat. Apparently, it can function as a USB Mic and interact with programs like Audacity in addition to being a stand-alone, on-the-go recorder. I think a new toy just entered the conversation....

Zoom H2 is your fella!

[fulfillingsoul]

You may like to consider Samson Go-Mic? An inexpensive option

[Paultergeist]

Personally -- and this is not to disparage the Zoom H2 -- I do not think that a field recorder such as the H2 and a USB microphone are the same thing. If one wants a USB mic, then that is what one should get. Ditto if one wants a field recorder.

For my own purposes, I have a Blue "Spark" hooked up to an audio interface, which is then hooked up to my computer. That microphone thus sits there on my desk all the time, ready for me to push "record" on my computer. I also have an H2, and while it does make a fine recording, it is much more complicated to use -- frankly, I cannot run it without referring to the manual (and then I still have issues sometimes) -- but it does have the distinct advantage of being portable.

I am suggesting that folks should probably buy that which is optimized to work the way they are really going to USE such an item.

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by thekaiser

Personally, neither. The problem with USB Mics, (and USB cables in general) is that the signal path in the cable can tend to over compress everything to move the files faster. This is much more prevalent on a mic than on data transfer though so the option of getting something like a Zoom H2 (or the new H1 if you only need one track recording) and using either a SD reader or the cable to just transfer the recording to a computer off the device will provide higher quality results...

Do you have any technical evidence to support your contention here? I'm not aware of any data compression applied to the USB connection in the H2. After all, USB audio interfaces can handle multiple channels of simultaneous recording without a problem.

Fran

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by Steely Glen

I've got a budget of around $100 for a USB mic that I can use for recording to my computer, doing YouTube clips, etc. I've got my choices basically narrowed down to the Blue Yeti and Audio-Technica AT2020.

What are the pros and cons for these models? Both seem to come well reviewed and this is a new field of consumerism for me, so I'm learning as I go.

Thanks for your input.

- Glen

I notice one very significant difference between the two, the Yeti has a headphone out that gives you access to zero latency monitoring. If you plan to layer tracks this is quite an important feature.

Fran

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by thekaiser

Personally, neither. The problem with USB Mics, (and USB cables in general) is that the signal path in the cable can tend to over compress everything to move the files faster. This is much more prevalent on a mic than on data transfer though so the option of getting something like a Zoom H2 (or the new H1 if you only need one track recording) and using either a SD reader or the cable to just transfer the recording to a computer off the device will provide higher quality results. That being said, if you truly want the convience of a USB mic I would go for the Blue Yeti or if you can swing it the Yeti Pro. Blue is a company who truly knows what they are doing. I will occasionally use a Blue Spark into my Zoom H4n when I want a bit more clarity than what the onboard Mics of the zoom (which are amazing btw) can provide.

Um, your assertion that USB cables overcompress everything to move faster. Where I come from, there's the latency of USB as compared to Firewire There's the latency caused by the A/D and/or D/A conversion and there's sample rate and bit depth of the converted data based on the specs of the A/D converter.

Cheaper USB mics and USB-based mic converters typically use 16-bit, 44.1 kHz converters, because those chips are less expensive than 24-bit, 96 kHz chips, but none of that is expressed as data compression in order to move files faster that results in lower quality audio.

What I have also found is that the USB mics and A/D converters in USB mics simply don't compete with top shelf mics and top shelf A/D converters.

In the analog domain, mic cables can affect the sound; pretty subtly once you get up to good quality cables, but discernably different in some cases. I have heard that with my own ears (and in the presence of others who also heard it.)

Maybe you can shine a brighter light on the idea that USB cables compress the audio.

Regards,

Ty Ford