We'd have liked to see a braided cable included for the USB connection to avoid knots and tangles down the line, though. We're big fans of the carry-case and its frankly ludicrous levels of padding beneath a smart leather exterior, and the tripod stand works well once you have everything tightened and balanced just as you need it. It's a generous package overall that the AT2020USB+ arrives in. The breakup on the Beyerdynamic Fox's headphone preamp was the only real chink in its armor, so Audio-Technica wins back some ground on its rival with that one. This might not be a big selling point for the typical streaming setup, but if you are looking to capture some musical performances in which tracks need to sync up to a metronome, or just with each other, it's a definite plus. The headphone preamp for latency-free monitoring is quite capable at high volumes too without breakup creeping in. It's the kind of thing you notice while listening to wav files of different microphone recordings specifically to hear their differences, not during everyday use. It might be a function of the analog-to-digital conversion, since there's no reason a mid-sized diaphragm like this one shouldn't be able to capture some authoritative bass frequencies. The second issue is a slightly insubstantial low end which we're not sure what element to pin the blame on for.
You could always -shudder - use a quieter membrane keyboard if this bothers you. This isn't really a failing on the AT2020USB+'s part, but perhaps more of a by-product of its proclivity to capture some room noise, which actually enlivens a lot of vocal and acoustic guitar recordings. One is that the cardioid pattern is broad enough that you have to put some time and effort into positioning it at just the right angle to avoid the dreaded keyboard clicking sounds. There are only two drawbacks in fact, and they're slight. It's robust enough to record booming guitar signals through a 2x12 cabinet without distortion even at ear-rattling volume, but also capable of capturing those transient details of a softly delivered vocal up close to the mic. In all honesty, despite offering only CD-quality audio, this mic doesn't fall too far behind. What we loved about the Beyerdynamic Fox when we tested it recently was its higher bit depth and sample rate, which gave it a warmth and subtlety and placed it in line with higher-priced studio mics. With a 44KHz sample rate and 16-bit depth, it falls in line with the specs of most other mics on the market, offering CD-quality audio as the audio signal is converted to digital. When recording spoken vocals, it has a warmth and clarity when you're right up to the diaphragm, and doesn't start to sound roomy until you're about four feet away. This is a medium-diaphragm condenser with just a cardioid polar pattern available, so It's designed as an all-rounder, and performs wonderfully as such.
AT2020 USB PRICE SKIN
What's more, it's got some skin in the game the first version (sans '+') was released in 2017 with a slightly more modest spec sheet and a lack of headphone monitoring, so what this latest model represents is a refinement of a mic that already garnered a decent reputation.įixed-charge back plate, permanently polarized Priced at £120/$150 at time of review (or $199 for the podcasting pack), the AT2020USB+ slots into a bustling market where the Blue Yeti, Razer Seiren, HyperX Quadcast and our personal favorite, the Beyerdynamic Fox, already reside. That's not a deal-breaker, though, since pop shields are at least cheap to buy separately. Nearly everything, at least: There's no pop shield included with the AT2020USB+, even in the more expensive podcasting pack bundle, which also includes a pair of headphones and a boom arm. That is to say, this is a well-put-together package that comprises everything you might reasonably need for recording vocals or instruments in a streaming or home recording setup. Audio-Technica AT2020USB+ Cardioid Condenser Mic ( (Image credit: Tom's Hardware))īut if you're a streamer, gamer, or podcast creator, how much do you really need from your mic? And how much is just there to pad the specs sheets? Well, in the Audio-Technica AT2020USB+'s case, it takes its cues from seminal early noughties pop-punk album All Killer No Filler, from Sum 41, while delivering tones that are definitely easier on the ear than Deryck Whibley's vocal performances.
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