How to choose Best Budget Cardioid Condenser Microphone

How to choose Best Budget Cardioid Condenser Microphone

We all know that if you are recording or broadcasting at home, a cardioid condenser microphone is essential, which is standard as a podcast. But now the question is coming. As a novice podcast, how do we choose a cardioid condenser microphone? What do we need to know about microphones? Below I will share some knowledge about the microphone about the above questions, I hope it can useful for you.

First of all, let me talk about the knowledge of the polar pattern. If you are a podcast or a worker who will use the usb-c microphone, then you will have heard or understood that the microphone has both omnidirectional and unidirectional.

 

The working principle of directivity:

Microphone directivity is a description of the microphone's sound inspiration mode from all directions in space, and is an important attribute of the microphone. Many times, the first consideration of the choice of the microphone is its directivity, followed by other properties of the microphone. In addition to omnidirectional microphones, other directivity is based on multi-diaphragm technology. The microphone obtains sensitivity to sound in different directions by transforming the cavity settings of the microphone and mixing and modulating the sound signals received by the multi-mode film. Most microphones are single-directional,but some have the ability to switch their directivity.

 

Omnidirectional:

Omnidirectional has the same sensitivity for sounds from different angles. The microphone head is designed with the principle of Pressure-operated, and the diaphragm only accepts pressure from the outside. However, since this omnidirectional condenser microphone usb has the same pickup effect in each direction, generally such a microphone is applied to a conference venue. For example, this product: Maono AU903 has a omnidirectional pickup function, which is generally suitable for conferences.

MAONO Studio-Quality Microphone for Computer

The AU903 USB microphone features a studio-grade headphone amplifier and a high-quality 3.5mm headphone output, complete with precision volume control, allowing you to easily monitor your audio.  It’s incredibly easy to set up and use, with simple controls, an in-built pop filter, and a class-compliant USB output that works seamlessly with computers or tablets, no drivers or software needed. Just plug into your Mac, PC or tablet and hit record.

 

Unidirectionality:

Unidirectionality microphones are primarily designed using the principle of Pressure Gradient. Through the small hole behind the microphone cavity, the diaphragm receives the pressure on both sides. Therefore, the diaphragm is not subjected to different pressures in different directions, and the condenser microphone usb has directivity. The single-directional microphones mainly have the following categories:

Cardioid:

Cardioid has the best sound for sound from the front of the microphone, while sound from other directions is attenuated. For example, the Maono AU902 is a typical cardioid condenser microphone, which is very good for the front radio, especially suitable for indoor live games.

MAONO Studio-Quality Microphone for Conference

AU902 is a USB condenser mic. that delivers exceptional-quality sound to Android devices, tablets, and Mac/Windows computers.Thanks to its cardioid polar pattern, the AU902 USB microphone captures speech in front of the mic while effectively reducing unwanted background noise.It features a gain control knob and mute function. The USB jack allows you to monitor and ensure audio intelligibility during recording. With a detachable desktop stand and a pop filter, you can get started easily and quickly for home-studio recording, podcasting, live-streaming, etc.

 

Hyper-cardioid:

Compared to cardioid pointing, the hyper-cardioid offsets more of the sound from the side of the microphone. This microphone is more used for multi-track recording of indoor music,

which can reduce the sound of other nearby instruments. It is also often used in live sound reinforcement, which reduces the risk of many recycled sounds.We learned about the directivity of the condenser microphone USB. Let's take a look at the microphone classification. We all know that microphones can be divided into different types according to different purposes and functions. Below I mainly talk about condenser microphone.

 

The working principle of condenser microphone:

The humming principle of a condenser microphone is to use a very thin gold-plated film, which is a pole of the capacitor, separated by a few tenths of a millimeter, and has another fixed electrode, thus forming a capacitor of several P-farads, which is caused by the vibration of the film. The capacitance of the capacitor changes to form an electrical signal. Since this capacitor has only a few P-farads, its internal resistance is extremely high, reaching the level of G . So a circuit is needed to convert this G impedance into a common impedance of about 600 . 

This circuit, also called a "preamplifier circuit", is usually integrated inside the condenser microphone and requires "phantom power" to power the circuit. It is the existence of this pre- amplification circuit, so the condenser microphone must be powered by phantom power to work properly. The condenser microphone + phantom power is generally very sensitive, much more sensitive than the commonly used dynamic microphone.

 

Condenser microphone features:

Unlike the dynamic microphone, the sensitivity of the usb-c microphone is extremely high,and the pickup effect is very good, which can capture every subtle sound. Therefore, this type of condenser microphone is generally used in recording studios or home recording.

Through this article, I hope that you can easily understand some basic knowledge about the microphone, so that you can choose the usb-c microphone that suits you when you choose a microphone.

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