The Best Podcast Equipment for Great Sound

February 25, 2013 By 15 Comments
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If you’re looking to take the audio quality of your podcast to the next level and get great sound it might be time to start thinking it’s time to upgrade your podcasting equipment.

Having made over 80+ episodes of my own Online Marketing & Communications podcast [as of Feb 2013], I’ve learned a lot about podcasting equipment by trial and effort.

Call me an audio snob if you will, but from the outset I wanted to get the best sound quality possible to reflect the professionalism of my business.

There is a stack of great podcasting equipment out there, and plenty of gear recommendations from other podcasters, but I wanted to share with you my own set-up to show what works best for me and give you an idea of the kind of quality you could be getting.

I’m going to look at what I see as the three most important bits of equipment but before I do that I can tell you that I record in my home office at a standing desk, often with four basset hounds under the table ! That’s why I call it the Dog House Studio.

The Podcasting Equipment I use for Great Sound

I record my show into a Zoom H4n Handy Portable Digital Recorder via an analogue mixing desk rather than into my computer as I’ve found it more reliable. Also, it keeps the machine free to use Skype for interviews. I have no sound proofing equipment in my studio and not stacks of books or soft furnishings. I also have a wooden floor this being a typical Swedish house.

This post includes some audio recordings; all of them were recorded and published without adding any effects or processing by my audio editing software. I leveled the volume to make it easier on the ear but that’s it. Everything is as recorded live in the room.

So with that lets get on with the equipment review.

Use the Best Dynamic Microphone You Can Afford

Great audio starts with your microphone.

No matter what.

blue yeti pro microphoneIf you’re currently using a USB mic like the Blue Snowball
or Blue Yeti USB Microphone , you’re probably getting pretty decent audio. USB mics have improved a lot in recent years.

The trouble is that USB mics can pick up quite a lot of background noise because they are so sensitive. Yes, you’ll get rich voice tones but you’ll also get things like the sound of your room, computer fan or the neighbour cutting the lawn outside.

You can always reduce some of the background noise from a recording with your audio editing software, but this means extra work and it will impact the overall richness of your voice recording.

I started out with USB mics like the Blue Snowball and Rode Podcaster USB Dynamic Microphone but really found my feet very early on when I made the jump to the Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone.

Heil PR 40The Heil PR 40 is a podcaster’s favourite. It produces condenser-like sounds even though it’s a dynamic mic. The most important thing, though, is that it is a front firing microphone that has excellent rejection, keeping unwanted sounds to a a great addition to a podcast studio in any environment.

To illustrate just how great the Heil is, I’ve recorded four examples here for you to check out and compare.

The microphones in the example recording are:

Choose the Right Mixer for Your Podcast Equipment Set-Up

Now I love my Heil PR 40 but the pre-amps on your mixing desk make a lot off difference to the sound you’ll get out of it.

soundcraft mixer for podcastingEarly on I tested a few mixers like the Behringer Xenyx 820, the Behringer XENYX X1204USB and the Mackie PROFX8 but settled on the Soundcraft EPM8 8-channel Audio Mixer because I liked the richer sound. Now don’t ask me why this sounded better for my voice, but the guys it specialist music store here in Stockholm told me they recommended SoundCraft preamps.

Add a Mic Pre-amp to the Chain

Recently I’ve taken the audio quality of my sound to the next level by adding the DBX 286s Mic Preamp / Processor to the chain.
dbx 286s mic preamp podcasting
Although I’d been doing quite a lot of voice processing in AdobeAudition to beef up the sound of my voice, it was adding the DBX to my podcast equipment that really got me to where I wanted to go.

Listen to an example of what the DBX 286s added to my sound:

warm audio wa 12 preampIf I had the budget I might have gone up to the Warm Audio WA12 Classic 312 Style Preamp which blew me away when I tried it, but it’s just beyond my reach just now.

The Best Podcasting Equipment – Depends on so many factors

When it comes down to it, there is an immense amount of equipment to choose from if you’re a podcaster after the very best in audio sound quality.

Personally, I am happy with my set up now but proper soundproofing in my office would certainly help. I also think I need to have a better understanding of compression techniques and AdobeAudition, my audio editing software of choice.

Still, I firmly believe that you can’t go very wrong with a top quality dynamic mic, mic preamp and mixer.

If you’ve got a different set up that you think rocks, feel free to put your recommendations in the comments.

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About Jon

Owner of Jontus Media, marketing consultant, lifelong Liverpool FC support and podcaster. Guarded by basset hounds .

  • http://MyMarketingCompass.com/ Billy Delaney

    I am getting my equipment together and starting to explore. Thanks for a look behind your sound and voice. Billy

  • http://jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    Thanks Billy. Look forward to hearing what you come up with in March. Good luck with the launch.

  • http://markharai.com/ Mark Harai

    You always sound awesome, Jon – and your voice is easy on the ears; it was built for podcasting : )

    After hearing different versions, it’s amazing how different the quality is with each.

    I would really like to have a professional podcaster/ trainer/ coach who can share insights with the bloggerbeat community and provide some pay-for programs that can get folks up and podcasting like the professionals do…

    Maybe we can discuss if it’s synergistic to your goals and business model.

    Just a suggestion, Jon – I appreciate your work as well, sir – and plan on getting behind it much more in 2013…

  • http://markharai.com/ Mark Harai

    Another fantastic made-for-podcasting voice : ) Get it together, Billy – there are many ears that need to hear what you have to share, sir!

  • http://jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    Thanks Mark! Any time you want to discuss this, let’s set up a Skype call. Sounds like an interesting idea and something I’d be up for.

  • http://twitter.com/GroTraffic Mark Harai

    I am open in the morning for the rest of the week… Are you available? Let me know a time that works for you and I will get it scheduled.

    Thanks, Jon – looking forward to our chat, sir : )

  • http://jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    I’ve Dmd you :=)

  • http://twitter.com/PodcastingLife Robert

    This is all very sound advice. Love it. I am really finding that I enjoy recording into a digital recorder – in my case the Tascam DR-40, via dynamic external mic. Really nice sound. With my mixer/preamp setup I’m getting a lot of BUZZ when I add the preamp. Probably a ground loop buzz. Anyway, nice article!

  • http://jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    Thanks Robert. Appreciate it.

    Could be ground loop. Have you tried using two different electric outlets? I had to do this for a while. Also, check the cables. The shorter the cabling the better.
    Is your PC connected in this chain ? Could be the sound card. My iMac causes buzz compared to my laptop.
    Do you have a link to a show ?

  • Marysia

    very interesting. Am trying to work out if I can use my normal equipment for Skype recordings, I also have a Zoom and like the idea of using that rather than my external mike/mixing desk/possibly soundcard/logic. Zoom would be an easier setup/direct USB in except I am not sure if I have headphones on how I then record the other side of the call, although I guess if I use Skype Call Recorder its apparently mono tracks so..
    Just done my first 6 podcasts but have edged away from the Skype ones as knew I will have to sort out the equipment/techie side but you have given me some great thoughts moving forward so thanks .

  • http://jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    Hi Marysia,
    Did you download up for my free ebook ? That explains how to record a Skype call with your zoom going through a mixer. http://podcasting.jontusmedia.se/how-to-start-a-podcast
    Thanks for stopping by.

    J.

  • Marysia

    Thanks for this Jon, much appreciated. May have figured it out (in my head I have different possibilities) but have just downloaded and look at your advice, as yo obviously know your stuff ;-)

  • http://www.oswreview.com/ OSW Review

    Hi Jon, thanks for writing this article. I do my own podcast with my friends, we sit around a Blue Yeti mic, and we laugh a lot. Is there equipment that can automatically lower the volume so it doesn’t crackle due to the loudness? Is that what pre-Amps do? Also would you recommend recording in wav at 48000/32bit float? Or higher/lower? Thanks, Jay

  • http://jontusmedia.com/ Jon Buscall

    Hi,

    Thanks for stopping by !

    Your podcast should be recorded at 16 bit, 44.1 or 48 kHz. When you’re done editing it, you can convert it to MP3 at a suitable bitrate. Don’t record direct to MP3.
    What you’re experiencing with the mic is very typical for the Snowball (and most other usb mics). It’s designed to pick up a lot of noise.
    You could cut some of it out when editing (what are you using to edit your show?) but even if you could gate out all the background noise it would still be audible when people speak.
    This is why I prefer using dynamic mics. They reject all that nasty background noise.
    How many are you ?

  • http://www.oswreview.com/ OSW Review

    Appreciate the quick reply! I just use cool edit pro to record & edit the .wav’s, background noise isn’t a problem, having a ‘bouncy’ sound would be the bigger culprit. Could be us not being too close to the mic (about 18 inches away) & my wooden floors though? There’s 3 of us so I just use the omnidirectional option on the yeti. Any advice to optimize?