Reddit reviews Sennheiser MKH416-P48U3 Super-Cardioid Shotgun Tube Condenser Microphone

"Huh, expensive microphone? My Blue Yeti is kind of showing its age, I wonder if I could afford it"

>One google search later

...Welp.

Well, first of all, you probably want to scope what you're going to do, and also figure out how much money you want to spend to do it. I mean it's kind of vague to just want to match their equipment and it might be extreme overkill for you to do so. Like you don't need "breakaway cables" to switch your consoles (per the GrumpOut vid)... in fact, I highly recommend switchboxes as a much saner thing to do there. :P

But to the question:

> I don't know where I could order or purchase them

... this may or may not be a simple answer. Depending where you live, Amazon sells just about everything you could possibly want. Not saying you should necessarily buy it from them, but you'll probably find everything you need there.

But getting back to cost, definitely consider what you can spend, because even just one Sennheiser MKH 416 microphone (as they have just stated they use) costs about $1000.

/u/FabbrizioCalamitous already answered adequately about capture cards of course, so no need to repeat that.

Honestly I think getting good audio equipment and a good environment to make your voice sound excellent is one of the most difficult aspects of the setup. There are just so many factors when it comes to audio; reflections in the room, how your mic is mounted, quality/type of the mic, vibrations from the street, etc. Few of us have a real "studio" type acoustically-sealed room to get really good voice recording, and it seems anything and everything easily gets in there and makes a mess of it. But of course unless you're really well off you probably can't afford to set up a room like that or afford Sennheiser MKH 416 mics. (Or at least can't justify the cost for something extravagant before your YouTube channel has taken off.)

Most likely what you ought to do is Google around a bit and try to find a more modest starter kit. If you start to earn a decent viewerbase you might start considering upgrading incrementally. I mean, even the Grumps started out with just a mic on a table in the living room. They graduated to much grander setups over years of time.

Hi inferno - the best value for money mic right now for filmmakers with "a few hundred" to spend is the [$330 Sennheiser MKE600] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B0YPAYQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00B0YPAYQ&linkCode=as2&tag=battleforthew-20) [Referral Link].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFOG5_6ixDA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Haqm-6DjuM

This mic is a great value for money - it competes very well with its big brother, the [$1000 industry standard Sennheiser 416] (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00030679K/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00030679K&linkCode=as2&tag=battleforthew-20) [Referral Link].

Hope this is helpful!

Bill

I've been very happy with Sennheiser's mics which always get excellent audio.

If you ever need to get good audio and can't use the external recorder, a great but cheap mic that goes straight into your DSLR (via mini-jack) is the Audio-Technica ATR-6550. It makes for a great combination of low price and good quality.

Hard to say for sure since there are no visible markings, but based on the taper of the windscreen, I'd guess it's a Sennheiser MKH416.

Headsets have notoriously poor audio quality (both headphone quality and mic quality). They do offer convenience, however the inexpensive Zalman ZM1 mic or similar (a clip on microphone) can be used with any pair of headphones, and will outperform the vast majority of headset built in mics. Also, if your mic ever breaks you can just replace the mic itself rather than the whole headset.

If you ease of setup and cost are not issues, and you want the best audio quality possible, I recommend getting a condenser microphone along the lines of AT2020, Rode NT-1, Blue Spark. Or, if cost is REALLY not an issue, you want a buttery smooth voice the likes of which you can record audiobooks professionally, you can go for the industry voiceover standard, the $1000 and worth it Sennheiser 416.

That would definitely be advisable. There are other good options of course, but this is the industry standard for commercial/promo voiceover. So I don't know what your endeavor into voiceover is, but I'd recommend a solid investment in a mic that fits your voice well, an interface that offers enough gain staging (otherwise, you need a mic preamp, which is yet another investment. The sm7b definitely needs one of these), and a pair of headphones that offer flat, accurate frequency response so you can listen back and mix well.