Behringer - C-2

The most important thing about getting good sound is getting the microphone close to the sound source. The quality of the mic is important, but not nearly so as placing it where the sound it "hears" is good. I have a Behringer C-2 and it's plenty good to get professional sound. It's also true that any iPhone can be used as a digital recorder that is better than any analog recorder ever built. And you can put an iPhone on its back on a flat surface and use an audio recording app to get the sound of a boundary layer mic. I've even used an iPhone hanging from a fishing pole as a boom--and it's amazingly good because it can be close. If you don't get good sound it's not because of your equipment as much as the way you use it.

I have two of these: CAD E100Sx. For my voice, this mic sounds amazing considering it's less than $100. I like it more than my NT1 for most situations lol Behringer C-2. For anything I've needed a pencil condenser for. It's not the best mic ever by a long shot, but it's $45 for a matched pair, and they're pretty good from my experience

Behringer C-2 Matched Pair Pencil Condenser Microphones, amazing value for acoustic guitar, piano, room mic's and drum o/heads

Behringer C-2 (sold as a matched pair for around $60USD) started as an inexpensive solution for crowd mics (to feed IEMs and livestream); but I have been caught using them in lots of other functions and when people ask me what I’m using they get upset because of the brand. But I can afford them…

I have some Behringer C2 pencil condensers that sound awesome on piano and percussion. People compliment the tones and are shocked they only cost me $60 for the pair.

Seconding this. A pair of C2s were probably the most bang for the buck in my mic closet. I picked them up as a gamble, totally expecting them to be mostly useless. I got so much utility out of those little bad boys

I was also pleasantly surprised by these mics. They don’t wow me, but they sound totally fine and are great to have on hand in case I need an extra mic or two to throw on something. I’ve been bringing them to shows to capture audience audio and a love that I don’t need to worry about them being kicked around since they’re so cheap.

Paired Samson/Behringer pencil condenser mics Cheap and reliable.

If you're really in need of cheap, I'd actually recommend the Behringer C-2 for mics. They go against conventional wisdom for podcasting, but there's a few reasons it still works- First, they're stupidly cheap. That's generally a bad sign for mics, but these actually hold up with more expensive mics. They come in a set of two. You can't get them individually, but the cost for both is still less than most recommended mics are individually. I think I picked them up for \~$60 a set. You get two mics, to clips, to foam windscreens, and a stereo bar that you probably won't ever use (unless you also record music). They give a fairly neutral sound without any major harsh frequencies. That can be a bit subjective based on specific voices, but I haven't noticed any major issues. They don't pick up a lot of the low frequencies. Usually not a good thing, but for podcasting with a condenser it can actually be used to your advantage (more on that in a bit). And maybe this isn't as big of a benefit for you, but these mics are tiny. At 3 3/4" long by just a hair over 3/4 diameter, they're unobtrusive for conversation. The downside to that is that they don't have the "pro-studio" look if you're doing a video podcast. *And of course, the negatives*: They have a pretty high self-noise, I think it's 21db. So that's not optimal, but it's also not a deal-breaker in my opinion because of how you'd want to use the mics anyway. They're condensers. They pick up *everything*. But again, this can be turned into an advantage. They are absolute, complete hot garbage at rejecting plosives. They do come with the little soft covers, and those help a bit, but you still need to be careful of every *P* and *B* will spike the audio. It's a pain if you aren't ready for it, but with proper mic technique it's mostly a non-issue. The C-2 needs a bit of EQ and some noise reduction, along with good mic technique, to sound as good as other mics will without all the extra work. As good as it is for a cheap mic, it's still a cheap mic. It isn't going to be perfect. The main benefit is that you two decent mics for under $100, not that they're great mics overall. *So for best use-* Have the mic pointed at your mouth, but have your mouth pointed just past the mic. That will stop the plosives. Also use the windscreens, just as an added preventative. You also want to be 3-4 inches from the mic, which is closer than usually recommended but *really* helps with these mics. It lets you turn the gain down so the self-noise isn't as prominent, and that also helps make your voice much more prominent over any background/room noise. The other benefit is that you get more low end from the proximity effect that helps balance out that the C-2 doesn't have the strongest bass response. Basically, you can use the shortcomings of the mic to your advantage to get a great sound out of it. It's a bit of extra work, but at \~$60 for a set that extra work can be worth the effort. I picked them up because I needed six of the same mic to use for a DnD podcast I'm getting started, and I couldn't afford the mics I originally wanted since I also needed to get more mic stands, cables, and an interface with more inputs. There are better mics out there. But the C-2 still sounds better than most USB condensers that are double/triple the cost. They won't hold up to an RE20 or SM7B, but they'll outperform a Yeti and hold up decently to mics like the Q2u.

I've been recording an actual play for a while now, and it really isn't as expensive as people will try to make it. Still not cheap, because if you want good quality it is still a mic for each person, but especially if your players can chip in a bit it isn't too bad. First of all, I love the Pi recording/editing station idea. It should work great. What you'll need on top of that is an interface, mics, mic stands, cables, and preferably some acoustic treatment. For the interface I'd recommend the Podtrack P8, it's about as cheap as you can get while still having all the inputs you'll need for 5+people. Then for the mics, I recommend the Behringer C-2. They're condensers, which goes against the general conventions this sub likes to spout, but they're going to work just as good (if not better) than cheap dynamics in a tabletop setting. Plus it's only about $70 for a set of two, so cheaper than just about any quality dynamics you can get. The Behringer XM8500 is a good choice if you just want a dynamic, but the C-2 is less muddy in the low end and clearer in the high end, which can be really helpful when you're getting really close speaking into the mic. Which I would highly recommend in a tabletop setting. For comparisons between the two, check out the Podcastage channel on youtube, he's done a review on both mics. You can get the absolute cheapest mic stands and XLR cables and it will work just fine, but I would recommend on springing for a little bit nicer cables if you can fit it in your budget. Cheaper cables tend to have little/no shielding, less durable material, and lower quality connectors so they aren't going to last as long and it's possible to get some interference. You don't really need headphones for everyone, just one set for yourself (or some decent speakers) for editing. They're nice to have, but not essential. You can set the levels visually on the P8, and it's less convenient when people can't monitor themselves but it really isn't a big deal. And as far as the sound you can expect from that setup, [here's a clip from my table using almost the exact same gear](https://soundcloud.com/user-40755283/dnd-clip-behringer-c2-mics?si=3d7479b6c51146e99a935afe99307019&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing). I have the P4 instead of the P8, but use the C-2s, cheap cables, and no headphones at the table. I'm running a campaign with kids, and too many wires running around just causes more problems. So it still adds up, but it's about the cheapest way to get a consistent "pro" sound.

Behringer C-2 will yield almost same results as H5 imo