sE Electronics - X1 S

I'd probably just go with the sm57. It'll last you a life time and I think everyone should own at least one. If not now, at some point you'll probably want one anyway. I'm personally kinda a hater of the at2020. It's a fine mic and my favorite artist of all time used one for years, but for the price, there's so many mics I'd rather reach for. Something like the sE X1a is similar in character, but manages to be less harsh sounding. There's also so much misinformation with "for how acoustically treated your space is" or "how much external noise it picks up". I will say, IF you use zero EQ, the sm57 will perform better in a poor environment than a condenser like the at2020. BUT, if you EQ an sm57 to sound more like an at2020, you're going to run into the same problem as a condenser. This is because it depends on the frequency response of the mic, not the type of mic. If you're seriously worried about this, I would look into the concept of signal to noise ratio. Mic technique is king when it comes to this.

It's not the DAW or the app on your phone that makes the recordings better or worse in quality, it's the mic itself, the analog-to-digital converter and ofc the quality settings you've chosen for the recorded files. How exactly did you record the mic on your headphones? Did you connect them with a cable both to your phone and your computer? The best option either way would be to buy an audio interface and proper mic. The analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) in the audio interface that's built-in to your computer (usually called soundcard) aren't of high enough quality or have enough features for use in recording professional equipment, so you need a real recording audio interface to use better quality mics. USB-mics have an integrated audio interface, but they usually also have stuff like built-in filters that are tuned for speech and noise reduction circuits that you can't disable, so most of them are not very good for recording vocals. My best budget recommendations would be to get either a Lewitt LCT-240, Rode NT-1 or SE Electronics X1S and either an Audient EVO 4, Focusrite Scarlett Solo gen 3 or Behringer UMC202HD audio interface.

You could go for a mic with a built-in audio interface. For example: Shure MV7 – it has a USB output and is based on the legendary SM7B, the favorite mic of many podcasters. The sound is a bit different but still very similar. It’s a dynamic mic, so it’ll cut out a lot of background noise. You mentioned that noise isn’t a problem for you, BUT even if the room is quiet, an untreated space will still have nasty echo and reverb. Dynamic mics help reduce that. Rode NT-USB – this one’s condenser, not top-tier but still miles ahead of the mics you listed. AT2020USB – also a solid condenser option. If you’re okay with having a few more devices on your desk, getting a mic + external audio interface combo will give you noticeably better quality. Some good budget interfaces: Focusrite Scarlett Solo – some people say it’s overrated, but I wouldn’t agree UAD Volt – nice SSL 2 – from the company behind the mixing consoles used on half the hit records ever made And for mics to pair with them: - Audio-Technica AT2020 - sE Electronics X1s (i personally very like it🙃) - Rode NT1 --- No mic should ever be right up to your mouth. Even stage vocal mics are meant to have a bit of distance. For all the ones I mentioned, keep roughly 20 cm (about 8 inches) away. Personally, I don’t even pay attention to how far mine is — it’s on a boom arm, sometimes ends up half a meter (around 20 inches) away, and I just don’t care. It still sounds fine, since most apps for calls and stuff already do some loudness leveling. But if you actually want better sound — stay around 20–30 cm (8–12 inches).

You'll have to eq the SM58 to get it to sound anywhere close to modern mics. SM58 is overrated in my opinion, live sound guys like them because they're readily available and can take a beating and if you're a sound engineer worth a crap you know how to eq them to not sound like mud... but so are a dozen other mics in the same price range that sound miles better out of the box. On the condenser side, AT2020 is a pretty decent vocal mic for $100, very usable sound, if a little crispy and lacking detail. Another you might take a look at is MXL V67G which sounds a bit warmer and clearer than the AT2020 IF you don't get one with QC issues. Same element is used in many Ear Trumpet Labs mics, which are $700+ mics (though ETL has a deal with the factory to only send good condenser capsules; MXL don't care). Some others to consider well under $200: Rode NT1, Avantone CK-6, sE Electronics X1S. If you want a dynamic mic, I'd recommend sE Electronics V7 or something by Sennheiser (Senn e935 is the mic that I'd recommend for a main vocal dynamic mic). If you want a Shure, get the Beta 58, which has more modern circuitry and more clarity. If you want an interesting and fantastic affordable mic, check out "3U Audio" on ebay. It's a Chinese dude who used to design mics for a big Chinese OEM factory and worked with some very well-known brands, who decided to start his own business making high-end mics at affordable prices. The $164 CM1 Black SE is a very good transformerless FET condenser with a near-perfect flat eq that is better than many mics 5x the price... very similar to certain Neumann mics in usage. Or if you want something with a bit more top-end sparkle, there's a Teal C1 version that is pretty much a transformerless FET version of a vintage AKG mic used on a thousand recordings.

You should get the sE X1A instead of a dynamic microphone. Still around the same price.

The SM58 is an incredible mic that will last a long time but is better for singing live than recording in my opinion. The Audio Technica 2020 or the sE X1 for the same price are condenser mics and great for recording vocals but also acoustic guitars and lots of other things. Assuming you have an audio interface to plug an XLR cable into those are great mics for recording vocals!

Another vote for sE here - I have the x1 and V7; both excellent mics for the money - though I'm not sure I'd compare them to Neumanns!. I also have the Rode NT1, which is another fantastic device at the price.