RØDE - PodMic USB

I use the rode podmic usb with the iphone 16. I works great. A bit big and heavy for your use case.

I use Rode PodMic USB when recording in the studio and DJI Mic 2 when recording outdoors.

I use a Rode podcast mic when I stream. Quality is great, especially for the price. The issue is that it's not a usb mic. You'll need a mixer of sorts. Mic > mixer > pc. Does he stream or just an avid gamer?

I would argue that the best mic is one that you can edit from in post production. Rode PodMics are a solid starting mic and an affordable option. They do have a USB options, as does Shure. USB could be accomplished with an interface which I would recommend over a USB mic personally. If money is no object I would go Shure SM7B, it’s as good as advertised and that’s a reason it’s popular. I have mine paired with a Focusrite Vocaster but that has a max of two mics, for the price it’s amazing though. The Rode Procaster II would be my recommendation for the amount of mic ports you need though. Again, all of this is just you spending money if your post-production skills lack. I know people that make their Shure SM58 sound incredible. The good thing is given your need, your options and combinations are effectively endless. What you need to determine is your total budget. I don’t think you’ll be happy with USB mics though and will ultimately upgrade so I would’ve personally just skip that.

If you are on a shoe string budget I would advise a Zoom Podtrak4 and four Samson Q2U or four Audio Technica 2100X. If you have a pretty powerful budget you can aim for a Rode Procaster II and four Rode Podmics with table stands or boom arms, or four Shure 7dBs if you really want to spend some money. There are two extremes for a four person podcast with XLR for separate channels, there are lots of options in-between.

If you want to get into streaming I wouldn’t drop $800 on a mic. You can spend $200-300 and be more than fine, perhaps less. Check out Rode mics. The nt1a is good (I use this as a partnered just chatting streamer) so is the Podmic, but you’ll need to have some understanding of how sound treated your space is.

If you’re on a tight budget and plan to use an interface, there’s no point in opting for USB mics. or consider a Rode USB microphone and take advantage of the Rode Connect software.

We used to run Blue Yeti USB, and recently switched to Rode XLR. MASSIVE difference in audio quality, ease of operation, and customization. Not close