Shure - SM7B Vocal Dynamic Microphone

I would not buy a Cloudlifter just so I can use a mediocre mic like the Samson S9U. Seems like a waste of money. I would not buy an SM7B or SM7DB just for work calls and gaming. That’s ballpark $500 just so your coworkers and gaming buddies can hear you. People want the SM7B because we are living in an era of peak SM7B hype… every streamer and podcaster seems to use one. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good mic, but you shouldn’t buy an expensive mic just for the hype. Get a Røde NT1 or AT2035 or similar large-diaphragm condenser under $200. These all have higher sensitivity, which means you can turn the gain down on your audio interface. You’ll sound clear and the mic will work great with your interface. IMO, spending $400 instead of $200 doesn’t get you a much better mic. Most of the really good-sounding mics cost somewhere north of $700, with a few excellent, less-expensive dynamics below that price point (but you need more gain to use them).

SM7 is the one. It's not cheap, but it's design allows you to get close to the mic which would be the only way to mitigate the reverberations. Apart from treating the room, there are no other options.

Anything can be both great and overrated, including the 7b. It is a great mic, it works in a lot of places just fine. It is not, however, a "just get this mic no matter who you are and you'll get amazing results" type of microphone. And if you think that isnt what hobbyists and amateurs see it as, you're just not talking to these people enough. It's good for the price, it can generally take eq well, and on some voices andsounds it's genuinely good. but it's not a mic everybody needs to own. That doesn't make it not great though.

With mics you have Dynamic and Condenser. Dynamic mics are great for noisy environments, they reject most sound that aren't directly going into the diaphragm, so you do need to practice how to speak into it, likely want a pop filter to reduce plosives, and it'll have to sit in your face on videos. I went with dynamic myself because I was living on the ground floor of a road that lorries frequented, but I had to learn to project my voice as I'm very soft spoken. The Shure SM7B's kinda everyone's favourite, but if money's no issue the SM7dB would be my pick - difference being the SM7dB has a built in preamp, which fixes the issue of the SM7B being too quiet and requiring a fethead, a preamp or a more powerful preamp inside your interface. I needed a fethead myself and have to remember to turn on the 48v phantom power (which can damage your mic if you forget to put in the fethead). The price of the fethead is about the same as the price jump from SM7B to SM7dB, without taking up the space in your set up. This mic also seem to favour masculine voices though, but it gives your voice that 'radio' quality to it. There are of course cheaper dynamic mics out there, Audio Technica and Seinnheiser are popular as well as Shure. Condenser mics are much more sensitive and I don't think they need preamps generally speaking. I'm not familiar with them but I think you need to give them the 48v phantom power to work (check your manuals / research), but they can pick up a great deal of noise easily in the general direction they're facing. They're great for quiet environments where you can put them a little away from you offscreen. There are also shotgun mics that can be much further away but only picks up sound from a very specific spot - not great if you're likely to move around in your seat, as we all do when gaming! Then there are lavalier mics that you can clip onto yourself with wireless transmitters - they're really good nowadays and it's often what you see people use on street interviews because they're so portable and easy to use.

Yes! The sm7b has a great reputation. If you put it close to your mouth, then the voice should be much louder than the noise. Check out a tutorial on mic position, it's hard to describe but if you see it, it will be easy. Then a noise gate might be all you need. I like the waves renaissance compressor, it has a downward expander rather than a gate, and it's super ez to use. Can be used live. But there are many great plugins out there.

Yeah, this is probably the way I’d go to. They’re used on every podcast ever for a reason - good reproduction but super directional. Great metal vocal mic too if you ever decide to go that way.

A dynamic mic like an SM58 or SM7B. I think they have a cheaper podcast mic https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MV7X--shure-mv7x-dynamic-broadcast-microphone-black A condenser mic will pick up EVERYTHING, even the low level sounds your brain tunes out.

I used to love the RE20 for everything. Hell, I even influenced its history. But more often than not, I prefer the SM7B.

On some occasions, it has won on vocals against U87s, a C12, an R44, 4038 and every other mic in my cabinet. I am always impressed when i try it out.

Agree with your whole take on the MD421. For the SM7B, we differ. I quite love that mic on many sources. In some contexts, I choose it over many classic condenser mics (U87s, C414s, C12, ribbons, etc.) I generally prefer it over my once revered three RE20s. It feels more relaxed. It has grown on me.

In addition to what everyone else suggested, I’d definitely recommend you use the legendary Shure SM7B for recording. It’s not the cheapest microphone but defo not expensive for what you get, it’s a real workhorse. It’s dynamic, so more directional, and picks up less ambient noise, while delivering condenser-like quality recordings. That’s the one I use, with very little insulation in the room and a a noisy street outfront, and it doesn’t pick up too much rubbish.

i used a blue yeti microphone for 6 years, it did everything i needed it to and lasted me so long, the only reason i ditched it recently was simply for an upgrade. The blue yeti is a fantastic affordable microphone, i just recently upgraded to the Shure SM7B because I could finally afford to upgrade the quality, and i'll likely be using this mic for years and years to come