Shure - SM7dB

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.

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.

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.

I have the SM7db which has a built in preamp. Which I honestly didn't need as I am using an external mixing desk with midas preamps, a boss rc600 with more gain options, all going into a focusrite with more gain. I upgraded from an sm58 and while the difference is massive for me as a musician, I don't know if chat notices a difference. If you have money to burn, go for it, but it's not really essential to start out.

Audio engineer here. You are not alone in your distaste for the SM7B. I've used the SM7B on podcasts, including my own, and while it does need a lot of work (gain and EQ), in the end it always delivers what I want. In fact Finneas also hates the SM7B, so you are in good company :) Despite the fact I've used it for many podcasts, I don't always recommend it depending on the podcast host. Most of the time it's up to the client though. What I don't think has been mentioned in the comments, although I might have missed it, is the fact the SM7B is a dynamic microphone, whereas the Scarlett CM25 MkIII is a cardioid condenser. I think that's why you prefer the more colorful sound with it, which I'm also a fan of. Another condenser mic you may or may not have considered is the Audio-Technica AT2020. I'm not sure if you are in the US or not but on Amazon it's $99. Honestly, it blows me away and I'm a huge fan of it, especially for singing and vocal work.

I've always liked the NTA one. As well as the sm7.

Seems like you want it for voice (gaming, group chats etc) and bragging rights so your friends don’t clown on you anymore. If this is the case, you want the ubiquitous Shure SM7B , end of discussion. $400 new, $300 open box or lightly used on Reverb. No one will say shit because every youtuber and their mother has one.

a) SM7b may sound slightly better in the mids (imo), esp for male voice b) SM7b looks cooler (also imo), which is important to OP. he suggested the price range so i just filled it in. But if cash is an issue, yeah i’d say get a 58.

I’m not recommending the Shure since you said not to lol, but did want to chime in that I got my SM7dB on eBay brand new for just over $200 and it works great. Whatever mic you go with, you might find a good deal there. As others have said, you can make even a bad mic sound good with the right software. Personally I just use the filters available on OBS, this video taught me a lot https://youtu.be/G1VzeT9t24Y

Shure sm57, sm58, sm4, sm7. All great performing mostly affordable mics. I have a motu m2 interface.

Yes, I use a Shure SM7, and I work much better.

More accurate. Also read this to find the right app for you! [https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/1lg4wyj/comment/mytncm1/](https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/1lg4wyj/comment/mytncm1/)