Microphone recommendation for recording 2 channel demos

I sometimes wish I aspired to achieve sound at the level of youtube.

I would suggest to contact one of the largest pro audio retailers such as B&H and browse through their inventory of used and new items. They have sales video-chat and you can get offers for your budget 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/browse/Microphones/ci/14929

@carlsbad2  Obviously sound demos are just for fun. Not really looking to get into the merits of their sound. I do enjoy sound sommeliers videos and wouldn't mind having sound quality like him. Good sound on youtube is still better than crappy youtube sound.

@OP. If you are prepared to do a little post production work, one of the Zoom H series recorders, which are an all in one solution incuding stereo mics, are a superb value/sq solution. You'll have to sync the audio to you video though.

If that's too much, Rode mics are gnerally excellent and fair value for money.

The Sony PCM-D10 is an awesome portable recorder with excellent built-in microphones.  Also great for digitizing vinyl up to 24/192.  Built like a tank. And right within your budget.  I use mine to record live concerts and recitals, sometimes using external microphones for large ensembles.

Check out the Zoom H4n Pro.  I used one when my son was playing guitar and drums to catch some memories.  It will get you started and then you can add external mics if needed.   

@yoyoyaya I don't mind syncing in post but which model Zoom do you think I should get?

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@porchlight1 Nice thanks man. I just saw the PCM D100 as well and now I want it.. facepalm.

YT video OP mentioned is dubbing I believe. It's not live recording. In that YT channel, the owner wrote "Live" for live recordings in thumbnail pics. Almost his recordings at his shop are dubbed.

I recommend WA-103 mic which is under $500 now. It's only natural sound mic in the world. Alex/WTA

@OP - the H4 is probably the sweet spot for what you want to do.

@mihorn i think it is a real live recording of the system... what would the point be of a dub? The whole point is to let people hear the actual system (albeit through youtube)

@yoyoyaya Im open to even the h5. I really wish i could get that sony but i need it for friday and no stores I can see in ontario carry it.

@OP - The 5 does have the advantage of recording to SD, rather than micro SD cards. But any of them or the Sony will give you better sound and more editing flexibility than a smartphone.

Best of luck with your video/recording project.

Thanks appreciate it. Im gonna head to an AV shop tomorrow.

I might grab a pair of omnidirectional mics too to plug into the recording for even better sound.

smodtactical OP

@mihorn i think it is a real live recording of the system... what would the point be of a dub? The whole point is to let people hear the actual system (albeit through youtube)

They made you think it’s live recording by moving camera around the room. But there is no sound difference the camera close to tweeter or behind the speaker. Listen to this video when the camera is moving.

https://youtu.be/2aWQHLwpwbw?si=DmmBpjDnsOoNKUaX&t=161

On SS’s video, they wrote "Is This The BEST Audio Setup of 2024?" Not the best sound set up. If the system sound is great as as in video, I’d say the perfect sound system. However, they didn’t mention about the sound. The sound doesn’t matter in this video.

Here’s 2 videos from SS channel. I think only one video is live recording. Alex/WTA

https://youtu.be/5t8qBHmTmcY?si=x2wZUfyzcZ9ncIAH&t=57

https://youtu.be/6Oae5cz22h8?si=TpX8LjBa89AdTAjL&t=256

The live recording always have the room sound signature. SS’s video doesn’t have any room signature. Listen this recording with and without the room signature.

https://youtu.be/GO3hsMvojeY?si=Y8K9rKYHnV_xW1it

https://youtu.be/lW2oifRtdm4?si=3JvVy_BLOFSMIUMm

@OP It you are recording two channel stereo, you'll get a better recording using the xy mics built into the unit itself. A pair of omnis are going to pick up all the room sound so you'll be recording the room rather than the system.

@yoyoyaya ehat about a pair of cardioid condensers like the rode nt5

@OP NT5s are a bit bright sounding. I would prefer a pair of SE Electronics SE8s.

But I would try the built in mics first as you may be surprised.

I should have asked earlier but what exactly do you mean by "sound demos"?

@yoyoyaya Watch the video in my first post and you'll see what I am trying to do. And that is a real recording of the room you can hear the sound change as he walks around the speaker. No clue mihorn can't hear that.

Ok OP - bit of brain fade there on my part. That you tube video was probably recorded on a phone or on the internal audio of a DSLR/Mirrorless camera - though the jerkiness of the video as he moves around looks more like a phone to me.

If you are planning to record audio shows, I doubt bringing stand alone mics and associated stands and cabling will be practical.

I got a tascam x8 today. It sounds ok when I record my home speaker system but surprisingly not as good as my blue yeti mic in stereo mode.

So now im scrambling to find a better xlr mic (or mics) that I Can plug into the x8 for better audio for the show later today. Its my fault for not doing my research ahead of time.

+1 to @yoyoyaya comments. With just a $500 budget you aren’t going to get any "great" mics, however, as he noted you could get a Zoom H4n Pro or one of the similar new ones for about $200 to $250 with onboard mics and use them. If you bought condenser mics like the Rode NT5 ($429) or M5 ($200) you’d need a microphone preamp to give them phantom power. Microphone preamps can be $$$. I’m not aware of any "cheap" ones but B&H might point you to one. The advantage of the Zoom H4n Pro and similar recorders is they have XLR inputs and onboard "decent" preamps.

For recording concerts and posting them to the Internet Music Archive after doing some postproduction work on the files, I record with a Zoom H4n Pro but use external mics. I have the Rode NT5 stereo pair (which are generally fine) but usually use my nephew’s older but slightly more detailed bass response AKG-391 mics.

If I were younger and had the money, I’d pop for some Schoeps MK4 and a SoundDevices recorder with great onboard preamps.

Note that these Zoom and Tascam and Sony digital recorders can do a lot more functionality than just recording two-channel audio but don’t let that phase you. You won’t need to worry about all that "other stuff". Recording is fairly easy.

I see you got a Tascam X8. I suggest the $200/pair Rode M5 as a low-cost microphone solution that should be fine for your use case.

One "issue" I have with YouTube audio demos (other than it being lossy) is that the posters very rarely (if ever) state how loud they are driving the speakers, so you don’t know if they are played at low volumes (75dB) or are being pushed to higher, more stressful volumes (90dB and above) so it makes gaining any useful knowledge from the demo questionable. Have fun.

@OP +1 to Moonwatcher's post above. The Tascam has 48V phantom power so you can use external condensers with it. However, as above, you will be limited with the quality of the mic pres. Good recommendation on the Schoeps Mk4. If you were going into that territory but wanted to spend less, a pair of AKC C414XLS's are pretty neutral as well - about a third less price wise than the Schoeps. That's with due respect to the fact that I think it would be overkill for the chosen application.

@moonwatcher great suggestions. Honestly the recordings I did at home with my blue yeti in stereo mode were pretty solid for what I want and if I could just mimic this in a portable setup I would be happy. I thought the tascam built in stereo mics would mimic that quality but its a step down from the blue yeti imo.

Do you think the rode m5 or nt5 would be a step above the built in xy tascam mics ?

@smodtactical you’d have to check but both Amazon and B&H offer a good 30-day return policy I think, so you could order the Rode M5 matched pair for $200 and give them a shot compared to the onboard mics (and the Yeti). Get some cheap but decent microphone shock mounts too and a "stereo T-bar", so bass doesn’t get transmitted to the mics via your stand and cause "muddy" sound or even picking up nearby footfalls on the floor.

You could send them back if you thought they weren’t a significant step up over the onboard mics.

I know a girl who used the $200 Rode M5 mics in a set up and would stream audio and video via her phone of shows done by the band Spafford on Soundcloud. Even with the digital compression going on to mp3 files or whatever they used, it sounded OK to listen to. The NT-5 mics are $429, so not sure at this point if you want to spend the additional $$$. Be careful. Recording is a rabbit hole that will draw you in and never let you go.

The Sony PCM-D10 is an awesome portable recorder with excellent built-in microphones.  Also great for digitizing vinyl up to 24/192.  Built like a tank. And right within your budget.  I use mine to record live concerts and recitals, sometimes using external microphones for large ensembles.

Thanks for the recommendation...looks like a nice compact piece.

OP, you might consider renting a pair from a Guitar Center or the like, and they might make a recommendation of what may work for your efforts....
....or do the Amazon 30 day tap dance.... ;)

Shows over I ended up just sticking to the tascam due to lack of time. Recordings were ok. Will post a link when I get my video up. For next year though I definitely want a better setup to give more of a sense of being there at the show.

I saw in 1 of sound sommeliers videos (ns5000 vid) in his reflection it looked like he had a omni lav mic (im guessing a pair) on curve stiff mic attachments attached to his camera.

@moonwatcher not a bad idea. Now that I have time I can experiment with whats good.

Listening to my recordings I am getting a sense that they were good at picking up sounds close up.. the direct sound but not ideal for the room and getting the room reverb and low end... in that regard even my rode video mic was better to some extent.

@smodtactical ​​​as @asvjerry mentioned, you can rent mics from Guitar Center and try several, but their selection is limited. While I like my Rode NT5 matched pair just fine, (for $429), if I had to do it over again, I'd likely have moved up to about the $1000 price point and got some Beyerdynamic MC930 Cardioid mics. Those have a long history in old forums like DATHEADS as being very linear sounding. 

Ironically, for what I do (recording live concerts) a slightly "bright" mic having a +3dB or so bump at 10,000 to 12,000 Hz can help mitigate the "hollow" sound of a large room, but the Beyerdynamic is more linear. 

A bit of history:  Mics were intentionally given a slight boost in the "presence" range long ago when recording was analog such that airiness wasn't lost, but now with digital recording, that isn't as necessary.   Enjoy recording, enjoy listening.