Audio-Technica AT2020 Cardioid Condenser Studio XLR Microphone, Ideal for Project/Home Studio Applications, Black

I have to say I am SHOCKED at how good the quality is for the price on this microphone. Background : I don't work in "the business" or anything. I am a bit of an audiophile (I know good sound when I hear it), but am admittedly NO expert on these things. At one point in my life, I was an on-air voice, and my father was life-long on air. I know a fair amount about audio quality. That said, I never made it my career as my dad did. And so I know more than the average person, but FAR less than the experts. I do have a high-end Neumann, but as I don't have day-to-day need of these things, that requires a bit more preparation to use. I wanted something a little easier to deal with. I have to say I was VERY PLEASANTLY impressed with this microphone and without need of any additional amplifier. Included shock mount isn't super robust, but also not cheap plastic or anything. Definitely serviceable. It does the job nicely. I do not have a "quiet room" ... just my office with a laundry room not that far down the hall. For my test, the microphone did pick up some background from the laundry room, but that was as expected, and to be honest, FAR better than it could have been for a condenser. Overall sound quality was buttery. I'm not that great explaining tonal profiles. I'll leave that to someone that knows those things. But my baritone voice came very cleanly. Microphone picks up nice bass notes, if you have a higher pitched voice, you may want to see someone's review that more aligns with yours. No real setup required on my Windows 11 PC. Plugged it in, went to sound settings and set "Microphone 2020" as the active profile to use, and boom it worked. I did have to bump up the input volume on my PC, it defaults to 50% which was ludicrously low leveling. Excellent product. I LOVE THIS THING.

IM SO SORRY BUT THIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE MIC EVER UNLESS I UPGRADE because this mic is so POWERFUL and I mean this mic could pick up the sounds of ants talking. I've never been exposed to such a powerful mic. Yes like they said YOU GOTTA TURN YOUR GAIN UP but once you get that to the level you want THERE IS NOTHING THIS MIC WONT PICK UP. I could leave this mic laying in the livingroom and still hear everything its picking up from the bedroom even if a bug walked across the bed this mic is sure to pick up that frequency. I've used this mic to PROFESSIONALLY RECORD MY OWN MUSIC and the way it makes me sound is so great its pleasing to my ears and CRYSTAL CLEAR. I love the power of this mic and I highly recommend it and will be purchasing another to have as a BACK UP. Just make sure when you are using it to turn on your PHANTOM POWER. This mic requires 48V or what most know as PHANTOM POWER to work correctly as stated. So other then that this is a great product and if you dont get it your missing out. I think everyone doing something professionally should have at least this mic. ENJOY

Condenser mics are usually super sensitive which can sometimes cause lots of problems when you go cheap. The AT2020 and the rest of the line swerve this issue by just being less sensitive than usual. This makes them good all-rounders that are less prone to background and room noise while still retaining the detail and clarity that condenser mics are known for. Any model of AT2020 is plenty of mic for amateur podcasts, youtubing, broadcasting, streaming, homebrew voiceover work, home recording etc etc. For any professional recording work that feeds your family, especially singing, you probably are looking at other/better mics to begin with. Though this mic IS intended for vocals and should be quite decent for singing if it's set up right. There's nothing wrong with it, but it's basically intended for amateur/beginner usage. As for the USB+ version it's intended to fill a pretty specific niche. For anyone looking at a Blue Snowball/Yeti, Various Generic Mics, Gaming Mics, etc, this is a great alternative from a very trusted audio-centric brand. I already use a few different mics for my amateur studio stuff but I needed something that would interface with my main PC directly for gaming, video calls, some minor recording stuff, etc. USB is limited to what you are able to do with your PC. If you understand the limitations and you know what you want to do, there's nothing wrong with the USB version of this mic. However if you are trying to do anything more serious you probably want the analog XLR version and a separate external interface. A few tips to get this sucker working at its best. 1) GET A MIC BOOM. These mics capture best from the side(or direct front if you will, as opposed to the end) and suspended as opposed to standing on a solid surface. So a full boom mount that lets you suspend and position the mic properly will make a big difference. 2) FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS AUDIO GET A SHOCKMOUNT. Even though these are on the less sensitive end of condenser mics they're still very prone to vibration, floor noise, etc. Microphonics if you will, haha. Even a very cheap cage-style shockmount will negate a LOT of this. Things like vibrating hard drives, footsteps, and movement noises will carry through to this mic. The more suspended and disconnected it is from the room the better. 3) GET A POP FILTER. Any sort of pop filter will make an immense difference with these mics due to their sensitivity. I prefer the foam stretch-cover styled ones because they have a very slight noise cancelling effect, preventing far away noises from picking up so clearly. Most importantly though pop filters prevent plosives. 4) DO SOME ROOM TREATMENT. It doesn't need to be much. Just a couple cheap 12 packs of foam panels will do 99% of the job. There is no magic "one-size-fits-all" trick for acoustic panels. In my computer room I treated the wall immediately behind me and the wall immediately in front of me behind my speakers. It prevents a lot of room reflections outright and will likely also improve your speakers if you are a music person. Overall this is a cheap but capable mic that can be used for a lot with enough prep. It is definitely not a toy mic and is the real deal. A lot of currently HUGE professional artists got their start with an AT2020.

Really nice sound, lows, mids, highs are crisp, great build quality, heavy duty. Full metal case. very good noise rejection off axis, great value for money.

I will have two reviews on here, the "Basic Review For Beginners" and the "Audiophile Review." I will also have a section after the basic review that talks about the required equipment you need/should buy/obtain and hopefully already have (unlikely) to properly utilize the microphone. -Basic Review For Beginners- The AT2020 (XLR) Cardioid Condenser Microphones is perfect for beginners and newbies! The AT2020 is a good starter microphone but perhaps not the best, but it will still give you your money's worth, not to mention Audio Technica is an internationally trusted brand. For the use by beginners, amateurs, and 'some' semi-professionals (not really recommended for that last category) who are looking for a budget microphone for use in making music, podcasting, and voicovers it is a good condenser microphone. Also, if you get this, it's a sensitive piece of technology. Be careful with it and do your research, trust me. -Equipment Information- You will need/have to buy additional equipment to use this. Now this is not the company trying to screw you over (except not providing you with an XLR cable, that's just rude). Buying any XLR Microphone requires that you buy equipment to go with it so it can properly function. You are entering the peripheral of the world of professional recording, congratulations, it's expensive. The equipment needed is as follows, assuming you have a computer, you better have a computer... 1. Three-Pin XLR to XLR balanced cable. This is usually the standard (most common) XLR cable used and found. One end will plug into your mic and the other must plug into our next item... 2. USB Audio Interface and/or dedicated mic preamp MUST HAVE 48V PHANTOM POWER FOR MIC TO OPERATE. The XLR plugs into this and then the interface plugs into your computer via USB. Most interfaces already have 48V switchable phantom power so don't let this disuade you from purchasing this mic. I recommend doing a little research on interfaces before making a final purchase. 3. Mic Stand - You need somewhere to put your mic, period. Make sure you get a stand with the right size grooves or whatever that term is. Recommended/You Really Should Buy This Equipment: (If you're using this mic and you want the best possible sound and/or you're doing it semiprofessionally, I highly recommend buying the following) 1. Pop Filter/Windscreen - This prevents something called "plosives" from distorting or peaking your audio, it makes it sound better. Certain consonants seem to be picked up by the mic very easily and create an uneven listening experience so pop filters can almost completely fix this. Almost any different brand pop filter would do, they're very generic, common, and inexpensive. When I mention pop filter, in that I also mean windscreen. They do the same thing with the tiniest of already minor differences. I've seen these things referred to as pop filter, windscreen, recording shield, sound absorbing foam cover, foam mic cover, acoustic filter, pop screen, pop shield, mic screen. Any of those and/or any combination of any of those words and you've found it. They all do the same thing with very minor differences. If you really wanna know the specifics, google. 2. Headphones - I would get studio headphones for mixing because most headphones have enhancement features that change the sound while studio headphones provide an accurate representation of the sound, being designed to have a flat frequency response. The headphones I use are Beyerdynamic DT 770 Studio 80 Ohm which is the exact same as the DT 770 Pro 80 Ohm except the Studio says "Studio" on the side instead of "Pro." I wanted to feel special, leave me alone. Also, the Audio Technica ATH-M40x are really good. Now! For those of you curious about how the AT2020 compares in the ears of an audiophile, listen up... -Audiophile Review- • Condenser microphones by nature are more sensitive, but on the spectrum of condenser microphones the AT2020 is on the less sensitive end. • It can handle loud sounds without distorting. • The self noise (the noise the microphone makes by simply operating) is a little too loud in my opinion. It's 20 dB(A) which is on the louder side of professional condenser mics. Most are around 15-19 dB(A) I would say and that's pretty good. For some reason that one extra dba kills me. But I'm an audiophile and I notice things like that. • This isn't an audio thing but it's durable and that's nice. Now don't go throwing it against a wall or intentionally dropping it for that will most likely break it. • Only use it in a studio and/or controlled and/or low noise environment. It's not meant to be a stage microphone meaning not live performances. This isn't a critique but a tidbit of information. • It's quite sensitive to handling noise, so try not to touch it while recording. Buy a shock mount to reduce noise from the floor! • Please god soundtreat and soundproof your rooms, there is a difference. • It struggles with plosives and you could move the mic further away to combat this, but you would need the mic closer to combat the high self noise but that would make plosives worse, so this is paradoxical... Pop filter I guess but even then pop filter only reduces the plosives so much. Don't get me wrong, pop filters can get rid of (my personal guesstimate based on experience being) around 80-85% which is good. • Mic struggles with sibilant sounds but that's a little complicated for me to explain so... Google. • Has very midrange audio specs so you do you. OVERALL: Not bad... If you're willing to shell out a little more money for something better because you want to go professional, and you're 100% sure, then go ahead. But if you're unsure and this is you dipping your toe in the water, go ahead and buy the AT2020. It's pretty good for a beginner mic. Just please don't buy USB mics, those make me sad. Self noise is my biggest personal complaint. Plosives really aren't that bad though there are others that say different, I disagree, just get a pop filter. Pop filters or windscreens should just be mandatory requirements for owning a mic. Also, it's interesting how they don't provide you with an XLR cable, it's kind of just a common courtesy, one they don't extend. Overall, not bad.

It's really very clear and good.Do it

Have been using this microphone for 5 years. Never once had an issue with it. Cord length is a good length pretty long for my needs. Connectivity is very easy as you just need to plug it into an amp like GOXLR. Volume control is based on the mic is more the amp and mixers job. Functionality is great never once had a complaint that my mic was bad.

Great mic. Clear, clean vocal recording. This is the second one that I've had; I run it through a Scarlett interface, and get quality vocals for my music.