Best Budget Microphones for Professional Sound
Looking for a professional sounding mic on a budget? See our top picks in this article.
Is it possible to record professional-level audio with cheap microphones costing a fraction of the price of professional models? — Yes.
As a fellow budget seeker, I wanted to find the answers to these questions for myself. I did a lot of research and found several hidden gems on the market costing a fraction of the price of professional microphones.
Read on as I share what I learned with you, or click here to jump straight to the results.
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Best Budget Cardioid: Audio Technica AT 4021
Best Budget Omni: Audio Technica AT 4022
Best Budget Shotgun: Sennheiser ME66/K6
What Makes a Microphone Professional?
Before I could begin my search for budget microphones that preformed like the pros, I had to understand what made a microphone “professional” in the first place.
I conducted my research on SoundCloud. I follow many professional field recordists, and most share what gear they use in their track descriptions. Click here for my SoundCloud and who I follow.
After reading through lots of recording information, I formulated a list of popular microphones that were used by many recordists. They are as follows:
Sennheiser MKH 8040 (cardioid)
Sennheiser MKH 8020 (omnidirectional)
Sennheiser MKH 416 (shotgun)
With the results in, I then asked: “What do these three microphones have in common that makes them popular amongst professionals?”
Quiet
All three of these microphones are exceptionally quiet. All microphones produce noise when they are powered on. This noise is called “self-noise,” and is often listed under the microphone’s specifications.
If a microphone produces a lot of noise, it will be audible in the final recording as a white-noise, hissing sound. This hissing detracts from the quality of the recording and can be very annoying to listen to.
For this reason, it’s no surprise that professionals use microphones that produce very little noise.
I researched the self-noise levels for each of these three mics and found that they ranged between 10-13 dB-A.
These levels are exceptionally quiet and sets the bar for our budget picks. To get professional sound quality, our budget microphones will have to come close to these self-noise values.
RELATED: Lowest Noise Microphones Chart
In Pairs
The second thing the professional mics have in common is that they’re used in pairs. Stereo sound sounds the most natural to us because that’s how we hear. Our ears work together to create a stereo image of our surroundings.
To replicate this while recording, two microphones are necessary; one for the left-ear, and one for the right-ear.
This is easy to replicate with our budget microphones, we simply will buy two of them.
Sennheiser
All three professional microphones are manufactured by Sennheiser. Sennheiser microphones have dominated professional sets since their revolutionary design of the MKH 416 microphone in the 1970s.
This mic was so good in comparison to its competition that it was exclusively used in top-tier production work. To this day, the MKH 416 is one of the most popular shotgun microphones in the field.
This status made the name “Sennheiser” synonymous with “professional,” and employers even required you to own a Senn to land the job.
Sennheiser’s cutting-edge research and development has lead to their continued success and popularity with professionals.
However, there are competitive microphones on the market extremely similar to Sennheiser specifications for a fraction of the cost, and that’s exactly what we’re after.
Expensive
The thing that really jumps out when looking at these three microphones is the price tag. The cheapest model costs $999 for one and we need two of them for stereo sound.
It is this price-point that has led many to wonder if there are cheaper alternatives that can still get the job done.
Sennheiser MKH 8040 (cardioid)
$2,400 (pair)
Sennheiser MKH 8020 (omnidirectional)
$2,500 (pair)
Sennheiser MKH 416 (shotgun)
$999 (single)
Best Budget Mics for Pro Sound
Best Budget Cardioid
Audio Technica AT 4021
The Audio Technica AT 4021 is the second-quietest cardioid microphone on the market at 14 dB-A.
The Sennheiser MKH 8040 is 1 dB quieter at 13 dB-A, but costs significantly more ($1200 for a single mic).
Besides being extremely quiet, it has great functionality offering both a high-pass filter and -10 dB pad switches.
The features and price of the AT 4021 make it the best value cardioid mic on the market.
14 dB-A self-noise
80 Hz high-pass filter switch
-10 dB Pad switch
Cheaper Cardioid Option
Rode NT5
The Rode NT5 cardioid mic also provides good cost-to-performance value.
It is even cheaper than the AT4021 and offers similar performance, although it is noisier at 16 dB-A.
This is still very quiet and won’t be noticeable in all but the most demanding recording environments.
If the AT4021 is above your budget, the NT5 is a solid option.
Most affordable option
16 dB-A self-noise
Best Budget Omnidirectional
Audio Technica AT 4022
The Audio Technica AT 4022 matches the extremely low self-noise of the Sennheisers at just 13 dB, while costing 3x less.
Besides being extremely quiet, it has great functionality offering both a high-pass filter and -10 dB pad switches.
The mic also includes a microphone stand clamp, windscreen, and a protective carrying case.
13 dB-A self-noise
80 Hz high-pass filter switch
-10 dB Pad switch
Best Budget Shotgun
Sennheiser ME66/K6
The Sennheiser ME66/K6 offers the performance you’d expect from a Sennheiser, but at a price you won’t believe.
At only 10 dB-A self-noise, there is no compromise in performance in comparison to Sennheiser’s flagship models.
It is made of two parts. The ME66 is the actual shotgun microphone, which fits into the K6, the power supply.
The K6 takes 12-48V phantom power, or can be powered by one AA battery. This allows you to use the ME66 with field recorders that don’t support XLR mics via a 3.5mm/XLR converter.
10 dB-A self-noise
80 Hz high-pass filter switch
Final Thoughts
After thoroughly researching this topic, I’m quite happy with the budget mics I was able to find. Professional sound is available for many beginner and enthusiast budgets, you just have to do your homework. I hope you learned something from reading this article.
If this article helped you to reach a decision on a microphone, please consider purchasing through the links on this page. If you do so, Amazon will pay me a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for helping support my passion :)
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-Jared
