tl;dr: Behringer Xenyx 302 USB Audio Interface + BM700/800/8000, XLR Male to Female.
Seriously though, this is probably the best solution you can get that sports both quality and affordability. Sure, you can go and by the most expensive XLR condenser microphone there is and couple it with a legitimate Audio Interface but that kind of defeats the purpose of affordability, innit?
But I digress. Let me present to you the most cheapest entry level voice recording setup you can possibly get.
First, we have the Xenyx 302 USB. Its a plug and play USB Interface. That's pretty much there is to it. You get the basic functionality of an audio interface and only for around $50 to $60 at the time of writing this. It sports a hybrid XLR/TRS input, zero latency live monitoring, real time equalization, and a 3.5mm audio out and audio in.
What if you already have a gaming headphone that has a built-in mic and don't want to buy a condenser mic? You can just plug the mic jack of your headphone into the 3.5 audio-in and the interface'll pretty much act as if you just plugged something into the XLR/TRS hybrid input!
If you do plan on plugging in an XLR condenser mic on it, there's no need to buy an external phantom power supply because this already has its own! Some people claim it has 15.82v of phantom power going out of its XLR port. But according to my tests, it has a full 48.65v of phantom power flowing throughout its board and its XLR port. It only does pump out 5.24v on the 3.5mm audio in/out, though.
Build quality is decent, at best. It feels sturdy. Most of it is housed in a metal casing but has an exterior case of plastic. Not entirely sure why they chose to do this but it does make the whole thing feel more secure.
To sum up the audio interface:
- Its plug-and-play
- Portable
- You get the basics of an audio interface
- If you're not gaming and want to pursue music, this can help you out alot in recording stuff
- Pumps out 15-48v of phantom power supply, making the need of an external one no longer required as most mics will work for only even 15v
- Cheapest USB audio interface you can literally find. Unless you can find a similar interface that's either second hand or refurbished.
This is great and all but what about the mic?
There are three mics you can choose from. All of them coming from different brands but are pretty much the same. There's the BM-700, the BM-800, and the BM-8000. There's absolutely no difference in sound quality. Just that they all look differently. But if you wan't my opinion, the BM-800 seems to be the perfect one sporting a full metal case and durable build quality. The BM-700 is the cheapest of them all but that also comes with a cheap build quality. The BM-8000 just has the same build quality as the BM-700 but it looks weird at the same time.
So, how much do these mics cost at the time of writing this?
BM-700 - $22.99
BM-800 - $22.99
BM-8000 - $28.99
If you want my opinion, just go for the BM-800. No change in quality than the other two, but you get better build quality. All of them come with a shockmount and a foam cap. Both feel cheap but they do their job well enough.
They also come with this weird XLR to 3.5mm cable.
It works but.. if you really want to get the most quality out of the mic, just grab a cheap XLR male to female, plug it into the audio interface, and throw that horrid XLR to 3.5mm cable in a cupboard or something.
Alternatively, you can plug the microphone straight into your computer. The sound is.. well.. Its alright, I suppose. But it certainly can't beat the sound it has when plugged into the interface. Here's a sample I recorded with the BM-800 plugged straight into the computer's audio-in using the cable it came with VS BM-800 plugged into the interface using the cable it came with VS BM-800 plugged into the interface using a proper XLR cable.
https://instaud.io/private/2adec519d8d59ac76f8a3d4f3563303ad1e170ee
To sum the microphone portion up:
- Get the BM-800 for better build quality.
- Get a proper XLR cable
- Having an interface with an XLR input basically gives you access to pools of branded XLR condenser microphones which are far cheaper yet sonically more superior than their USB counterparts.
Seriously though, this is probably the best solution you can get that sports both quality and affordability. Sure, you can go and by the most expensive XLR condenser microphone there is and couple it with a legitimate Audio Interface but that kind of defeats the purpose of affordability, innit?
But I digress. Let me present to you the most cheapest entry level voice recording setup you can possibly get.
First, we have the Xenyx 302 USB. Its a plug and play USB Interface. That's pretty much there is to it. You get the basic functionality of an audio interface and only for around $50 to $60 at the time of writing this. It sports a hybrid XLR/TRS input, zero latency live monitoring, real time equalization, and a 3.5mm audio out and audio in.
What if you already have a gaming headphone that has a built-in mic and don't want to buy a condenser mic? You can just plug the mic jack of your headphone into the 3.5 audio-in and the interface'll pretty much act as if you just plugged something into the XLR/TRS hybrid input!
If you do plan on plugging in an XLR condenser mic on it, there's no need to buy an external phantom power supply because this already has its own! Some people claim it has 15.82v of phantom power going out of its XLR port. But according to my tests, it has a full 48.65v of phantom power flowing throughout its board and its XLR port. It only does pump out 5.24v on the 3.5mm audio in/out, though.
Build quality is decent, at best. It feels sturdy. Most of it is housed in a metal casing but has an exterior case of plastic. Not entirely sure why they chose to do this but it does make the whole thing feel more secure.
To sum up the audio interface:
- Its plug-and-play
- Portable
- You get the basics of an audio interface
- If you're not gaming and want to pursue music, this can help you out alot in recording stuff
- Pumps out 15-48v of phantom power supply, making the need of an external one no longer required as most mics will work for only even 15v
- Cheapest USB audio interface you can literally find. Unless you can find a similar interface that's either second hand or refurbished.
This is great and all but what about the mic?
There are three mics you can choose from. All of them coming from different brands but are pretty much the same. There's the BM-700, the BM-800, and the BM-8000. There's absolutely no difference in sound quality. Just that they all look differently. But if you wan't my opinion, the BM-800 seems to be the perfect one sporting a full metal case and durable build quality. The BM-700 is the cheapest of them all but that also comes with a cheap build quality. The BM-8000 just has the same build quality as the BM-700 but it looks weird at the same time.
So, how much do these mics cost at the time of writing this?
BM-700 - $22.99
BM-800 - $22.99
BM-8000 - $28.99
If you want my opinion, just go for the BM-800. No change in quality than the other two, but you get better build quality. All of them come with a shockmount and a foam cap. Both feel cheap but they do their job well enough.
They also come with this weird XLR to 3.5mm cable.
It works but.. if you really want to get the most quality out of the mic, just grab a cheap XLR male to female, plug it into the audio interface, and throw that horrid XLR to 3.5mm cable in a cupboard or something.
Alternatively, you can plug the microphone straight into your computer. The sound is.. well.. Its alright, I suppose. But it certainly can't beat the sound it has when plugged into the interface. Here's a sample I recorded with the BM-800 plugged straight into the computer's audio-in using the cable it came with VS BM-800 plugged into the interface using the cable it came with VS BM-800 plugged into the interface using a proper XLR cable.
https://instaud.io/private/2adec519d8d59ac76f8a3d4f3563303ad1e170ee
To sum the microphone portion up:
- Get the BM-800 for better build quality.
- Get a proper XLR cable
- Having an interface with an XLR input basically gives you access to pools of branded XLR condenser microphones which are far cheaper yet sonically more superior than their USB counterparts.