Audio-Technica AT2020USB Cardioid Condenser USB Microphone (Discontinued)

First of all here are some important things you'll want to know: | THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS 1) This mic sounds fantastic for the price. You will, however, want to consider the AT2020+ / Plus version if you'd like to hear yourself along with your computer's audio straight through a single jack on the mic. 2) It's plug and play with everything, or at least as close as it gets. If it's got a USB port it's pretty likely that this mic will work. I personally use it with my PlayStation 4 and it requires zero setup. The PS4 instantly recognizes it as a microphone only and not as a mic/headphones combo. | BACKSTORY I love this company and have several of their products at this point (which will come up in this review). With that at the forefront I'll give a little backstory to explain why I got the mic. I devised a super complicated setup with which I can split my PlayStation 4's HDMI to my TV as well as my computer's monitor. I do this with a ViewHD HDMI matrix with 4 inputs & 2 outputs. I can watch the same thing on both screens or separate things simultaneously. With this HDMI 'splitter' I can also have the audio split off through a standard 3.5mm headphone jack which I run into a line level input on my M-Audio Fast Track C600 audio interface using a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter. The reason I do this is because I also have another Audio-Technica mic, the AT4040 XLR, running through this mixer. The 4040 is for recording my voice on my PC, and the 2020 is for voice chat on the PlayStation 4. So to mix it down for you - here's what I end up being able to hear in a single pair of headphones (which just so happen to be Audio-Technica, the ATH-M50): 1) PlayStation 4 audio - via the HDMI splitter above 2) Desktop PC audio (anything playing on my computer) - using the audio interface as the ASIO soundcard 3) AT4040 Microphone - to hear my own voice with no delay and also record to the computer All these things go through my audio mixer's realtime monitoring output, which means there is no delay or 'latency', it's a beautiful thing to hear yourself the entire time you're chatting on PS4 (or any other situation for that matter) for those who haven't experienced it. I'm used to it from recording rap vocals. This is why depending on your usage, you might want to look at the next model up, the AT2020+ which has monitoring built-in. | GENERAL CONDENSER MIC INFO & CLOSING OPINIONS Still with me? I know that was a lot but I wished there was more information similar to this when I was setting this all up. If it helps out one person over the course of the next thousand years, I'll have done my job! In terms of being a condenser microphone, be aware that this has a 'proximity effect,' which is sometimes useful and sometimes not. It's basically the idea that if you're very close to the mic, your voice will sound very much like you're broadcasting on the radio - deep and punchy. If you're farther away, you're going to sound that way - distant and quiet. Also be aware that you'll probably want a pop shield to reduce 'plosives' like that burst of air when you say P's and B's. Essentially all mics will need that plosive control. Like I said, I'm a big fan of Audio-Technica and their products have always been of the highest tier in terms of quality. I've never needed to contact support but I'm confident they'd be as awesome as the products themselves. Big recommendation for AT here from me. Good luck!

I had used the XLR version with a 42 channel mixer at my technical school. It worked quite well and I figured that I wanted one for myself. At that point, I did not know that a USB version existed. When I realized that I could use the same mic with my computer, I ordered it as soon as possible. The mic works great with my Acer Aspire V5 which I upgraded with an additional 4 gigs of RAM running Windows 8. That being said, the mic's preview latency was off by a considerable margin, even with the amount of processing capabilities that my computer has. It was instantly recognized by Audacity [and Ableton]and the gain controls inside Audacity were well enough for my needs. The mic is very sensitive. My intended use for the mic was for voice over and reading purposes but I once found the occasion to use it with Skype. It worked, but easily picks up the noise that a computer can make. If the fan turns on or you click your mouse, you will hear it. For studio and professional purposes this is no problem however, for no other noise making devices would be used in the same room or studio. And as always the saying 'we'll just fix it in post' applies. Again, this is only for close sounds, a car going by outside of my room would not be audible. With the mention of foreign sounds, I would like to state that this mic is perfect for correction. By that I mean that audio recorded with this mic can easily be filtered and noise removed with close to no distortion. The mic carries a warm sound with most voices. I have used the AT2020 to record my friend playing a ukulele and it gave the instrument a smooth, rich, tone. With the audio and sound aside, the mic is built sturdy and fairly heavy. We students have knocked over the XLR version of the mic several times and it is still in working order. The only other problem aside from bad latency that I could imagine is its sensitivity to absorbed sound. Any slight knock or bump of the table or stand containing the mic will clip the audio badly and be impossible to correct in post. The tripod is good enough for my uses but I would recommend purchasing a stand and shock mount to use with the AT2020. For $100 price range, this is the best mic available on the internet that I have come across. I would definitely recommend this mic to anyone. Seriously. ANYONE. This is the best mic for any vocal or light instrumental recording. BUY IT! BUY IT NAW!

The Audio Techinca AT2020 is a great all-rounder! From it's professional and simplistic design, to it's outstanding performance in audio output; this is the best you can find! I have a YouTube gaming channel, (subscribe to it - HeyItsGamingTime), and I am looking to upgrade my previous microphone, (built-in headset), and I found that this product displays the most positive series of reviews, I have yet to discover. I find that this does remove 99% of background noise, (though if you have a noisy hardware, it will be heavily lessened), so this is quite useful for podcast as well as gaming videos. Even thhough, on YouTube, the audio is automatically compressed by the YouTube servers, there is a huge difference in quality; it'll enhance your videos for sure! For Skype and other similar programs, this is still excellent - as it features crystal clear audio whilst keeping a great cardiod pattern. Many popular YouTuber's such as Pewds used this in the past, and have suggested it! Cons: In my opinion, there are a low amount of options added into this microphone, which could pose as an annoyance for some. For example, you can't plug in a headphone in order to monitor your audio; whereas this functionality is available in other microphones such as the Yeti. Also, there are only one pattern of audio; cardiod. This would mean that you can only speak into the microphone, from the front. In other microphones, (mainly Blue products), there are many options such as omnidirection, bidrectional, etc. This would be a nice finishing touch for this microphone. Lastly, there are no options to increase/decrease the gain, (you'd have to purchase a separate audio interface, or you can edit in software), which would be sometimes annoying. But nothing major! All in all, this is a great microphone embodying the most crucial principles concerning a good microphone as well as combining people's need into one great device! This would give off a much nicer setup, encouraging a more professional appearance and performance. You can not wrong this microphone.

Ce microphone est juste parfait, aujourd'hui sa fait env. 2 ans que je l'est et je n'est jamais eu de problème avec lui! Je le conseil à toutes les personnes dans le monde du gaming !

I recently bought this microphone to use instead of my Blue Yeti. As of yet, a few weeks after purchase, it fixed all the downsides I had with the Yeti. - My first big problem with the Yeti was its size. The Yeti is a gigantic microphone and it's very hard to find accessories that can fit or hold its weight (aside from the official ones which, honestly, are overpriced for their quality). The AT2020 is very compact and very light. You won't have any problems finding accessories for it. - My second big problem with the Yeti was its default base. If you don't plan on buying an arm to hold it, you'll be using the default base included with your microphone and the Yeti's base was terrible, picking up any noise that touched the surface on which it rested. The default base included with the AT2020 is much better. It's a simple tripod, but it does the job much better and pick-ups less noise from the surface it rests on. I even managed to fit my Samson SP01 shock mount on it, but it wasn't very stable. If you plan on doing that, attach the tripod to your desk with something. - My final huge problem with the Yeti was its gain. It picked up everything in your room, even at the lowest possible gain setting while speaking directly into the microphone. That's not a problem with the AT2020. While it will pick-up loud noises it won't pick-up everything else, like someone walking behind you or just moving your chair around. This reduction in gain, however, comes at a price: you must speak directly into the microphone, which is around 6-8 inches max as far as I can tell. To me it means nothing since it was already what I did with the Yeti. There's only one downside to it and that's multi-pattern. The Blue Yeti offers a good variety of them (Omni, Cardiod, Bi, and one more I forgot). With the AT2020 you have one: Cardiod. This is the pattern used to record podcasts, and also the pattern used by about every single Youtubers and Twitch streamers that exist. This is a non-issue for me since it was the only one I would have used anyway. If you need a microphone for something else, don't buy the AT2020, you will regret it. - ACCESSORIES RECOMMENDATION: I personally recommend the Samson SP01 shock mount, it fits the microphone perfectly and can hold it upside-down safely if that's how you want it. To use this shock mount you'll need an arm, I personally use the Rode PSA1 but if you're on a budget you can use anything since this is a really light microphone. If you don't want to use a pop filter, consider the MXL WS-002 foam windscreen, it fits the AT2020 like a glove.

El micro es un poco caro, pero es una maravilla. Calidad óptima y de momento ningún problema. Es super sencillo de utilizar, no tiene ni un botón y solo tiene un cable. Es simplemente enchufarlo y usarlo.

Ich habe mir dieses Mikrofon aufgrund anraten eines Freundes gekauft, da ich urpsrünglich damit Musik und gelesenes aufgenommen habe. Dieses Mikrofon hat mich tatsächlich nicht enttäuscht. Es ist einfach hervorragend. + Absolut gute Tonqualität + Klares Stimmbild ohne Rauschen + Einfache Bedienung + Hochwertig verarbeitet Positiver Nebeneffekt: Das Mikro hat bereits zwei stürze vom Schreibtisch sehr gut mitgemacht und keinerlei Schaden davon getragen. - der mitgelieferte Tripod ist meiner Ansicht nach etwas zu klein und verliert hier und da etwas halt, so dass es in einer ungünstigen Position schon mal vorkommen kann, dass das Mikro kippt wenn man blöd dagegen kommt