The finest microphones improve the quality of your voice during professional conversations, recordings, and streaming. After all, the majority of built-in microphones in phones, laptops, and even desktop computers are often terrible, so if you’re concerned about the sound quality of your recordings, you’ll want to acquire something a little more spectacular.
The HyperX SoloCast is currently the best microphone available. In addition to having the highest audio quality we’ve ever heard, it has a ton of added functions that make it worth the money. We believe the Audio-Technica AT2020 is a fantastic choice that includes everything you need to begin recording your voice on your computer, but if you’re a novice, you may prefer a slightly different kit.
Table of Contents
- No 1 Audio-Technica AT2020
- No 2 Fifine am8t
- No 3 HyperX SoloCast
Top 3 Best Budget Microphone In 2025
No 1 Audio-Technica AT2020
The Audio-Technica AT2020 isn’t the best microphone on the market, but it is one of the most affordable. its sound quality is pretty good, and the mic is built durably for the clumsy and those not yet familiar with the world of recording audio.
There are better options out there, some even for the same price, but the AT2020 has perks that might just convince you to give it a shot.It seems like every musician has a home studio these days, but don’t worry if you’re feeling behind the curve.
You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to record your own audio. There are good options out there for getting acquainted with the home recording process, and the Audio-Technica AT2020 just might be the XLR mic for you.
When you first unpack the Audio-Technica AT2020 mic you’ll see the microphone, a padded carrying case, a stand mount, and some documentation.
The stand mount allows you to rotate the microphone 360 degrees, and you can use the hinge to further tweak the position, angling it toward or away from your mouth.
The mount screws directly into the mic which is great for ensuring stability but inconvenient if you lose it — the mic isn’t designed to fit into a standard mic clip. The mount also comes with a 5/8-inch threaded adapter so you can install it on any standard microphone stand.
Pros
- Affordable
- Can handle loud sounds without distorting
- Durable
- Convenient design
Cons
- Need to buy additional equipment for best use
- Sound quality is imperfect
No 2 Fifine am8t
The Fifine AmpliGame AM8T RGB USB Microphone, a premium microphone made for streamers, content creators and gamers. The streaming world has become a very big thing in the last few years and to no suprise, companies are contsantly making new, top of the range products to help make the quality of streaming better.
This microphone is mounted with a boom arm allowing for free movement off the microphone. It can be used for PS4/5, Windows Desktop and Laptop. A pop filter is included for better sound quality and a touch mute feature is added to the back of the mic.
The Fifine AmpliGame AM8T RGB USB Microphone has a sample rate of 48kHz and a frequecy response of 50-16,000 Hz. Lastly, this microphone has RGB! Now lets get into this review in more depth. Once you want to up your game with an XLR setup, the bulky connector will make a boom arm become necessary and the yoke also fits that kind of mic stand perfectly.
With both the 3/8” and 5/8” threads inside the mount, you do not have to find a tiny little box to save the boom arm adapter.
Pros
- High qualiy audio recording
- Multi-function control dial
- USB C and XLR connection
- Touch-senstitive mute
- Easy to set up
- RGB lighting
Cons
- None I can think of.
No 3 HyperX SoloCast
The HyperX SoloCast is slim on features, which isn’t surprising considering its affordable price tag, but it picks up sound clearly, offers a decent amount of background noise rejection, and is easy for a beginner to use. It’s a cardioid mic, but it picks up sound from both in front and behind, which could be advantageous for some users.
The HyperX SoloCast is the mic we expect to get at its price point. It’s a little light on features, as with most peripherals that save you some money, and its sound pickup isn’t perfect.
For example, while HyperX markets it as a cardioid mic – i.e., one that’s most sensitive to sound coming from the direction in which it’s pointed – it picks up sound from both in front and behind, which could either be an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on your recording needs.
While it wasn’t clear if the issue was with the mic or the software, we tested other USB mics at the same time with the same software, and we didn’t have that problem. Once we got the SoloCast working, however, we didn’t encounter any further problems.
Pros
- Affordable
- Audio is fairly clear and clean
- Plug and play
- Travel-friendly
Cons
- Setup a little tricky sometimes
- Picks up vibrations very easily
- Picks up from the back, only a little muffled
Microphone audio patterns explained
Some of the mics on this list offer different options for audio patterns: Bidirectional, cardioid, omnidirectional and stereo. Others offer only cardioid. Here’s a brief explanation of each pattern, to help you decide which one to use:
Cardioid: This pattern picks up audio coming from one direction. This is ideal for a single source speaking directly into the mic, like in meetings or recording voiceovers.
Bidirectional: The pattern picks up audio coming from two directions only. This is ideal for two speakers sitting directly across from one another.
Omnidirectional: This pattern picks up audio from all around the mic. This is ideal for a whole group of people surrounding the microphone.
Stereo: This pattern picks up audio in front of the mic, as well as off to the sides. This is ideal for a musical group, or a panel of speakers facing the same direction.
Please be aware that we may receive a commission if you buy something after clicking on the links in our stories. This helps to fund our work. Thank you for your support and attention. Feel free to look around further to find out more about how these commissions support our work. Top Great Reviews