“I’ve been thinking of starting a podcast” – we’ve all said it. Well, if you’re serious, Pavel Barter checks out the best kit on the market to get started.
Sennheiser Profile USB Microphone
Streaming Set
There was a period a few years ago when everyone and their mum became a podcaster, telling lame jokes and bragging about their pie-making skills. It’s a shame Sennheiser’s USB microphone kit wasn’t around then. You don’t need snazzy software, expensive interfaces or posh equipment to record your mindless meanderings on this set-up. Plug it into a Windows PC or Mac via a USB cable and waffle until the sun rises.
The streaming set comes in two (affordable) configurations: €199 with a boom arm and €129 with a table stand. We tried the former. The arm fastened neatly to the back of the table and tilted neatly towards the sound source – i.e. my gob – without any wobble or rattle. Setting up was a dream. Plug the 1.2m USB cable, which comes packaged with the device, into your laptop and start recording.
Sennheiser are the OG bosses of the microphone metaverse but with their debut USB mic they kept it simple.
The microphone, a cardioid condenser, has three physical controls: Gain Control to adjust the level of the mic; Mix Control to balance the microphone with your device’s audio; and Volume Control to monitor your headphone levels.
There’s also a mute button with an LED ring that lights up when the microphone is on hold. The 3.5 mm headphone and USB-C output are located on the back of the capsule.
How about the audio quality? Get in close and the microphone has close-to pristine quality: a little tinny, perhaps, but that can be fixed with post production EQ. Furthermore, there is no discernible handling noise from the boom arm if you adjust its position when recording. As can be expected from Sennheiser, the sound is cleaner than a nun’s cassock.
9/10
Vocaster One Studio
Vocaster One Studio
Focusrite
Lift the lid on Vocaster One Studio to find an (off season) Santa’s sack for aspiring podcasters. This bundle, which nudges the €220 mark, includes a set of Focusrite headphones, a Vocaster DM1 microphone, and an interface: a middleman between your imaginings and a hit podcast. An XLR and USB cable, which plugs direct to your device, connects the dots.
Vocaster has an intuitive set-up. The interface features two dials: one for recording levels, the other for headphone monitoring. Beneath the dials are three buttons. The first is an Auto Gain that sets your vocal levels. Push the button, start talking, and Vocaster does the rest. The middle button post processes your voice to one of four presents: Clean, Warm, Bright, Radio. The third mutes your mic.
LED lighting alerts you to your adjustments – and turns red when in mute mode – so you can operate in the dark.
The packaged microphone and headset are perfect for spoken word content, but you can swap them for industry standard equipment. We tested the Vocaster with a Sennheiser 416 shotgun mic and the recording was pristine.
The kit covers most eventualities for budding broadcasters. Connect your phone to the interface to record conversations or play music, and YouTubers can send audio direct to cameras. Vocaster’s box of treats comes with Hindenburg Lite – rigorous editing software that falls between the free Audacity and ultra-pricey Pro Tools.
You also get six free months of Acast Influencer to publish your podcasts.
Noticeable for its absence is a second XLR interface for in-studio guests. This is a feature on Vocaster Two, which costs around €344 and includes Bluetooth compatibility.
9/10
HD 300 Pro headphones
HD 300 Pro
Sennheiser
Monitoring your podcast recording in real time is the best way to catch accidental gaffs and burps and avoid social media shaming. Without a decent set of cans as a podcaster, you’re on a road to nowhere.
Sennheiser HD 300 Pro is a close runner-up to our favourite industry standard headphones: Audio-Technica ATH-M50.
Equipped with a leather cover and foam padding to adjust to your cranium, the design is robust – weathering the onslaught of travel and time – and can be folded to fit in an airplane carry-on bag.
Despite the lightness of these headphones, the audio isolation is great.
Quibble time. The HD 300 Pro’s removable cord is around six feet, but could be a little longer for musicians who plug into mixing desks while manning drum-kits, or podcasters who wheel across the room to grab digestive biscuits mid-podcast.
7/10
