Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $80.00
Sale Price: $35.95
Today's Bonus: 55% Off

• Handheld dynamic microphone with USB digital output and XLR analog output
• USB output connects to your computer for digital recording, while the XLR output connects with your sound system conventional microphone input for use in live performance
• Smooth, extended frequency response ideally suited for podcasting, home studio recording, field recording, voiceover, and on-stage use
• Built-in headphone jack allows you to directly monitor your microphone output without audible delay
• Cardioid polar pattern reduces pickup of unwanted sounds from the sides and rear
• Dynamic Microphone With Usb Digital Output & Xlr Analog Output
• Usb Output Connects To Computer For Digital Recording, While The Xlr Output Connects With Sound System'S Conventional Microphone Input For Use In Live Performance
• Built-In Headphone Jack With Volume Control

Click Here to Read More Reviews >>

This microphone is quickly becoming a standard for podcasters. It can be used without a mixer or preamp by connecting it to a computer with a USB cable. If you want to use it with a mixer, it also has XLR output. Both the USB and XLR outputs can be used at the same time.

The mic's sound is excellent. The podcaster's microphone of choice and justifiably so is the Heil PR40. It's the one that Leo Laporte uses on his Internet and radio shows. If you can afford a PR40, buy one. However, if you want to save some money and get a fabulous value, buy this mic. It's cheaper than a Shure SM58, a Blue Snowball, or Audio Technica AT2020, and it sounds better.

Buy Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone Now

I bought 2 of these mics to use as guest mics on my podcast and I'm floored by their sound quality. I have a Shure SM7B mic costing 7 times as much as this mic and although I like the Shure a little better, I'm sure that this is because of my investment. The ability to work with both USB and and XLR is another great plus.

The sound quality is amazing for a mic in this price range and in my opinion is equal to other mics costing at least triple the price. Unlike another rater, I haven't had any problems with my mics using the USB or a mixer.

This mic is cheap enough to buy as just a Skype mic, but also good enough to work well with podcasting, and by this I mean head and shoulders over some other cheap mics like the Blue Snowball. Also, because it is a dynamic mic it also cuts down on the background noise.

Please don't feel that this is some sort of starter mic, it isn't. Even for triple the price it would still be the best sounding mic in my humble opinion. Also, my Mackie mixer has no problem powering this mic and does so easily, plus it works great on USB mode.

Read Best Reviews of Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone Here

This Audio Technica mic, the ATR2100-USB, is just kickin'! INCREDIBLE off-axis rejection at 90º for you stage types, almost absolute rear-end rejection. It sounds as good as comparative tests I've heard of the Apogee MiC (all respect to Apogee, a wonderful company) and comes with all the extras: tripod stand, both USB and XLR cables of realistic length, mic clip you can use on the tripod stand or a regular mic stand.

Sound is, of course, the bottom line: What should you reasonably expect of a mic that costs so little? To be shocked, that's what. Excellent sound, slight presence rise at about 2K, peaks a bit higher at 5K. Amazing for around $36 on Amazon, and it sounds better than some AT mics I''ve used that cost a couple hundred dollars; less peaky and intrusive in the high mids. With that more moderate presence boost, it'd likely be super for guitar as well, though I've not experimented with that as yet. Wow! I've run a recording/production suite since 1978, and have worked with many mics costing as much as 30x this price: Neumanns, AKGs, other Audio Technicas, Rødes, Sennheisers, on and on. For my purposes, this $36 mic (at time of my purchase) stands up in this good company as being quite usable, and for voice, perhaps almost in range of some of the best. No, it's not an $8,000 Neumann. It doesn't need to be.

I have no complaints about the excessive noise floor that others have mentioned. Frequency response is excellent, distortion remarkably low. Yes, it rolls off rapidly at the bottom end at around 50Hz, but you're going to be rolling that off anyway most of the time. You may have to look elsewhere if you're recording taiko drums or whalesong. Or maybe not. Thirty six dollars! I keep shaking my head. This feels like a mistake. It compares favorably to the Apogee Mic in online tests, and stands tall against a Røde NT1 I'm using for voice over work in the main studio. I look forward to bringing it into the A studio with its hypercritical speakers and hearing what it can do.

In operation, I've tried it on the Mac with Logic Pro X and on the iPad, using the required Camera Connection Kit, in Garage Band and Meteor. It performed very well. In Garage Band, I was able to listen to the already recorded tracks while monitoring the voice via the ATR2100-USB's integral headphone jack, 1/8". Yup. Playback of accompaniment material with zero-latency monitoring on your voice. Good stuff. On the Mac, I needed to unplug the mic in order to hear playback through my speakers, for some reason; this was not true on the iPad, as plugging the headphones into the iPad jack resulted in playback even with the mic still plugged in. I'll experiment further with Logic may be a Mac thing, or I may just have messed up. Goldberg's Law: "there's always one more button."

So would I recommend this mic? To anyone. If you're cutting a classical violin partita album you'll have to use your own judgment, but A/B tests may yield surprises. I can't speak to longevity, obviously, since this just arrived. I've had some mics I've used successfully for 10 years and more. But for Windows, Mac or iOS recording (latter with the CCK), this is a tough one to beat. Don't even try.

Five stars cuz that's all there are. --BobboGoldberg, 9/1/13

Want Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone Discount?

Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone

I'm a filmmaker that makes tutorials on visual Effects and Graphic Design for Youtube (Agent2018) so I needed something that was clear with no hums or hisses. Something that would sound profession without the professional price, and this is it! I've tried using a ton of different mics but nothing has worked quite like the Audio-Technica ATR2100 microphone. It's clean, clear and easy to connect due to not needing any drivers to install, just plug and go.

The other great things about this mic is it come with all the cables you'll need, a mini mic stand for your desk and a mic holder. The mini desk stand does feel cheap and will probably transfer noise if u tap or bump the desk, but if you get a regular floor stand you should be good. Also, The mic has a headphone jack with volume control for monitoring...AMAZING!

All in all, I would recommend this to anyone looking to get a mic to sing, vlog, do voice overs, podcasts or online tutorials.

Pros:

Great price.

Sound is clear.

Easy set up.

Comes with all the cables.

Separate headphone jack on mic with volume control for monitoring.

Cons:

Mini stand is cheap. (petty, I know. lol)

I work for a company that produces quite a few podcasts, and we needed a bunch of common microphones. Everyone had something different, working with different acoustic environments, etc. I tested a few microphones, and went with the ATR2100, because it is friendly with most rooms, unlike many condenser microphones, due to it's very good off-axis rejection. In terms of signal to noise, it's not the cleanest thing around, and there is a bit of a mid-range peak that is particularly noticeable with my voice, not so bad with others, but that's all taken care of in post-production processing. Fortunately, what noise there is from the mic's internal preamp mostly appears to be preamp hiss, not that nasty USB system bus noise found on far too many interfaces, so it's easy to clean up with multi-band gates, FFT-based noise reduction, and other similar things. Most people don't complain about preamp noise from the ATR2100 in it's default, unprocessed state, and I've certainly seen far worse. The convenience factor makes up for it, anyway.

I've used the ATR2100 on Mac, Windows and iPad, all with good results. I've also used it as a standard analog microphone with a few preamps, ART TPS-II, Focusrite Saffire Pro14, and in-line with a Cloudlifter CL1, and others. Not bad, but not my favorite microphone for my particular voice. That having been said, microphones are incredibly subjective, and a mic that sounds terrible on your own voice may sound great for someone else.