It’s time to revisit our Samson Q2U assessment in 2024. Can this widespread entry-level mic nonetheless combine it with the modern-era heavyweights? Let’s discover out…
Ask any podcasting group or group for microphone suggestions, and also you’ll usually hear the Samson Q2U being touted. Actually, we did simply that in our 2024 Podcast Gear Survey…
That’s no shock, both. There are a number of good the reason why you may want one. Actually, that’s why the Q2U seems in our Best Podcast Microphones article and can also be one in all our high advisable best value-for-money mics.
Query: But what about the Blue Yeti?
On this Samson Q2U assessment, I’ll take a better have a look at these causes and see whether or not they’re related to you and your individual podcasting setup.
A fast heads up that we use affiliate hyperlinks to services and products we predict you’ll discover helpful or attention-grabbing. We might earn a small fee do you have to select to purchase via them, although by no means at any additional price to your self!
Samson Q2U Evaluate: Who Would Use It?
The flexibleness of the Samson Q2U throws the doorways proper open right here. It doesn’t matter what form of podcast or content material you could document, it is a sturdy, reasonably priced, and helpful microphone.
It’s additionally a mic that you simply’ll discover within the recording setups of podcasting veterans and novices alike. It may be a part of the best setup, working instantly into a pc, or a closely customised one involving mixers and digital recorders.
What Makes the Q2U Nice?
Being a dynamic microphone with a cardioid pickup pattern, it’s ideally suited to choosing up vocals whereas rejecting a lot of the sounds round and behind it. The Q2U does a greater job of this than many different dynamic-cardioid mics.
It additionally performs properly with dealing with noise. It’s at all times preferable to mount your mics in a growth arm or stand, nevertheless it may be simpler to stroll round holding the mic in the event you’re doing a little on-location interviews. The one mic I’ve used that ‘handles’ higher than the Q2U is the Shure SM58.
The place Would You Use It?
No matter what microphone you’re utilizing, it’s at all times good to document your podcasts in a quiet, sound-dampened room – except you’re going for a field-recorded “within the second” impact. Nonetheless, the Samson Q2U is fairly forgiving of less-than-ideal recording situations.
To rephrase the query, there are only a few locations the place you couldn’t use it. Simply remember to monitor your recordings always by plugging some earbuds into the Q2U’s headphone jack. That approach, you may decide up on environmental audio points the second they occur, versus whenever you get house and cargo your audio into your pc.
What Sort Of Recording Setup Fits the Samson Q2U?
That is the place the microphone actually shines. While most different microphones have both a USB cable to plug into your pc OR an XLR cable to plug into your mixer or recorder, the Q2U has each. This provides you all types of flexibility when recording your podcast.
In the event you intend on utilizing an interface to podcast, and one thing breaks, you may swap to USB and document instantly into your pc. Likewise, if you’re on the highway and have your microphone with you, there’s extra probability of discovering a setup to accommodate it if you wish to do some recording on the fly.
This is among the causes it’s a fantastic newbie microphone. You will get began with the minimum setup, recording through USB. However as you develop, maybe getting a digital recorder or mixer, this mic will develop with you. Stick this right into a high-level audio interface with top-quality preamps, and also you’ll discover the audio high quality ramps up because of this.
Having each a USB and XLR connection means you may even document via each concurrently. In the event you’re doing an essential interview on location and are petrified of one thing breaking, it is a comforting security web to have in place. You may also use this twin performance to help you when doing a remote interview.
The Q2U is an actual Swiss military knife of podcasting, becoming nearly any context you may throw at it.
What Does It Come With?
That is determined by whether or not you get the mic by itself or as a part of a bundle. You should purchase the Q2U as a part of a ‘Podcast Pack‘ and get
- A desktop/desk mic stand and growth arm
- A set of stereo headphones
- XLR and USB cables
- A pop filter and foam windshield
- A cleansing package for the mic and its equipment
However even in the event you purchase the mic “by itself”, you’ll get your XLR and USB cables, a desk stand, and a foam windscreen!
How A lot Does It Value?
You possibly can buy the Samson Q2U for about $70 or get it as a part of a Podcasting Pack for about $130.
Samson Q2U Evaluate: How Does It Sound?
Listed here are a few sound samples I’ve recorded for you. They had been initially recorded for our Best Budget Mics roundup, and have segments of a studying from Beatrix Potter’s darkish horror basic Peter Rabbit.
Samson Q2U as USB
Samson Q2U as XLR
The XLR model was recorded right into a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB audio interface. I’ve utilized no post-processing, normalisation, noise-reduction, and so forth, to the recordsdata.
Samson Q2U Options
When considering of Samson Q2U options, we will have a look at it in 4 other ways.
- Mics which can be in the identical worth vary
- Mics which can be comparable in look, construct, operate, and price
- Mics that join through each USB and XLR
- Mics which can be technically superior
On Value Level Alone
In the case of price alone, there aren’t a tonne of mics on the market you can decide up for $90. The Blue Snowball is cheaper however nowhere close to pretty much as good. The Shure SM58 is barely dearer however doesn’t have a USB possibility.
On Look, Construct, Operate, & Value
There’s little or no in it between the Q2U, the ATR2100, and the Maono AU-HD300T. I’m going into extra element within the submit I’ve linked to, there.
XLR/USB Combo Mics
The aforementioned ATR2100 and Maono AU-HD300T do each. Then there’s:
Are There Higher Mics Than the Samson Q2U?
It might be too good to be true in the event you may purchase the world’s very best vocal mic for $70.
You possibly can fork out upwards of $200 to purchase a premium vocal mic able to recording audio at the next stage than the Q2U. It is a nice possibility when you’ve got the funds, the studio, and the mic method to get the very best from it. However for the overwhelming majority of podcasters, spending that a lot merely isn’t essential.
Blue Yeti Vs Samson Q2U
The Blue Yeti topped our podcast mics ballot in our 2024 gear survey, so is it a greater possibility than the Samson Q2U? The reply is a complete no. The Yeti can work properly for podcasters, if used the best approach, nevertheless it’s…
- Dearer than the Q2U
- Much less versatile (USB-only)
- Doesn’t sound pretty much as good
- Simpler to make use of incorrectly
I can consider no potential scenario the place I’d suggest you purchase the Blue Yeti over the Samson Q2U!
Samson Q2U Evaluate: The Abstract
Out there for around $70, this mic helps you to document through USB or XLR. On high of that, it has pretty much as good a sound high quality as any in its vary. These elements make it arduous to look previous the Samson Q2U when shopping for your first podcasting mic.
In the event you’re beginning a podcast, don’t but have a microphone, and have a restricted funds, the Q2U is a wonderful possibility.
Its simplicity, versatility, and equipment make for unbelievable worth. It’s the mic we suggest to folks probably the most right here at The Podcast Host, and we use it loads, too.
It’s value reiterating that there are just a few comparable choices available on the market, from the ATR2100 to the Maono AU-HD300T, and remember to test our present listing of the best podcast microphones available on the market in the event you’re nonetheless trying to store round a bit!
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