[geeks] Better quality microphones for computer use

[Jonathan Groll]

I'm looking to buy a better microphone for general voice recording at
home, especially since the el-cheap-o headset type microphones are
prone to hum, buzz and picking up computer fans. The primary use case
would be google chat, but it's not impossible that it will get used
eventually for annotating screen-casts.

So, I'm looking for something with a cardioid directionality and don't
care if it's dynamic or condenser, and it will always be used with the
computer. Also, hopefully NOT a headset, but with a little stand,
however if there are compelling reasons why it should be a headset
please explain. 

I've heard good things about the Shure SM58-X2U Cardioid Dynamic
Microphone($187 from Amazon with a X2U XLR-to-USB Signal Adapter) ,
but it is a little outside my price range and may be overkill for
simple google chat.

Other alternatives I'm thinking about:
- Behringer C-1U USB (condenser), full podcasting kit with stand and
USB device for approx. $99 on ePay.

- Audio-techinca AT-2020 USB model - guess a full kit with stand will
be about $150.

Any recommendations? 

Cheers,
Jonathan

P.S. Another thing, I'm only looking at those microphones that come
with their own USB input, but if it'll be cheaper to get a source of
phantom-power and mixer/sound card/pre-amp/what-have-you, I'd like to
know.

--
jjg: Jonathan J. Groll : groll co za
has_one { :blog => "http://bloggroll.com" }
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