Microphone setup for Monitors & Headphones

Gaming Audio Casual
1

I’m looking to upgrade my microphone setup. I currently use a Shure SM58 (I use it for music recording) on a boom stand but it’s not ideal for a lot of reasons, including the fact that I have it connected to a Steinberg UR44 which is quite limited in terms of the amount of gain I can get.

The nice bonus with this mic however is because it requires me to be very close to it to pick up audio, and it has a narrow cardiod pattern, I can use either my Edifier S2000s or my headphones when I play and it doesn’t bleed through to the people I’m talking to.

I’d really like to be able to keep that “feature” in whatever I get next. The idea of an inline mic to add to my Focal Clear/HE-4XX seems intriguing to not have a boom in my face while I play, but I have to imagine that audio quality would be nowhere near as good as a standalone mic and it obviously wouldn’t work if I wanted to use my speakers.

I don’t really have an upper budget, but I do like good value for money. A huge bonus would be a mic that could also serve duty for singing or guitar, but I really don’t expect that or need it.

2

I also use a SM58 with an audio interface. I added a FetHead for extra gain although I’d probably get a Cloudlifter if I had to do it all over again purely for ergonomic reasons.

3

As your SM58 does “work” too, have you considered getting a pre-amp or channel strip to put between it at the UR44?
DBX 286s or ART Pro ChannelI come to mind.

Sound Quality and pickup pattern will be rather expensive to achieve with headset or lavalier mics.

Could “DIY” a stand from 3/8" parts like the K&M 21440 and some extension pieces to get hight between the joint and desk.

Edit: Forgot to ask, how do you power your headphones?

4

I power my headphones to a THX 789 an the 789 and Edifier’s into an EL DAC.

The Fethhead/Cloudlifter is a good idea. I was actually going to buy one a year or so ago for music recording purposes but forgot all about it after the pandemic since I wasn’t recording much anymore. I’ll probably try that first and see if I can get a swivel mount for my boom stand that may let me put it a little more out of the way.