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The No products found. is designed for musicians, but it can also work great for podcasters. This dynamic mic sells for only $299, and its sound reproduction is better than the Heil PR40.

Why spend money on a good mic?

Your podcasting microphone is the best investment you can make for your podcast. The principle of “garbage in, garbage out” starts with your mic. A bad microphone produces bad audio that is hard to enhance. But a great microphone will produce high-quality audio that you won’t have to fix.

Hot signal from RE320

The first thing you may notice from the RE320 is that it’s louder than most popular podcasting microphones. This means you can turn down your input gain and decrease the risk of line noise.

Positioning with an end-fire microphone

The Electro-Voice RE320 captures audio from the end, not the sides. So it’s best to speak 4–6 inches away from the mic.

If you have to turn your head, pivot around the mic so that you voice is always in front of it.

I recommend positioning the mic slightly off-axis, about 45º to your right or left, to prevent your plosives from hitting the microphone.

Built in pop filter

Plosives are the pops of air that come especially from the consonants T and P. Unlike most other microphones, the RE320 and RE20 have a built-in pop filter that does a good job preventing these plosives from being in the recording.

If you still get plosives with the mic slightly off-axis, then I recommend the [aff text=”Popless Voice Screens VAC-RE20 Pop Filter” model=”vacre20″].

Variable-D for reduced proximity effects

Electro-Voice’s exclusive Variable-D effect reduces or prevents tone changes when you get extremely close to the mic or far away. This was most impressive compared to the Heil PR40 and Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB. Both of those mics had a serious drop in quality as little as 8 inches away, but the RE320 and RE20 both still sounded great.

Kick Drum Switch

The RE320 has a kick drum switch that drastically changes the dynamics of the microphone. It’s almost like two different microphones in one.

Off (right)—great for voice

• Flat frequency response at 45 Hz – 2,9 KHz
• -2 dB at 3.2 KHz
• +5 dB at 4 KHz – 18 KHz

On (left)—kick drums or specialized uses

• Frequency response extended down to 30 Hz
• +2 dB at 100–150 Hz
• -4.5 dB at 380 Hz
• +4 dB at 2.8 KHz
• +7 dB at 4–5 KHz
• Remaining frequency response up to 18 KHz

More accurate sound than the Heil PR40

The Electro-Voice RE320 is $299, which almost the same cost of the Heil PR40 ($300–$325). Since testing the RE320 and RE20, I’ve discovered just how much of a bass boost the PR40 gives. The PR40 also tends to make sharper S sounds.

If you want to spend $300 on a mic, I recommend the Electro-Voice RE320 over the Heil PR40 as you’ll get a much more accurate sound.

Recommended accessories for RE320

• [aff text=”Heil PL-2T overhead boom arm” model=”pl2t”]
• [aff text=”Electro-Voice 309A suspension microphone shock mount” model=”309a”]
• [aff text=”Popless Voice Screens VAC-RE20 Pop Filter for Electro-Voice RE20, RE27, and RE320″ model=”vacre20″]

RE320 vs. RE20, PR40, and ATR2100-USB

• RE320 is louder than all other dymanic mics.
• Both the RE320 and RE20 sound great even 8 inches away.
• Side rejection is almost the same on all mics, but the RE320 made the background noise a bit more “tinny.”
• Both the RE320 and RE20 reproduced voice the most accurately.

Equipment used in this video

• [aff text=”Electro-Voice RE320 dynamic microphone” model=”re320″]
• [aff text=”Electro-Voice RE20 dynamic microphone” model=”re20″ link=”re20″]
• [aff text=”Heil PR40 dynamic microphone” model=”pr40″]
• [aff text=”Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB dynamic microphone” model=”atr2100″]
• [aff text=”Canon Digital Rebel T4i DSLR camera” model=”t5i”]
• [aff text=”Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM Lens” model=”sigma3014″]
• [aff text=”Heil PL-2T overhead boom arm” model=”pl2t”]
• [aff text=”Behringer X1832USB mixer” model=”x1832usb”]
• [aff text=”Zoom H4n digital recorder” model=”h4n”]
• [aff text=”Joby Gorillapod SLR-Zoom minitripod with BH1 Ballhead” model=”gorillapodslr”]
• MacBook Pro (Amazon.com | B&H | MacMall)

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