Mics with smaller diaphragms are better suited to picking up higher frequencies. The mic's diaphragm is the membrane, coil, magnet combination we encountered earlier.
For example, if you tend to host in-person interview format podcasts, you may consider looking for a bi-directional cardioid pattern mic. You need to be familiar with the needs of your particular podcasting setup and go from there. This will influence your range of choice and narrow down exactly what kind of dynamic mic you’re looking for. While dynamic mics don’t need an external power source to work, condenser mics do.īefore you consider any other factors, you need to know how much you’re willing and able to spend on your mic. Because of their high sensitivity, audio recordings can be vulnerable to distortion, increased rate of popping, and more. Remember that condenser mics may be too sensitive for some content creators. Condenser mics are typically found in studio, sound-treated environments and are used a lot for vocal work. On the other hand, Condenser mics are more sensitive and can pick up on small and nuanced sounds. Dynamic mics are better for loud & live situationsĭynamic mics are well-suited to live performances, especially with loud sound sources such as drums that you want to record. This causes a change in the voltage, and this is how the mic mirrors the sound into audio. When a sound wave hits the mic, it causes the diaphragm to oscillate back and forth. A capacitor has two metal plates (a diaphragm and a backplate) suspended closely together with a voltage running through them. While condenser mics work using a ‘capacitor’. Dynamic & Condenser mics convert sound differentlyĪs we saw earlier, dynamic mics convert sound into audio using electromagnetism. Though both dynamic and condenser mics carry out the same function, there are striking differences in how they work and their best applications. What's the difference between dynamic and condenser mics? Ribbon mics are, by comparison, much more delicate and have to be handled carefully. What this does is magnify or multiply the output. To compensate, ribbon mics contain what’s known as a step-up-transformer. This is because it has only one conductor (the aluminum foil) versus the whole coil. That said, ribbon mics also have a lower output. But they’re different from moving coil mics because ribbon mics contain a piece of aluminum foil instead of the membrane and coil contraption.īecause the aluminum foil is comparatively lighter and more delicate than the membrane and coil combination, ribbon mics are said to produce higher-fidelity audio, because they can replicate the sound waves with more precision. Ribbon mics also use electromagnetism to convert sound into audio. Moving coil mics are generally quite sturdy and robust, and don’t require a power source to work. This kind of mic converts sound into audio in that when a sound wave hits the mic, the membrane (and therefore the coil) starts to move, creating voltage on the coil, which then becomes audio. A magnet surrounds the coil and membrane. A moving coil mic consists of a coil attached to a membrane. Moving coil mics are the most popular and commonly used type of dynamic mic. There are two main types of dynamic mic: moving coil mics and ribbon mics. A dynamic microphone is a type of microphone that converts sound waves into audio (so an electric signal) using electromagnetism.