Gear up your podcasts with these wireless audio devices
Guest Post
Making your podcast sound professional isn’t rocket science, but it does require attention to some aspects that you might be ignoring. You can improve the audio quality of your podcasts by carefully curating your own set of wireless audio devices, with an added benefit of ease of movement.
Headphones
The one thing in your podcast kit you can’t do without is a good quality pair of headphones. Headphones are an important tool when you are podcasting as they give you full control when it comes to adjusting your voice and defining your presentation style. However, a wireless one would give you the freedom to record your podcast with ultimate and reliable mobility.
How to choose the perfect one for you?
The deciding factors for buying your own podcast headphones should boil down to these five factors: sound isolation, comfort, wire/wireless, frequency response, and price.
Sound Isolation: To prevent you from being distracted by the noises in your surrounding, it is important to take the sound isolation feature into consideration. A good pair of podcast headphones block out all kinds of distracting low level sounds like traffic noises, fan rattling, or others. Also, avoid opting for active noise cancellation as it tends to capture noise from outside and invert it inward in order to cancel out sound, but leads to weird compressed audio in finality.
Comfort: You might end up wearing your pair of headphones throughout the day, so you need to make sure the ones you use are comfortable. Big headphone earpads and added cushions are the things to look out for to get maximum comfort.
Frequency Response: You would always want a flat frequency response in order to have an accurate audio playback without filtering in additional sounds, such as increased bass response.
Wireless or wired: If you sat in a studio all day, you would be good with corded headphones and no worries for charging. But if you move a lot or doing podcasts on the wireless headphones will be best suited for your needs.
Price: Notably, the price can vary anywhere from USD 50 to as high as USD 4000 for a decent pair. You can pick one in line with your budget, though the more you invest, the better quality you’re likely to get, which will probably also cover more extended periods of warranties.
Some of the most popular wireless headphones for podcasting are:
Bose QuietComfort 35 Series 2 (QC35), Skullcandy Grind Bluetooth Wireless, Sony XBA-C10IP earbuds, LG Tone Pro HBS-770, Jaybird X2 Wireless, Bose SoundLink II, Anker Wireless Headphones, Sony WH1000XM2, Otium Wireless Sports, Beats Solo3, and BeatsX Wireless, among others.
Microphones
A podcast recorded on a decent microphone sounds relatively more professional than someone blabbering away on a teeny-tiny headset mic. As many podcasts are recorded with people in different locations via Google Hangouts or Skype, a reliable wireless microphone becomes as important as a quality connection. The environment and mic technique play a vital part in how your podcast ultimately sounds. Aso, if Bluetooth capabilities are essential to you, then you look for a system that is compatible.
A wireless microphone allows for much more freedom of motion without and hindrances by cables and cords. A decent wireless microphone can cost hundreds of dollars, but luckily there are a lot of options that are easy on your pockets.
Some of the best wireless microphones to get for podcasting are:
TONOR UHF, Phenyx Pro PTU-5000, Shure SLX2/SM58, Shure PGXD24/SM58-X8, Sennheiser EW 135P G3-G, Sony ECMAW4, Audio-Technica System 10 ATW-1102, Innopow WM333, and FIFINE K025.
Condenser microphone
A condenser microphone is exactly what you need for that extra level of depth in your podcast. It is extremely vital to give a quality edge to your recordings; however, they are not as effective in drowning out room noise. They are good for use in recording studios, especially if it is acoustically treated, and give a richer sound than you’ll get with dynamic microphones. A wireless condenser microphone is perfect for your quiet recording rooms.
Some of the leading condenser microphones you can consider are:
Avatone CV-12, Neumann TLM 102, Rode NT1-A, MXL770, HyperX Quadcast, Samson CO1U, Neumann KM 184, Rode NT5, Neumann U67, and Bock Audio 251.
Digital podcast recorder
Utilizing a digital audio recorder is the best way to record high-quality audio to aid your podcast gain traction. Many podcasters keep a little dictaphone handy when they are out to carry out, to carry out sessions beyond planned recording. You may anytime come across a great guest unexpectedly, and an ideal interview subject can fall into your lap if you have a portable digital podcast recorder handy.
Some of the popular digital podcast recorders you can opt for are:
Zoom H6 6-Track Portable Recorder, Stereo Microphones, Tascam DR-10L Portable Digital Audio Recorder, and Zoom ZH1 H1 Handy Portable Digital Recorder. These are some of the must-have wireless audio devices you should definitely invest in to ensure that you only offer optimal quality audio to your listeners.
Happy Podcasting!
About the Author
Anjali Mishra is a content writer with a knack for all-things-market. She is conversant in all industries, although she writes most passionately about emerging technologies, food and beverage, and the automotive sector. When she is not busy writing, you can either find her reading or Google-ing photos of vintage cars. You can email her or find her on LinkedIn.