Dan Benjamin's Podcast Equipment Guide, based on his experience as podcaster and founder of 5by5 and Fireside.
I’m Dan Benjamin. I started podcasting in 2006 and went full-time in 2009 when I started the 5by5 Podcast Network.
I’m also the founder of Fireside, a podcast hosting and analytics platform I created to make podcast hosting easy, reliable, and fun.
Find me @danbenjamin on Twitter.
What follows are my recommendations for the best, most reliable, and best reviewed gear for several different types of podcaster (entry level, intermediate, pro, mobile, group, etc.). To make things as straight forward as possible, instead of offering many different alternatives, I've provided just one set of recommended gear for each level, representing my suggestions for the best and most affordable equipment available. My hope is that you find this guide helpful, and that it saves you from making the time consuming and often costly mistakes I've made along the way.
Many of the links below are affiliate links. If you use them when you buy, I'll get a small kick-back, and you will receive my eternal gratitude.
If this guide is useful to you, please consider supporting my work on Patreon.
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I want everybody to podcast, and the lower the barrier of entry into the medium, the better. Fortunately, all you really need to get started is a mic and some headphones. That's good, because most new podcasters out there are hesitant, unable, or unwilling to drop a lot of cash on gear. I was too!
The equipment listed below makes an excellent starting point for most beginning podcasters or those on a tight budget. The mic doesn't need a pop filter, comes with a stand. and the headphones plug in to the mic for monitoring.
| Microphone | Audio-Technica ATR2500-USB Cardioid Condenser USB Microphone | $87.95 |
|---|---|---|
| Headphones | Sennheiser HD 202 II Professional Headphones | $24.50 |
So you like podcasting and are sticking with it, and you want to get a little bit more serious. It's time to upgrade to a dynamic mic, a boom so you can get comfortable, an audio interface, and a set of headphones.
| Microphone | Audix D2 Dynamic Microphone | $109.03 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | Focusrite Scarlett Solo (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface | $99.99 |
| Boom | MXL Mics Professional Articulating Desktop Microphone Stand | $54.99 |
| Headphones | Samson SR850 Professional Studio Reference Headphones | $46.00 |
| Cable | 6 Foot XLR Male/Female Microphone Cable | $7.79 |
Okay, you're serious, and you need some serious gear. This is the best out there, without going overboard.
| Microphone | Heil PR-40 Mic, PRSM Shockmount, PL2T Boom, Cable | $449.00 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | UA Apollo Twin MKII Solo | $699.99 |
| Headphones | Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone | $79.99 |
| Cable | 6 Foot XLR Male/Female Microphone Cable | $7.79 |
| Mute Switch | Pro Co Sound CDSS Short Stop Mute Box (Optional) | $76.53 |
| Power | Furman PST-8D 8-Outlet Power Conditioner Strip (Optional) | $159.00 |
Lots of people have asked me about the ideal mobile rig, something they can take with them when traveling or recording "on-the-street" interviews. This small, portable setup is also very affordable, making it a good budget rig as well.
| Microphone | Shure SM58-LC Cardioid Dynamic Vocal Microphone | $99.00 |
|---|---|---|
| Recorder | Zoom H4N PRO Digital Multitrack Recorder | $199.00 |
| Storage | SanDisk 32GB SD Card | $12.95 |
| Headphones | Sennheiser HD 202 II Professional Headphones | $24.50 |
| Cable | 3 Foot XLR Male/Female Microphone Cable | $6.99 |
If you're in a situation where you would like to record multiple at the same time and in the same location, you'll need to spring for some specialized gear instead of the audio interfaces I listed above. Pick one from the liste below based on your budget. The Scarlett 18i8, the less expension option, lacks a lot of the power offered by the higher end option, but it should work for most budget-concious podcasters.
Even though it's much more expensive, I recommend the UA Apollo 8 if you can afford it. Its amazing range of plugins and the power and time-savings they offer in pre-production cannot be overestimated. This is what we use at 5by5.
| Affordable Interface | Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface | $347.77 |
|---|---|---|
| Expensive Interface | UA Apollo 8 DUO Thunderbolt 2 Audio Interface | $1999.00 |
Recording multiple people at once requires some additional gear.
| Headphone Amp | Behringer 4-Channel Stereo Headphone Amplifier | $24.99 |
|---|---|---|
| Power | Furman PST-8D 8-Outlet Power Conditioner Strip (Optional) | $159.00 |
| Cable | Hosa TRS Balanced Interconnect Cable, 10 feet | $6.45 |
Each in-studio host will need one set of items below.
| Microphone | Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone | $327.00 |
|---|---|---|
| Shockmount | Heil PRSM-B Shockmount | $105.00 |
| Stand | Proline MS112 Desk Boom Mic Stand | $31.99 |
| Mute Switch | Pro Co Sound CDSS Short Stop Mute Box (Optional) | $76.53 |
| Headphones | Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone | $79.99 |
| Cable | 6 Foot XLR Male/Female Microphone Cable | $7.79 |
I hope this guide is helpful to you, and I'd love to hear about your experiences with this and other gear, as I’m always hoping to improve this guide. I’m @danbenjamin on Twitter.
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