Review on 🎙️ Audio-Technica AT2035 Cardioid Condenser Microphone: Ideal for Studio, Podcasting & Streaming - XLR Output, with Custom Shock Mount by Pascal Santos

I've had this mic for about 5 months now. It is paired with my Behringer U-PHORIA UMC22. This requires phantom power, by the way, and an XLR cable for those unfamiliar with non-USB mics. So if you're going to get one for your computer, you'll need an XLR to USB interface like a mixer, preamp, or that Blue Icicle thing. I bought it on purpose because I was looking for a larger diaphragm mic with a directional pickup and I just trust Audio-Technica. The frequency response, the warmth it adds to my voice, and how natural my voice can sound with the right mic placement and settings make me really love this mic. You'll definitely need to adjust your preamp/fader settings and your operating system's mic sensitivity settings to get it sounding the way you want it to. But when you do it, it sounds so damn good. Personally, I hold the mic under my chin, about 6 inches from my mouth and pointed straight up. This keeps my breath from getting into the mic, the plosives are almost non-existent and it picks up the more natural frequency of my voice because it's far enough away but not so far that I have to turn up the sensitivity and pick out more background noise . In case you're wondering, I'm using Windows 10, in my audio settings my microphone is set to 80% and my preamp is set to 55%. I also use a compressor with a factor of 15, -17 dB and a noise gate of about -40 dB. I'm a little picky about my mic sound, so I spent many hours researching, testing and tweaking recordings to find out how this mic performs at its best. In general, no quality microphone will sound its best if you don't know what you're doing. That being said, I really can't recommend this mic to people who don't know anything about basic sound setup/engineering, or people just looking for a plug. and play with the microphone. However, if you're willing to take the time to understand how sound works, or you already understand and are looking for a better mic than what you currently have (I did before I bought this one), I absolutely can recommend.