Audio Technica AT2020 Cardioid Condenser Microphone

I have never used a microphone before. I wanted to see how I sound. My voice is rusty, crusty, and not very trusty. This microphone does its best to flatter what little vocal talent I have. With the standard Garageband settings I have some compression and other stuff including a bit of echo. It sounded like I was in a hallway somewhere. I tried a bit of singing (the last song I heard), andsometimes I hit the right note, other times I ran out of phlegm and my voice disappeared, but overall it wasn’t too horrible. Ext I talked and it actually sounded OK. I went close to the mike with no booming, and I backed off, but then my weak voice got even thinner. Well, not weak, but not as masculine and commanding as the voice in my head. My voice is soft but has some ... MoreI have never used a microphone before. I wanted to see how I sound. My voice is rusty, crusty, and not very trusty. This microphone does its best to flatter what little vocal talent I have. With the standard Garageband settings I have some compression and other stuff including a bit of echo. It sounded like I was in a hallway somewhere. I tried a bit of singing (the last song I heard), andsometimes I hit the right note, other times I ran out of phlegm and my voice disappeared, but overall it wasn’t too horrible. Ext I talked and it actually sounded OK. I went close to the mike with no booming, and I backed off, but then my weak voice got even thinner. Well, not weak, but not as masculine and commanding as the voice in my head. My voice is soft but has some substance, and is quite clear when I concentrate. There is an intimate quality which is quite reassuring. When sitting next to a stranger on a train or at a social event, that stranger will often tell me their life story and we will become friends quickly. I would like that quality to come through a microphone, and I think the AT2020 achieves that. Money well spent (plus it was the only decent mike my local store had at a price I could afford. No regrets.

A legendary microphone

The sound quality is really good and it is very sensitive. The review asked if it was lightweight but Im not sure why that matters. Its a solid mic that weighs what a solid mic should weigh. This is one of those products that everyone kinda agrees you cant go wrong with. Using it for music vocals in a room with acoustic foam and its working out great.

Good Option for Singing Drummer

I play both guitar and drums in a geezer jam band that gets together weekly for fun. As I do all the vocals, singing behind the kit posed some problems. I was using an SM58 mic. However, when recording there was significant drum and cymbal bleed into the mix. The Audio-Technica AT2020 has all but eliminated that issue. The biggest benefit was somewhat of a surprise. The clarity and quality of my voice is much improved over the SM58. This is especially noticeable on the playbacks.I realize there are far more expensive condenser microphones one could purchase, but for my situation, the AT2020 fits the bill.

Great Microphone!

Design: A nice solid mic with a nice size recording diaphram on it, with screen around. When I was looking at the profile of the mic, I wondered if I really needed the dials for mixing my headphones, but it is a very cool feature that allows you to adjust your headphones for just the right mix of track and your vocal while you are recording. (at first I got this weird echoing but adjusted the track dial down and vocal dial, and it disappeared andnice to have the control). Another feature I like: is the sensor touch mute button in the front…the center of the microphone lights up red when muted, and blue when active, with barely a touch, it can be changed while recording & very handy!! Sound Quality: The sound I am getting, with several different styled songs, is a ... MoreDesign: A nice solid mic with a nice size recording diaphram on it, with screen around. When I was looking at the profile of the mic, I wondered if I really needed the dials for mixing my headphones, but it is a very cool feature that allows you to adjust your headphones for just the right mix of track and your vocal while you are recording. (at first I got this weird echoing but adjusted the track dial down and vocal dial, and it disappeared andnice to have the control). Another feature I like: is the sensor touch mute button in the front…the center of the microphone lights up red when muted, and blue when active, with barely a touch, it can be changed while recording & very handy!! Sound Quality: The sound I am getting, with several different styled songs, is a very present and clear sound (which is what I wanted; to sound like I am closer to the listener.). The Lower entry notes, that can easily get lost, get picked up and finding that I can record at a higher DB level, without overloading the mic. Since I can do that, I feel more relaxed while recording, like there is more ease in what I am doing. Comes USB-A ready to plug in and use, plus includesan adapter to USB-C which allows you to plug into an Ipad, (I use Garageband ios). It comes with a stand, which I positioned and strapped onto my tripod which is my mobile recording set-up. (Since I never saw the light-up detail anywhere, I am including a photo lit-up so you can see the mute light feature.) I recommend this mic for home recording. Good Value!

Great hardware, but plagued by unfixed driver issue

The microphone itself is excellent. Unfortunately, there's an issue with the driver (or potentially the hardware) where it's sporadically recognized as a USB Input Device by the host OS, and constantly sends the "Media Next Track" keyboard event. This has been consistent for me across multiple computers and operating systems.When this issue pops up, it causes a variety of issues for other software running on your computer. Any application that detects mouse hover by checking for the absence of keyboard events while the mouse is stationary will fail to detect hover (VSCode is one example). And of course, applications that listen and respond to mediaTrackNext will have problems.This is especially problematic because your computer will give you no indication that ... MoreThe microphone itself is excellent. Unfortunately, there's an issue with the driver (or potentially the hardware) where it's sporadically recognized as a USB Input Device by the host OS, and constantly sends the "Media Next Track" keyboard event. This has been consistent for me across multiple computers and operating systems.When this issue pops up, it causes a variety of issues for other software running on your computer. Any application that detects mouse hover by checking for the absence of keyboard events while the mouse is stationary will fail to detect hover (VSCode is one example). And of course, applications that listen and respond to mediaTrackNext will have problems.This is especially problematic because your computer will give you no indication that the reason that things aren't working is your USB microphone. I've talked to a number of people who have completely rebuild their machines or reinstalled their operating systems to try to fix their applications randomly not working.There's an obscure fix on Windows involving disabling the erroneously detected USB Input Device from within the Device Manager (Hardware IDs USB\VID_0909&PID_001C&REV_0100&MI_03 and USB\VID_0909&PID_001C&MI_03), but I'd wager that very few people realize that their computer issues are in any way related to their microphone.Audio Technica support has been documented as being aware of this issue for years, but just suggest that you unplug the microphone or use a different USB port when the issue pops up. Months of unplugging my microphone and having to scramble to find the cable when I get a work call before I found the Device Manager fix were very frustrating.If you're comfortable disabling devices in device manager, the microphone itself is actually great, but I definitely wouldn't recommend this device to anyone without fully cautioning them about the headaches that this major issue causes.

Solid choice for Streaming and Voice recording!

My experience with AT professional microphones, and conference systems at work influenced my decision to purchase an AT2020 for my hobby. I knew the phantom power requirements so was not offput by that requirement. The sound response is excellent on both lower frequencies (Bass) midtones and higher frequencies (Treble). Adding a RNNoise filter in OBS (to remove some ambient fan noise from a switch near my desk) was all that I needed to record crisp clear vocals. Response is excellent for both my masculine and my wife's feminine voice profiles. This mic is a solid choice.

Top Notch Gear

I have been using a M.I.C. off brand something-or-other condenser microphone for a few years. It was okay, sounded fair but the shock mount wouldn't fit on any stand I had (too loose and wouldn't thread) as a result it would often flop around and I had to finally tape it. My headphones were of the Amazon variety and finally gave out leaving me with nothing but a pair of old Sony on-the-ear headphones. Great for listening to music from your iPhone but not doing serious recording. As a podcaster and musician, it was time. So, being a guy on a budget that needed stuff, I saw this. I've always like audiotechnica gear so I thought "How bad can it be, gotta be better than what I got". Well.... let me tell you. I am overwhelmed with joy on how good this thing sounds, how ... MoreI have been using a M.I.C. off brand something-or-other condenser microphone for a few years. It was okay, sounded fair but the shock mount wouldn't fit on any stand I had (too loose and wouldn't thread) as a result it would often flop around and I had to finally tape it. My headphones were of the Amazon variety and finally gave out leaving me with nothing but a pair of old Sony on-the-ear headphones. Great for listening to music from your iPhone but not doing serious recording. As a podcaster and musician, it was time. So, being a guy on a budget that needed stuff, I saw this. I've always like audiotechnica gear so I thought "How bad can it be, gotta be better than what I got". Well.... let me tell you. I am overwhelmed with joy on how good this thing sounds, how great and solid the mount is and how clear the headphones are. No more fumbling and shuffling things around on my desk for a place to put my mic. Now I just reach over and pull it over on it's articulating mount. I sounds spectacular and I can't even begin to wonder what the hell I was thinking not getting this setup sooner than I did. As always, Sweetwater delivers a great package. Thanks guys!

Upgrade your sound game!

Superb build quality and excellent sound. USB version is easy to use just plug & play, doesn't require anu mixers etc. Instantly recognised by Windows and works straight away without the need of any software installation. I use it for voiceover tracks for audio and it's definitely improving the quality of my work. The only downside is that is very sensitive to 'plosives' so a pop filter is a must.

Worked amzingly, until it didn't

I bought this microphone for mostly amateur voice-acting and streaming and chatting with friends, and when I plugged it into my laptop for the first time, it was working flawlessly. My voice was clear and the low-end frequencies were present and I didn't mind the self noise it had tbh.But the very next day, I plug it in and it sounds awful (both on the monitoring and recording on my PC) the low ends are basically gone and it sounds like a tin-can or a blue yeti mic used by a five year-old. I tried changing the settings in windows and uninstalling the drivers to no avail.And that problem happened on day one as well, but I fixed it by unplugging and replugging the microphone.I have contacted Audio-Technica on twitter and I hope they can help me with this beacause ... MoreI bought this microphone for mostly amateur voice-acting and streaming and chatting with friends, and when I plugged it into my laptop for the first time, it was working flawlessly. My voice was clear and the low-end frequencies were present and I didn't mind the self noise it had tbh.But the very next day, I plug it in and it sounds awful (both on the monitoring and recording on my PC) the low ends are basically gone and it sounds like a tin-can or a blue yeti mic used by a five year-old. I tried changing the settings in windows and uninstalling the drivers to no avail.And that problem happened on day one as well, but I fixed it by unplugging and replugging the microphone.I have contacted Audio-Technica on twitter and I hope they can help me with this beacause the microphone itself has potential, but not that much, especially with my situation.If I can edit this review later down the line, I will give an update after I get a response from AT.

what a surprise

I had the mindset, if a mic cost more it had to be better. I was hesitant to purchase the AT2020, but a friend said I would not regret it. I am just buying the AT2020 to record my lap Dobro for recording. This mic caught me by off guard!! The clarity is great I was using a mic three times as much as the AT2020. Well, This has been a well earned lesson. READ THE REVIEWS!! Great mic. Doug