Microphones have changed a lot through the years, especially in appearance.
What was once marketed purely towards musicians or other recording professionals, is now branching out into different fields.
The aesthetic of a microphone is usually one of the last things a prospective buyer will look at before committing to a purchase, but in the modern age of podcasts, YouTube, and streamers, what a microphone looks like can be much more important.
So let’s say you’re looking for the best-looking microphone on the market. This can be a difficult thing to find because there are lots of different microphones, all for different purposes.
The one that might be the best looking to you, could be the opposite for someone else.
Even so, in this article, we’re going to take a look at some of the best-looking microphones to give you some ideas.
The Best Looking Microphones
Blue Yeti
This is a favorite for streams, podcasters, and YouTubers because of its great recording quality, understated design, and simple aesthetic.
You can get this mic in three different colors: black, blue, or white.
All three are simple colors that work really well no matter what your studio or room setup is.
Blue Yetis have been the favorite for streamers because of their reliability and how easily they fit into a shot.
That said, the way they look doesn’t do anything new or interesting, they’re mostly just simplistic and go well with whatever they’re next to.
HyperX Quadcast S
Second on our list is the HyperX QuadCast S, the long name should give you an indication of its modern aesthetic.
It looks quite like the blue yeti, but it features a multicolored grille with dynamic lighting that will look amazing on stream or in a video.
Outside of this, it’s fairly lightweight and easy to set up with a USB connection. It also comes in two color options, black or gray.
Blue Snowball
For our second Blue microphone, we have the Blue Snowball. This is a mic that names perfectly describes how it looks – a small snowball that comes in either black or white.
It’s a slightly less impressive microphone technically, but it looks great propped up on a desk and is much lighter than its Yeti counterpart.
Shure MV5
If you like the circular design of the snowball but aren’t quite sold, then this is a great alternative.
The Shure MV5 sports a simple design with a grille for you to speak into. It’s a little more expensive than the blue snowball, but it packs down easily if you need to transport it and there’s something about its simplicity that makes it a great choice.
MXL R77
To start our list of some of the higher-end microphones on our list, we have the MXL R77. There’s nothing cooler than a classic-looking, golden microphone.
While it might not be made of real gold, it looks great in a camera shot and could give your stream/YouTube videos the additional classy flair they’ll need.
Sitronics Orpheus Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone
Another great, high-end option here, and we have a fairly strange-looking mic that you might find impressive depending on your aesthetic eye.
The Sontronics Orpheus Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone is compact and slick with a single metallic color option.
The Orpheus is a great mic if you’re looking for a retro aesthetic, and it also comes in a handy, good-looking wooden box with velvet lining.
Samson Meteor
If you’re looking for another retro option, then the Samson Meteor is a great choice.
Reminiscent of 1950s radio-mic but with a slick retro-futuristic finish, this is a great choice if you want something that looks a little more old-school, without losing any of the simplicity of modern microphone features.
Manley Reference Cardioid Mic
Okay, so let’s say you’re looking for something outrageous, something that will really impress your viewers, or anyone else.
The Manley Reference Cardioid Mic Black is one of the strongest and coolest-looking microphones we could find.
With an all-tube triode design and impressive materials, this mic is worth every penny of its rather large asking price.
We’re not here to talk about the sound quality of a mic, but it’s clear that this is a dream mic in terms of sound patterns.
Avantone CR-14
Finally, we have a tall, tower mic that can be a great choice if you’re looking for something modern and large.
It looks a little odd for a mic, but it’s a good choice if you want something that really stands out on the screen.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it, that was a list of some of the coolest-looking microphones we could find from across the market.
How your microphone looks can be an important thing, but it’s also important to remember that you want to make sure that first and foremost, your microphone is a tool to be used for great sound recording.
You’re going to need to make sure you tick this box before considering how it should look.
However, microphone quality has improved over the years and you’re now able to get great sound recordings without having to spend a lot of money.
We hope that this article has given you some ideas for awesome-looking microphones and that you find the perfect one for you sometime soon.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are The Most Important Requirements Of A Good Microphone?
The most important things to consider when shopping for a good microphone are frequency response, polar response, sensitivity, maximum sound pressure level, and self-noise.
Frequency response refers to the range of sound that a microphone is able to reproduce and its output.
Polar response is the mic’s sensitivity in relation to the angle and direction of where the sound is coming from.
Sensitivity is fairly straightforward, just the general sensitivity of the microphone.
Maximum sound pressure is how much sound pressure the mic can take before waveforms begin to distort, and self-noise is how much noise the microphone creates itself.
If you consider all of these things, you’re likely to find a microphone that works for your needs.
