Today I review a new USB dynamic mic from Audio Technica, the AT2040 USB. This is a plug and play device with a great mute button, a headphone volume control, mix dial to mix zero latency monitoring and computer playback, and a high pass filter. It offers a very upper mid/presence forward sound that can sound a bit artificial. It's not my favorite sounding, but for plug and play simple to use devices, if you don't care much about the sound, it's pretty great.
Buy the Audio Tehnnica AT2040USB (Affiliate Link)
Amazon: https://geni.us/at2040usb
Sweetwater: https://sweetwater.sjv.io/at2040usb
B&H Photo: https://bhpho.to/3ps3Acc
Thomann: n/a
NOTE (FULL DISCLOSURE): As an associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info check my FAQ page links below.
RECORDING SETTINGS:
Conversion: 24-bit / 48kHz
Computer Level: 40%
Boosted in Post: +4dB
SPECS:
Polar Pattern: Hypercardioid
Freq Response : 80Hz - 16kHz
High Pass Filter: 80Hz, 18 dB/octave
Bit Depth: 16/24-bit
Sample Rate: 44.1k-96kHz
00:00 - Intro / Price / Disclaimer
00:26 - What’s in the Box
00:49 - Build Quality / Walkthrough
01:30 - Specifications
01:41 - Polar Pattern Test (Tone / Rotation)
02:04 - Plosive Test
02:18 - Distance Test / Proximity Effect Test
02:49 - Background Noise Test
03:06 - Untreated Room Test
03:27 - Shock Rejection Test
03:44 - Mic Resonance Tap Test
04:00 - Low Cut Filter Demo
04:35 - Mute Button Noise Test
04:49 - Intro to Comparison
05:15 - Behringer XM8500 Comparison
05:51 - Maono HD300t Comparison
06:19 - Samson Q2u Comparison
06:46 - Fifine K688 Comparison
07:15 - Audio Technica ATR2100x-usb Comparison
07:49 - sE Electronics sE V7
08:19 - Audio Technica AT2040 Comparison
08:54 - Rode Podmic USB Comparison
09:28 - Shure MV7 Comparison
09:59 - Shure SM7b Comparison
10:29 - Neumann U87 Ai Comparison
11:00 - Music Test
12:13 - Pros & Cons
13:15 - Overall Thoughts
14:23 - Recommendation
16:28 - Outro