Recording audio for a podcast requires only basic equipment really, but the quality of the audio is very dependent on the quality of the equipment used when recording the audio. Low quality audio turns off listeners, while high quality audio makes for a pleasant listening experience even if the content of the audio isn't that great.

Audio equipment manufacturers like to exaggerate the quality of their products in order to entice the less knowledgeable to purchase those products. If one goes searching on the web, one can find reams of audio equipment advice from "experts" who don't know what they are talking about. Sorting through all of this noise and hype is a frustrating pain in the ass. It is easy to make the mistake of buying equipment which isn't all that good.

My audio recording equipment needs are simple. I record only my voice—no music or other people. This means that I need only a single microphone, no mixer, and an interface to bring the signal from the microphone into my computer. I used various digital audio recorders for awhile, but the quality of the preamplifiers built into even the best of these devices is lower than I want. A good audio interface is better than a digital audio recorder and doesn't tie one to the operating system used in a recorder. I want to use Linux when I'm recording.

I didn't want to take an audio engineering course, so I had to learn via reading and a trial and error process. I now have equipment that enables me to make quality recordings, and I feel comfortable sharing what that equipment is and how I use it.

The most important piece of equipment is the microphone. I currently use the Electro-Voice RE320 dynamic microphone because it gives my voice a nice tone and its performance is almost noiseless. This microphone contains a pop filter and a vibration dampening device which makes it unnecessary to add those items to my setup. The RE320 is a bit bulky, so I have the classic Shure SM58 microphone in my portable audio recording system.

I use the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 USB interface to amplify the microphone's output and then convert it into a digital signal that is transmitted to my laptop via a USB cable. The 2i2 is easy to use, and its fantastic preamplifiers are nearly noise free. I own two of these devices. One is permanently located in my home office, and the other is part of my portable audio recording system.

The cable connecting the RE320 to the 2i2 is a high quality XLR cable. I won't recommend a particular brand of XLR cable since many companies make excellent ones, but it is crucial to use a good XLR cable so that unwanted and annoying noise caused by electromagnetic interference is not picked up by the cable.

Headphones may be plugged into the 2i2 in order to monitor the audio sent to the computer and to listen to audio played by the computer. I use the Sony MDR-7506 professional stereo monitor headphones for these two purposes. These headphones produce a crisp, clean, and even sound that is not distorted by bass or treble effects. The pads used on these headphones decay after some use, but I've replaced the pads with durable pads that are more comfortable than the originals. A wide variety of manufacturers make good replacement pads for these headphones. My portable audio recording system contains these headphones too.

It is best to use a microphone stand or a microphone boom arm to hold the RE320. There are a huge number of choices for these things, so it is easy to find one that is stable and allows proper placing of the RE320 when recording. I have a boom arm that works well. My portable audio recording system has a desktop microphone stand which is much smaller but less flexible than a boom arm.

I need to use high quality audio equipment because my recording space is poor and spending a lot of money to make a good recording space is out of the question. Renting a studio is not something I want to do either. I'm able to mitigate many of the problems posed by my crappy recording space with the equipment I use.

All of my equipment is recording software agnostic. There is software available for the 2i2, but I don't use it. I usually record with Audacity, but I also use FFmpeg for certain special tasks.

I really enjoy making audio recordings with the equipment I've discussed here. I once considered a career in audio engineering, but I was more attracted to mathematics.

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