7 Best Mics for Discord to Elevate Your Voice in 2023

The Shure MV7 is an amazing USB dynamic mic for anyone looking for a high-quality microphone for Discord that gives good sound pickup and much better rejection of unwanted background noise compared to most USB mics. It also has a similar sound quality to the SM7B, giving a clear sound quality and a warm tone to your voice despite having a narrow frequency range.

A touch panel interface on the microphone offers control over microphone gain, headphone level, monitor mix, and muting. The best part is there is no noise when operating these touch controls since they do not use mechanical buttons, ensuring there won’t be any awkward bumps and clicks midway through your conversations.

The Shure MV7 has a versatile mounting yoke, adaptable for a wide range of microphone stands, and a stylish and sturdy all-metal design. However, it does not have a rotatable knob on the yoke, which means you’ll have to rotate the entire yoke to remove the microphone from a desktop stand.

The ShurePlus MOTIV desktop application also provides simple real-time audio processing in addition to the simple touch panel controls. This user-friendly real-time audio processing application enables you to tweak various mic settings such as gain, add EQ, compression, and limiter to enhance your audio quality.

You can also save your audio presets, mute the mic and adjust the computer playback mix versus the headphone monitoring volume through the software. Although the app interface is easy to navigate, its processing capabilities can greatly improve your audio output.

The Shure MV7 offers incredible flexibility with its USB and XLR connection. You can simply plug the mic into a computer or smart device through USB for a fuss-free setup. But if you want analog instead of digital recordings for better sound quality, connect it to an audio interface like a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 through an XLR cable. The XLR output gives the option for connecting to other analog outboard gear, like compressors. Also, it is possible to provide audio output to two devices simultaneously using the XLR and USB port.

If you are looking for a superb dynamic microphone with an XLR and USB port for streaming, gaming, or podcasting, the Shure MV7 is certainly the best microphone for Discord.

If you’re keen to learn more, check out our full review of the Shure MV7.

The Rode NT-USB+, being a condenser USB microphone, has a somewhat flat frequency response, giving it a natural sound. The trebles are crisp and clear without sounding artificially colored like a dynamic mic.

Compared to the older Rode NT-USB, the NT-USB+ has a stronger presence boost in the mid and lower frequencies, and this can be boosted even more with the Big Bottom effect, giving you a full, authoritative tone. However, you don’t want to speak too close to the mic; otherwise, its proximity effect will be overwhelming.

The mic’s cardioid pickup pattern does well in isolating your voice while rejecting unwanted noise from the sides and back. The microphone rejects plosives quite well, and attaching its pop filter only slightly improves the rejection. The pop filter does, however, attach very firmly to the ring mount and does not fall out of position easily.

The Rode NT-USB+ excels at spoken applications like podcasting and voiceovers due to its deep and rich tone, which makes it a great USB microphone for Discord. It also does quite well for singing and recording instruments like acoustic guitars.

On the side of the mic, there is a headphone monitoring jack as well as dials for adjusting monitoring levels and mix controls between the system and mic audio levels. These microphone features come in handy when you want to sample the audio or listen as you are recording the mic input and making any fine adjustments.

Lastly, the big question remains, what functions and features have improved since its upgrade from the older Rode NT-USB microphone? Below are the 3 main improvements in the newer NT-USB+ model:

Well, not anymore! Introducing the Elgato Wave:3, the ultimate solution to all your streaming needs. With this USB microphone, you can easily achieve high-quality audio with advanced processing features and seamless control over all your input sources.

You can rest assured that you’ll get good audio quality as the Elgato Wave:3 was developed with the audio technologies company Lewitt.

The Wave:3 is a condenser USB mic with a flat frequency response and a very balanced sound quality compared to other USB mics. It keeps your voice crisp and clear without adding any coloration, there is little sibilance, and the low ends are not muddy. This makes it a great mic for long streams, as neutral-sounding tones are easier on the ears. This also means you will lose a little of the bassy, authoritative tone.

This USB mic has several controls, such as a multi-functional dial at the front adjusting the headphone monitoring volume, gain control and mic vs. system mix. There is also a capacitive mute switch at the top of the USB mic that does not make any clicking sounds when you engage it.

The Elgato Wave:3 is packed with features for streaming, such as its exclusive Clipguard technology. This anti-clipping feature is a real plus for any live streamer who loves screaming or talking in an unbearably loud fashion. It intelligently detects when the mic input is peaking and reroutes the signal to a path with a lower volume, and this keeps the input sound clean without clipping, no matter how much you scream.

The one feature that makes the Elgato Wave:3 stand out as one of the best microphones for streaming is the Wave Link mixer software. This software allows you to mix up to 9 audio input sources (including the Wave:3) in one virtual panel and output the final mix to your headphones and to the live stream.

You can add audio input channels such as a browser playing some Youtube LoFi, your Spotify app playing your favorite playlist, your Discord server for communicating with your teammates, and even a second (or third) microphone for guests on your stream.

The volume for these audio sources can be independently adjusted or muted for your headphones and stream audience. There are also thousands of VST plugins like EQ and reverb that can be added to the input channels to give them some added sound effects.

While the Elgato Wave:3 has so many awesome streaming features, I have a couple of gripes with it.

Firstly, even though the desktop stand that comes with the Elgato Wave:3 provides a quick and easy setup for the USB mic, it is a little too short. A boom arm is a better choice to allow your mic to set up at an optimal distance to your face to reduce background noise. 

Secondly, the body is made of plastic and feels cheap. And lastly, the shock mount and pop filter are sold separately. This is quite disappointing because they fit so well with the microphone that I wish Elgato would throw these accessories into the package at a slightly higher price for the microphone.

But I’m willing to overlook these minor issues, as this is still one of the best microphones for Discord and one of the best equipment for streaming.

If you’re keen to learn more, check out our full review of the Elgato Wave:3.

The Blue Yeti is a great USB mic for many situations, whether podcasting, gaming, or streaming.

When unboxing the Blue Yeti, your first impression is how robust it feels. It is a heavy mic, after all, weighing 1.55kg (including the desktop stand)! The mic looks modern and trendy and comes in 3 aesthetically pleasing colors, with navy blue being the classic color.

The Blue Yeti might not deliver a professional studio-quality sound with its small condenser capsules, but it does offer crisp and decent audio quality. If you’ve ever used a cheap in-built computer microphone, you’ll be thrilled with how much better your voice sounds on this USB mic.

It is still a great USB microphone for Discord, Zoom, or chatting with friends online. Your Discord friends will be floored by how much clearer and crispier your voice sounds compared to the average online chatter. However, you can further improve its audio quality with the right Blue Yeti settings.

One of the key microphone features of the Blue Yeti is its tri-capsule array that allows you to switch between four pickup patterns – cardioid, stereo, omnidirectional, and bidirectional. These pickup patterns are fantastic for switching between recording yourself, two persons, or a group of people which usually requires several microphones. But you would mostly stick to the cardioid polar pattern if you are mostly using this USB microphone for Discord, Zoom, or streaming.

The front of the Blue Yeti has a mute button with an indicator light to show that it is powered on or a flashing light when it is mute. There is also a gain dial and a headphone volume dial.

Another stand-out feature of the Blue Yeti is its audio processing software, the Blue VO!CE software. This powerful suite of vocal effects and modulation tools lets you modify your voice in real-time, giving you endless options to keep your audience and friends entertained. You can choose from EQs, noise reduction control, compression, noise gate, limiter, and even explore presets that make your voice sound like a robot, chipmunk, or classic AM radio announcer.

Plus, the Blue VO!CE software is compatible with any Yeti family condenser microphones (including Yeti, Yeti Nano, and Yeti X) as well as Logitech gaming headsets.

If you’re keen to learn more, check out our full review of the Blue Yeti.

Like many gaming microphones, the biggest impression of the Quadcast S is that it looks stylishly sleek. With the help of its HyperX NGENUITY software, the dynamic effects and breathtaking RGB lighting will add flair to any gaming setup or stream. 

I find that the Quadcast S has a warm sound quality, with a bass response that’s stronger than the Blue Yeti, but the mids and trebles are still crisp with good clarity. And just like the Blue Yeti, it features four polar pattern selections, but if you’re a gaming streamer, you’ll most likely stick with the cardioid polar pattern.

It has a capacitive “tap to mute” sensor that allows the microphone to be muted with a single tap, avoiding awkward broadcasting mishaps. The RGB lights go off when you tap the mute sensor, indicating the mic is on mute.

The Quadcast S has a gain dial at the base of the microphone, which turns smooth, and a headphone jack for monitoring. However, there’s no physical dial for adjusting headphone volume. Instead, you have to use the NGenuity software, which can be a bit of a hassle.

Another great feature of the Quadcast S is its built-in pop filter and built-in shock mount, which seriously adds value to the microphone since these additional accessories often have to be bought separately from the microphone. The built-in shock mount is effective at reducing handling noise, but unfortunately, I noticed that the pop filter is not the best at rejecting plosives.

Another downside is the microphone is very lightweight and might have trouble holding down a boom arm like the Rode PSA-1. And, while the RGB lights are cool, there’s no switch to turn them off, so they’ll always be lit up when powered.

With the HyperX QuadCast S, you know you’ll look great streaming, making it one of the best microphones for Discord to look trendy.

If you’re keen to learn more, check out our full review of the HyperX Quadcast S.

Right off the bat, the XDM-100 looks very similar to the Electro-Voice RE20, so there’s already the weight of expectation for it to perform just as well. The all-metal body is built like a tank, with a sophisticated matte black finish and a touch of modern flair with its red accents.

The XDM-100 is a dynamic mic with a cardioid polar pattern that effectively isolates your voice while rejecting background noise like the keyboard, mouse clicks, and reflections. It also makes sense to compare the XDM-100 with the Shure MV7, which is also a dynamic cardioid mic at the same price.

The Shure MV7 has a brighter tone, whereas the Rode X XDM-100 has more bass and a warmer, mid-forward tone, which can be further boosted to sound more authoritative with the Big Bottom effect. Regardless of how they sound, both microphones have professional studio-quality sound.

In my opinion, the Rode X XDM-100 has the best sound quality of all microphones on this list. Despite being a dynamic mic, the XDM-100 has a very wide frequency range with a natural sound and good voice clarity, and, as mentioned, a strong bass like that of a ribbon mic.

Normally with other microphones, when they throw in free accessories like pop filters and shock mounts, they often look and feel cheap and don’t work well. But this is not the case for the XDM-100’s shock mount and pop filter.

First, the pop filter looks unique and solid with its rubberized casing around the pop shield; it fits snuggly into the mic and rejects plosives very well. The shock mount is the same as the one provided with the Rode NT-1A and is highly effective at reducing shocks and bumps.

Also, if you were to purchase the Elgato Wave:3 together with its shock mount and pop filter, that would set you back at around $220, which is already close to the price of the XDM-100.

There are only a few controls on this USB mic, it has a headphone jack positioned awkwardly away from the mic USB output, a dial for controlling the headphone monitoring volume, and it also acts as the mute button. It does not even have a gain-control dial on the mic, which is unfortunate.

However, the main selling point of XDM-100 is its integration with the UNIFY virtual mixer, a powerful audio tool for streaming and gaming, similar to the Elgato Wave Link.

While all USB microphones can be used with UNIFY, only Rode X microphones (currently only two models: XDM-100 and XCM-50) have access to granular control over the audio processors such as the noise gate, compressor, Aural Exciter™, and Big Bottom™ due to their internal DSP (digital signal processor). With these audio processors activated, you will immediately achieve a deep and rich broadcasting tone for your voice.

UNIFY allows you to mix up to four microphones as well as six audio sources like your browser, Discord, Spotify, your gameplay, and even a gaming console like a PlayStation 5 or Xbox (but this requires additional steps). The mixed audio can be recorded or channeled to various outputs such as headphones, OBS live stream, Discord, studio monitors, etc.

Despite UNIFY’s powerful suite of audio and streaming tools, I’ve heard of too many people who disliked the user experience and encountered hiccups, such as not detecting the microphone properly, the mute button only working when the software is enabled, not having a standard EQ function, etc. And the worst thing is, all the functions of the XDM-100 have to be managed through UNIFY as there are hardly any controls on the microphone.

When paying $249, you don’t expect to face this many software and user experience issues. At least the Shure MV7 works perfectly fine at the same price tag. If not for its buggy UNIFY software, the Rode X XDM-100 would have made it at the top of this list as the best microphone for Discord, gamers, streamers, and podcasters.

The Samson Q2U is a dynamic microphone with a cardioid polar pattern. It is solid, well-built, and looks like the iconic Shure SM58 dynamic microphone.

The Samson Q2U does produce quite decent audio quality, not breathtaking, but good for the price you’re paying. It has a good amount of mids without being too muddy and sounds natural, but it does not have strong bass and lacks clarity in the air frequencies due to its narrow frequency range.

For just $70, the Samson Q2U proves that you can still have a good mic packed with features.

For one, you won’t find yourself staring blankly at a plain XLR microphone, wondering what to do next; it is common for entry-level XLR mics to have no microphone features other than their output connection. Instead, the Samson Q2U is ready to be used right out of the box with its USB output that can be plugged straight into a computer. It also has an XLR connection in case you wish to upgrade your setup and work with analog outboard gears for better audio quality.

Another useful feature is its headphone jack for zero-latency monitoring, with buttons controlling the monitoring volume. It would have been great if there was a way to control the mix between the headphone monitoring and the system audio, but I can’t complain much for something that costs $70.

There is also a switch to turn the microphone on and off, which is very useful for online conferences. An LED indicator light switches between green and red to show whether the mic is active or muted. A cool feature of this indicator light is that it starts to blink whenever your audio is peaking.

All in all, the Samson Q2U is one of the best mics for Discord if you are looking for an affordable, beginner-friendly upgrade to your audio from your cheap PC microphone.