The apogee hype mic is small but mighty!
A microphone that travels well and has a great sound!
How do I know this?
I am a voice-over actress, and as such, I had two problems while gearing up for my relaxing summer vacation last year.
1 - If I wanted to do any auditioning, or pick-ups, I would need to have the capability to record.
2 - I was invited to speak at WOVO’s virtual International Panel discussion in the middle of my vacation, and I wanted to ensure that my sound quality was excellent.
As my French husband was already irritated that I would be working during our vacation, I decided to try a USB microphone instead of lugging my entire recording studio with us.
I did some serious searching on the internet and saw the video that Joe Cipriano created with Apogee; I decided to give the Apogee Hype Mic a try.
You can find the video here:
Then the expected happened!
We were in Paris one night before our plane would wiz us away to the warm Island of Sardinia when I received a panicked phone call from one of my clients.
They needed me to re-record their entire video and deliver it within 2 hours because they had a last-minute script change.
I informed them that YES, I could record, but I would be using my travel Apogee Hype Mic and not the usual Neumann U87.
They agreed!
So in the Montmartre apartment, I created a tent with a blanket and shimmied under it with my Apogee hype mic & my laptop.
I was impressed by the result, and the client was thrilled.
You can listen to the "tent" apogee recording here:
Did my microphone sound great during the virtual conference?
Besides the slow internet connection and the room resonance (I couldn’t control either as I was in a hotel), I was pleased with the sound quality.
Here is a short clip from the webinar for you to hear for yourself:
Things I love about this microphone:
- It comes with a case that has everything you need inside: a mic stand, pop filter, cables, and the microphone itself.
- You can plug your headphones into the microphone to get real-time feedback.
- The levels meter is nice to have.
- It can be used on Android devices, Apple devices, and Windows devices, which is a real plus.
- The quality is excellent! 24-bit/96kHz.
- Easy to use! Plug and play.
- Perfect size for traveling.
Things I don't love so much:
- The microphone stand included is not very sturdy and doesn’t stay in place very well, so when I use the Apogee hype mic at home, I prefer to use my K&M Table Microphone stand.
- The cables that come with it are a bit short. I understand that this is to save space inside the case, but if you need to record a bit further away from your computer, keep in mind that you will need an extension cable.
One last note:
I don't use the compression feature during my recordings or meetings, but it is an added feature that is unique! You can check out the apogee website here!
I wish you happy recordings, and I hope this was valuable for you.
This article was written by me: Stephanie Matard.
I am an English-speaking voice actress that lives and works in Europe.
If you are interested in my voice for your project, you can listen to my demos here.
Have a wonderful day!