Audio-Technica AT2020 USB+
Can a studio stalwart dislodge the nu-school streamer mics?
AUDIO-TECHNICA’S got skin in the game when it comes to studio recording. If the Blue Yeti, Razer Seiren, et al are the young upstarts, the modern mic equivalents of The 1975 and Another Sky, Audio-Technica is Beethoven. There’s no doubt the Japanese manufacturer can develop—and has done so many times—a better microphone than currently exists on the gaming market. The question is whether it can gather all that expertise, carry over the pro audio-grade build and sound quality, and package it together into an affordable USB mic.
The AT2020 USB+ represents the company’s second stab at this feat. The original AT2020 took an existing lowprice studio mic and simply swapped an XLR for a USB input for ease of setup. This time, the AT2020 USB+ enjoys an expanded frequency response range of 20Hz–20KHz (the range of human hearing and not a cent more), along with a desktop stand, carry case, and 10-footlong USB cable.
Designed to plug in and start doing its job with minimal fuss, this is a simple mic on the spec sheet. Just one cardioid polar pattern, one mic monitoring input with a volume scroll, and an overall gain scroll. Along with the USB input itself, that’s it for the mic’s ins and outs. That simplicity is mirrored in the visual presentation— no-nonsense gunmetal finish, simple branding below the diaphragm, and a few white icons.
With all that said, it’s an attractive look that conveys Audio-Technica’s studio heritage. The metal capsule itself is satisfyingly heavy and will withstand some heavy knocks without taking damage, and while we wouldn’t recommend dropping it on to a hard floor, it looks as though it would stand at least a fighting chance if it came to it.
Despite the minimal options here—one polar pattern, 20Hz–20KHz frequency response, 44.1KHz/16-bit sample and bitrate recording—the AT2020 USB+ sounds great. There’s a clarity to the high end, noticeable in sibilant consonants when you’re recording speech and in the higher strings on a guitar, which sounds much more expensive than it is. While it’s not the warmest sound out there in the streamer mic market—the Blue Yeti probably still has that accolade locked down—it’s still full-bodied enough to give your Twitch streams a professional easy-on-the-ear audio quality, and to deploy in podcasting or music recording environments.
KEY NOTES
In fact, it might even be better suited to music than capturing conversation. The pickup pattern is fairly broad here, so the AT2020 USB+ pulls in a bit of room ambiance around the audio source. That’s generally for the benefit of the recorded sound, but if you’re clicketyclacking away on a keyboard just behind the mic, you’ll hear some of those mechanical keys, too. It’s only faintly more noticeable than on the absolute best USB mics we’ve tested—the Beyerdynamic Fox and the aforementioned Blue Yeti—but still worth flagging up.
Embrace it as a budget studio mic, though, and you’ll get great vocals out of the AT2020 USB+ and especially sweet acoustic guitar recordings. The paradox here is that if you’re primarily going for music recording, you’ll probably already have an audio interface with XLR inputs, so this mic’s super-convenient setup won’t count for much. So, perhaps it’s best to view this as a very competent jack of all trades, ready to convey your Twitch banter to the masses, and just as happy capturing your one-person album of acoustic Slipknot covers in its/your downtime. All together now: “I push my fingers into my….”
The desktop stand could be better, truth be told, and is easily tipped over, but when attached to a proper boom arm, this is a worth addition to any streaming setup and budget home studio. It doesn’t offer the best outright sound quality, and anyone looking for that should check out the Beyerdynamic Fox, but it does offer a very happy medium.