Background noise can ruin an otherwise good recording. You might have a computer fan running beside you, traffic outside your window, people talking in another room, or the constant clicking of a mechanical keyboard. Even a great microphone can pick up some of these sounds if you use it in the wrong environment.
That’s why many people search for a noise-cancelling microphone.
There is one important thing to understand first: most professional microphones don’t use active noise cancellation in the same way as noise-cancelling headphones. Instead, they reduce unwanted sound through directional pickup patterns, close microphone placement, dynamic capsules, physical isolation, and sometimes digital noise processing.
For podcasting, streaming, gaming, and voice recording in an untreated room, a directional dynamic microphone is often your best option.
The Shure SM7B is my favorite overall choice because its cardioid pattern provides good off-axis rejection, while its internal shock isolation, pop filtering, and electromagnetic shielding help control several other types of unwanted noise.
What is the Best Noise-Cancelling Microphones?
Here are eight noise-rejecting microphones worth considering.
1. Shure SM7B – Best Noise-Cancelling Microphone Overall
The Shure SM7B is one of the most recognizable microphones in podcasting and broadcasting. It’s a dynamic cardioid microphone designed for close recording. That combination is useful when background noise is a concern.
Instead of placing the microphone two feet away and increasing the gain, you can position the SM7B close to your mouth. Your voice becomes much stronger relative to sounds farther away.
Its cardioid pattern also rejects off-axis sound with relatively little coloration. But background noise isn’t the only problem Shure addresses.
The SM7B includes internal air-suspension shock isolation to reduce mechanical vibration. It also has an effective pop filter for controlling breath and plosive sounds.
Shure additionally designed the microphone with electromagnetic shielding to reduce hum and interference from computer monitors and other electrical equipment. That’s particularly useful for streamers and podcasters sitting directly beside computers.
The main downside is that the SM7B has relatively low output and needs a microphone preamp capable of providing enough clean gain.
2. Electro-Voice RE20 – Best for Broadcasting
The Electro-Voice RE20 is another legendary broadcast microphone. It’s a large-diaphragm dynamic microphone with a cardioid pickup pattern.
One of its most interesting features is Electro-Voice’s Variable-D technology. Normally, directional microphones produce more bass as you move closer to them. This is called proximity effect.
Variable-D is designed to minimize that effect, helping the RE20 maintain a more consistent sound when the speaker’s distance changes slightly. That’s useful for broadcasters and podcasters who don’t remain perfectly still while speaking.
The RE20 also includes a humbucking coil designed to protect against line hum, a heavy-duty internal pop filter, and an internal shock mount to reduce vibration-related noise.
The result is a microphone that’s exceptionally well suited to close speech recording. It’s expensive, but for professional broadcasting, radio, and podcast studios, the RE20 remains one of the strongest options available.
3. RØDE PodMic USB – Best USB Noise-Rejecting Microphone
Not everyone wants an XLR audio interface. If you want something easier to connect directly to a computer, the RØDE PodMic USB is an excellent choice.
It’s a dynamic broadcast microphone with both USB-C and XLR connections. That means you can connect it directly to your laptop today and use it with a traditional audio interface later.
More importantly for noisy environments, it uses a tight cardioid pickup pattern. RØDE recommends placing it around 5 to 10 centimeters from your mouth, allowing your voice to remain strong compared with background sounds.
The PodMic USB also includes an internal shock mount and pop filter. Its USB mode adds another advantage: digital signal processing.
RØDE’s onboard APHEX processing includes a high-pass filter, noise gate, compressor, Aural Exciter, and Big Bottom processing.
The noise gate is particularly useful because it can reduce low-level background sound when you’re not speaking.
For someone who wants a simple microphone for a noisy home office or streaming setup, the PodMic USB provides an excellent combination of physical and digital noise control.
4. RØDE PodMic – Best Budget XLR Option
If you like the idea of the PodMic USB but don’t need USB connectivity, the standard RØDE PodMic can save you money. It’s an XLR dynamic microphone with a cardioid pickup pattern.
RØDE specifies a frequency response of 50 Hz to 15 kHz and describes its tight cardioid pattern as providing strong room-noise rejection.
That’s exactly what you want in a less-than-perfect recording space. The microphone also includes an internal pop filter and shock mount.
You don’t get the onboard USB processing of the PodMic USB, so there isn’t a built-in digital noise gate.
However, you can always add noise reduction or gating through your recording software. The PodMic makes the most sense for someone who already owns an audio interface.
5. Shure SM58 – Best for Noisy Live Environments
The Shure SM58 wasn’t designed specifically for podcasting. It was designed for vocals.
But many of the characteristics that make it successful on loud stages also make it useful in noisy recording environments.
It’s a dynamic cardioid microphone designed to be used relatively close to the mouth. That’s important.
If your microphone is close to your voice, you don’t need as much gain to capture a strong signal. Sounds coming from several feet away become less prominent relative to your voice.
The SM58 is also affordable compared with premium broadcast microphones. If you’re recording in a noisy room and don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars, it’s worth considering.
It may not provide the polished broadcast appearance of an SM7B or RE20, but good microphone technique can produce excellent results.
6. Hypercardioid Dynamic Microphone – Best for Stronger Side Rejection
Cardioid isn’t the only directional pickup pattern. Hypercardioid and supercardioid microphones provide tighter pickup areas. This can be useful when unwanted noise comes from particular directions.
For example, imagine your computer is positioned to the side of your microphone. A carefully positioned directional microphone may help reduce how much fan noise reaches the recording.
However, tighter isn’t automatically better. Supercardioid and hypercardioid patterns usually have some sensitivity toward the rear, so positioning becomes extremely important.
You need to understand where the microphone rejects sound and place unwanted noise sources accordingly.
Final Thoughts
For professional podcasting and voice recording, choose the Shure SM7B.
For broadcasting, the Electro-Voice RE20 is an excellent alternative. Its Variable-D technology minimizes proximity effect, while its humbucking coil, internal pop filter, and shock mount address several common recording problems.
For a simpler USB setup, choose the RØDE PodMic USB. For a more affordable XLR setup, choose the standard RØDE PodMic.
And for meetings and office work, consider a good headset rather than a studio microphone.