Audio Technica AT2040USB Review

The AT2040USB is an affordable podcasting microphone, but it offers pro-quality vocal-capture and incredibly easy USB plug-and-play.

Stuart Pritchard

Published: Jul 16, 2023

Some people simply love the sound of their own voice – they’re the ones you can’t avoid overhearing holding over-opinionated court in coffee shops across the country. But the reality is, when most folks have their own dulcet tones played back to them, they can’t stand what they hear. There are reasons for this, but one thing experts in the aural realm agree on is that poor-quality recordings don’t help.

If you’re into live streaming and content creation, it makes sense to invest in one of the best streaming microphones to deliver enhanced audio free from all the fuss and background noise. Audio Technica presents just such a mic, in the pleasingly compact form of its all-new AT2040USB Hypercardioid Dynamic Podcast Microphone.

Building on all the best elements of the company’s much-loved AT2040 XLR microphone, the addition of USB connectivity makes this mic more flexible and easier to use than ever for streamers, podcasters and chatty gamers alike. If you’re after a mic with high-quality audio, and you just want to plug it in and go, it could be the right choice for you.

Pros

Cons

These are the Audio Technica AT2040USB specs:

Right out of the box, on build quality alone, you can tell that this has been designed to impress. Constructed from solid metal, the AT2040USB feels utterly robust and has a reassuring heft to it that other, more plasticky microphones in this price range do not possess. At 615g, it’s much heavier than the Joby Wavo Pro, for example, and feels reassuringly well-made.

With so many streaming microphones on the market, the latest Audio Technica AT2040USB needs to do something to stand out. And speaking of stands, this microphone is designed to be stand-mounted on a boom (more on that below). It’s worth noting this, though, as you won’t be able to stand it up easily on its own.

Coming complete with a mounting clamp attached, around the back is a built-in headphone jack with a high-output amplifier and volume control, USB-C output, and a mix control that allows the mic signal to be blended with prerecorded audio. Round the business end, meanwhile, we have a multistage foam mesh windscreen which combines a non-woven filter with foam mesh to protect against pop. Finally, up top sits a rather neat soft-touch mute button, complete with a red and blue LED light indicator. And that’s it – almost minimalist in its aesthetic simplicity, yet featuring all you need to operate it.

All you need to do to start using the Audio Technica AT2040USB is to plug it into a computer – an act of simplicity itself thanks to the bundled USB-A to USB-C cable. And once that’s done, the AT2040USB is ready and raring to go, on any recording platform you personally favour, just like that.

Created to focus like a mic possessed on vocal capture alone, the unerringly directional, hyper-cardioid pickup pattern ignores all else around it with a singularly impressive single-mindedness. Indeed, tested in my home study on a hot day, not only did I have a desk fan whirring away next to me, post-school day kids playing noisily outside my window, but also – to add extra test conditions – a radio playing on low nearby. The result of my recordings? My voice was crystal clear, and I picked up no absolutely no other ambient audio.

With responsive mix controls and that strangely satisfying soft-touch instant mute button proving its worth during multiple instances of interruption by my own kids, overall, I found the performance of the AT2040USB to be pretty damn faultless.

Keeping things simple yet again, the AT2040USB comes fitted with a pivoting stand mount featuring a standard 5/8″-27 to 3/8″-16 threaded adapter. As it doesn’t come with a stand of its own, this makes your boom options wide-open, but for a desk such as mine, I’d recommend keeping it in the family and pairing the mic up with an Audio Technica AT8700.

Costing $89 (£69) and coming with 4x USB cable clips, 4x XLR cable clips, and a table clamp, the AT8700 offers full freedom of movement thanks to 360° rotation, fits the AT2040USB like an audio glove and delivers stability as solid as a recording rock.

The swish AT20240USB and associated accessories can be bought directly from Audio Technica for a very, very reasonable $149 (£129). It’s also available from major retailers like Amazon.

Podcasters, streamers, and gamers gather around; if precision, professional-level vocal capture is what you seek but the price is a factor, the Audio Technica AT2040USB is your money-saving, broadcast-sound quality saviour.

HyperX QuadCast S USB Microphone: a delight at $160

Stereo, omnidirectional, cardioid, bidirectional and with RGB lighting, this eye-catching USB condenser microphone looks as good as it sounds; and with customisable software and real-time monitoring, it sounds fantastic.

Sennheiser Profile: More affordable audio-capture

A German-engineered cardioid mic with USB-C plug-and-play functionality and mix control and volume control to set your real-time headphone monitoring level, all at a more budget-friendly asking price.

Audio Technica AT2040 XLR

This version of the AT2040 has an XLR output instead of USB, which means that it connects to an analog microphone input. If you want exceptional audio quality, and have a mixing console or deck, it’s the better option. It’s also cheaper than the AT2040USB.

A perfect podcast and streaming mic with all the controls you need built-in, plus real-time headphone monitoring and plug-and-play set-up, the Audio Technica AT2040USB is an ideal choice for those looking to go pro.