There's something I find extremely compelling about the idea of USB 2.0 microphones. There's definitely the appeal to me as a bit of an audio geek, as I love the idea of getting high-quality sound through reasonably inexpensive means. A lot of these devices are so well designed that they actually eliminate the need for buying a separate, expensive sound card, which is a huge plus for anyone doing any recording, from podcasts to music, at home.

One problem with going the USB route for microphones has been the extra noise generated by the USB power supply, which has relegated current USB microphones to podcasting duties, where the compression required makes noise less of a factor. However, a company called sE Electronics has a solution: the sE2200a, a USB 2.0 microphone that includes active electronics that controls the power flowing through the cable, remove the noise problem. The sE2200a ships early next year.

Via Synthopia