USB/XLR mics: what changes between USB and XLR

USB and XLR work differently

Over USB, the mic does the work itself: it boosts your voice, turns it into digital audio and sends it to your computer. Over XLR, the mic sends an analog signal, and the interface boosts it and turns it into digital audio. So switching cables also switches which box does that work.

Plugging in both cables at once isn't always supported. Some makers say what happens when you do, or list its limits: check the manual for your model.

What you get over USB

Over USB, your computer lists the mic by its own name, and you get whatever the mic has built in: onboard processing, firmware updates, the maker's app, the headphone jack on the mic and its monitor mix.

The Shure MV7+ and RØDE PodMic USB both tie their app and processing features to the USB connection. The feature names and the computers they support differ, so don't expect one hybrid's app features on another.

What changes over XLR

Over XLR, the interface takes over: the gain, phantom power when the mic needs it, the drivers and the headphone jack you listen through. Your computer usually lists the interface's name, not the mic's.

The mic's app and USB controls may do nothing to the XLR signal. A dynamic mic may not need phantom power; other mics may. The mic's and the interface's manuals say which applies to yours.

• Audio interfaces: inputs, gain and hearing yourself

Which headphone jack to use

Headphones plugged into the mic hear the mic's USB side, so their monitoring works only while the mic is connected over USB. Headphones plugged into the interface hear the interface's direct monitor and its mix of your voice and your computer's sound.

Hearing yourself in the headphones only proves the mic reaches your headphones. Test in Discord or your game as well, so you know your friends hear you.

Compare USB and XLR fairly

Sit at the same distance and angle, in the same room, and say the same sentence. Set each path loud enough without clipping, record a short clip through each, and match their loudness before you judge: the louder clip usually sounds better even when it isn't.

Turn processing off on both, or on for both, so you hear the connection rather than a setting. If the two clips sound alike at the same loudness, either path will do: keep the one that suits the rest of your setup. One test like this doesn't make either connection better in general.

Which one to use

Use USB if you want one cable and the mic's own features: its app, its processing and its headphone jack. Use XLR if you already own an interface, or want multiple inputs, hardware mixing or room to upgrade later. A USB/XLR mic lets you start with one and move to the other.

If USB works and XLR doesn't, check the interface side: the cable, the input channel, its gain, and phantom power if your mic needs it. If XLR works and USB doesn't, check the USB cable, whether your computer is supported, the mic permission and the input selected in your app. Discord's problem with audio interfaces on a Mac is specific to Discord on macOS, not to USB/XLR mics in general.

Don't plug in USB and XLR at the same time unless the maker says that's supported. Even when both work, the two outputs can differ in level, delay, processing or hum. The manual says whether both at once is supported and which controls change which output.

When you compare prices, price the whole setup. USB may need only the mic, its cable and headphones; XLR adds an interface, a suitable cable and possibly a preamp with enough clean gain. If you already own an interface, the XLR path may cost nothing more.

The mic's firmware and app features work over USB only. A setting may stay saved in the mic, or it may need the app running: the manual says which. Over XLR, what you get depends on the interface and its drivers.