“This is my second version of the same Rode Procaster Cardioid Dynamic Broadcast Microphone that I bought in 2017,” Hurly says. “Rode is one of the most prominent names in podcasting microphones right now. 

The type of content you’re making helps determine the best mic for you, and for podcasts, you’re going to want a dynamic mic like Hurly’s Rode: “It’s not going to pick up all the sounds that are around me,” he says. 

“I'm not sitting in a tiny closet where I can pad it and make sure the sound is great inherently. I live in a noisy area. There are airplanes flying over often,” he says. “With this, I'm able to have the AC directly above me on low with a fan blasting, and the microphone doesn't pick it up.” 

But it’s not exactly travel-friendly if you have travel on your schedule. “It’s not lightweight, so it really should have a heavy stand for it,” Hurly says. “However, it's got a really nice heft to it. It feels like a trophy or something in your hand.

“It looks super cool, so I do wish it was lighter sometimes. But, I would feel really authoritative if I was out in the field with the Rode, interviewing people. There’s so much presence to it.”

“I think the Rode Procaster really needs to be up and have a stand,” Hurly says. “Some people have a stand that connects to their desk. Those are more for lightweight microphones. If you had something to reinforce it, you could probably have it hanging above you, but the Rode is not a lightweight microphone and so it really probably should have a heavy stand for it.

“It’s a really nice stand because the base is steel, so it can support the weight of the microphone so it doesn’t tip either way.”

“The headphones I used when I first started were the SENNHEISER HD 380 PRO Headphones,” Hurly says. “They’re kind of like cans, but more puffy on the side. I’m using a different pair now, because after eight or nine years, those started peeling away, and I would have pieces of the black puffy plastic on my head.

“It’s good to have a pair of cans for podcasting. They contain the sound in your ears, and what you’re hearing from the other person isn’t going back into your microphone.

Wired versus wireless headphones

“I’d encourage you to use wired headphones,” says Hurly. “It’s good to be plugged into the machines you’re integrated with instead of relying on Bluetooth. I find these ones really comfortable, so I do use them when I’m podcasting and really need to isolate the sound that I’m hearing.

“I find them really breathable. I was in a different apartment where we didn’t have air conditioning, and it would get really hot. I found that these were less sticky on my skin.”

Plus, Hurly says, “these hook into the Audient iD14 10 x 6 USB-C Audio Interface, which is the same interface I use to connect the Rode to my computer.” This keeps all of his gear connected in one easy setup and lets him adjust “the oomph of the sound going in.”

“This was recommended to me by my expert sound guy at the time, and he likes pairing that with the Rode. It’s almost 10 years old and it’s still working great.

“The connector also screws off, so if you want to use it as a regular jack, they can be used as a traditional pair of headphones.”