Should You Upgrade Your Podcasting Equipment?
Do you need to upgrade your podcasting equipment? How often have you pondered this?
Maybe not enough. Some folks upgrade for everything. Apple releases an iPhone. Oh man, gotta upgrade. But do you really? Let's dive in.
Izotope RX11 was recently released. I upgraded.
But do I sound any different to the average person? Compare a current episode to an older one at podcast.bigpodcast.com, if you’d like.
On the flip side, something I haven't upgraded in forever: my Kensington Expert Mouse. I recommended it to a client and realized I've had mine since 2010. Still going strong. Why replace it?
New tech is fun; AI jingles, AI voiceovers, AI editing—it’s all made life easier. But sometimes the best choice is making the most of what we have. Some of the most talented podcasters work within tight budgets, getting creative within constraints.
When setting up my home studio in 2014, I had all this radio gear, but set a tight budget like an average podcaster might have—around $500. Instead of an RE20 mic ($500+), I used an ATR2100 by Audio Technica for $50.
Nobody cared. They only cared that I sounded “good” and delivered on what I promised as far as content.
Right now, I'm using the RE20 as my main mic, by the way. If a purchase makes you feel good about your podcast and you’ll use it every day, go for it. But don’t think that an upgrade or spending more money is going to automatically change things for you (or listeners).
Make smart choices. Some gear will stand the test of time. And sometimes sticking with what you've got pushes your creativity further.