ASMR microphone for streaming

The short answer

For left and right from one USB microphone: Logitech G Yeti, HyperX QuadCast S or HyperX QuadCast 2 S, each set to its Stereo pattern. For the quietest capsule under a whisper: RØDE NT1 5th Generation, over USB or XLR.

Then turn off what is made for talking. A noise gate and noise suppression are there to remove the small sounds around a voice, and in ASMR those small sounds are the show.

Stereo from one microphone

A microphone in a stereo pattern records a left and a right channel, so a tap or a brush on one side of it is heard on that side through your viewers’ headphones. Face the front of the microphone and work on both sides of it, at the same distance.

• Logitech G Yeti: four patterns, Stereo among them, over USB, with a headphone socket on the microphone.
• HyperX QuadCast S: four patterns including Stereo, over USB.
• HyperX QuadCast 2 S: the same four patterns, Stereo included, over USB.

The quietest microphone for whispers

A whisper sits close to the microphone’s own hiss, so its self-noise matters more for ASMR than for talking. Makers print it in different units, so compare only like with like:

• RØDE NT1 5th Generation: 4 dBA, an acoustic figure and the lowest we list. It has one channel (cardioid), works over USB on its own and over XLR with an interface that gives 48 V phantom power.
• Audio-Technica AT2020: 20 dB SPL, the same kind of figure, so noisier than the NT1. XLR only, with phantom power from an interface.
• HyperX prints the QuadCast S as ≤ -95 dBFS and the QuadCast 2 S as below -80 dBV: digital and electrical figures that do not convert to the acoustic ones above, so they rank only against figures in the same unit.

Leave the voice filters off

OBS’s noise gate closes the microphone whenever the level falls below its close threshold, and a whisper or a soft tap sits below any threshold set for a speaking voice. Noise suppression is tuned to keep a voice and lower the noise around it, and it can take soft taps and rustles for that noise. For ASMR, start with no filters: set the gain so your loudest sound stays out of the red, and add a limiter last only to catch a sudden peak. OBS audio filters for your microphone explains what each filter does.

Your room is part of the sound

A computer fan, a fridge or traffic sits at the same level as a whisper, and raising the gain raises them with it. Run the microphone test in silence first: it measures the room’s own level, the floor every quiet sound has to clear. Move the computer away from the microphone, or point the microphone’s back at it.

Check left and right before you go live

Stereo only works if your own headphones play left on the left. Check them in the headphone test, then tap the left side of the microphone and listen: if the sound comes from the right, the channels are swapped somewhere between the microphone and OBS, and every viewer hears your stream mirrored. In OBS, set Settings → Audio → Channels to Stereo, and leave Mono unticked for the microphone in Advanced Audio Properties, or both sides arrive in the middle. Record a minute in OBS and play it back on headphones before your first stream.

Equipment for these connections

Start with the kind of gear you’re missing, and read its full profile before adding it to your setup.