What Type of Equipment and Software you Should Have in your Home Studio as a Voice-Over Actor?

Many of us are currently working from home. If you are a voice-over talent like me, always searching to enhance my home studio, here is a list of practical and economical audio devices to select from.

I want to begin with the Apogee HypeMic USB Microphone. I recently used it for an audition, and I am pleased with the sound and how easy is to use. The "Apogee HypeMiC is a professional, USB microphone with pure digital connection for an amazing sound quality up to 96kHz/24-bit, also featuring a built in a studio-quality analog compressor and a headphone output with a blend feature to minimize latency down to zero. among other great features." (Apogee Digital) Amazing price, only $349.)

When it comes to the interfaces, I have chosen the Evo 4 Audient Interface at an affordable price ($129.00) when I want to use my mic with XLR connectors. The Audient EVO 4 is built with professional-level components and functionality delivering good quality results. Furthermore, the size and weight make the interface very portable which makes it ideal when have to travel (no that we are currently doing much of traveling, lol.) The interface EVO 4 will not let you down.

The EVO 4 Interface features class-leading converters, a 24-bit/96kHz sample rate, and a dynamic range of 133dB.

Why are headphones essential when recording your voice over work or any other modality like podcasts, live streaming tutorials, etc.? The article at Music Critics mentions it is important to look into the specs of the different models out there. " The typical things to look at are the impedance, sensitivity, and headphone drivers." Let's focus on impedance for now.

Without falling into too many technical terms, I'd like to cite the article issued in Quora. They categorized the headphones into three groups by their impedance (depending on what it will be used). "Broadcast, professional, and portable." As a voice-over actor working in my home studio, I choose the professional type, why? Simple: The professional designs range from 8-ohms to 600-ohms which " it is often the lower the impedance, the higher the volume." I particularly like to use the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Professional Studio Monitor Headphones with 38-ohms impedance. Great sound at a fantastic price! You cannot beat that!

"When acquiring one, think of your ears, choosing the wrong headphones could affect your ears," - states Chilitos Valenzuela - AudioGraph International (AGI) founder and CEO.

The Kaotica Eyeball (KEB) is another distinctive element I use when recording my voice overs, loopings, and auditions. The KEB acts as isolation of your microphone. It filters the noises, ambiance sounds, and any other sounds that could affect the clearness of your final recording work. The KEB is a studio booth alternative. The price is only $199.

Lastly, I am a Pro Tooler! I use the AVID Pro Tools Software for my recording, editing, and mixing my