Buyer's Guide | Stereo Microphones
- Joel Edelblute
- Mar 12
- 4 min read
Updated January 1st, 2025
Affiliate Disclosure: The links to products in this guide are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. These commissions help support us, allow us to keep these guides up to date, and create future content.
We’ve split this guide into three groups: XY microphones, ORTF microphones, and binaural microphones. We made this split because these different types of stereo microphones are used for different recording purposes briefly summarized here. (Feel free to refer back to the video or written lesson for a more in-depth recap.)
XY microphones: Two microphones angled at 90 degrees. These are great for tight, focused stereo recordings, often used for sound effects, ambient sounds, or music.
ORTF Microphones: Two microphones spaced angled at 110 degrees. This creates a wider stereo image, often used for recording outdoor environments or orchestras.
Binaural Microphones: Two microphones replicate how humans hear sound by placing them inside a dummy head or ear-shaped molds. This captures immersive 3D sound, making listeners feel like they're "in" the recorded space—perfect for ASMR or VR content.
Pricing Tier Key
The Hobbyist: Entry-level gear for video shooters to improve their skills without a large investment.
The Independent: Prosumer gear designed for serious creators that balance performance and real-world budgets.
The Industry Pro: High-end gear for professionals that meets the demands of industry-tier production environments.
XY Microphones
The Hobbyist
This 2024 model is a worthy update to the Zoom H1n. It's a lightweight and easy-to-use recorder that offers 32-bit float recording and built-in XY microphones. It's great for capturing decent audio on-the-go for music, interviews, or sound design. (Note: Amazon doesn't support direct linking to this product but the link will take you to Amazon's search results which should have the product listed as the first or second result.)
Zoom H6essential | $299
Zoom’s flagship handheld recorder, the H6 features a very low noise floor. Importantly for stereo recording, the Zoom H6 features a X/Y stereo mic built on the new 3.0 interchangeable capsule system. This system allows you to swap out the X/Y capsule for a boom mic capsule or additional inputs capsule. At the time of this update, there isn’t an XY/AB capsule like there was with the old system. XY/AB essentially allowed the recorder to function as a toggleable XY and ORTF microphone. That said, Zoom promises to release new capsules in the future so it’s possible one is coming.
The Industry Pro
Audio-Technica BP4025 | $650
The Audio-Technica BP4025 is a professional-grade XY stereo microphone designed specifically for video production and broadcast applications. It offers large-diaphragm condenser capsules that capture a wide stereo image with excellent clarity and minimal phase distortion. This microphone is perfect for professional video shooters capturing ambient sound, nature recordings, or any high-fidelity stereo audio on location.
ORTF Microphones
The Hobbyist
Two small-diaphragm condenser (aka “pencil”) microphones with decently low self-noise. This is an affordable entry for ORTF recording, but requires you to space and angle the microphones yourself. This allows you flexibility for adjusting the width of the stereo image to your own preference. You don’t have to angle them at exactly 110 degrees. A spacing bar is included.
The Independent
Rode M5 Matched Pair | $199
Two small-diaphragm condenser (aka “pencil”) microphones with low self-noise. Requires you to space and angle the microphones yourself. This allows you flexibility for adjusting the width of the stereo image to your own preference. You don’t have to angle them at exactly 110 degrees. Don't forget to include the RODE SB20 Stereo Array Spacing Bar ($50) for easy mounting.
The Industry Pro
Sennheiser MKH 8040 Matched Pair | $2,799
As good as ORTF field recording gets. The frequency response is off the charts for the most subtle of sound at the highest quality. You can use this matched pair for a variety of setups with ambience, sound effects, or music.
Expert field recordists recommend using Cinela’s Albert Wind Protection for outdoor shooting with these mics. Be warned: if you’re going this deep into such a niche recording technique you are venturing far beyond the comfort of Amazon affiliate links. We weren’t even able to find a seller for this windshield that we recognized, so at this price point you’re on your own.
Check out this link for more info:
Binaural Microphones
The Hobbyist
An entry-level binaural microphone that doubles as a set of earphones, making it perfect for video shooters who want to experiment with 3D audio without a big investment. Because the mics are in your own ears they're great for capturing audio in a first-person perspective. The USB-C connection is ideal for connecting to phones or tablets. Alternative XLR connection below.
The Hobbyist
An entry-level binaural microphone that doubles as a set of earphones, making it perfect for video shooters who want to experiment with 3D audio without a big investment. Because the mics are in your own ears they're great for capturing audio in a first-person perspective. The USB-C connection is ideal for connecting to phones or tablets.
The Independent
3Dio FS Binaural Microphone | $399
3Dio is the leader in the binaural space. A popular and great quality choice for AMSR, VR, and field recording content creators. The output is a 3.5mm for easy connection to an audio recorder or interface.
The Industry Pro
3Dio FS Pro II | $1,999
Featuring two matched DPA 4060 high-sensitivity mics, this setup excels at binaural realism especially in delicate recording environments (ASMR for example.) Lauded as the best binaural mic on the market.
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