Hi,
 
I have been asked to record an audio book for a friend.
I would like to avoid being in the studio recording the whole book that will take at least 40 hours just to record…then another 50or 60 hours to edit & mix.
I am thinking of trying to let the reader record at his home with a miniature headset mic such as the AKG C 520.
I have never used one of these miniature mics. Are their quality acceptable? (From my experience audiobooks are not always top audio quality anyway…).
What do you guys think?
 
tks
joni

I have done a bit of voice overs playing with video editing recently and often use and old AKG dynamic mic, but have also used an old Logitech USB headset (just called "Premium Notebook Headset," ~$100 in 2007) that worked fine for the task. As long as a good signal/noise ratio exists, the editing is not too much of a hassle (as you alluded to, the "quality" of these is often not required to be stellar anyway). Stepping down on recording quality may require some noise removal (depending on the recording environment), so it would be good to a quick test recording with the setup being used before doing the entire project just in case adjustments need to be made.

Condenser mics are best for voice-over/narration, which that mic seems to be. However, I've never used one. A guy named George Whittam suggests a Pyle Pro mic (no phones) and adapter which is cheaper than that AKG here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlcFkvuYBJc.
 
Keep the noise floor below -60db.
Avoid using nose gates as they provide unnatural silence, so to speak.
 
 

leebut,
That mic sounds fine for an audio book. $13.99 at B&H? I that it?
The one I had in mind was around $160. 
I need to find out if it sounds much better. There must be something to explain that price difference.
What I like about the headset mice is that the position of the mic with be constant.
My plan is to have the reader record it at home with a headset mic and a Zoom H4n.
thanks
joni

Hello Joni,
 
I don't know who B&H are. Just trying to help from what I've seen.
You could try contacting George about it for more info, and he was using that mic in that video.
 
All the best,
 
Lee.

I have had the C420 for a long time and it is a good sounding mic, but be aware of breath noise with these mics, it can be overbearing.

+1 to the breath noise concern, which is why a high end mic in an ad hoc environment can shoot you in the foot. Voice over is a lot like telephone - the 3.5Khz area is most important.