Best Microphone Shock Mounts, Pop Filters and Studio Accessories in 2025
The difference between a great vocal recording and a mediocre one is often not the microphone - it's the accessories around it. Here's what actually matters and what's worth spending on.
Once you've bought your microphone and interface, the temptation is to start recording immediately. And you can - but a few inexpensive additions can make a significant difference to what you're capturing.
This guide covers shock mounts, pop filters, mic stands, and room treatment basics: the accessories that bridge the gap between a microphone that's capable of excellent recordings and actually getting excellent recordings.
Shock mounts: do you need one?
A shock mount is a suspension system that holds your microphone in elastic bands or springs, isolating it from vibrations transmitted through the stand. Without a shock mount, your microphone sits in a fixed clip attached to the stand. Every footstep, keyboard click and desk vibration transmits directly through the stand and into the microphone, adding a low-frequency rumble to your recordings.
In practice, shock mounts matter most for:
- Recording at a desk where keyboard and mouse clicks transmit through the surface
- Recording in rooms with timber floors where footsteps cause noticeable vibration
- Recording in buildings with road or public transport nearby
- Studio-quality vocal recording where even subtle low-frequency contamination in the noise floor is audible
The Rycote Invision Studio Kit USM-VB is one of the most highly regarded shock mount solutions available. Rycote manufactures professional suspension systems for broadcast mics used on film sets and in broadcast studios, and the Invision applies the same engineering thinking to studio condensers. The USM-VB is compatible with most large-diaphragm condenser mics and provides excellent isolation at its price point.
Pop filters
A pop filter (or pop shield) is a circular mesh screen positioned between the vocalist's mouth and the microphone. It reduces plosives - the explosive bursts of air that come from "p" and "b" sounds and cause sharp, unpleasant transients in recordings.
You can make an adequate pop filter from a wire frame and a pair of tights (genuinely - it works). Or you can buy one for £8-15. For most studio work, an inexpensive double-mesh nylon pop filter is perfectly effective.
Metallic mesh pop filters (from brands like Stedman and Avantone) are more expensive but have some advantages for certain applications: they don't accumulate moisture from breath and they can be cleaned more easily. But for most home studio recording, a nylon mesh pop filter is entirely adequate and can be replaced for nothing if it wears out.
Microphone stands
Microphone stands are one of those categories where quality genuinely matters. A cheap stand that doesn't hold its position reliably is genuinely frustrating - you set the mic position carefully, come back after a break, and the boom has drooped. Quality stands hold their position indefinitely.
Gravity Stands have developed an excellent reputation for build quality and innovative design. The Gravity MS 23 is a particularly popular choice for studio work - it uses a low-profile tripod base that fits under desks and around monitor stands, and the thread mechanism holds position reliably.
K&M is the other benchmark German stand manufacturer. Their 21090 and similar models use precision-machined thread assemblies that hold position without slipping. The build quality is excellent and their stands last for decades of professional use.
Desktop mic stands and boom arms
For podcast and streaming applications, a boom arm (a scissor-arm desk mount) is often more practical than a floor stand. Boom arms let you position the microphone directly in front of your face without desk clutter, and move it out of the way when you're not recording. The quality range is enormous - cheap boom arms flex and vibrate with desk movements, while quality arms stay where you put them.
The Rode PSA1+ is the benchmark quality boom arm for serious podcasters. At the budget end, the Elgato Wave Mic Arm is the most commonly recommended affordable option.
The Neumann NRC1: professional room correction
For a more scientific approach to room acoustics, the Neumann NRC1 is a room calibration system that works with their NDH headphones and specific software. It's not a beginner product, but if you're investing seriously in your monitoring setup, room correction technology can meaningfully improve the accuracy of your mixes. At £88, it's the most affordable professional room correction system on the market.
Acoustic treatment basics
A microphone can only capture what's in the room. No amount of expensive equipment compensates for a room that sounds bad. The good news is that basic acoustic treatment doesn't require significant investment:
- A wardrobe or clothes rack - recording inside a wardrobe full of clothes is genuinely effective. The clothing absorbs reflections and the space is small enough to feel close and direct.
- Heavy curtains - drawn across hard walls, they significantly reduce flutter echoes.
- A blanket over a mic stand - the "reflection filter" effect. A padded screen behind and above the mic absorbs early reflections from the room. Commercial reflection filters from sE Electronics work on this principle.
- Bass traps in corners - corners accumulate low-frequency energy. Rockwool or similar dense fibrous material in corners is significantly more effective than foam tiles for bass absorption.
The TIE Studio Flexible Mic Stand at £16.90 is worth knowing about as an ultra-affordable starter stand for any mic position - it's not going to replace a quality floor stand but it's useful as a secondary or portable option.
What order should you buy in?
- Good quality mic stand first - a cheap one will frustrate you from day one
- Pop filter - cheap and effective
- Shock mount - meaningful improvement for any serious vocal recording
- Room treatment - this is where significant improvements happen
- Reflection filter - if you're recording in a difficult space
None of these accessories are glamorous, but they're what separates home recordings that sound professional from those that sound amateur.