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Pop Filters 101: The Ultimate Buyer’s Guide

Today’s topic: pop filters.

Here’s a few highlights of what’s in store for you:

  • The MAJOR Downside of Gooseneck Pop Filters That No One Ever Talks About
  • The Little-Known Difference Between One and Two-Ply Screens (How it Affects the Sound of Your Voice)
  • Mic-Mounted Pop Filters: Better or Worse Than Gooseneck??? (And WHY)
  • The World’s Most Expensive Pop Filter (The Price Tage Will Truly Shock You)

…plus a whole lot more juicy stuff that I know you’ll absolutely love.

Ready? Here we go…

Jump Links:

The World’s #1 Best Selling Pop Filter

Nady MPF-6 pop filter

Of all the pop filters in the world the Nady MPF-6 is easily the best-selling, and most widely known…

Mostly because it’s so damn cheap. But that’s not the whole story.  

Because among the dozens of other pop filters just as cheap, few sell nearly as well.

Most pop filters in this price range use goosenecks that don’t stay in place, and cheap materials that break within a week.

Among these inexpensive options, it seems the Nady MPF-6 is among the only ones that actually performs as promised.

Check it out:

For a similar yet even cheaper option check out the Neewer Pop Filter:

  • Neewer Pop Filter – (Amazon)

Now while this pop filter offers great value for its price, as always, you get what you pay for.

So keep reading, because the other 7 options get progressively more expensive as we move down the list.

Up next…

A Dual-Screen Pop Filter for Double the Filtering

On stage double dual-screen pop filter

Compared to most pop filters, which use a SINGLE mesh screen to block air blasts…

Some models actually use a double screen, with a tiny air gap in between.

Now here’s how it’s supposed to work:

The first screen blocks the initial blast, then the air gap disperses any remaining pressure so by the time it passes the second screen, the blast is easily contained.

In theory, the idea is sound.  A double layer means double protection.

Many people believe however, that two-screen pop filters block too much high frequency detail, making the vocals sound a bit dull as a result.

But according to their wealth of stellar online reviews by satisfied users, the models below do not appear to suffer from this problem.

Check them out:

Up next…

A Metal Filter With Unique Angled Slots

Stedman Corporation Proscreen

Pop filter screens come in two standard designs:

  1. cheaper panty-hose screens
  2. pricier metal screens

The biggest problems with the panty-hose screens are:

  • they can tear, and…
  • they aren’t easy to clean. 

For these reasons, pricier metal pop filters are worth the added cost for many studios.

This model, the Stedman Corporation Proscreen XL, uses a unique patented material, with slots in the filter to redirect the energy downwards, away from your microphone.

Personally, I find it to be an ideal mix of quality and affordability.  For typical home studios, I’d recommend it above all other options on the list.

Up next…

A Metal Pop Filter with an Unusual Shovel Shape

Avantone PS-1 PRO-SHIELD

Breaking away from the standard hoop design, the Avantone PS-1 features a unique shovel shape…

That wraps much closer to the microphone…where it’s not nearly as vulnerable to being bumped and snagged.

This also avoids the problem of singers constantly readjusting it, which wastes time, and puts added wear and tear on the gooseneck.

It also features a hard metal screen which is more durable and easier to clean than the pantyhose types.

One of its unique claims is that it causes no noticeable loss in high-frequency detail…at all…which is verified in a number of reviews.

Up next…

A Wrap-Around Filter with NO Flimsy Gooseneck

PEMOTech pop filter

While the gooseneck has long been the standard mounting solution for pop filters…

Anyone who has used goosenecks for any reason…can verify that they are quite frustrating to deal with.

Mainly because they never really stay in place as well as you’d like them to, and they take up a lot of extra space.

To solve this problem, a new wrap-around pop filter design is becoming increasingly popular these days

Rather than using a flimsy gooseneck, it wraps tightly around your microphone by mounting to the grill itself.

It also offers the unique advantage of taking up almost no added space at all. Once it’s mounted, you almost forget it’s even there.

The downsides of this design are:

  1. You can’t adjust the distance between the screen and the microphone. 
  2. While it fits on MOST large diaphragm condenser mics, it won’t fit on all of them, and it won’t fit on most dynamic mics, such as an SM58 for example.  
  3. Some singers use the pop filter to set their distance from the mic, which you can’t do here.

So it’s not ideal in every situation.  But for some people, it might be exactly what they need.

Here are the modes I recommend the most:

Up next…

A High-End Pop Filter with a Universal Shockmount

With vocal microphones, you’ll usually use two standard accessories:

  1. A Pop Filter – to minimize popping and blasting sounds
  2. A Shockmount – to minimize floor noise

But wouldn’t it be cool if you could have both of these in a single piece?

Well that’s exactly what you get with the Aston Swifshield:

A high-end large metal screen with a wrap-around design, paired with a universal shockmount that supposedly works with most microphones.

If you know anything about shockmounts, you’d know that it’s extremely rare to find one that can accept multiple microphones of varying shapes and sizes.

So this one bonus alone is arguably worth more than the pop filter itself.

Check it out:

Up next…

The Ultimate Pop Filter With a Shocking Price Tag

For a simple metal screen and a mounted hoop, it’s hard to imagine something like a pop filter costing more than $50 or so.

Yet we’ve already seen several models on this list that do.

But still…that’s nothing compared to the sticker price of this last item: the Pauly Ton Pauly Superscreen.

The first time I discovered this pop filter, I thought the same thing you’re probably thinking now…

You want me to pay HOW MUCH?

And most of the online comments agree.

Yet of the few people who bought and reviewed this item, it seems that almost all agree that it’s totally worth it.

Apparently the level of transparency achieved by its special screen is quite impressive.

So if you want nothing but the best, and you’re willing to pay for it (or just want to see the price), here are the links:

  • Pauly Ton Pauly Superscreen – (Thomann)

Also check out the similarly priced Isovox Isopop as well:

Next up…

A Pop-Filter with an Integrated Refection Filter

Marisflo Isolation Ball

As home studios grow increasingly more efficient, a new type of pop filter seems to have been emerging lately.

One that combines that acoustic treatment benefits of a reflection filter, with the sonic benefits of a pop filter.

So it’s basically 2 tools in 1. And condensed into an impressively compact design.

Obviously though, because of its size, there will likely be some level of compromise in terms of performance.

But overall, users are saying that while the downsides are minimal, the upsides are quite extraordinary.

Among the top models with these new design, here are the ones I recommend:

  • Ktondic Isolation Shield – (Amazon)
  • Marisflo Isolation Ball – (Amazon)

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