VO Studio Setup: The One Cord Solution

When voice actors aren’t asking about the best microphone for VO, they often wonder which computer to buy. That’s certainly a fair question. It would be frustrating to discover the computer you chose wouldn’t stand up to the needs of your studio tasks. But honestly, these days it’s pretty hard to find a computer that won’t handle the demands we might place upon it for recording quality audio.

Any of the current Apple computers, and most of the Windows machines you’ll find, will be able to handle the data we create when speaking into our microphones. Now that Twisted Wave has a solid build on the WinOS side of things, there’s no real drawback in terms of VO-specific recording software. 

Rather than asking about whether the computer will handle the processing load, a better question would be to ask what needs to be connected in your studio, and where everything will sit. Solving those challenges may be a more useful guide as to which computer model to invest in. (I’ve written before about the value of adequate RAM and drive space.)

There are two basic approaches: invest in a dedicated “Studio” machine that doesn’t leave your recording space, or go mobile with a laptop. I’ve been partial to the desktop Mac Mini in my studio for a long time, and thankfully Apple has not felt the need to significantly reduce the array of connection ports. The current models have two USB-C ports and a headphone jack on the front, plus an HDMI, Ethernet (wired internet) and three Thunderbolt* ports aft.

(*Thunderbolt ports can be a bit confusing as they use the same shaped connector as USB-C. However, current Thunderbolt ports – at this time, Thunderbolt 4 and 5 – transfer data and power at significantly higher rates than USB-C ports are able to provide.)

Those connections may still require additional options. A second monitor, cameras, or additional devices and storage media may need a connection you don’t have handy. But the direct benefit of this approach is that the computer stays put. Once you wrangle splitters, adapters, and connectors, you shouldn’t have to pull things apart again. (Though, I always like to have at least one “uncommitted” connection so I can patch in additional gear if needed).

When setting up a second recording space, I took a different approach. Since the second booth was not necessarily being utilized all the time, it seemed a bit silly to have a computer tethered to that physical location. A laptop made more sense, but what I quickly found was that even the more expensive laptops contained a limited array of connection ports.

To their credit, Apple does provide an SD card slot and HDMI port on their Macbook Pro models, but seem to assume that no one needs an ethernet connection any longer. Since best practice for Source-Connect is to use a wired internet connection, that immediately steals one of the three Thunderbolt ports. An audio interface takes another. Then there’s the minor hassle of unplugging and replugging everything each time you want to move the laptop.

Investing in a docking station solves this issue. These can vary considerably in price, from inexpensive hub type approaches to commercial studio grade devices. I’ve found pretty significant variability in the less expensive ones – some simply don’t do what they claim or get inordinately hot when driving multiple devices.

Studio-grade docking stations aren’t cheap. And it seems kind of weird to buy a laptop, then have to buy a device to connect your other devices. But the beauty of the more comprehensive, high speed docking station is that I can come into the studio, connect my Macbook Air to a single Thunderbolt cable and have everything I need at hand – 2nd large monitor, audio interface, wired access to the internet – while powering the laptop. I ended up with an Anker model, but there are good options from CalDigit and OWC as well.

When done, it’s a simple step to disconnect the single cord and become completely mobile. I’ve started to appreciate this ability to work on audio projects with a bigger screen and full studio, but have a light and portable solution for other computer tasks.

Have you tested your studio’s audio quality to make sure it meets professional standards? For a free review of your vocal recordings, please use the upload tool on my Audio Review page.

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