My Desk / Home-Studio Setup
A living snapshot of the audio, video, lighting, and chair I use every day.
This documents the current state of my desk setup — audio, video, lighting, and the chair I sit in all day. It's a living snapshot: some of this is running right now, some is on the way in. I'll update it as things change.
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Audio
- Zoom H6 portable recorder as my USB audio interface (mine's actually the older classic H6 — it's discontinued now, so the link goes to the current H6essential version). Holdover from years of using it to record interviews. It's been solid for a decade. One quirk: you have to turn it back on manually after a reboot.
- Pyle SM58 clone (~$22 at the time of writing): It's going to feel crazy to say that this $22 mic is enough, but it's excellent and has worked for me for over 5 years. It's a dynamic cardioid and does an excellent job of blocking stray background audio as long as your mouth is within 5 inches of it. It's indistinguishable to my ear from an SM58, and you can buy 3 of them for the price of 1 Shure.
- Elgato Wave Mic Arm. Keeps the mic lower on the desk and out of the shot, no big arm arching up and back down. Replaced my old Rode PSA1 stand, which needed weight added to the end to balance the Pyle mic since it's so light.
Video
- Sony a7 IV full-frame camera. A full-size camera makes a HUGE difference in the visual clarity of your feed. 35mm focal length (I shoot on the Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM) works well at back-of-desk distance.
- Feeds in directly as a selectable USB camera — nothing to manage, no HDMI converters.
- Elgato Teleprompter mounted on the a7 IV. Puts the Zoom window right where I need to look, which helps me feel more connected to the conversation.
Lighting
- Current: Elgato Key Light Mini panels. Fine, but a little harsh because I have to up the lumens to get enough fill with the small panels.
- Incoming as key + fill: Aputure amaran 300c and 150c, with softboxes and stands, for the studio side of the office.
- Accent: Aputure amaran T4C tube light.
Control
- Elgato Stream Deck runs all the lighting — Elgato lights natively, the amaran fixtures through a plugin.
Desk & Chair
- Uplift standing desk: It's small (like 42 inches wide) but it fits perfectly in the corner for me. The controls, motor, and included power strip have worked perfectly for 18 months, and I love it. VERY stable.
- Herman Miller Aeron: I got this refurbished from HM in 2013 when I started working from home. Super comfortable, never gets hot. Note: they do come in 3 sizes. I use the middle one, but could have sized up (it's about femur length).
- Stealtho Wheels: Buy the roller blade wheels for a silent smooth roll on any surface.