shure

Somewhere along the line, Cult of Mac‘s Setups archive became a catalog of the content-creator condition. The gear tells the story: microphones on boom arms, audio interfaces bridging analog warmth and digital precision, Elgato Stream Decks converting complex workflows to a single keypress, key lights washing faces in flattering warmth for video calls and YouTube recordings, and AI-powered webcams that track subjects and adjust framing automatically. Here are the best Mac setups for streamers and content creators from the past few years.

A potentially big development for Apple-focused content creators is on display at 2025 NAMM Show, as Shure shows off the new MV7i Smart Microphone and Interface it first unveiled earlier this month at CES 2025, calling it a first of its kind.

The innovative $350 mic brings professional-grade two-channel recording capabilities to Apple’s ecosystem, eliminating the need for a separate audio interface. You can plug an XLR mic or instrument right into Shure’s new mic. And you can connect it to Apple devices via USB-C to work with tracks using Shure’s MOTIV audio and video apps.

If you’re going to sound your best on podcasts, online videos or conference calls, it helps to invest in a USB microphone. Today’s MacBook Pro setup takes advantage of a USB mic from the excellent brand Shure. And the user throws in a nice pair of Audioengine speakers for loud-and-clear playback, too.

A prolific YouTuber runs today’s featured MacBook Pro setup. And you can tell it’s the pride and joy of a streamer or podcaster just by some of the crucial equipment. Namely, an excellent Shure SM7DB microphone run through a Focusrite Vocaster Two audio interface to ensure high-quality audio recording.

If you’ve read much of Cult of Mac’s computer setups coverage, you know we love good audio. And we love it more when it’s high-value, where the sound is great despite affordable pricing. Edifier R1280T speakers meet that mark.

Edifier is a brand that has long lived in that space. And today’s MacBook Pro and PC laptop setup makes good use of a pair of powered Edifier bookshelf speakers that even MacBook Pro’s fine set of six can’t really compete with (outside of portability).

Another Mac and PC computer setup stands in the spotlight today — this time a MacBook Pro and PC laptop driving a 4K display and an array of peripherals through an Orico Thunderbolt 3 dock bristling with 15 ports.

The setup emphasizes gaming, too, with a PlayStation 5 mounted under the desk. We’ll take a look at that, too.

If you have a high-quality XLR microphone, how do you use it with your computer? Shure made that easier Monday with its new MXV2U USB digital audio interface that turns XLR mics into USB mics.

Using the simple, compact interface, you can adapt any XLR mic to USB and start recording, podcasting, streaming and more.

If you’re a content creator and you have an XLR microphone, you don’t necessarily need to buy a USB microphone to interface with your computer for uses like streaming and podcasting. Shure’s got you covered with its new Digital Audio Interface. It converts any XLR mic to USB for easy use directly with a computer.

Wouldn’t it be great if the right job opened the door to building a killer computer setup? It happened for design and product lead Jaime Creixems.

Today’s featured setup is his M1 Max MacBook Pro and Studio Display-driven wonderland, complete with excellent audio equipment and fun sidelights like Lego sets.

Some computer setups go for splashy color while others like to be monochromatic — often black and white, or one or the other. In today’s featured setup, an iOS and macOS software developer sets a Studio Display in a black-and-white scheme that hides an M1 MacBook Pro.

And they go for quality sound in the mix, too, with one of the world’s most popular USB microphones and an exceptional pair of open-back headphones.

Some computer setups will make you green with envy, considering their gear’s quantity as well as quality. Take today’s featured setup, a delight for both gamers and podcasters.

It sports not just a new M1 MacBook, but also a powerful custom gaming PC. It boasts not just a solid 27-inch full HD display, but a monster 49-inch super-ultra-wide screen. And it relies on not just a good webcam, but a premium mirrorless digital camera.

And the list goes on, extending to audio and even a new mechanical keyboard. Read on.

Mounts can make the most of a computer setup. They can mobilize so much of your gear — computers, displays, microphones — so you can use them when you need them and push them out of the way when you don’t, opening up desk space. And you can minutely adjust their positioning, too.

Today’s featured MacBook Pro and Mac Studio computer setup takes advantage of mounts for the computers, display, video camera and microphone.

A picture is worth a thousand words, they say. So today’s M1 Mac mini-driven computer setup, with eight smashing photos, must be roughly equivalent to 8,000 words. But instead of burying you in a horrible cascade of text, we’ll let the pictures tell most of the elegant rig’s story.

The newly updated setup has some exceedingly nice touches. Each of the photos below includes a little commentary.

Known for its flexible tripods and mobile lighting, Joby is now covering the content creator market for audio recording like a blanket. It rolled out five new microphones in its Wavo lineup to take on rivals like Rode, Shure and Sennheiser at several different price points.

The new mics mean more options for vloggers and audio streamers of all stripes. Four of the mics are available now and one, the Wavo Pro DS, comes out in March.

Joby’s deeper embrace of the microphone market doesn’t come as a complete surprise. After all, its parent company, Vitic, recently bought two microphone brands — Rycote in 2018 and Audix in January.

A recurring theme across computer setups everywhere is the need for better cable management. It’s all about how well the careless, disheveled slob throwing together the gear — here we’re referring mainly to ourselves, not you — deals with the thorny mess of electrical cords and connectors that help make the workstation go.

Redditor MacSources, aka Nicholas Calderone, is a photographer, writer, editor and co-founder of MacSources.com. He runs a Mac mini at the center of his formidable dual-monitor computer setup. The workstation’s audio and storage components seem particularly epic.

Redditor Liquidsama’s setup is popular on the social media app not just for the adorable Pac-Man Ghost Light in the corner (see photos), but for its awesome computing power for work and play.

The LED ghost light phases through nine colors and reacts to music, by the way — which is neat — but the real draw here is a bulked-up Mac Pro for IT work and a heavily modded PC for gaming. Not to mention a great audio rig for podcasting.

We noticed business and technology author and noted Mac guy Ben Thompson volunteered a pic of his setup on Twitter when tech and politics writer Casey Newton posted a shot of an immaculate setup, wondering if he has “remotely what it takes to put something like this together.”

Well, Taiwan-based Thompson certainly has what it takes to put together a great setup — even if it’s more lived in and not quite as photo-ready as the one Newton posted.

Podcasting is well-established as a premier new medium. But it’s still a wide-open frontier, so there’s plenty of opportunity to make your mark on the podcasting landscape. If you’re just getting started, or already creating content and want to boost your toolkit, this roundup of four podcasting essentials is for you.

Podcasting and vlogging are the platforms of our age. So if you want to reach people, you want to be able to easily record high quality audio and video. Our iPhones already record pretty great video, but the little built-in mic struggles with quality audio. That’s where this compact condenser mic comes in.

iOS 11.3’s public debut is right around the corner, according to one iPhone accessory maker.

Shure, which manufactures iPhone microphone add-ons, told its followers on Twitter that a fix for its buggy accessories would be available with Apple’s next major update this week.

Best List: MV51 microphone by Shure

Looking like something Elvis Presley would rock, the Shure MV51 is a handsome, retro-styled microphone well-suited to podcasting with an iPad or iPhone. Sturdy and portable, I find it great for recording on the go. It’s small enough to throw into a jacket pocket and, because it’s made of all metal, it’s nigh indestructible.

Paired with an iPhone and Shure’s well-designed recording app, it’s a lot more compact than most podcasting rigs, and versatile enough for most recording situations. Best of all, the audio it captures sounds great.

LAS VEGAS — Shure has hit the extremes lately in terms of how much they think music lovers are willing to pay for headphones and earphones, but their latest in-ear monitors cost just $50.

The new SE112s are just half the price of Shure’s previously cheapest IEMs, the SE215, and only $20 more than Apple’s iconic, earbud-ish EarPods. It’s quite a change for Shure: Earlier this year, the company came out with the ultra-high-end, $1,000-plus SE846 canalphones. And their exotic, carbon-fiber SRH1540 headphones arrived just a few months ago at a robust $624.

What do high-end bicycles, Formula One race cars and Shure’s pricey new SRH1540 headphones have in common? Yes, they’re all snazzy objects that can boost your coolness factor, and/or might help you get laid (except maybe the bicycle). Also, they’re all made with carbon fiber.

It’s strange to think that, till now, as big a high-end audio player as Shure has had no answer to the extravagant, big-gun, flagship in-ear monitor models of its rivals — models like the Ultimate Ears 18 Pro Custom, or the JH Audio JH16 Pro.

But now they do — big time. The new SE846 extends Shure’s highly regarded SE line well beyond the SE535, previously their top, most expensive IEM.