It's obvious that Dan puts a ton of care and time into the quality of his broadcasts, and it shows. The 5by5 shows, both in sound quality and in content, make you feel like you are sitting in a room with Dan and Host, and could join the conversation if only you too had a microphone.

It's a hard dynamic to pull off, but Dan's pulled it off.

A lot of radio shows online that I used to listen to (primarily on TwIT) became dull and repetitive after a while. With so many tech podcasts already around, I wasn't sure if Dan would be able to make 5by5 successful. Against my expectations, he's managed to find hosts and topics that remain interesting even after months and months on the air.

I have a slew of Back to Work and Hypercritical in my backlog that I intend to get through; those are my favorites. I used to listen to The Talk Show and Marco's show, but both of those started to rub me the wrong way after a while.

I hardly have time to do anything outside of work these days, but it says a lot about 5by5 for me that I'm willing to listen to the old episodes even after they're no longer the latest episodes. Keep aiming high, Dan. Keep it interesting.

Dan Benjamin, creator of 5by5 and host of various shows on the network, talks about his home studio's past and current equipment, and then answers questions from the chat room. If you're at all interested in producing podcasts, or in what it takes to host a successful podcast network, this is worth a listen.

The setup Dan describes is high-quality, affordable over time but not over the top, and sensible across the board (no pun intended).

I invested an hour and a half and saved countless hours of research.

Thank you for this post.

The setup he's suggesting is cool, but it costs a lot of money is isn't easy to set up.

If you want a less expensive & simple alternative, try this:

MAC - Connect: Skype - Record: Ecamm Call Recorder - Mic: rode Podcaster or Blue Yeti - Edit: ScreenFlow (or iMovie) - MP3: use the converter that comes with Ecamm Call Recorder

PC Use the same thing, but try VodBurner for recording and editing.

What I love about Dan's programs is that he can get the people he has on to care about their sound because he has them on consistently. At Mixergy, the entrepreneurs I interview don't seem to have the same appreciation.

Big fan of Dan, but he sure takes his time getting to what he uses. Fast forward about 6 minutes in for the goods.