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> So NPR is artificially (with a high-pass filter) removing a natural side-effect (of directional mics) to avoid getting artificial-sounding boomy bass.

He says later on in the article that they try and get people in the studio to not talk directly into the mic but across it. So in some ways they are trying to correct for the issues caused by strong directionality before they get to artificial things like signal filters.

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That (talking across) was what clicked for me. They are in a controlled reverbance room and that's worth a lot too.

It is so clear that getting a clean analog signal up front is worth a lot.

So, this is not quite correct. Talking across it means that you are aiming your voice to the side of the microphone, but the microphone is still aimed directly at your mouth. It’s not the directionality of the microphone that is an issue, it’s the air coming out of your mouth.

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