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While this is by no means a mind-blowing mic (and VERY far from it), it is definitely gonna change the way you sound (in comparison to built-in mic on your laptop or $15 USB mic for desktops), provided that it's configured AND used correctly. It's suitable for anyone who intends to use it for online/business meeting, streaming, podcasting, OBS, or anything of these sorts.
≡ Physical build
The build quality is above average in comparison to most others at this price range (around $30-$50, excluding the suspension scissor arm). The entire microphone is made of plastic (with the exception of the mesh grill) but it doesn't necessarily feel cheap at all and that's a pleasant surprise. It's fairly compact and small and as a matter of fact it's slightly smaller than expected, which is nice. It's also fairly hefty given its size and I suppose that' a good sign given the circumstance.
≡ Features
Unfortunately, it has nearly NONE of the common features such as gain adjustment, mute control, or 3.5mm output (monitoring) that I believe ALL microphones like this should have at this point in time. It does have RGB lighting which some might find it useful; however, it can NOT be turned off (or configured, e.g. brightness) and that's rather disappointing to say the least. The fact it remains ON all the time makes it more of an annoyance for me rather than a feature.
It has a touch control that's rather sensitive and does work as intended for the most part; however, it lacks a mute button that's REALLY critical for me (and most likely for many others because it's just such as basic function for mics nowadays). In addition, the lack of gain/volume control and a 3.5mm means this is a much less useful mic for me, wireless or not.
It can be charged via USB-C port which is nice (a few others still use outdated Micro USB or even ancient Mini USB). Moreover, it does claim to have ANC; however, it's ineffective in all the tests performed and that's again rather disappointing to say the least. With that being said, my expectation about ANC is low to begin with and there are very FEW budget microphones (such as this) actually have decent ANC so the fact it doesn't work nearly as well (or rather inadequately) doesn't really bother me; however, if ANC is what you're after, well, there isn't anything interesting to see here.
It comes with a shock mount pre-attached to the mic along with a mini tripod/desk stand and a pop filter on a flexible gooseneck which I do appreciate; however, desk stand really isn't my thing and fortunately (and surprisingly) the tripod uses the standard 5/8" screw mount and it can removed, and the shock mount can be attached to just about all other standard scissor arms or the alike.
≡ 2.4GHz/wireless
Undoubtedly, the wireless feature is one of its best features (and sadly perhaps its ONLY notable feature but I digress) and for the most part it works as expected without issues. No drivers are required and it's completely plug'n'play. There are the occasional signal loss/disruptions during the tests; however, they're mostly insignificant and unnoticeable during real-time conversation (meetings
or streaming etc). As such, this would probably NOT the mic of choice if you can't tolerate momentary random disruption, however infrequently.
≡ Configuration
As aforementioned, this mic is plug'n'play with most modern [versions of] operating systems. I've seen NUMEROUS times where people complained about the mic not being able to pick up sounds properly or that the sounds were weak, volume was too low, or the quality was bad and so on. While it's certainly possible (and it does in fact happen) that they got a dud, what's more likely happened was probably one of the following;
✘ The mic was installed and ready for use; however, it has NOT been SELECTED as the [default] input device for whatever the app being used. As a result, the existing/old mic picked up the voice/sound where it's probably too far to pick up the voice properly or the voice's simply not being directed at the old mic. This resulted in poor reception and people might think it's the new mic that failed to do its job when in fact it wasn't even doing anything because it hasn't been selected as the mic to receive inputs.
✘ Most, if not all, of these cardioid mics require the voice/sound to the directed at specific area of the mic, usually at the FRONT. A few of 'em takes input directly at the 'TOP'. Therefore, if you speak into the sides or the top, your voice WILL sound MUFFLED, far away, broken, or just of low quality in general.
≡ Sound quality
Well, perception of sound is a tricky business and I'm no sound engineer or even someone close to an audiophile. With that being said, the overall sound quality of this particular mic is just fine; however, the biggest issue I've found is that it requires relatively close prolixity in order for the mic to pick up sufficiently clear sound which in my book is NOT exactly a HIGH quality mic (not saying it's low btw).
Btw, the max sampling rate is 48 kHz (as most others are) with ONLY 16bit depth (some others have 24bit) for those who care. I've included a sample audio so you can decide for yourself. The mic is situated about 30 cm (1 ft) away from the speaker which is the typical maximum (up to around 60 cm in some cases) of what these [budget] cardioid mics are sensitive to [the most]. The gain is at its max in the OS (and the fact it has no gain/volume control really doesn't help with its case, does it?)
While the sound quality appears to be just fine, it does sound rather MUFFLED that overemphasizes low frequency range in some way. This can be fixed or corrected in post-processing of course but if you are looking for a 'full range' mic, this is not it so look elsewhere.
≡ Value
All things considered, this is a reasonably decent (slightly above average overall taking into account all aspects of the mic) cardioid USB microphone that performs reasonably well with respect to audio quality. It's important to note again that it does NOT support 24bit/192kHz which some others at this price range do offer (mostly wired/USB though).
In either case, if you don't care about the issues described above, then this might be a suitable wireless mic as the sound quality is reasonably decent and quite comparable to most others in this price range although it does outperform most others with respect to other features including accessories and whatnot which certainly adds value (only when the product works as expected) to the entire kit. It's reasonably priced at $40 for what it provides and its overall build/material quality, features, usability, and performance. Your mileage might vary.
