USB Pro Microphone, Blogger

Like many people, I find myself in lots of Zoom calls lately. My laptop microphone worked, but the sound quality is not very good. This device has much better quality.The device is actually a lot heavier than I thought it would be. The base is sturdy and not easy to tip over at all. You can adjust the angle as well.Button on top lets you mute it. When it's blue - its on. When red, its not. Simple.I've used it with a Mac and Windows system. Works fine on both.

If you're looking to improve your online meeting presence, this is a good first step. It picks up your voice well from up to about two feet away. The sound quality is better than you'll have from a webcam's mic or your laptop's built in mic.That said, you get what you pay for. At this price point, you can't expect high quality audio. Paying another $75 to $150 will upgrade you into a range offering better audio.I recommend spending that extra money if you work from home. Your voice and image become the same as what you'd wear to work. You want to project quality. A squeaky microphone is like wearing a cheap shirt/blouse: some people pay attention and notice it, others just get a subconscious impression of you.If your budget doesn't allow spending the extra $75+, then this microphone is a great choice. Otherwise, consider better quality. I'll try to add some ideas in a later edit.Be careful as you upgrade to get a microphone compatible with your seated distance. If you're always going to sit up straight during online meeting, even just audio ones, then lots of microphones will work.Leaning back, however, places you out of range for most "podcaster" style microphones. The standard is having your mouth about five inches away while using a pop-screen to prevent plosive pops.For leaning, you want a more directional microphone. This also filters out typing sounds and household noises.One option is to use a lavalier microphone, as used in TV news studios. "Lavs" clip to your shirt/blouse, placing them close enough to catch your voice. Unfortunately, these are omnidirectional mics, so they catch typing and other room noises.

I was using a camera with a built in mic, but was told a lot of echos were being picked up. I sought this out because it uses a directional mc, so it will be less likely to pick up sounds that aren't coming directly from me. I also liked the idea that I didn't have to wear or have the mic visible on camera.It works great, I don't notice any echo on the recordings I made. I can talk very quietly and basically mumble while being about one to two feet away with the computer sensitivity set to about 80 percent and it picks me up really well. So it is exactly what I was looking for.

I got this for my sons gaming computer and he has gave it hell. It turns on and lights up no problem. He does not have any feed back and you can hear the quietest of sounds in the back ground. It is very durable and has alot of metal built into it. I thought it would be all plastic but it is not. Now it will not play sound like a speaker. You can only use it to talk into. It is well worth the money.

The mic is of OK quality. It's less effective at filtering background noise that I was hoping, but better than what I was previously using.However, it defaults to 'on' even if you press the button to turn it off. If you reboot, it forgets you turned it off. This is a privacy issue, and kinda unacceptable. They should either have used a switch instead of a button, or defaulted to you having to turn the mic on after a reboot.Taking 1 star off from each.

Previous USB and audio input devices produced an echo in video calls. With this device there is no echo, which is ideal for headphone-free video calls. LEDs a nice touch, but I don't really use them.PROS: Good audio, no echo, easy to mute without having to search a mouse click. Nice weight and design. Ominidirectional or Cardoid mode selections a plus.CONS: It would be nice to have an audio jack output instead of solely USB. But I guess USB is necessary for power and directional switching.

This is vey easy to use, and the sound quality is wonderful. My laptop had terrible sound quality on Zoom calls, people could barely hear me. I originally bought this to record my daughters singing together, but I have used it instead for Zoom calls on my laptop. I am glad that it has two options for either single or multiple voice because it is great for web calls/conferencing. I did try it on the other setting, just a quick test, but it picked up everything great. I am happy with the price too-- it was a very good value.

I bought it to replace an omni directional mic that was picking up too much sound from behind it in calls. I plugged this mic in and testing. it still picks up the sounds from behind it and the audio quality is garbage. I used the same app and same USB port to test. There is no way I can use this mic in a professional call. Boxed up and going back.