Review on 🎤 VIVO Black Adjustable Pneumatic Spring Microphone Arm Mount - Compact Mic Stand with Clamp - STAND-MIC01 by Brian Rogel

Overall I like the design, with a few exceptions which I will detail below. Very solid clamp and post and I liked the range of motion offered for a hand of this size. The pneumatic arm felt a little stiff, but then again, I've never mounted a mic to this thing. The plastic cable covers are very practical and are great for hiding an XLR cable. The knuckle on the end wasn't really smooth, but maybe at this price point it's good enough. However, this arm failed due to the rigidity of the pivot points, as many other reviews have noted. When I first tried to set it up, my entire table and coffee was covered in metal shavings, which didn't make me happy. Here are my biggest stumbling blocks: 1. Almost all of the threads on this thing dish out, I mean both the threaded holes and the fasteners. It's not the end of the world for this arm's nuts and bolts, or the round clamp bolt that attaches the arm to the desk post, but it kills the pivot points of this thing. As I unscrewed the screws, I discovered why so many people struggle with this. This is because all of the threaded holes are worn out and filled with metal shavings. You can feel it crunch and grind when you unscrew it. 2. Attachment heads break off too easily. I doubt these are real class 8.8 screws. Vivo, if your supplier says so, I think you are being scammed. In fact, I couldn't get the rear hinge screw out at all. The hexagonal hole is completely striped. Even if you try to use a light bit it won't budge. The bushing I used on my breaker began to fray before the screw even turned. Even when I tried drilling it with a left hand drill it didn't move. So here are my suggestions from Vivo: - There are WAY too many threads on the die cast aluminum stub shafts. Shorten these holes. With this you don't have to go deep 5-6 times. The OD of the shaft carries the load, not the bolt they are connected to. Consider using helical coils on threaded holes in aluminum castings. This is standard best practice when using aluminum fasteners and blanks in the machining world and I think it would be a good idea here too given the thread quality of the base material I'm seeing. - Improve your quality control and ensure fasteners are truly to specification. Or do the final assembly in the USA, make sure everything is clean and free of dirt and use known good quality screws. Real black oxide alloyed steel screws are not much more expensive. In any case, use a torque wrench to avoid over-tightening during assembly. Make sure this thing is clean! It made a mess on my desk with all the metal shavings just following the instructions to set it up in the beginning. I did all disassembly and repair work in the garage. I would happily pay $120-$140 for such a sturdy mount made with care. Too bad most of this is going to the trash, although I was able to salvage a few parts to make another mic mount solution.