Review on 🎙️ USB Computer Microphone: Unidirectional Condenser Mic with Mute Button & LED Indicator - Compatible with Windows, Mac, Zoom, Teams, YouTube, Skype, Gaming, Podium, Court Conference by Justin Guldin

I was skeptical when I came across this particular product. I needed a good general-purpose microphone to replace my laptop's built-in broken microphone—something I could leave plugged into the dock and give me plenty of placement options. What I received far exceeded my expectations. First, the build quality. The microphone consists of a base that houses the electronics, a USB cable interface (an old Type-B connector, which is an odd choice) and a standard XLR audio jack. The microphone is a small condenser microphone (about the size of a small lavalier microphone) mounted on a double gooseneck boom with an integrated XLR socket. which is plugged into the XLR connector of the base unit. The microphone capsule is protected by a small wire mesh (think Shure SM-57, but much smaller). The kit includes two windproof foam socks to wear over the microphone in windy conditions. As far as I can tell, all external components are metal! This thing is as strong as a brick. The only complaint about the assembly is a small plastic pad around the mute button that covers the electronics. The lid is glued and was not glued to the base when installed at the factory. The plastic cover "floated" when I received the mic, requiring me to remove the protective plastic film (to protect against scratches during shipping) and reattach it securely to the base. It's OK, and it allowed me to look into the base to see a well designed circuit board. Second, the sound quality. The mic sounds amazing. Being a condenser microphone, it is quite sensitive and has a very good frequency range. The polar pattern is cardioid with good reverse rejection. It doesn't take a lot of amplification from a PC to get good conversation volume at a reasonable distance from the microphone. It is typically 18-24 inches away from me and at that distance it can pick up my voice without adding much natural reverberation to the room. There is a handy electronic mute button at the base that mutes the microphone and no software muting is required, neither from the native PC operating system (I use it with Win 10 by the way) nor from apps (I use it regularly with Zoom, MS Lync , MS Teams and Cisco Webex for meetings). Bonus, on the base AND in the ring around the mic capsule is a red indicator that glows red when the mic is "powered" from the base. Since this is a USB-based device, native audio drivers (on Windows 10 at least) can enable the mute switch using the software mute button in the sound control panel, which also turns on the light. A great way to remind you that you can have a hot mic :) All in all, this is a fantastic purchase. The value is definitely there and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an all in one USB microphone for PC. Native audio drivers (on Windows 10 at least) can enable the mute switch using the software microphone mute switch in the sound control panel. which also turns on the light. A great way to remind you that you can have a hot mic :) All in all, this is a fantastic purchase. The value is definitely there and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an all in one USB microphone for PC. Native audio drivers (on Windows 10 at least) can enable the mute switch via the software-based microphone mute button in the sound control panel, which also turns on the lights. A great way to remind you that you can have a hot mic :) All in all, this is a fantastic purchase. The value is definitely there and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for an all-in-one USB microphone for PC. Native audio drivers (on Windows 10 at least) can enable the mute switch via the software-based microphone mute button in the sound control panel, which also turns on the lights. A great way to remind you that you can have a hot mic :) All in all, this is a fantastic purchase. The value is definitely there and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an all in one USB microphone for PC. Native audio drivers (on Windows 10 at least) can enable the mute switch via the software-based microphone mute button in the sound control panel, which also turns on the lights. A great way to remind you that you can have a hot mic :) All in all, this is a fantastic purchase.