20 Best Xlr Mic For Gaming (2023 Updated)

One of the problems of working from home is finding the right audio setup for conference calls. I’ve tried over a dozen headsets as well as built—in microphones in cameras, laptops, and a USB speakerphone, but of them was able to capture my (admittedly deep) voice.

That one is a goofy looking Bluetooth headset that loses clarity whenever the household microwave oven is used. Enter the Snowball iCE. It easily picks up my voice and delivers a natural sound. Using the Snowball as a USB microphone frees me to use whatever headset I want, as I don’t have to worry about audio quality or 2.

4gHz interference. The only downside is that it requires a custom tripod (included), and the legs fold down, not up for easy carrying. The hinges on the tripod feel a bit cheap, but so far I’ve not had any issues with them and a online search shows no long term complaints.

If you’re looking for a way to capture your voice without emptying your wallet, this is a great option,.

The microphone on the only computer I had with a webcam wasn’t working, and I needed it for a job interview the next day. So there was no time to order anything in. Compared to other options at other local stores, this one had the advantages of being one of the least expensive while looking like my kids probably wouldn’t be able to easily break it, and also wouldn’t require an adapter.

From the pictures online, I imagined the round part was around the size of a golf ball. So at Target I looked on the shelves for something about that size hanging from a hook. Not finding it, I asked for help, and the clerk pulled out this box from inside a locked glass cabinet on the bottom shelf.

The box was almost big enough for a loaf of bread. I was startled at the large size but with no better options I bought it. Opening it at home, I was again surprised at the large size. What I had gone to the store imagining would be about the size of a golf ball was in fact about the size of a grapefruit! But it worked great, and worked on the first try.

I tested it and found that the sound on the recieving end on the other side was very good. I had no problem with it at all. Highly recommended! If you have room for it that is!.

Meh and letdown would be the words to describe this. First of all they need to remove the $20 Ubisoft part of the item description. The codes these contain are all from 2020/2021 and well expired. But we don’t buy microphones for whatever dollar off codes they contain – this was meant to be used in place of a full-on gaming headset – hoping the mic quality would be better than a my laptops mic array, without looking like a knob on conference calls while working from home with a cumbersome gaming headset on.

Mission accomplished? Nope. Well. You at least look normal speaking – the downside here is this mic picks up EVERYTHING. Like. Everything. Typing? Kids? Someone in the house on the other side of the same floor flushing a toilet? Yep, check everything.

To the point co-workers asked how I even got any work done. I can’t have that while working. And being a Blue product, I expected some customization in voice and some sort of background canceling – but the software is limited to showing you your iCE mic and controlling only the gain.

And even then unless I was on top of the thing, it wasn’t picking up my voice very well – but had no problem with everything else leaking through in my house. Disappointing. Back to the store this went.

I could only see low end streamers using this in a sound proof room. Otherwise I’d highly recommend skipping.

I had gotten this microphone due to one of my friend having done his research on it and he sounds amazing with it. Another friend purchased one for herself and also sounds amazingly clear so I had to get one myself.

The box came very beat up which made me assume the product probably wasn’t new like it was listed as but everything was still in plastic and the box sealed. I shouldn’t have expected much since it was just put into a plastic mailer, but the product was undamaged and seems to work great, which is all I’m worried about when it comes to beaten boxes.

It shipped out fast as a plus and got to me quick. Would buy from this shop again!.

I bought this microphone to use with my MacBook. I didn’t know what to expect. I was pleased to find that this mic is solid and not light weight plastic. It has the same feel as my old Shure dynamic mic.

I read where someone had broken the USB connector on their mic, but it must have been from careless handling. The volume control looks like a wheel, but it’s actually a momentary switch with two directions, one way increase and the other way decrease.

It came with both a USB cable and an XLR cable. It produces a nice tone , but as with all dynamic mics you can’t whisper and expect it to pick up much. Speak up like you want to be heard and it will do the trick.

I had to use a dongle to go from USB 2. 0 to USB type C, but there was no problem getting it hooked up to the MacBook. Great price for a good microphone. I would buy again.

Purchased this dynamic mic to use with Zoom. Been using the built-in laptop or that of a web cam, but those have had very inconsistent performance, especially when the environment is noisy. This mic has solved my problem.

I really like this mic. If you wanted to make it to “love” or “delighted by” then, here’s what I suggest: USB C – and a rugged one at that NO cheesy connectors. That Mini-usb is a disappointment, as the cable pops out in the middle of a podcast – NOOOOoooooo! How about a XLR to USB converter with cable – like shure already makes – that will work with the mic software.

Better headphone jack – it, too, doesn’t hold tight. I have to insert my jack, find “the spot” where it works properly, and tape the jack in place. Same with the mini-usb above. Better pop filter – like on the SM7B.

Make it so that the stirrup – the holder for the mic – will fold down over the back of the mic. If the hoop was more square, the corners would clear and it’d be perfect. Put the on-mic controls away from the mount and posts.

They are hard enough to figure out (I just use the software and forget it) but making them less accessible is just an example of where the designers don’t ever have to use the product in real life (I bet).

The colors are a cool idea. Sleeves might be an option. Put a bright LED on the side of the mic that would face down, so that the mic light would shine on the keyboard or notes or whatever on the desktop.

Keep going with upgrading the control software – the better it is as-recorded, the more attractive your mic becomes.

I got a MV7 with the mini tripod and couldn’t be happier! It sounds great. That little stand is sturdy, lightweight, easy to position, and I’m fairly certain it’s made by Manfrotto. The mic itself comes with a micro USB connector as well as an XLR.

As a recording engineer, I appreciate the inclusion of an XLR. I could see myself using this to record a podcast, or even a vocal. It should stack up pretty well to the original SM7B, at least in theory.

I use it for Zoom and Teams meetings, and for that it’s excellent. The MOTIV app works really well, and is updated regularly – at least monthly. The fact that you can set gain and see the input levels right on the mic is super helpful.

I might’ve preferred a more positive click on the mute button, but I mostly use the conferencing app’s mute instead. As much as I like the little tripod, it actually is too low for me. I have a long torso and switched to a low & heavy-base mic stand intended for kick drum or double bass on my desk.

Then I can boom the mic in, keeping it just below my mouth yet out of the camera shot. The yoke mount on the MV7 makes it easy to position. Besides some tiny niggles, I think this mic is fantastic. It sounds good, looks good, and is easy to use.

Way to go, Shure!.

Sound: While the Blue Yeti may not be THE best sounding USB mic right out of the box, it does have good sound quality. With a little tweaking through a free audio mixer software like Voice Meeter Banana will result in a very professional sounding mic without spending the big bucks.

Stock settings will give you more than sufficient sound quality though. With easy access to the knobs to control the gain and pic up pattern makes for easy adjusting on the fly. Due to the pic up patterns I would only recommend this mic for individual use and not for an interview setting.

Price: Being priced at $130 isn’t terrible, but should probably be closer to the $100. 00 mic segment given it doesn’t have XLR. Personally, I would opt to buy the Blue Yeticaster Broadcast Bundle which includes the mic (no desktop stand), boom arm, and shockmount for $180-$200 vs the stand alone Blue Yeti Mic for reasons below.

Purchasing all three items individually would be in the $280 range Keep in Mind/Cons: I would highly, highly, highly recommend a boom arm for this mic. The desk stand for the mic is not very useful. I found myself slouching over due to having no height adjustment.

Additionally, to get your mouth the appropriate distance from the mic for optimal sound quality (without cranking the gain) means the mic stand is sitting at an awkward spot in relation to your keyboard/mouse.

I also found that with the desk stand no matter how I positioned the mic, set the pickup, gain or gate I could not eliminate picking up desk noise such as keyboard clicks, mouse clicks, or even setting my phone down on the desk due no shock dampening.

Even setting the stand on a towel did not assist much. Mounting the mic to the Blue Boom Arm completely fixed the unwanted sound and positioning issues. If you are going to mount this mic to the Blue Boom Arm I would recommend installing it with the shock mount.

The shock mount isn’t much of an advantage sound quality wise, but definitely helps weight wise with the boom arm. While this mic is heavier than normal it’s not quite heavy enough on it’s on for the Blue Boom Arm.

I found the boom arm wanting to “snap open” on the loosest tension settings due to there not being enough weight at the end of it. Adding the yeti shock mount to the mic and boom arm allowed for the proper weight to adjust the mic to my desired position without any sagging or raising.

In conclusion, I would highly recommend this mic being purchased in the Yesticaster bundle due to the savings vs buying the individual components. While I still can recommend the mic being purchased individually, I believe you’re going to be wanting a boom arm sooner rather than later due to the desk stand offering no dampening or height adjustment.

This microphone has numerous settings to cope with any particular style recording format you might need. There are four patterns to choose from just be mindful of what each one does to maximize the quality of your recording.

Cordial is the one you want (looks like an upside-down heart) as this will record only from a single direction directly in from of the microphone. This really should have included a pop filter but those care quite cheap to get.

You do not need to buy Yeti branded accessories as the threads are universal to most brands. A cheaper alternative for boom arm etc. would be the Elgato line. The best way to use this microphone with cordial setting is the place it within 8 inches of your mouth around 45 degrees off-center from you while keeping the direction of the front of the device facing your mouth.

This will pick up the voice clearly without catching all your “P”s. As this is directional you will want to speak to the side of the microphone NOT on top like stand-up comedians do as it will not pick up your voice.

I’m a newbie to this sort of thing so I had to search through YouTube to find best practices. The instructions should have been a little clearer in the box but are a little cryptic at best. That’s the reason for the 1-star downgrade.

It’s great, don’t worry. A final note: don’t kid yourself, this is bigger than the picture shows; it’s also a little on the heavy side.

The Yeti is a very clear microphone with stellar sound quality. Unfortunately, I purchased this Yeti due to my first Yeti containing faulty hardware. The fault in the hardware resulted in an extremely lous and painful buzzing noise, almost like a flatlining sound, being audible whenever in a voice chat or recording in a music studio software.

Because of this, my Yeti had to retire, but I still loved the Yeti as it did last a decent amount of time: approximately 2 years. I tried to reach out to Blue at the time about the fault in the hardware and receive a repair or a replacement, however, I was not provided with one.

In other words, I had to come out of pocket an additional $150 roughly to purchase this new one, and to be honest, I don’t think it’s worth it. Yes, it is a good microphone, however, I feel there are now many alternatives that would deem a better fit for music production and streaming.

Some of these include the HyperX Solo Cast mic, which is also a fraction of the price with even better sound quality and easier handling. All in all, I suggest you look elsewhere to find a more affordable mic that fits your needs :).

I bought a couple of different microphones for recording my classical guitar lessons. I have an inexpensive video camera. For me, the problem with inexpensive video cameras is the lack of an external microphone jack.

In my opinion, the inexpensive camcorders have good enough video for recording my classical guitar lessons. Actually, most of the time for my video, I use an inexpensive point-and-shoot camera with movie option.

In my application, I want a really good sound recording. I record my lessons with the video from an inexpensive camera and the sound with this nice microphone. I really like this microphone. It has hardly any background noise.

But, it picks up a really nice sound from my guitar from about 3 feet away. I just replace the sound from the inexpensive camera with this nice microphone.

Plug and play. Will need a pop-filter or windscreen though to minimize plosives. Also might need a shock mount depending on how you decide to use it.

A microphone I have fallen in-love with! It records very clean audio and it doesn’t have to be in-front of your mouth. As long as it is pointed in the right direction, you are good to go. Very use to use, pretty much just plug’n’play.

The ability to monitor the microphone input is amazing and very easy to use. Doesn’t pick-up background noise if outside of the “record area”. Comes with a great leatherette carrying pouch and a not tripod stand and a long enough cable so you can start using it right away.

Very tinny, high-pitched sound comes when you sing especially high notes or loud whispers. The mic makes your voice very loud which is great but when you sing high there’s a tinny, high-pitched sound that comes with it.

It’s very annoying. I wouldn’t recommend. It also doesn’t mute breaths and you can hear when your lips smack and stuff like that. This mic is probably best for podcasting or ASMR. And lastly, it made me dizzy for like 3-5 seconds at a time as I kept using it.

It’s something to do with the sound but I’ve never felt dizzy after using a microphone.

I got this for better audio on video/Zoom/Meet/Skype calls, and I’m happy with my purchase. It’s a very noticeable upgrade when I listen through a decent pair of headphones: clearer and no echo. Through terrible laptop speakers, it’s better, but not worth the hassle.

Setup was easy: plug in and go. The headphone jack is bad; don’t plan on using it. I couldn’t adjust the volume well, so it was too loud, and the signal quality was noticeably poorer than my laptop’s headphone jack: I could hear static while not moving or making noise.

I had to manually disable the output in volume settings so that I could use the laptop speakers. You need to get a separate stand. The included one is so promising: with my laptop on a few books to make the camera the right height, the microphone on stand was just the right height to sit near my mouth but still be out of frame.

Unfortunately, the included stand build is terrible. I broke off part of it while trying to adjust the mic clip, and I wasn’t using that much pressure. If you get this, be extremely delicate putting it together and never expect to remove the mic clip without breaking it.

I might have fared better if I had gripped the neck with a pair of pliers while adjusting the mic clip. I got a Shure windscreen and it fixed any plosive problems. The name-brand one that was a few dollars more expensive than the generic one did a noticeably better job.

This was the first piece of equipment I purchased when I decided to do some podcasting from home. The mic is great at a reasonable price. I can plug it directly into my computer via the usb. Other participants on videoconferences have often noted how clear I sound.

The headphone jack is extremely helpful in allowing me to monitor my own audio. I also use the XLR to connect it to other recording equipment. The only flaw in this product is the included tripod. The plastic connecting the head of the tripod to the base is too thin and flimsy.

Mine broke when I went to unscrew the stand clamp.

This is the mic I have needed for a long time! As soon as I connected it to my focusrite I could tail that I was dealing with a much better microphone than the cheap one that comes in 50 dollar bundles.

I am a minister of music that deals with a lot of gospel and my lead singer comes through so nicely on this microphone. I am in love with the texture and it’s ability to take on really powerful voices without popping! Good for vocals, podcast, voiceovers, and more!.

It’s a nice mic, definitely a nice choice for any beginner looking to get into recording. Sounds phenomenal, feels sturdy, no complaints from me. It may be a “budget mic” but it surely doesn’t sound budget.

I needed a mic for voice overs and wanted the flexibility to use it for micing instruments /amp cabs down the road, one major issue i have with the room im in is i have to run a fan and a ac vent is above me , this mic is very good at rejecting noise while sounding great.