GROUP TEST
A good microphone can be the difference between a professional sounding triumph, or a crackly, tinny disaster
Capturing great vocal audio from your PC used to be a bit of a teeth-clenching experience. Esoteric cables, strange terminology, and fiddly equipment once made the process a lot more difficult than it needed to be.
Luckily, there are now many easy-to-use microphone solutions on the market at a range of price points, taking the stress out of capturing top-quality sound.
Whether you’re looking to break out as the next streaming sensation, finally start that podcast, or simply want to improve the audio in your daily meetings, a good microphone will take your audio to the next level.
However, with a wealth of options to choose from, finding the right mic for you can still be a bit of a conundrum. Here are six microphones that might fit the bill for supremely smooth sounds and eardrum-tingling audio.
Alias
Premium contender
1For most uses, a good cardioid desktop mic will capture a great ocal sound, providing it’s got a quality capsule. The SteelSeries Alias certainly has one of those, but also comes nestled in its own supportive shockmount, meaning table bumps and vibrations are much less likely to make an appearance in your audio. The slim design means it doesn’t take up too much room on your desk either, and with a robust aluminium construction the Alias doesn’t only feel the part, but looks it too.
The Alias has a clear, rounded sound, and picks up well at a distance while maintaining some mid-range weight to your vocals. Combine that with the SteelSeries Sonar AI-noise correction software, and you have a relatively set and forget solution. The downside here is the price, as those just looking for decent audio quality may well be better off with a cheaper unit. Still, the little Alias has some impressive tricks up its sleeve, and build quality that feels solid and dependable.
Good sound capture Compact design High price
PCGAMER
Good sound captureGood sound capture
Compact designCompact design
High priceHigh price
SPECS POLAR PATTERNS: CARDIOID /CONNECTIVITY: USB-C / SAMPLE RATE: 96KHZ /
Good Superb, professional-sounding audio Versatile No mic stand included
MV7
Professional assassin
2Those that have been around the audio game for a while will be very familiar with the Shure name, as it’s been cranking out professional microphones for years. Listen to some of your favourite tunes and chances are at some point you’ll be hearing a Shure microphone at work.
The MV7 is Shure’s attempt at nailing a podcast audio mic in one easy swing, and in terms of sheer audio quality, it’s knocked it out the park. Warm, slightly crispy vocal audio is the MV7’s forte, although what it really likes is gettin
