[0:00] The very first microphone was invented
[0:02] in the late 1800s. Fast forward 56
[0:05] years, and the first mass-produced,
[0:06] publicly available microphone was the
[0:08] Western Electric 618 that at the time
[0:11] cost
[0:12] $175, which adjusted for inflation today
[0:15] is a whopping
[0:19] $3,657.40. Now, in 2025, well, you can
[0:22] buy a microphone that is even better for
[0:24] less than 30 bucks and have it delivered
[0:26] to your door overnight without you
[0:28] having to do a thing except press one
[0:30] button. So, the logical thing to do is
[0:33] get all of the budget ones and then well
[0:35] figure out which one is the best. And
[0:37] that's what I did. And really quickly,
[0:38] we figured out some were just uh not the
[0:41] best. This mic under 30 bucks is just
[0:44] way too sensitive. Revive me, bro. Eric,
[0:46] revive me. Revive me, bro. The D20 from
[0:49] Pedu may look cool, but it just sounds
[0:52] awful. Check, check, check. 1 2 3. And
[0:55] this refined microphone was immediately
[0:57] disqualified having a terrible buzzing
[0:59] noise floor. It's really annoying. Just
[1:02] listen. Now, with some of the bad ones
[1:04] out of the way, we were actually very
[1:06] surprised at how good some of the
[1:07] extremely inexpensive ones were. All of
[1:09] these you're about to listen to are
[1:11] under 30 bucks. Let's take a listen
[1:13] together to see which one is best.
[1:14] Gordon Ramsay makes good food. Check.
[1:17] Check. Check. One, two, three. Gordon
[1:19] Ramsay makes good food. Check, check,
[1:22] check. One, two, three. Gordon Ramsay
[1:25] makes good food. Check, check, check.
[1:28] One, two, three. Gordon Ramsay makes
[1:30] good food. Check, check, check. 1, two,
[1:33] 3. The first one was the Moo UM700. Then
[1:36] the Mayano DM20, the Samsung Meteor, and
[1:38] then finally the Fine Amplame A6V. Oh,
[1:41] and all of the mics I test in this video
[1:43] will have Amazon links in the
[1:44] description. So, if you want to go check
[1:45] those out, they're down there. Of all of
[1:47] those, I think it's clear that the VFine
[1:49] took the cake. I mean, it just sounds so
[1:52] good for the price. However, just normal
[1:54] talking isn't the only test that we need
[1:56] to really assess the mic's quality and
[1:58] what it's good at overall. So, let's
[2:00] listen to the singing test.
[2:05] Rainbow, skies are blue.
[2:11] We're over the
[2:13] rainbow. Skies are blue.
[2:17] The Moo and Fine were definitely the
[2:20] best for singing, though the Moo needs
[2:21] to be tuned a bit in post. And here is
[2:23] what that sounds like after some EQ
[2:34] adjustments.Where. Now, clearly the
[2:36] Fifine sounds better than the Moo, but
[2:38] it still is a little bit sharp on the
[2:40] upper end. So, not great for singing.
[2:42] So, I would say this is more suited for
[2:43] voiceover commentary, like gaming,
[2:45] things like that. But since we're
[2:47] talking about that, in contrast to the
[2:49] singing test, what about a test for all
[2:51] of the ragy gamers and streamers? Well,
[2:53] we did a test for you guys, too. Revive
[2:56] me, Eric. Revive me, bro. Revive me,
[2:59] Eric. Revive me. Revive me, bro. Revive
[3:02] me, Eric. Revive me, bro. Revive me,
[3:05] bro. Eric, revive me, bro. Revive me.
[3:09] Again, the Moo and Fine taking the W
[3:12] here, handling yelling quite well. But
[3:14] honestly, the Mayano and the Samsung did
[3:16] very well here. Trust me, some of the
[3:18] other mics just cannot handle it. But
[3:20] audio quality is not the only thing that
[3:22] determines how good a mic is. Rejection
[3:24] can be equally as important depending on
[3:27] your environment. Rejection is how good
[3:29] a microphone is at picking up the
[3:30] intended voice or sound while not
[3:32] picking up or rejecting the sound
[3:35] outside of the intended voice or sound.
[3:37] This could be sounds right behind the
[3:39] microphone like typing on a keyboard or
[3:41] the sides like someone vacuuming the
[3:43] hallway or just your family being way
[3:45] too loud outside your room or inside for
[3:48] that matter. We're going to test this
[3:49] with three different tests. The first me
[3:52] typing on a mechanical keyboard right
[3:54] under the microphone like it would be on
[3:56] your desk. The second, someone vacuuming
[3:58] in the hallway with my door open. And
[4:01] the third, my girlfriend having a full
[4:03] conversation on the phone in my doorway.
[4:07] So
[4:19] [Music]
[4:21] inconsiderate in the background.
[4:34] some
[4:36] people. All right, guys. Now for the
[4:38] ambient test of someone talking in the
[4:39] background. What's going on? It's been a
[4:41] while since I've talked to you, buddy.
[4:44] How are the kids? Hey, Jared. How's the
[4:46] kids? You got a new dog. This is someone
[4:48] talking in the background. So, yeah.
[4:51] That dog is the cutest thing in the
[4:53] world. No, it's not. That dog is so
[4:56] freaking cute. That is like the cutest
[4:59] dog that I've ever seen. Rudest person
[5:01] I've ever met. Did you hear the massive
[5:03] difference with the keyboard test? The
[5:05] Samsung completely fell short. You're
[5:07] having so many of those bassy hits. If
[5:09] you can't hear those bassy hits, make
[5:11] sure to put on headphones so you can
[5:12] listen to the sound test again to really
[5:14] get an idea of what it's going to sound
[5:15] like. Now, the Mayano wasn't great
[5:17] either, making those not best suited for
[5:19] gamers and streamers. I think it's
[5:20] obvious that the Fine is the clear
[5:22] winner here. But even with how good the
[5:24] quality is for under 30 bucks, it's good
[5:27] for the price. You just can't get
[5:29] amazing detail and clarity at this price
[5:32] point. So, let's bump it up just a
[5:34] little bit cuz obviously this is a full
[5:36] budget video. Raising the price from $30
[5:38] up to a max of $60 gives you a lot more
[5:41] options while still staying comfortably
[5:43] low for the benefit of your bank
[5:45] account. However, this is also where we
[5:48] found the most, well, just unimpressive
[5:50] mics. We're testing the Feduch SL40, the
[5:53] Pseudotac ST800, the Papine Amplame AM8,
[5:56] the Logitech orb, the Razer Siren Mini,
[5:58] the Feduch D20, the HyperX SoloCast, and
[6:01] the Toner TD510. Now, we already know
[6:04] the Feduch D20 is awful, but for fun,
[6:07] this is the D20 versus the previous
[6:09] Fifine A6V. Keep in mind that the D20 is
[6:12] the more expensive mic, not the cheaper
[6:14] one. Check, check, check. 1 2 3. Check,
[6:17] check, check. 1 2 3. We can also rule
[6:20] out the Afine Ample game AM8 because
[6:22] one, it just doesn't sound good. Gordon
[6:25] Ramsay makes good food. Gordon Ramsay
[6:28] makes good food. And two, it had a
[6:31] buzzing sound that by itself would
[6:33] disqualify it. All right, so this one's
[6:36] having a weird buzzing thing. I don't
[6:38] know. It It's not happening all the
[6:40] time. It's weirdly going in and
[6:42] out. I don't know, guys. That leaves six
[6:46] mics. Take a listen. Gordon Ramsay makes
[6:49] good food. Gordon Ramsay makes good
[6:53] food. Gordon Ramsay makes good food.
[6:56] Gordon Ramsay makes good food. Gordon
[6:59] Ramsay makes good food. Gordon Ramsay
[7:03] makes good food. Now, most of those
[7:06] sounded pretty good. Logitech orb. But
[7:10] there's actually only one that I think
[7:11] is actually worth it. To show you what
[7:13] makes me think that, you need to know
[7:15] their price.
[7:21] Now that you know their price, listen to
[7:23] these sound tests.Where
[7:26] the
[7:28] rainbow.
[7:29] Somewhere over the
[7:33] rainbow.
[7:34] Somewhere over the
[7:38] rainbow.
[7:39] Somewhere over the rainbow.
[7:44] Somewhere over the
[7:47] rainbow.
[7:49] Somewhere over the
[7:52] rainbow. Revive me, Eric. Revive me,
[7:55] bro. Revive me, Eric. Revive me, bro.
[7:58] Revive me, Eric. Revive me, bro. Revive
[8:02] me, Eric. Revive me, bro. Revive me.
[8:05] Revive me, Eric. Revive me, bro. But
[8:07] now, the one that I recommend, well, the
[8:09] Razer Siren Mini is the cheapest and its
[8:12] quality is actually pretty good, but it
[8:15] does need a
[8:16] popular as well as its rejection with a
[8:18] keyboard is pretty
[8:22] awful. It's also not compatible with
[8:25] Mac. Now, the HyperX SoloCast, on the
[8:27] other hand, has even clearer quality
[8:29] than the Razer. It's also basically the
[8:32] same price and it is compatible with
[8:34] Mac, but it's plagued with the same
[8:36] issue having horrible rejection with a
[8:38] keyboard. Take a
[8:42] listen. The Toner TD510, on the other
[8:45] hand, does a great job with rejection
[8:46] both with a keyboard and environmental
[8:49] sounds. However, the sound profile is
[8:51] very bassy and not true to life, as well
[8:54] as having issues with pllosives. Now,
[8:56] the sound profile isn't necessarily a
[8:58] bad thing, as some people may prefer
[9:00] this sound profile, but I think most
[9:01] people will prefer a true-to-life sound.
[9:03] So, then the Feduch SL40, right? It has
[9:07] great audio quality, handles rejection
[9:08] of a keyboard very well, has fantastic
[9:11] build quality, and even has an XLR
[9:13] connection if you prefer that over USB.
[9:16] Well, it's actually not this one either,
[9:18] because it's just too expensive at
[9:20] $54.99. Comparing this to the mics we're
[9:22] about to test in the $60 to $80 price
[9:24] point, which is just a little bit more,
[9:26] literally 510 bucks more than this one,
[9:28] they're in an entire level above
[9:30] something like this Feduch D20. So then
[9:33] that leaves the Pseudotac ST800. It's
[9:36] well priced at
[9:37] $43.54 at the time of filming. Has
[9:39] really nice quality. Does great with
[9:41] rejection of a keyboard. Didn't do
[9:43] amazing on the Yel test, but for singers
[9:45] or using this for voiceovers, this is a
[9:47] great mic at a really good price point.
[9:49] Otherwise though, I would bump it up to
[9:51] the next price category because you get
[9:52] a lot more for your money. Now, jumping
[9:55] to the highest tier of mics that we're
[9:57] testing today, only bumping up the price
[10:00] $20 to an $80 max. This gives us five
[10:04] big competitors. Now, this time we're
[10:06] not just going to test them like we've
[10:07] tested the previous ones. We're actually
[10:09] going to test for three different
[10:10] categories. We're trying to find just
[10:12] the overall best audio quality for the
[10:15] mic itself. Then we're trying to find
[10:17] the best mic that's suited for gamers
[10:18] and streamers. And then thirdly, we're
[10:20] trying to find the best microphone for
[10:22] singing or music. These five mics are
[10:25] going through five major tests and
[10:27] receiving points 1 through 10 for each
[10:30] test. The first test, build quality. The
[10:33] Samsung Q2U's build is almost entirely
[10:35] metal, including the grill, and comes
[10:37] with a nice quality stand. Overall
[10:39] rating of 8.5. The Elgato Wave Neo is
[10:42] made entirely of plastic and is quite
[10:44] small and light. The stand is mostly
[10:46] metal with a greatl looking design, but
[10:47] does wiggle around a little bit. Overall
[10:49] rating of 4.75. The Fifine K658 is made
[10:53] almost entirely of metal. Includes a
[10:55] cool looking plastic shock mount.
[10:56] However, had a loose, cheap feeling foam
[10:58] windscreen, bringing the rating down to
[10:59] a 6.5. The Fine Amplitank Tank 3 is
[11:03] built well like a tank being literally
[11:05] entirely metal except for the buttons
[11:08] and controls bringing its rating to a
[11:10] 9.5. The Mo PD200X is made completely of
[11:13] metal aside from its RGB ring and
[11:15] windscreen and includes a nice shock
[11:17] mount with a metal screw point bringing
[11:19] its rating to an 8.2. So for build
[11:22] quality, the Tank 3 came in first,
[11:23] closely followed by the Q2U and
[11:27] PD200X. This is how long each microphone
[11:30] takes to be built completely from being
[11:32] broken down. Now, first the Samsung
[11:34] takes the first place for the quickest.
[11:36] The Tank 3 comes in next and then the
[11:39] K658 and PD200X with the Elgato coming
[11:42] in last because of the more intensive
[11:45] stand building process. Now in your bag,
[11:47] this is going to come in at about 10.5
[11:49] in by a width of about 4 in.
[11:52] Travelability here is excellent. I would
[11:54] say this gets a 9.5. For the Elgato Wave
[11:57] Neo, this thing can really break down
[11:59] into a very tiny package. It measures 6x
[12:02] 5 1/2 in with the stand, but this really
[12:05] travels the best if you leave the stand
[12:07] being extremely light and small. You
[12:10] just have to be a little bit more
[12:11] careful with it as it's made of plastic,
[12:13] but this thing comes in at a solid 7.1.
[12:15] Now, the K658 comes in at 8 by 7 1/4 in
[12:19] with the shock mount not installed. The
[12:21] thing that I don't like is this coming
[12:22] off, but I would say it's durable.
[12:24] Because of that, I think I would give
[12:25] this a 7.3. The Tank 3 is super durable
[12:29] and pretty small at 6 1/2 by 3 in if you
[12:32] leave the mount installed. Though it is
[12:34] quite heavy, it's super durable, making
[12:36] for a score of 8.8. Now, the Mo PD200X.
[12:40] The shock mount is quite timely to
[12:42] remove and install because you need a
[12:43] Phillips head screwdriver. But if you
[12:45] travel with it while leaving the shock
[12:47] mount installed, it will take up a
[12:49] little bit more space, but it's still
[12:50] very, very durable, making for a score
[12:53] of 6.4. Travelability is close here, but
[12:56] the Q2U definitely takes the dub. For
[12:59] controls and software with the Q2U,
[13:01] well, this doesn't have a software. It
[13:02] has an on andoff switch, and it's got
[13:04] these headphone volume adjustment
[13:06] buttons. But since it doesn't have any
[13:08] special features, I'm just going to give
[13:09] it a 5.5. Now, for the Elgato Wave Neo,
[13:12] well, this doesn't really have any
[13:14] controls on it except a mic mute switch
[13:16] right there. However, it's also very
[13:17] good out of the box, but it does have a
[13:19] software. In the Wavelink software, you
[13:22] can adjust everything from monitor mix
[13:24] to headphone volume, mute and unmute,
[13:26] and there's also a mode called voice
[13:28] focus that is basically a background
[13:29] noise cancelling mode. However, the
[13:32] coolest thing is having the ability to
[13:34] adjust a fully custom EQ. Even though
[13:37] this doesn't have a bunch of controls on
[13:38] it itself, I still think because that
[13:40] software is so freaking useful, I'm
[13:43] going 8.5. The controls for the K658,
[13:46] well, it has a volume wheel right here.
[13:48] You have a meat switch right there, as
[13:50] well as a touch sensitive button to
[13:51] adjust the RGB on the bottom of the
[13:54] stand. While I really like the way the
[13:55] wheel feels, there still isn't a
[13:57] dedicated gain knob or any software,
[13:59] bringing this to a score of 6.0. The
[14:02] VFine Ample Tank Tank 3. On this one,
[14:05] we've got the actual gain adjustment on
[14:06] a knob, which is super nice, and a
[14:08] headphone adjustment plus a mic mute
[14:10] there. Now, this is pretty much as good
[14:12] as it gets for your controls, but
[14:14] because it doesn't have a software, this
[14:16] comes in at a 6.5. Now, the Mo
[14:20] PD200X, this one is excellent. There is
[14:22] a mic mute button, a knob that switches
[14:24] between your gain control and headphone
[14:26] volume, as well as a button on the
[14:28] bottom of the mic to change RGB. Now,
[14:30] not just that, but this microphone also
[14:32] has a software. As you can see, it's the
[14:34] Mono Link app. Then, in the software,
[14:36] you can adjust almost everything on this
[14:38] mic from gain to headphone volume.
[14:40] turning on and off your mic monitoring,
[14:42] different EQ settings for recording, a
[14:45] limiter, and even a compressor. You can
[14:47] even change the RGB brightness, and dial
[14:49] in the exact color you want with a color
[14:51] wheel. And because of that, this gets a
[14:53] 10 out of 10 for its controls and
[14:55] software. Both the PD200X and Elgato
[14:58] Wave Neo far excel over the others
[15:00] because of their software, allowing for
[15:02] so much more
[15:04] control. Gordon Ramsay makes good food.
[15:08] Excellent sound quality here. Nice
[15:10] trebles, nice mid-range, great for
[15:11] singing and vocals like that. This has
[15:14] been a staple for so long now. It's such
[15:16] a great microphone. You really can't go
[15:18] wrong with it. I would give this a
[15:22] 9.5, maybe a 9.4. It has a slight noise
[15:25] floor, but overall it's really quite
[15:27] impressive. Gordon Ramsay makes good
[15:30] food. The audio quality on the Wave Neo
[15:32] is really impressive. It's very true to
[15:34] life. It's got nice deep rich bass
[15:37] frequencies from your mouth, from your
[15:38] vocals. This microphone also by far did
[15:41] the best with the rejection test, both
[15:42] with yelling and with the keyboard test.
[15:45] Take a listen to
[15:47] this. The trebles are nice and crisp,
[15:49] but they're not overbearing. It's really
[15:51] quite impressive. I'm going as high as a
[15:54] 9.6 here. It's really good. Gordon
[15:57] Ramsay makes good food. Not bad here,
[16:01] but the trebles are just a bit muffled
[16:03] and they don't really have that upper
[16:05] end. Uh, and in this price category with
[16:07] all the other microphones, it's just
[16:08] doesn't compete well enough. It's still
[16:10] a good microphone, but I'm giving it a
[16:13] 7.7. Gordon Ramsay makes good food. Now,
[16:17] this one's not really that great. It
[16:19] sounds a bit muffled, especially
[16:20] compared to the other ones on the list.
[16:22] I just don't really like the audio
[16:24] quality. The trebles are not crisp. the
[16:26] mid-range is it's just not a great
[16:29] microphone. Because of those reasons,
[16:30] I'm going to give the Amplitank Tank 3
[16:33] probably only a 4.4, maybe a five. And
[16:36] that's just because compared to these
[16:37] other microphones, it just doesn't even
[16:39] sound close to as good. Gordon Ramsay
[16:42] makes good food. This one is so
[16:45] impressive. Ultra low noise floor.
[16:48] You're basically hear nothing here. The
[16:50] trebles are so crisp, but not
[16:52] overbearing. Just sounds very true to
[16:54] life. It's got great bass frequencies.
[16:55] It sounds really impressively true to
[16:57] life. This one is excellent. Definitely
[17:00] the best one on the list. This comes in
[17:02] at a 9.8. Maybe just make it a 10
[17:06] because it is the best on the list. Now,
[17:08] totaling up all the scores, these are
[17:10] the best for overall quality, best for
[17:12] streamers and gamers, and the best for
[17:15] singers and musicians. For the overall
[17:17] best audio quality, the Mayano PD200X is
[17:21] absolutely the best. It's very true to
[17:23] life, has a fantastic low noise floor,
[17:26] and it looks pretty dang good. However,
[17:28] it didn't do great on the yell test. So,
[17:30] if you are a gamer or streamer who kind
[17:31] of does rage though, there is a better
[17:33] microphone for that. And that award goes
[17:35] to the extremely impressive Elgato Wave
[17:38] Neo. I love this mic. Now, while the
[17:41] build quality of the mic itself is
[17:43] mainly plastic, the amazing ability to
[17:46] have fantastic rejection both of
[17:48] keyboards as well as doing extremely
[17:50] well on the yell test, but it also has
[17:53] audio quality that is very close to the
[17:56] PD200X. This is a very, very good
[17:59] microphone for singers and musicians.
[18:01] Well, it's the Samsung Q2U. This thing
[18:04] has been a staple and it continues to be
[18:06] a staple. This is a hair away from both
[18:09] the Elgato Wave Neo and the PD200X in
[18:11] terms of quality, but just a little bit
[18:13] more noise floor. But oh my gosh, all
[18:16] three of these mics are fantastic. And
[18:17] if you want to check out any of them or
[18:19] any of the mics I have in this video,
[18:20] there's Amazon links below 40 US, UK,
[18:22] Canada, and international links. And let
[18:24] me know if you like this new style. But
[18:26] this is a consumer tech review and I'll
[18:27] see you guys in the next