---
title: 'Is This the BEST Mic for Beginners? FiFine vs Shure vs Rode'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=FBCcN9n-oT0'
video_id: 'FBCcN9n-oT0'
date: 2026-06-15
duration_sec: 0
---

# Is This the BEST Mic for Beginners? FiFine vs Shure vs Rode

> Source: [Is This the BEST Mic for Beginners? FiFine vs Shure vs Rode](https://youtube.com/watch?v=FBCcN9n-oT0)

## Summary

This video compares three popular beginner microphones: the FiFine K688, Rode PodMic, and Shure MV7. The creator evaluates design, features, sound quality, and value for money, providing recommendations for different use cases like podcasting, streaming, and YouTube.

### Key Points

- **Introduction to the three mics** [00:00] — Compares FiFine K688, Rode PodMic, and Shure MV7 for creators and streamers.
- **Design and build quality** [00:45] — FiFine feels cheapest but good for price; Rode PodMic is built like a tank; Shure MV7 is in between.
- **Features comparison** [05:08] — FiFine has USB-C, XLR, headphone monitoring, and mute switch. Rode PodMic has only XLR. Shure MV7 has XLR, micro USB, touch panel, and software.
- **Background hiss and noise rejection** [07:18] — Shure MV7 has least hiss and best noise rejection. Rode PodMic is second. FiFine has noticeable hiss on USB.
- **Sound quality comparison** [09:56] — Out of box, Shure MV7 sounds best. FiFine sounds good with XLR and EQ. Rode PodMic needs EQ to sound its best.
- **Price and value for money** [12:52] — FiFine ~$70, Rode PodMic ~$90, Shure MV7 ~$179. Rode PodMic is best value considering build and sound.
- **Use case recommendations** [14:08] — Shure MV7 best for podcasting (versatile), FiFine for streaming (fixed position), Rode PodMic for YouTubers (post-processing).
- **Personal favorite** [14:59] — Creator's personal favorite is the Rode PodMic, but choice depends on use case and experience level.

### Conclusion

The best microphone depends on your specific use case and experience level. The Rode PodMic is the creator's personal favorite for its build quality and sound after EQ, but the FiFine offers great value for streamers on a budget, and the Shure MV7 is the most versatile out of the box.

## Transcript

you a Creator or streamer looking for
the perfect beginner microphone whether
you're on a budget or need the best
audio quality or just need something
easy to operate today we're going to
compare three very popular options the
fine K 688 the road pod mic and the
Shore mv7 by the end hopefully you'll
know exactly which one of these mics
will suit your needs because I'll be
sharing my top pick for which one of
these microphones is worth the
investment and a big thanks to Riverside
for partnering on today's video and as
we go throughout the video I'm just
going to be cutting between each
different mic so you get a bit an idea
of what each one sounds like in action
for reference I've got the fine and the
mv7 both plugged in via USB and then the
Pod mic is plugged in Via XLR basically
because that's kind of how they're
designed to be used out of the box all
right so first of all let's talk about
the design and build quality of these
three different microphones cuz they do
range quite a bit now starting out with
a f fine it's kind of a combination of
metal and plastic and overall I would
say this one definitely feels like the
cheapest microphone but despite that in
terms of the amount of money you're
actually paying for this microphone I
actually think it's a really good deal
the metal definitely feels on the
thinner side but it doesn't feel like
they've skimped on build quality when it
comes to the materials it feels well
constructed while also being on the
budget end it's also relatively light
which again isn't necessarily a bad
thing I am actually quite a big fan of
the overall design it looks quite nice I
like the green the black aesthetic also
quite like the shock mount design I
think the main downside when it comes to
build quality with the F fine is
probably where it attaches to your boom
arm this does feel a little bit
plasticky but again I'm definitely not
disappointed considering the price point
of this mic now moving up slightly in
price we've got the road pod mic and
this one to me is a huge contrast in
overall build quality this one feels
like it's built like an absolute tank
it's actually quite heavy almost all of
the components are made of metal with
the exception of just a couple of things
like the tightening knobs on the side
but these feel like really high quality
plastic and I've said it in my previous
review videos of the podmic I think this
thing is built to last like I think it
will last easily 5 to 10 years in terms
of the overall design I think when I
first saw it I wasn't as crazy about it
but over time it's actually really grown
on me I actually really like the kind of
old school Timeless classic look that
the Pod mic has it doesn't have a
removable pot filter like the fine does
but again I don't necessarily see that
as a downside it's kind of one less
component to worry about which is kind
of a good thing in my opinion and
overall I just think it's a really solid
microphone when it comes to the build
quality and the design then lastly
moving on to the short mv7 which is the
most expensive of these three mics I
would say it's sits kind of somewhere in
between the first two mics although
definitely on the Pod mic side when it
comes to Quality so overall i' would say
it's not quite as solid as the Pod mic
but definitely a lot more solid than the
fine similar to the Pod mic it's mostly
made of metal with the exception of a
couple of components like the tightening
nods on the side this one does have a
removable pop filter the actual mic
casing underneath feels really solid and
in terms of weight again it's somewhere
in between the first two mics it's not
super heavy like the Pod mic but it's
not really light like the 5 fine in
terms of the design I'm a fan I think it
looks sleek kind of understated but in
some ways maybe just because it's a
little bit of a smaller form factor than
the five kind of feels like it's not
quite as premium somehow even though
this is the more expensive microphone
but overall I think the winner for me
probably is the road when it comes to
the design and build quality and
especially when you consider how much
money you pay for it I think it's an
absolute bargain so as you can see these
mics overall offer solid build quality
which is key for any serious content
creator but great gear alone isn't
enough to get that perfect sound another
really important thing that a lot of
people forget about is how you actually
record because no matter how great the
microphone if you're recording setup
isn't solid it's not going to sound good
I've seen plenty of content creators
invest in really high-end microphones
but end up with subpar audio because
they record on devices and platforms
that don't fully preserve the audio
quality one thing to definitely watch
out for is using traditional video
calling platforms like Zoom that often
heavily compress your audio which ruins
the quality that you be paid top dollar
to achieve that's why if you're doing
remote interviews podcasts or any type
of remote recording you need a platform
that's going to record your audio at its
best without bad compression now I use
Riverside for all of my remote
recordings including my own podcast it's
an all-in-one platform that allows you
to record stream and edit all of your
content right within your web browser in
the highest quality possible it's able
to do this by recording your audio and
your video locally onto your computer
meaning you get uncompressed studio
quality files which then then get
uploaded separately and with Riverside
you can also automatically generate
captions for your videos and then use
the edit to add music and overlays
whether you're a YouTuber doing remote
interviews or hosting a podcast
Riverside makes it easy to keep your
production polished and professional if
you want to try it out I've got an
exclusive discount with the code nick2
to get 20% off your subscription of
Riverside just click the link in the
description and you can even try it out
for free with a free account has
personally saved me tons of time without
compromising quality so I hope it will
for as well but of course the design
isn't all that matters when it comes to
microphones you've also got to consider
the features so let's talk about some of
the different features of these mics
once again starting off with the fir
fine so in terms of connectivity you can
plug it in Via USBC which is really nice
because that's quite modern it's going
to connect to most modern laptops or
computers you can also connect it via
XLR which is a very nice option to have
especially on a microphone of this price
point you can also plug in your
headphones directly so you can get audio
monitoring live then you can adjust your
monitoring levels with a little knob as
well as your level so that's two very
nice additions to have right on the
microphone itself because it does give
you that bit of extra fine control the F
fine also has a mute switch on top which
is very prominent which changes color
depending on whether it's muted or
unmuted then moving on to the Pod mic
this one is actually pretty feature slim
it's purely got an XLR output it's got
no headphone monitoring controls it's
got no game controls built in it's just
the mic and an XLR Port that's
essentially all that it's got so if
you're looking for lots of onboard
features the pod mic might not be the
microphone for you then finally we've
got the short mv7 this one also has
quite a few features so this one
features a touch panel which enables you
to control the monitor levels because
you can also plug in your headphones
into the back it also allows you to
control the gain of the microphone it's
also got a mute switch which is really
nice and then again the mvy servant has
xli out as well as micro USB out now
micro USB is definitely on the older
side and I've mentioned in previous
reviews that I found the cable that came
with the mic has gotten a little bit
bent over time so it tends to fall out a
little bit I wish the mv7 had USBC like
the fine the other thing to mention is
that the short mv7 has Associated
software which you can install onto your
computer and you can use this to do
things like change the preset EQ and
even record directly to your computer
that's the Sha motive app that's what
I'm recording this microphone through
right now so I consider that kind of an
extra feature of the mv7 so for me the
winner when it comes to overall features
I would probably argue is actually the
fine and that's mainly because I really
like the knob control of the microphone
gain and the headphone output instead of
the touch panel the touch panel can be a
little bit finicky to use and I also
really like the USBC it's very hard to
beat USBC in this day and age but even
more important than the actual features
of these microphones is arguably how
good they sound so let's talk about the
actual sound quality of these three
microphones and one thing that a lot of
beginners might notice is any background
hiss and that's something that can
really destroy your audio quality very
quickly this is often caused by too much
gain in the microphone or just a lower
quality microphone overall now I'm going
to start off with the best and then go
to the worst when it comes to this so
the absolute best is the short mv7 in my
experience when you have it set to
pretty normal gain levels either on USB
or on XLR is almost no background hiss
which is pretty amazing when you start
to boost the gain a bit you do start to
introduce a bit of a background hiss but
it's still pretty manageable next in my
experience was the road pod mic this
definitely has some more noticeable
background here just a standard gain
levels overall to me it's totally
acceptable you can probably e it out
pretty easily same deal when you boost
the gain on this mic it does increase
that background his a bit but I think
overall it's still quite manageable now
when it comes to the F fine I had two
different results depending on whether I
was using USB or XLR so when I was using
XLR it was actually pretty similar I
found to the podmic maybe slightly
better so at normal gain levels the fine
had pretty manageable background hiss
however I first started to notice a b
issue when I boosted the gain and
stepped back from the fine a bit that's
what I noticed more of a background hiss
and it was a bit more noticeable I think
than the Pod mic however the big problem
came when I was recording through USB
which is what I'm doing right now and
even at standard gain levels the
background hiss on this microphone was
relatively significant to the point
where it was quite noticeable even with
a bit of background music and then when
I boosted the gain through USB the hiss
was pretty much unusable like it was
quite loud and very noticeable so I
think that's something definitely to
keep in mind with with the F fine if
you're planning on using it with USB you
will definitely have a noisier audio
signal than you would if using it just
with XLR now moving on to background
noise rejection So currently there's
actually some construction noise outside
my window I've got a whole bunch of
construction happening so you might be
able to pick up on that as I go through
these mics but that's actually a really
good test to see how well each of these
mics can reject background noise now
once again my experience was that the MV
Ser was by far the best and not only
removed heaps of that background his
when I was doing some testing earlier I
was picking up pretty much no
construction noise coming from the next
block over once again I found the Pod
mic to be second it was decent when it
came to that noise rejection but I could
hear a bit of that construction noise
coming through and when I stepped back
from the mic there was a little bit of
echo being picked up for my room and
then again I found the fir fying to be
the worst when it came to background
noise Rejection it seemed to be the most
sensitive when it came to picking up
that construction noise it was okay but
it was definitely less pronounced than
the other two microphones and lastly
let's talk about the actual sound
quality from each of these and the sound
signature and I'm actually really
interested to hear your thoughts on
which one you think sounds the best so
I'm not going to go in order of which I
think is best I'm just going to go in
random order so let's start with the Pod
mic this is what it sounds like through
XLR with basically no EQ added so I've
added a bit of compression and a limit
just so it's equal volume to all the
other mics but I haven't eqed anything
this is what it sounds like coming out
of the box to my ear it's a little bit
mid-range heavy and as a result sounds a
little bit muffled sometimes or maybe
not quite as well-rounded as I'd like it
to however but once I've eqed it like I
have now I think it sounds excellent it
sounds quite warm and well-rounded it's
got a little bit more punch I think on
the highend which is probably good for
me to give me some extra Clarity cuz I
tend to mumble a bit but that is the
road pod mic now let's move on to the F
fine so this is currently coming through
the USB which to me I think sounds
decent although it does sound a little
bit muffled I think that's partly
because of that background his that you
get through the USB now this is how the
fine sounds been recorded through XLR
and this is with no EQ and actually
think it sounds pretty decent it's
definitely got a little bit more lowend
and it's not quite as clear on the high
end in my experience but overall it
sounds quite decent and then this is
what it sounds like once I've applied
some basic EQ to the signal and honestly
I actually think it sounds really good
tell me what you think in the comments
it's really quite warm and actually kind
of reminds me of the Sha sm7b which is
kind of like the gold standard for
microphones so I think that says a lot
about this mic considering it's very
cheap price point and then lastly the
short mv7 this is currently being
recorded through USB using the natural
preset EQ and again I think it's kind of
similar to the Pod mic and then it's a
little bit mid-range heavy but overall I
think it sounds quite nice it's quite
warm and I'll definitely be happy with
this audio signal so now I'm currently
recording the shaw through XLR I think
to me this is when it sounds the most
balanced it sounds quite well-rounded it
sounds quite warm and I think it sounds
pretty good and then once I've eqed it I
actually think it sounds pretty similar
to the fine but maybe not quite as warm
so overall out of the box I think in
terms of which one you're going to get
the best sound quality from without
having to do too much extra work I think
it's going to be the sh mv7 and just
overall sounds really quite decent then
I think it's probably going to be the F
fine after that I think with USB it
doesn't sound bad apart from that
background hiss and so to me the key
thing is just making sure you're sitting
quite close to the fire and then finally
the Pod mic is probably going to be the
most work cuz you're going to have to
put the most amount of EQ on this in
post you can use it straight out of the
box but it's not going to sound as nice
as it could if you do some basic EQ so
in my opinion which is the best sounding
to be honest I actually think I might go
with the F fine I think it actually
sounds really quite nice but with the
caveat that it's only when you're
sitting quite close to it if you sit
back a bit and try and record yourself
from a bit of a distance you do
introduce too much background gain and
noise and it just kind of falls off
pretty quickly so with that said let's
talk about the actual price and value
for money when it comes to these mics so
the fine is currently the cheapest at
around 70
then you've got the road at about $90
and then finally the mv7 which comes in
at Double the price of
$179 and to be honest I was trying to
decide which one I think is the best
value for money and it's actually kind
of hard to say because they all kind of
have different strengths and weaknesses
I think the road pod mic is probably the
best value for money overall when you
consider the build quality and the sound
quality they're both really solid I
think the big downside is that it's
going to be harder to use for beginners
because you're going to have to get get
an external USB interface to be able to
plug it into your computer since it's
only XLR plus you're going to have to
spend more time eqing in post so if
you're kind of a semi-pro or
professional content creator the Pod mic
might be a good choice and previously I
would have said the shore would have
been worth the price considering it's
significantly more expensive than the
other two microphones but now that I've
used the F fine I think this overall
sounds really nice I think what the mv7
has over the fine is that background
hiss which makes it overall a more
versatile microphone I'd much more
confidently use this in a range of
different scenarios especially if
there's any background noise instead of
the F fine just because I think it's
going to be more reliable basically
which kind of leads me to my use case
recommendations starting off with a mic
that I think is best for podcasting and
I would argue that probably the mv7
might be best for podcasting again
because of that versatility so you can
take this into different setups and use
it confidently with different people
different speakers and you know it's
going to be reliable when it comes to
the best microphone for streamers I
actually think the F fine might be the
best because chances are if you're
streaming you're going to be sitting at
a desk with the microphone at a fixed
position in front of you and that's when
you're going to get the best audio
quality out of the ffi so I think if
you're a streamer especially if you're
on a budget I think the fine could be a
really solid option and then lastly if
you're a YouTuber obviously I'm a bit
biased but I think the Pod mic might be
the best because if you're recording
YouTube videos like this you've got time
in post to go and really dial it in to
match your voice create a preset and
just make sure you're maximizing audio
quality which is why I recommend the Pod
mic for YouTubers so finally which is my
personal favorite which one do I
recommend the most I think I'm still
honestly going to go with the Pod mic
for now it might change in the future I
think these other two microphones are
still great choices and again I hope
what I've conveyed is that what it
really comes down to is your use case as
well as your own particular experience
level and hopefully by watching this
video you've got a better idea of which
one might suit you best so over to you
let me know in the comments which one
you think is the best which one do you
think sounds the best and which one
you're going to be buying don't forget
to check out Riverside using the Link in
the description and if you decide to
look more into the road pod mic then
check out my full review of the podmic
right here in case you're ke to hear
more about it