[00:02] important upgrade for your stream. So today I have a bunch of microphones between $40 and $250. And we will find out the sweet spot between price, functions, and [music] sound. Now in order to keep buying these
[00:15] products, I do need sponsors. So today it is five fine with these two know, I always test these in the same way so you can decide which one you like the most. I will not be reviewing the
[00:28] sponsored products in any different way. Now, the first and cheapest microphone today is the Razer Siren V3 Mini. You can buy this microphone for around $40, can buy this microphone for around $40, and it has an insanely good rating, 4.7
[00:42] stars. I barely see this on products. The mic is available in black, pink, and white. And then in terms of on mic functions, you only get a capacitive mute button. This is a test of the Razer Siren V3 Mini while it is standing on my
[00:57] desk. This is a test of the Razer Siren V3 Mini while it is connected to a boom arm. Then next we have one of, if not the most sold microphone on Amazon, the The black version alone has been bought more than 7,000 times in the past month.
[01:14] It's also available in pink and in white. I have the white version right here. And you can also see in the pictures there is an RGB ring at the bottom. And you can enable or disable the RGB with this capacitive button
[01:27] here. There is a headphone monitoring jack on the bottom. Also a USBC and an XLR port. So you can choose whether you connect it to an audio interface or directly with USB to your PC. Then on the back of the microphone, there is
[01:40] also a capacitive mute button. And on the front, besides controlling the RGB, you can also control the input gain and then your headphone monitoring volume. And if you have a bit of patience, you can buy it for about $45 because often
[01:53] when the price goes up, there are lightning deals going on. I will quickly show you the first test that I did with this mic. This is a test of the Fifine AM8 while it is standing on my desk. This is a test of the Fifine AM8 while
[02:07] it is connected to a boom arm. All right. Now, I'm going through these products from cheapest to most expensive. And the next in the order is expensive. And the next in the order is the Fifine Amplitank K688CT.
[02:19] This is a full microphone kit that comes with a mic, but also with a boom arm. You can purchase the mic itself separately, but it does need a boom arm because it doesn't come with a stand. So, in most cases, the kit version is
[02:32] the best deal. You can see both options right here, the mic itself or then the kit version. By the way, it is also available in white. And as you can see in this history, you can often buy it for between 64 and 80 bucks. Probably
[02:45] with Black Friday coming and New Year's, there will be a bunch of deals. On the mic itself, you will also find a USB and an XLR port. And there's also a knobs to change the gain of the microphone [music] and the monitoring
[02:59] volume. Now, besides that, you will also find a mute button right here. Seems to be a capacitive mute button. And as you can see around the microphone, it also has a shock mount. and this should help to remove vibrations from the desk. This
[03:11] to remove vibrations from the desk. This is a test of the Fifine K688C. is a test of the Fifine K688C. Next, we have the Samsung Q2U. Is often recommended as a great choice for streamers who want great audio
[03:23] quality without spending money on a professional microphone, an audio interface, a microphone boom arm, because it combines all of that into this mic. The mic itself is a great quality product. You can use XLR, but it
[03:36] does have USBC. And then you don't need a microphone boom arm in order to bring the mic closer to your mouth because the stand itself together with the design of the mic already bring it pretty much as close as a boom arm would. So this is a
[03:49] great product but it's also not cheap. We're not in the budget range anymore. Currently it is listed on Amazon for $100. I also checked the price history before and sadly if we look at this 9-year curve, we can see that recently
[04:03] 9-year curve, we can see that recently it jumped up from about $70 to 99. Maybe with the holidays coming up and Black Friday, you might be able to buy this a bit cheaper, but even at $100, it's a great microphone. I will show you the
[04:15] test I did right now. This is a test of the Samsung Q2U while it is standing on my desk. This is a test of the Samson Q2U while it is connected to a boom arm. I forgot to talk about the on mic functions. I'll do it very quick. There
[04:31] Also towards the bottom of the microphone, you have a volume up and you're connecting your headphones to change a monitoring volume. And so on the bottom, you can connect your headphones right here or then use an XLR
[04:45] cable with an audio interface or a USBC port to connect it to your PC with USBC cable. Oh, and it also comes with a pop filter, which makes the microphone a bit ugly, but it should help to remove uh possives. So, yeah, use it if you want
[04:59] to, but it is a lot less attractive like this. Next, we have the Sennheiser Profile USB microphone streaming set. This here is the product. It has great reviews, and looking at the past month, it has fluctuated between 125 bucks and
[05:15] about 200. Currently, seems like when it gets back in stock, it will be 125. Now, on the mic itself, you have a headphone monitoring jack, a USBC port, and then on the front, there's a bunch. This is a mute button. This is to change your
[05:28] microphone's gain. This is to change the balance between your mic and your PC sound. And then this right here is to change your headphone monitoring volume. This is a test of the Sennheiser Profile USB microphone streaming set. Then next
[05:44] we have the Sure MV6 and I'm very much looking forward to comparing this microphone to all the other options. Sure as a company has great products like the very famous Sure SM7B. This is the MV6 which is a pure USB microphone.
[05:59] I also like that the stand is pretty high. So the mic is very close to your mouth by default without a microphone arm. By the way, it is extremely heavy. It is a pretty popular product bought more than 1,000 times in the past month.
[06:12] And checking the price curve of about over a year, it seems like it's very steady at 169. Very, very occasional price drops to 150. Now, in terms of functions on the mic, we do have a capacitive mute button on the front. And
[06:26] then on the bottom, there's not much, a headphone monitoring jack, and a USBC port. It does not have knobs for the headphone monitoring volume or for the gain of the mic. So, you will have to control all of that on your PC. This is
[06:39] a test of the Sure MV6 while it is standing on my desk. This is a test of the Sure MV6 while it is connected to a microphone boom arm. Next, we have the microphone boom arm. Next, we have the Road Pod Mic USB. And this is a beefy
[06:54] microphone. In 2018, Road released the Road Pod Mic, which is this one right here. But that was a purely XLR microphone. But then 5 years later, they released this, which is the Pod Mic USB. In the box, there is just the cable,
[07:08] then the microphone itself, and a pop filter. But man, this is a pop filter. It is huge. It's a whole cover for the microphone. The mic itself is very heavy. It feels like a very quality production product, which it also is. In
[07:24] terms of functions on the microphone, oops, on the bottom, you have a headphone monitoring jack. You have a volume knob to change the monitoring volume. Then this rubber right here is where you can find the XLR input. There
[07:37] we go. And this here is for the USB cable which we will [music] be using. All right. Now, let's listen to the tests I recorded with this mic. This is a test of the Road Pod Mic USB. You do need a boom arm because it does not come
[07:51] with a stand. I'm currently using the Road PSA 1. This is a pretty expensive boom arm. There are cheaper options. For example, this one right here is the Fifine BM63. It is very similar to the Road PSA1, but
[08:05] it's a budget option. It is way cheaper, and it is also a very strong microphone arm. You can barely move it. So, this is definitely also an option that will be able to carry this heavy quality microphone. Now, in terms of budget
[08:19] microphone arms, there is also the Fifine BM88. The reason I didn't mention this is that it's a bit more expensive than the BM63. option if you're looking for a lowprofile microphone arm. So, this
[08:33] right here is the mic arm. As you can see, $4,000 bought in the past month. It's available in black, pink, and white. And before we forget, the Road white. And before we forget, the Road Pod Mic USB. It's $210 right now. And in
[08:46] the past 3 months, it seems to be fluctuating between 210 and then about 200. And then right now it is time to listen to all of the tests back to back so you can clearly hear the difference between the different mics and budgets.
[09:00] you my quick thoughts on how all of these u [music] kind of fit together and which choice I would make. This is a test of the Razer Siren V3 Mini while it is standing on my desk. This is a test of the Razer Siren V3 Mini while I'm
[09:17] typing on my keyboard in the background when it's standing on my desk. Testing the pop filter. This is a test of the Razer Sarin V3 Mini while it is connected to a boom arm. And this is a test of the Razer
[09:33] Sarin V3 Mini while I'm typing on my keyboard in the background when it's connected to a boom arm. Testing the pop filter. This is a test of the Fifine AM8 while it is standing on my desk. And this is a
[09:50] test of the Fifine AM8 while I'm typing my keyboard in the background. Testing the pop filter. This is a test of the Fifine AM8 while
[10:02] it is connected to a boom arm. And this is a test of the Fifine AM8 while I am is a test of the Fifine AM8 while I am typing on my keyboard in the background. Testing the pop filter. P. This is a test of the Fifine K688CT.
[10:19] This is a test of the Fifine K688CT. And this is a test of the Fifine K688 CT while I'm typing on my keyboard in the background.
[10:32] This is a test of the Samsung Q2U while it is standing on my desk. And this is a test of the Samsung Q2U while I'm typing my keyboard in the background and it's standing on my desk. Testing the pop filter.
[10:49] This is a test of the Samson Q2U while it is connected to a boom arm. And this is a test of the Samson Q2U while I'm typing on my keyboard when it's connected to a boom arm. Testing the pop filter P. This is a test
[11:07] of the Sennheiser Profile USB microphone streaming set. And this is a test while I am typing on my keyboard in the background. Testing the pop filter. This is a test of the Sure MV6 while it
[11:24] is standing on my desk. And this is a test of the Sure MV6 while it is standing on my desk and I am typing on my keyboard. Testing the pop filter. This is a test of the Sure MV6 while it
[11:41] is connected to a microphone boom arm. Now, I want to mention that the cable is very short. So, it doesn't seem to be supposed to be connected to seem to be to a boom arm because the stand itself is already pretty high if you use the
[11:55] cable is so short. It's literally straight to my PC right here next to me. It's like this long. So anyway, let's test the keyboard. This is a test of the Sure MV6 while it's connected to a microphone boom arm. And I'm typing my
[12:11] microphone boom arm. And I'm typing my keyboard behind the microphone. keyboard behind the microphone. Testing the pop filter.
[12:24] And then this is a test of me typing on my keyboard in the background while the my keyboard in the background while the road pod mic USB is on a microphone arm. road pod mic USB is on a microphone arm. Testing the pop filter.
[12:37] All right, it is time for my favorites. I immediately removed the Sennheiser microphone. I didn't like that. The Sure MV6, I just think that this one, while it's more expensive, sounds better. And this one right here, the Samsung Q2U is
[12:51] what I would buy instead of the Sure MV6. The Razer Siren Mini, you can't use this microphone without a microphone boom arm. It is so small, so far away from your mouth. And you could hear in the tests, it's echoey. It's not deep.
[13:04] It's not full. Now, with a mic arm, it sounds really good. And the $40 of this with a microphone arm of, let's say, $15, $16, $17, that will still be pretty much the cheapest option here. Maybe this one right here, the AM8. [music]
[13:18] This mic has RGB. There's also more features in terms of a headphone one doesn't have. There's nothing on here besides a mute button, but it sounds really good. So, it's up to you to check the price of the AM8 because I
[13:31] think it was in the ' 40s, [music] so it's not much more expensive than this one, but it might be a great option for the pure warm full sound quality link boom arm options, especially a very budget one, in the description. the
[13:45] Fifine AM8. I also loved this microphone because it has a bunch of features on the mic like headphone monitoring, RGB. It is also, let me take it. It is also a pretty tall microphone. So, even without a boom arm, it is pretty close to your
[13:59] mouth, which you could hear in the tests probably, especially going from this [music] is the front of the mic. All right. Then, in terms of price, the next one is this one right here, the kit. This one sounds very warm and full and
[14:13] deep by default. It has the same features and functions as this one headphone monitoring jack, the volume control, and it also looks more like a professional type of mic where this looks more like a [music]
[14:27] microphone, and of course, it is the kit, but I also have the microphone itself right here. So, you can buy it separately, but you will need a boom option. Unless you really want another mic, then you can just buy it [music]
[14:41] separately. All right, then a bump up in the price, but I said it before. I pop filter and the look of it, but I really love this microphone. It sounds very crisp and professional. You don't need a boom arm, so it's close to your
[14:55] mouth. You can also later buy an audio interface and then use the XLR port here. Same thing goes for this microphone and [music] this. And then as the most expensive option, we have the road pod mic USB. But I am a bit
[15:08] conflicted with these two microphones being here because [music] this literally costs double the price of this microphone and you still need to buy a boom arm. So, it's comparing $100 to $250. And the question is, is that
[15:21] upgrade worth it? And the answer is probably no. For most people creating content online, your audience will most definitely not hear the difference between the two, especially after you add effects. Then, especially if you're
[15:34] live streaming, you might be streaming with a pretty low bit rate. There might be other sounds going on like music in the background or a game playing. So, going from 100 to 250 of this with a boom arm, which you need, in my personal
[15:47] opinion, should only be done if you're already earning money. You don't really care about spending $250. You want a really professional, heavy podcast microphone. It is definitely that. It's very heavy. It also sounds really good.
[16:02] But if you're not at that point with your content or whatever you're doing, I really would buy this microphone instead. And I'm now talking about these two microphones, I also love the other options. I mean, the real answer is
[16:14] probably that even if you ignore this microphone, you can use any of these microphones, add some effects to it, and your audience will probably not hear the one right here because it is a great option. If I would have to choose
[16:27] favorites, I would say these two probably. Even though I really love the sound of this, Razer has proven to have some pretty poor quality control. Also, some of them, people do comment in my videos that I should look into the
[16:41] budget range, I would choose one of these two. And then, if I wanted to spend 100 or more with a boom arm combined, I would choose this one, I think. So, that's also what I want to end up with. I will link all upto-ate
[16:53] links in the description. I will check promo codes and add them right there if I can get them. I do not ask this enough, but if you like my content, please subscribe to this channel, like the video so other people can see it.
[17:05] Thank you so much for watching and I hope that I will see you in my next hope that I will see you in my next video. [music] Have a nice day.