4 Budget Microphones You Won't REGRET Buying in 2025

[00:00] over the past year I've had the

[00:00] opportunity of working with two

[00:02] incredible companies to review their

[00:03] microphones we've had fine fine and

[00:05] Elgato what I've come to realize through

[00:07] testing a bunch of different mics is

[00:09] that they all have their own purposes

[00:10] and I've got four here that I want to

[00:12] show you today that I would consider to

[00:14] be budget microphones and all of them

[00:16] have their own strengths and weaknesses

[00:17] and of course they all have different

[00:19] budgets so let's put all of these Head

[00:22] to Head three things I quickly want to

[00:24] tell you before we jump into things just

[00:25] to avoid any weird complications number

[00:28] one this video isn't although these

[00:30] companies may have sent me the

[00:31] microphones in the past they are not

[00:33] aware of this video they don't get to

[00:35] edit or change anything they don't even

[00:36] get to watch the video before it goes

[00:38] live there are however affiliate links

[00:40] in the description if you want to buy

[00:42] any of these mics because I need to eat

[00:45] um number two is that there are no EQ

[00:47] adjustments until the final segment of

[00:49] this video so everything you're hearing

[00:50] is just raar going through USBC into my

[00:53] PC no changes modifications nothing just

[00:56] what these mics sound like when you buy

[00:58] them there are chapter down below if you

[01:00] want to skip to a certain segment but I

[01:02] do recommend that you watch the whole

[01:03] thing because there are microphones that

[01:05] are suited more towards a type of

[01:07] content that you could be creating

[01:09] microphones that are focused on

[01:10] voiceovers and streaming and podcasts it

[01:13] may just help you to get an earful of

[01:14] each microphone and then make your

[01:16] decision afterwards oh and after this

[01:18] point there's not going to be any music

[01:19] in the video because you came here to

[01:21] listen to the mic so you don't want to

[01:24] for some reason every Tech reviewer seem

[01:26] to do it it's like I'm going to show you

[01:27] the quality of this mic but you're going

[01:29] to have to listen to it with a low fire

[01:31] track in the background no fuing around

[01:34] let's dive straight into this okay so

[01:36] we're starting strong with something

[01:38] that looks similar to the shore sm7b

[01:41] which is a beautiful microphone but uh

[01:43] nope this is the first budget microphone

[01:44] this is the fine fine K 688 not only is

[01:47] this aesthetically one of the best

[01:49] microphones on the list but I think it's

[01:51] one of the best sounding it's got a

[01:52] really nice natural tone Great Sound

[01:54] isolation it's a really wonderful

[01:56] allrounder but I think the reason that I

[01:57] wanted it personally was because I

[01:59] wanted to get two short SM 7bs and that

[02:02] was going to cost me something like 700

[02:04] quid I don't have that kind of money to

[02:06] just throw at a couple of microphones so

[02:08] for all intents and purposes this does

[02:09] the job it does it well and it's a

[02:11] fraction of the cost of what it's

[02:14] emulating now we move on to the fine

[02:16] fine am8 and this is a strikingly unique

[02:19] looking microphone I mentioned this in

[02:21] my main review but it's definitely it's

[02:23] hard to make this thing look unintrusive

[02:25] particularly when you get it in white

[02:27] it's like it just dominates the scene

[02:30] it comes with a stand which is cool but

[02:31] to get the best out of this microphone

[02:33] you really need it to be close to your

[02:35] face because it's got really thick

[02:37] filters without any EQ adjustments it's

[02:39] also pretty quiet even when you just put

[02:41] it at this kind of distance as you can

[02:43] see I've dropped down to -20 DB which

[02:46] isn't that big of a deal but it's just

[02:48] it's something to bear in mind if you

[02:49] don't know how to EQ things and add

[02:52] compressors where this one excels though

[02:54] in my opinion is the quality if you need

[02:56] a microphone for voiceovers this one is

[02:58] definitely my favorite the no isolation

[03:00] is absolutely incredible as you will see

[03:02] in a minute so if you have a lot of fans

[03:04] around you Xbox PC things like that or

[03:06] maybe you're trying to record videos in

[03:07] a house that's filled with family

[03:09] members that are incredibly uncourteous

[03:12] and would just want to be as loud as

[03:13] possible when you're recording this

[03:15] microphone I think could be a great

[03:16] option for you the fine fine tank 3 is

[03:18] honestly my least favorite of the bunch

[03:21] now as you can hear it's definitely not

[03:22] a bad microphone by any means it's just

[03:25] the other two shine in their own areas

[03:27] the am8 serves as a great microphone for

[03:29] voice over

[03:30] the K 688 is a great microphone for

[03:32] podcast and it's visually appealing so

[03:34] where does the tank 3 fit in well I

[03:37] think the answer lies in its build

[03:39] quality because this thing it's named

[03:41] tank 3 for a reason it is way heavier

[03:44] than all of the other microphones which

[03:46] should mean that there's more vibration

[03:48] resistance so if you're a streamer and

[03:50] you have a bunch of energy and you're

[03:51] flying all over the screen I think the

[03:53] tank 3 could be a great option for you

[03:55] so onscreen microphone SL podcast kind

[03:58] of vibe voiceovers and script reads and

[04:00] maybe voice acting this one could be the

[04:03] perfect microphone for live streamers

[04:05] finally we have what I would consider to

[04:07] be the allrounder this is the Elgato

[04:09] Wave 3 now I think the Elgato Wave 3 is

[04:12] fundamentally the most different

[04:13] microphone than the rest of the bunch

[04:15] not only because it's made by a

[04:17] different company but also because

[04:18] there's some things that are very

[04:20] different to the others see I haven't

[04:22] mentioned it beforehand but all of these

[04:23] microphones have both an XLR input and

[04:26] USBC meaning that if you have a fancy

[04:28] setup with mixes and monitors and all

[04:30] that kind of stuff and you want to do

[04:31] XLR you can and you'll be able to get

[04:33] the most out of the microphone by doing

[04:35] so but then even if you're in a cafe you

[04:37] can just sit down with an iPad to plug

[04:39] this thing in through USB and you can do

[04:41] whatever you need to do the Wave 3

[04:43] however does not have XLR elgot to make

[04:46] XLR microphones like the DX but this one

[04:48] is just USBC it's also more expensive

[04:51] however there are a bunch of things that

[04:53] come with the Wave 3 that make it very

[04:56] different from the rest wavelink the

[04:58] software that comes with the G 3

[05:00] microphone you see while the fine fine

[05:02] microphones generally work pretty damn

[05:04] well by themselves there's no way to

[05:06] really fine-tune them unless you go

[05:08] through XLR and you change all the

[05:09] settings with a big expensive mixer the

[05:12] wave three on the other hand comes with

[05:13] this software that is a suite of tools

[05:16] and plugins that include equalizers

[05:18] compressors Noise Gate and things like

[05:21] that things that you would need to make

[05:22] your microphone sound as good as it

[05:24] possibly could and we'll look into that

[05:26] towards the end of the video but not

[05:28] only does that software manage this

[05:30] microphone but it also manages every

[05:32] other device and music source and

[05:34] browser on your computer all at once in

[05:37] one little Suite of tools the wavelink

[05:40] software has genuinely changed the way

[05:42] that I manage my audio so while the

[05:43] microphone definitely is the most

[05:45] expensive on the list today and we'll

[05:46] get into the pricing in a minute the

[05:47] money you save not having to buy mixes

[05:50] and all the other tools to be able to

[05:51] get the most out of those other

[05:53] microphones do you think it's worth

[05:55] saving that money and then getting this

[05:57] you tell me I'm not going to say yes or

[05:58] no because again it depends on how you

[06:00] do things in terms of audio quality The

[06:02] Wave 3 is like the middle ground between

[06:04] all of those things it's great and it's

[06:06] actually my daily driver on my gaming

[06:08] channel primarily because of the

[06:10] software so if you want a device that

[06:11] will just do everything for you and

[06:13] isn't dedicated to voiceovers or

[06:16] podcasts you just want a device that can

[06:18] sit at your desk do all of your calls do

[06:21] your voiceovers do your streams the wave

[06:23] three could be the one for you now we're

[06:25] going to move on to plosive tests noise

[06:27] isolation and a bunch of other elements

[06:28] that may affect your decision when

[06:30] considering these mics I'm really

[06:31] curious as to which one you think sounds

[06:33] best so far let me know what you think

[06:35] Peter Piper picked a peack of pickled

[06:37] peppers Peter Piper picked a pack of

[06:40] pickled peppers Peter Piper picked a

[06:42] pack of pickled peppers Peter Piper

[06:44] picked a pack of pickled peppers she

[06:46] sells seashells by the seash shore she

[06:49] sells seashells by the sea shore she

[06:52] sells seashells by the seashore she

[06:55] sells seashores by the seashore now we

[06:58] have the noise isolation test over the

[07:00] next 15 20 seconds I'm going to talk to

[07:02] you and ramble while there's also some

[07:04] background noise I have an ambient Cafe

[07:06] kind of sound playing from my phone

[07:07] which is around about 20 to 30 cm away

[07:10] from the mic and I've got some music

[07:12] playing on the TV over here I was

[07:14] thinking about doing a wind test for

[07:16] these examples but then I sat down and I

[07:18] was thinking like would you be taking

[07:19] these microphones into an open field and

[07:21] recording a voice over but I mean they

[07:24] are USBC so you could just take them

[07:26] with your phone plug them in and record

[07:28] whatever you want wherever you want for

[07:30] the last test I'm actually going to tap

[07:31] each microphone a couple of times just

[07:33] to see how well particularly with this

[07:35] one and the shock mount the microphones

[07:36] absorb those

[07:41] vibrations I recognize that this

[07:42] probably isn't a deal for most

[07:48] people I think for anybody interested in

[07:51] live streaming this is definitely

[07:52] something to consider you don't want to

[07:54] breathe on the microphone

[07:57] [Music]

[07:59] just for it to sound like your grandma

[08:01] creaking away About to Blow Away In The

[08:08] Wind now before we jump into the final

[08:10] segment of this video which is the EQ

[08:12] adjustments and things like that I'll

[08:13] have a whole video coming out on all of

[08:15] that soon make sure you tap subscribe to

[08:17] stay up to date with that I always feel

[08:18] like those plugs are so forced to tap

[08:20] subscribe and like the video I want to

[08:22] sh a few technical details about this

[08:24] microphones and of course discuss the

[08:26] pricing for those who care about it if

[08:28] you're not interested in all that again

[08:29] use the chapters down below to skip

[08:31] ahead but there's some things like if

[08:32] you're thinking about accessories for

[08:34] microphones do you need the shock mount

[08:35] and such like stuff that you want to

[08:37] consider let's talk about it as I

[08:38] mentioned earlier on all of the fine

[08:40] fine microphones have the XLR and the

[08:41] USBC this one doesn't it's worth noting

[08:44] however that when using XLR on any of

[08:46] these microphones you do not need

[08:48] phantom power sometimes that's something

[08:50] you realize later on and you have to go

[08:51] and buy other stuff don't worry about it

[08:53] you don't need phantom power for these

[08:55] guys the frequency response on both the

[08:57] am8 and the tank 3 is between 50 to 16

[09:01] khz whereas the K 688 is between 70 and

[09:04] 15 khz and the Wave 3 is between 70 to

[09:07] 20 khz so with my very basic

[09:10] understanding of audio engineering and

[09:11] feel free to correct me in the comments

[09:14] tell me that I'm an idiot but I'm pretty

[09:15] sure that that means when using the am8

[09:17] or the tank 3 if you have a slightly

[09:18] deeper voice like I do these microphones

[09:21] are going to favor that deeper tone

[09:23] you're going to get that real Rich Basin

[09:25] however if you're using something like

[09:26] the Wave 3 or the K 688 if you got a

[09:28] slightly more feminine tone and you're a

[09:30] little bit higher pitched those vocals

[09:32] are going to sound a little bit better

[09:34] again feel free to correct me if I'm

[09:35] wrong I'm still learning about all of

[09:37] this if you're thinking about pop

[09:38] filters and shock mounts and things like

[09:39] that it's worth noting that the am8

[09:41] actually has a removable pop filter it's

[09:43] also got a guard and then the actual

[09:45] diaphragm itself is just underneath that

[09:47] that's why the noise isolation is so

[09:49] good because this thing is it's thick

[09:51] like Kim Kardashian level thick for this

[09:54] guy and the K 688 also has the removable

[09:56] pop filter it's nowhere near as thick as

[09:58] the am8 you're not going to get that

[10:00] level of noise isolation but it is

[10:02] removable and the K 688 also comes with

[10:04] a built-in shock mount so you don't have

[10:06] to go and buy that separately and all

[10:07] the microphones come with microphone arm

[10:09] mounts and there's actually two thread

[10:11] sizes in each bit right in here so just

[10:14] make sure that if you have a microphone

[10:15] arm you're going to be using one that it

[10:17] fits what you need cuz I don't think

[10:19] you're going to even need adapters all

[10:20] of the microphones have dials that

[10:22] control both the gain of the microphone

[10:23] and the audio monitoring the pricing for

[10:25] the am8 starts at around about 55 bucks

[10:28] the k68 8 starts at around about 70 the

[10:31] tank 3 is around about 80 and the Elgato

[10:34] is the pricier one at around about 160

[10:36] if that seems a little bit too expensive

[10:38] though like I said the main appeal for

[10:40] me personally is the wavelink software

[10:42] you can go ahead and get something like

[10:43] the wave Neo which is around about 80

[10:45] bucks or the wave DX which is around

[10:47] about 110 and buying any of those will

[10:50] get you access to the wavelength

[10:52] software which again is the main appeal

[10:54] particularly if you're into streaming or

[10:55] content creation that alone is worth the

[10:58] price and you don't have to buy the

[10:59] mixer so that could be a reasonable

[11:01] trade-off for you finally to wrap up

[11:03] this video I'm going to turn on all of

[11:05] my EQ adjustments now these are you know

[11:07] tailored to my voice so I wouldn't

[11:09] entirely recommend doing what I do I'll

[11:11] have a video on how to set up yourself

[11:13] for your voice in the future that's

[11:15] probably coming in a week or two I'll be

[11:17] doing all this in the wavelink software

[11:18] not only adding EQ adjustments but also

[11:20] compressors and noise Gates again I'll

[11:23] have a full video on all that soon but

[11:24] are you ready for this 3 two one magic I

[11:29] never cared much for fine-tuning my

[11:30] audio until recently I'm still figuring

[11:32] things out but if you compare this to

[11:34] the sample a couple of seconds ago or

[11:35] even any sample of these microphones

[11:37] coming up throughout this video there's

[11:40] a big difference and I think it's

[11:41] definitely worth taking that time to

[11:43] learn about it and understand it it's

[11:45] definitely worth saying that although

[11:46] all this is being done in wavelength you

[11:47] can do this with pretty much any

[11:49] software or even Hardware Hardware is

[11:51] typically pretty pricey though to be

[11:53] able to get this level of customization

[11:55] this is just what works best for my

[11:56] workflow not only can you apply the

[11:58] filters and E EQ settings and things

[12:00] like that to the microphones themselves

[12:01] but you can also apply them to literally

[12:03] any other audio source that means you

[12:04] can add compressors directly onto your

[12:06] game playay so loud moments can be

[12:08] reduced and Quiet Moments can come up

[12:10] you can also add limiters so that you

[12:11] don't have to worry so much about

[12:13] balancing your audio when you're talking

[12:15] there's gameplay going on you got some

[12:17] music just makes life a lot easier the

[12:19] main reason I use wavelink is just for

[12:21] efficiency I feel like efficiency is

[12:23] part of my brand image now if that's a

[12:25] thing anyway you tell me how are you

[12:27] feeling about these microphones with all

[12:29] the EQ settings turned on it's the same

[12:31] settings just copy and pasted for each

[12:32] microphone but I think with the

[12:34] microphone's natural tones all being

[12:36] different you're definitely going to be

[12:37] able to hear that difference coming

[12:38] through that's all for this video I'm

[12:40] not going to go ahead and pick favorites

[12:41] like I said it is entirely down to you

[12:43] your workflow the way that you do things

[12:45] if you have any questions about the

[12:46] microphones the way that I do things or

[12:48] perhaps even the way that I made this

[12:49] video let me know down in the comments

[12:51] and I'll be more than happy to help you

[12:52] out I do definitely recommend that if

[12:54] you're interested in a specific

[12:55] microphone go and watch my review for

[12:57] that specific mic cuz I go into a lot

[12:59] more detail about how to set things up

[13:01] what makes them unique what they're good

[13:02] at and what they're bad at in those

[13:04] videos I love your faces you're amazing

[13:06] beautiful subscribe for more videos just

[13:07] like this and I will catch you in the

[13:09] next one