Which Budget Microphone Arm Should You Buy? (2026 Comparison)

[00:02] very different microphone arms. And shopping for one of these can be very confusing. Today we will test and compare all of their features. And my promise to you is that if you watch this video by the end of it you will know

[00:14] exactly which of these arms is perfect for you. The first product is the Fifine BM88 lowprofile boom arm and it's the bestselling one across all desk arms on Amazon. The black version was bought more than 3,000 times in the past month,

[00:29] and the white and pink version at another 1,000 combined sales. On top of that, there's a lot of lightning deals and temporary price drops going on. So, the black one can be bought for around $40, while the white and pink versions

[00:42] are usually about $4 more expensive at any given time. I got a white version as I have been looking for a clean boom arm that fits the aesthetic of my blue and white studio. So, I really hope this turns out to be a good one. In the box,

[00:55] I found the arm itself, then a desk clamp, and also two thread size adapters, which is definitely worth noting because this means that you have three thread mount sizes available. Most boom arms will be 3/8 in by default and

[01:09] then come with the 3/8 in to 5/8 in adapter. However, this arm supporting a/4 in as the smallest size means that you can also use it as a replacement for a general desk mount like this one here for example. Most of them come with a

[01:24] quarterinch thread and you can connect a webcam to this. You can connect an LED panel to that. So that size also being available is quite a big advantage because you can use it for more than just your microphone. There is one other

[01:37] boom arm in this video that also has these three thread sizes and it's the Elgato Wave mic arm low profile which is basically a more premium competitor of the Fifine BM88 we are currently checking out. So I'm really looking

[01:50] forward to comparing these two. The next storm is the cheapest one that you can buy on Amazon. But I would like to announce something first. I do not have a sponsor for this video, but I do want to say that my mouse pad plus wallpaper

[02:03] combos are finally live. Currently, there is six available combos, and all of them come with a clean mouse pad, PC wallpapers, and a phone wallpaper. All of them being designed to fit together as a setup upgrade combo instead of just

[02:17] a mouse pad. I've been using these phone wallpapers for a while as they just look amazing and they're available as part of the setup upgrades on the new website called tvnshop.com which I will link in the description and

[02:30] also show as a QR code on the screen in case that you're watching this on your TV. If you get one of the mouse pads, definitely leave a review as we just launched and the first reviews will help a lot. And if you tag me on Instagram or

[02:43] you post an image review, I will probably show your setup picture in the following video. So, the next arm is the Enogear MU051. Most people will definitely recognize this model since all cheap boom arms on

[02:56] Amazon look like this. It's available in black and in white. And it comes with a desk clamp, then the arm itself, which has a 3/8 in thread, and then a 3/8 to 5/8 in thread adapter. Besides this, there's also a foam windscreen to put on

[03:11] your microphone, a universal pop filter, and a condenser or stage mic mount. The product image also shows Velcro straps, which I didn't have anymore, but maybe I lost them over the years. Just know that they are probably included. I often

[03:26] it's usually the cheapest one available on Amazon, but it's definitely far from a perfect product. So, what I did for this video, I got two similar products from two different brands. This one is

[03:38] from Fifine, which is the brand of the first microphone arm in this video, and Innogear one that we're currently checking out used to cost around $10 to $15, but currently you can get it for either $16 or 20 depending on whether

[03:54] there's a sale going on or not. But like most products on Amazon, there's very frequent price drops and lightning deals. So you can probably get this one for around $165. The next boom arm I got is the Betron

[04:06] And this is a very interesting contender. It comes with a desk clamp, the arm itself, which has a 3/8 in thread and then a 3/8 to 5/8 in thread adapter. The desk clamp also has a built-in headphone mount. And there

[04:21] should be four cable ties in the box, which I unfortunately also lost. I was currently using this arm in my screen recording setup, which is where I film Amazon buying segments and those kind of things. And I kind of had a problem with

[04:35] this arm. Every time I tried to move it away, by the time I came back, it almost had returned to its original position. And as a result of this, it was usually in the way when I didn't need the mic and I couldn't shove it to the side

[04:48] However, while I was filming the unboxing footage, I checked the manual and they were very clear about the fact that this boom is meant to be installed in a very specific way and then kept in that position forever. Basically, you

[05:03] together. Make sure that the mic is installed as well. Then freely position the whole arm and only then you should start tightening all of the tension knobs all together. So the problem was that I was using this arm like most

[05:17] other microphone boom arms where you can loosen one of the tension knobs then reposition the microphone arm and then just tighten it again and then it will stay in that position. However, due to the mechanics of this betrun boom arm,

[05:29] it is meant to stay in a specific position without ever moving. And this also makes sense because while you can use it like a normal scissor type boom arm and then lock it into place, it's actually meant to be used as an overhead

[05:43] boom arm to mount a microphone or a camera above your desk, either from one side of your desk to the top or from behind your monitor floating above your desk. And so when mounting something in that way, you're not really supposed to

[05:56] move it to the side or remove it for a second. It's meant to be installed and just stay fixed. and the arm is perfect for that. It's actually a big win for the product if you want to use it in that way because some other arms might

[06:08] start to sag a bit after a long time. However, due to how this arm works, if you tighten everything and then you keep it in that way, it really won't move. By the way, if I forgot to mention, it's about $29 on Amazon and that's a really

[06:21] good price for how big and premium this microphone arm looks. So, the next boom arm is the Fifine CS1. This is the one I mentioned before as the alternative to the budget Eno Gear boom arm. And it comes with considerably less in the box

[06:36] as it includes just the desk clamp than the microphone arm with a 3/8 in thread the microphone arm with a 3/8 in thread and then a 38 to 5/8 in thread adapter. This is really not a lot compared to the Inogear boom arm which came with two pop

[06:48] filters, cable ties, and an extra condenser microphone mount. But since most of those things besides maybe the cable ties are pretty useless anyway for general use, I really hope that by removing all those things, the arm

[07:01] itself might be a bit better. The price itself is pretty much the same being around $20 most of the time with the occasional drop to $17 or even $60 if the history, I think it dropped only once to that price. There is a white and

[07:17] a black version, and the white one usually costs a few dollars extra like with most products. In terms of functionality, this boom arm tested very similarly to the Innogear version. However, there were two very big

[07:29] problems with the Inogear one compared to this 5 CS1. The springs of the Innogear boom arm were making a lot of noise. Every time you moved the arm, even the slightest, the springs would crack or reposition a bit, which was

[07:43] extremely loud and extremely disruptive. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the Fifine CS1 is perfect, and there was no spring noise. Sadly, this is a side effect of these types of arms. They're very cheap products, but the

[07:57] Enogear version was way worse, making it almost impossible for this not to get noticed while streaming or recording. By the way, if you're not really sure what I mean with the spring noise, I'll just quickly let you hear it.

[08:11] If that noise is going on constantly when you're moving your microphone arm, microphone is connected right there. And even without it, it's so loud when it actually cracks. That's so bad. Now, the second problem is that the mount of the

[08:25] Inogear boom arm is considerably smaller, less sturdy, and apparently it was also malfunctioning as the bottom of my desk was damaged at all the locations where I tested it. I think the part that has to stop the pin on the inside from

[08:38] pushing through had caved under the pressure, but this should definitely not happen. So, I think with all of this combined, it's pretty clear I would definitely go for the Fifine CS1 since it felt more like a decent product. It's

[08:52] still a cheap boom arm, and many in this video are much better, but it's a very video are much better, but it's a very sturdy and very decent product for 17 to 20 bucks. Then next, we finally have the Elgato Wave Mic Arm low profile. This is

[09:05] the most premium arm in this video, and it also feels that way while unboxing. The arm feels very heavy and premium, the mount as well, and the cable covers are sturdy, metal, and magnetic. Just like with the Fifine BM88 from the

[09:21] beginning, the arm itself has a/4in thread and in the box you will also find the 1/4 in to 38 in converter as well as a 38 in to 5/8 in one. The arm is available in black and in white. And the price often fluctuates between about

[09:36] $100 and $80, which is definitely not cheap, but it also feels like a much more premium product than the other options. Now, there's definitely something worth mentioning, which is that the magnetic cable covers sometimes

[09:49] come off when you're moving the arm around. If you plan on never moving the mic arm out of the way or into a very different position, then you might not be annoyed by this. But personally, I vividly remember my frustrations from a

[10:02] few years ago when I was using this Elgato mic arm in my recording desk setup. Since the USB or definitely thick XLR cable is routed through the arm, from the moment you put some pressure and it extends, it will push to the top

[10:15] and then the magnetic cable covers will come off. And this happened a lot in the past. So, while I really love this arm, it's definitely a consideration. Now, besides that, it's very beautiful, sturdy, and definitely feels more

[10:27] premium than the Fifine BM88, which is pretty much a budget version of this one. The question is if it's worth paying double as much for pretty much the same product that just feels more expensive, looks more expensive, but

[10:42] even has some problems with the cable management, which the 5ine1 doesn't really have since the cable covers, while they are plastic, are very sturdy once you connect them. Now, before I talk more about how all of these arms

[10:54] you some useful measurements I made while testing myself. If the maximum thickness of the desk or the maximum range of the arm itself are very important to you, then this table might make your decision a bit easier. Also,

[11:07] the cheap Fifine arm wins again by allowing a bigger thickness of the desk compared to the Inogear one. And also, the Betrun is by far the longest arm available, but I will give you some more insights on that in the coming segments.

[11:21] terms of carrying the weight of a microphone? To be honest, I don't really think that any of these boom arms will have a problem with it. I tested all of them with my Sure SM7B, which is a very heavy microphone, and at no point during

[11:35] the testing did any of the mic arms show any sign of sagging. However, you should definitely keep in mind that prolonged use of a very heavy microphone might still wear down some of the more budget microphone arms. I think the Beatron mic

[11:49] arm and then the Elgato one were the sturdiest overall. But for most budget and mid-range microphones, which are usually not that heavy, all of these boom arms will definitely be fine. Now, when it comes to the versatility of

[12:01] mounting these microphone arms on different locations of the desk or in different positions, the only one that's very different is the Beatron microphone arm because this is a clear overhead boom arm. The others can definitely

[12:13] position a mic or a camera above the monitor, but it's mostly peeping above the monitor and not really reaching over it like the Beatron does. One annoyance with the Beatron microphone arm is that the XLR cable was very often in the way

[12:27] it seems like they are aware of this issue as they released a refresh of this product which has this image between the product images showing the previous problem and then the fix now that the product includes an extension tube. It

[12:41] seems like the differences between my version and then this new refresh are that the mic mount is silver colored instead of gold. The extension tube is included and they also got rid of the headset mount. Now, besides the Beatron

[12:53] arm, the others are very similar in terms of positioning and versatility with the obvious difference that the Fifine BM88 and then the Elgato lowprofile arm or well low profile mic arms which have as a main benefit that

[13:07] they never block your vision by being in front of your main or your side monitor and that they look cleaner on camera because they're not in between you and the webcam. Now, if you want to know my personal opinion, it kind of depends on

[13:20] your use case, but I will give you specifics since I personally hate it when people end the video with. So, yeah, it depends. Thanks for watching. And they never really give you any concrete advice or like they don't look

[13:32] in their choice. So, here's my quick breakdown. If you want the cheapest option possible, I would get the Fifine CS1. It's very sturdy. It has less spring noise than some alternatives, and it has a better quality mount. Then if

[13:46] you need a very big and beefy overhead microphone arm, then the Beatron is perfect. It's only $29 for such a strong mount, which is amazing. But for my taste, it's a bit too big and bulky for a clean gaming or streaming setup. If I

[14:02] would want to mount a camera over my desk, for example, like this to film the keyboard and the mouse, it might be a great option, but not really to be in front of me and to look clean on my desk. It's just too big and bulky. Then

[14:15] if you want an aesthetically pleasing microphone arm that looks good and is smooth to use, the Fifine BM88 and the Elgato Wave Mic are low profile are both amazing. And while the Elgato one is absolutely a more premium product and I

[14:29] like the brand as well, being double the price and having the magnetic cable covers that sometimes come off when moving the arm too much kind of remove it from the comparison for me. Now, personally, I really look forward to

[14:42] testing more of these arms because there's definitely other great options which I couldn't include in this video, but for now, my choice has to go to either the black or the white Fifine BM88. It just looks too clean on my

[14:55] desk. I already love it. So, I definitely plan on testing more boom arms in the future. Subscribe if you want to see that. If you want to see me build an all white streaming setup, check that video right there. Links to

[15:07] all products I mentioned today are in the description. Thank you so much for watching. Subscribe if you haven't already, and I really hope that I will already, and I really hope that I will see you in my next video. Have a nice