Amcrest USB Microphone for Voice Recordings, Podcasts, Gaming, Online Conferences, Live Streaming, Cardioid Microphone with Adjustable Heavy Metal Stand, Windscreen and 6.5 ft USB Cable, AM430

I wasn't sure based off the mixed reviews on this microphone, but I absolutely love it! I'm happy with my purchase. It was packaged nice. The microphone itself is great quality. Feels heavy in the hand. The stand was easy to assemble. I use it for YouTube blogging and podcasting and it works great. Works good with my laptop. I have an HP 2020 version. The microphone sound is amazing. Especially for the price. I wasnt sure what I was going to get, but it was worth it. Not sure how it would work for singing or music but it works well for talking. I would purchase this again.

My Lenovo laptop has a bad microphone and no one can hear me on conference calls. I was using headphones, but when you do 10 hrs of conference calls your ears start to hurt. I bought this mic to not have to have headphones on all the time. It works great for this application. I have it sitting next to my laptop, so not in my face, and it does great for picking up my voice. Highly recommend for this application. I am not sure how well it will work for gaming and blogging, but I am guessing it will work just fine for that application too.

I first set up the mic and did like that stand, although the way it attached was a bit odd with e ring mount, but at least the ring mount is a standard mic stand size so it can be screwed to a normal standing or boom arm stand to be used. The microphone pickup is on the side with the Amcrest logo, which I figured out after the blow test to see which side picked up louder. When used on the correct side, the mic is much more sensitive than my other mic I borrowed (a Blue Snowball Ice) picking me up from a further distance at the same input volume setting. The sound seemed to be well rounded, picking up my voice and making it sound pretty good (or as good as my voice can sound at least) from low to high. The microphone is almost too sensitive in some ways because it picks up my breathing while singing and it's quite loud. This also flows over to a well balanced guitar sound, but you can hear my fingers slide on the frets. This can be negated with a little EQ, but it does show how sensitive the mic is. It also picks up ambient noise, though that is much quieter and easy to filter out with some software like Audacity. I recorded some vocals for a duet (that's still in progress) and I was able to blend my vocals well with the other person using an unknown microphone (and actually the Amcrest seemed a bit richer and fuller with the vocals from the other person's mic.) The build quality of the microphone is quite good for the price, as it has weight and seems to be made of quality materials, though not as heavy as some professional grade mics that are much much more expensive. Knocks against it are the stand it comes with, while heavy, is basic and doesn't offer any vibration dampening as it picks up every bump and scrape of the table it's sitting on. For more professional usage, it would be nice to have a vibration dampening system suspended mic type stand, but I also know that would add to the cost. As of now, the cost is less than a Blue mic with similar or dare I say better quality, making the Amcrest an excellent choice for general single person usage. The mic being unidirectional vs omnidirectional (at least that's what I experienced in my testing) does limit this to single person usage and less useful for a podcast with 2 people or recording things like ambient nature sounds or large groups like a choir. But for single person (or track at a time) recording, it's an excellent value.

I've been a long time Amcrest fan, so when I needed a new microphone I always tend to lean towards brands I trust. I run a store that did a lot of in-person meditations and such like that. Since the world has changed, I had to change and evolve to serve my customers. I needed a quality microphone that didn't break the bank. Amcrest did not disappoint. I was shocked how well made the microphone base is made. It sits perfect height in front of me so it doesn't block my screen. It was also very easy to install, simply plug and play! The packaging was very nice and meets the quality of the mic. I like how it includes a wind sock, so it helps muffle the wind noise (or whatever it's called). If you're on the fence, I would totally lean towards this product.

This mic feels good and sturdy in your hand and it has a great sound. I was not expecting this mic to give very good sound quality for $19 but I am very pleasantly surprised! This is he perfect mic for podcasting!

Got this for my son and he loves it.

Overall a very solid microphone. Setting it up was very easy, although there was one part that came in the box that I have no clue what to do with it (it's a gold ring). The microphone works great, it isolates my voice and my voice comes through as clear as if I was wearing a headset with a mic. The background noise is mostly eliminated! Very satisfied with this microphone and how crisp my voice sounded, especially without having to keep the microphone right next to my mouth. I can set the mic on the corner of my desk and it still picks up my voice clearly. I believe it's great for a starter mic, and for someone that's not trying to do anything crazy with recording it's perfect.

Build: 5/5- The build of the microphone is solid. It feels just as heavy and polished as my XLR Microphone which was about 5 times the price. It is comfortable to hold if you don't want to use the stand. Polished metal.- The stand itself is also solid. It seems weak at first, but it holds the microphone without wavering at all. The angle is adjustable and the height is minimally adjustable.- The microphone is also comfortable to hold if you're not using a stand and fits perfectly in a regular boom arm.- The USB Cable is modular! I love when companies do this because it is very typical for a USB Cable to get damaged... now you can swap it out. The cable it comes with is great.Audio Quality: 4/5- The Audio Quality is very good for a USB Microphone. It doesn't give any of the crispness that my more expensive XLR gives, but I wouldn't expect that at this price point.- The microphone doesn't do much in terms of noise cancelling... it doesn't give any sort of adjustment knobs for gain. This is something I would have liked to see. Another useful feature would have been an on/off button or switch.