Below are some other noteworthy USB microphones we tested in our most recent round. For more, see our running list of all the USB microphones we’ve tried.
The AKG Ara offers a sturdy build, as well as cardioid and bidirectional polar-pattern settings, and it can record in high resolution at 96 kHz. However, in our brand-concealed tests, it commonly ranked in the middle of the pack or lower. The same goes for the AKG Lyra, which has higher resolution and more features.
In our tests, the Boya K3 sounded okay for its price, but it didn’t have much bass and the noise was a little high.
The affordably priced JLab Epic Talk has a desktop-friendly design and features multiple polar patterns. Our panelists liked its clear sound, but some complained that it picked up more room reverberation than they preferred.
The Logitech Blue Yeti is a former top pick that remains a versatile microphone for the price, but its bulky design is now dated, and these days many competitors surpass it in sound quality. In our latest round of tests, it never ranked above the middle of the pack.
The Logitech Yeti GX offered powerful noise reduction in our tests, but its thin sound didn’t impress our panelists. We recommend the Maono PD200W for those who need to record in a noisy environment.
The Mackie EM-Chromium has an instrument input, but we couldn’t figure out a way to record a voice and an instrument on separate tracks. Also, its knobs were of low quality, producing an audible scratching sound in our headphones. Get the Samson G-Track Pro if you want to record an instrument along with your voice.
The Maono PD400X is similar to the Røde PodMic USB, as it offers USB and analog XLR outputs, but it does so for a considerably lower price. However, our listeners said it sounded a little coarse in comparison with our picks.
The PreSonus Revelator is a cool, high-tech microphone with multiple features and polar patterns, plus numerous included software plug-ins and the PreSonus Studio One Artist DAW software. But we had problems getting it to work, and it sometimes produced blank files or annoying distortion. We had similar problems with the PreSonus Revelator Dynamic.
The Røde XCM50 consistently ranked among the top performers in our up-close voice tests, but it sounded twangy and thin on guitar recordings. It’s a good choice if you want something small for podcasting. The NT-USB Mini is similar but doesn’t include the nice tripod stand that comes with the XCM50. The XDM100 is much bulkier and costs more, but it didn’t seem to offer any real sonic advantage over the XCM50.
Even with its midrange-boost switch activated, the Samson Q9U sounded a little dull on voices.
The sE Electronics Neom USB is a nice, affordable mic packaged with a sturdy and sleek stand. We loved its design and its mic gain knob, which uses an LED ring around the knob to indicate clipping. But its sound quality ranked in the middle of our tests; its treble seemed a little soft on voice recordings, but it delivered a satisfyingly robust sound with acoustic guitar.
Although the Shure MV5C sounded pretty good, a couple of our testers complained that its treble seemed a bit soft. The desktop-stand design limits its utility; it can’t, for example, work with a swing-arm stand.
The Tonor TD510 has an amazingly low price for a microphone with USB and analog XLR outputs. For the most part, our panelists didn’t favor its bassy, somewhat bloated sound, but for some voices it might work well.
All of our panelists disliked the sound of the Yamaha YCM01U; one likened it to “recording in a haunted submarine,” due to its apparent extreme boost in the lower treble.
This article was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.
