The mic can be used on a boom arm, but comes with a small stand that allows for quite a bit of positional angling -- about 30 degrees in any direction. That’s great for getting the mic facing up towards your mouth if you’re talking directly into it on a desk. This excellent boom arm will probably last longer than your podcasting career, honestly, and the Sennheiser Profile does everything a good mic for streamers' needs. It's easy to use, and the onboard controls give you much control over your sound.

The Shure MV7 is a great-sounding XLR/USB hybrid microphone that'll give veteran podcasters and streamers a serious upgrade. And in a straight shootout for sound quality between the two, who comes out on top? It is, inevitably, a matter of opinion. The Snowball Ice sounds like it’s already been through a bit of compression and EQ by the time it reaches your ear from your recording software. The Seiren Mini, on the other hand, achieves a really high fidelity, dry, flat sound in the best possible sense. There’s no flabby bass, no artificial mid-scooping. Some might say it sounds a bit lifeless next to the Snowball Ice, but this reviewer’s ears prefer it. And not just when I listen through a pair of studio cans, but even when hearing the rendered audio through a smartphone or Macbook speaker. Audio is tight and restrained, not as showy as Blue’s signature sound but just as clear and broadcastable. The Seiren Mini’s sound quality is, perhaps, even easier to work with if you were considering dropping in a few plugins. Features and Software A boom arm certainly helps achieve both of those things. These almost always clip onto the side of your desk and are super handy to keep your mic close to hand while off your desk, saving precious real estate.

Welcome to Razer Insider

Sennheiser Profile Streaming Set gives you everything you need to start your podcasting or streaming journey. The gamer-centric HyperX Quadcast S is an excellent microphone for the gamer or streamer looking for an easy-to-use, clear-sounding mic. While it doesn't quite match up to the Yeti X in terms of sound quality, the Quadcast S makes up for it in design and feature set.

Focusrite isn't some recording nobody, either. It's a well-respected brand in professional audio with a legacy of quality products. From the products I've experienced in the past, I can see why: they're simple to operate yet technically effective for high-grade audio production.

Scanning file for viruses.

The 2i2's twin-preamp design lets you run two microphones through a single interface. This has always been a pain point for anyone who tried to plug more than one USB mic into a PC. That value alone is worth the price of admission, but there's a lot more to the 2i2 that we love. The 2i2 is a twin-preamp design, meaning you can run two microphones through this single interface for an easy podcast setup. Each input offers individual gain control, which is handy if you have a loud friend on the other end of the mic, but also great if you want to hook up an instrument on one input and record your silky voice box on the other. There's an INST switch for each input, which tweaks a couple of key specs for use with instruments, though what might be of greater interest to streamers and podcasters is the AIR switch. Shure's first hybrid XLR/USB microphone manages to provide pro-grade sound with minimal set-up and expertise. While it is more expensive than your average premium mic, its versatility completely justifies the cost. It's hands-down one of the best microphones I've used for recording.

And as PC gamers, we will, of course, always try to get the best we can for less. It’s easy to get lost in the deep dark woods that are the world of audio and even easier to spend a ludicrous amount of time and money chasing the best possible setup. But we don’t need studio-ready equipment, so the price is essential when looking at how good a particular mic is. Specs-wise, the S is more or less identical to the Quadcast, offering the same frequency response of 20Hz-20kHz, bit-rate of 16-bit, and three 14mm condensers, and lets you choose between four polar patterns. Though my plosives tended to sound a little more blown out than I'd like, the quality of my voice sounded good. During conference calls, I can be heard clearly by numerous colleagues commenting on how much louder I was than anyone else, which is an easy fix by bringing down the gain. USB microphones are among the most prevalent for gaming and streaming fare, but you'll sometimes see the more widely used professional connection standard, XLR, make its way into high-end units. Hybrid USB/XLR can offer you the best of both worlds but tend to be more expensive. The proprietary micro-USB cable Razer tends to use on many peripherals is a bit of a pain. It keeps you from using third party cables because they simply wont fit. I can't express enough how much I hate when a hardware company does this. If you lose that cable for whatever reason (which happens), the mic is useless until Razer's replacement arrives.

Instead of the braided cables we usually see on streamer mics, the Seiren Mini’s cable is rubberized, and its attachment at the mic end is shaped to complete the curve of the body, sitting flush with the pill shape. The USB Type-B Micro/XLR connection will be the big draw for a lot of folks. It gives you the best of both worlds by providing the adaptability of XLR (especially if you use professional audio interfaces) and the versatility of Type-B Micro inputs for recording on the go with laptops and mobile devices. USB is the simpler of the two, and if you're looking for plug-and-play ease, then it's your best bet. However, that simplicity comes at a cost. It's difficult to record more than one USB microphone simultaneously, and monitoring and adjusting the mix will be done digitally. That still holds true for the 3rd generation 2i2 included in the Studio bundle, which now runs entirely on a single USB Type-C to Type-A cable, even power. Its interface is brighter, cleaner, and more easily navigated than previous models.