Samson Go Mic Direct Review / Test

I have reviewed almost every single Samson USB microphone. This is one of the last ones I needed to catch them all. Today I'm reviewing the Samson Go Mic Direct.

If you are interested in this microphone, it will set you back $40 on Amazon

What's In the Box

  1. Microphone
  2. Carrying Case
  3. Documentation
  4. Download Card for Samson Sound Deck

Specifications

  1. Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz
  2. Polar Pattern: Omnidirectional
  3. Bit Depth: 16-bit
  4. Sampling Rate: 44.1/48kHz

Performance / Features

The build quality of this mic is decent. The case surrounding the mic is plastic while the actual microphone capsule is made of metal. On both sides of the microphone, there is an LED light to indicate that the microphone is plugged in and getting power. These lights also will change to red if your signal is clipping. Lastly, on the bottom of the microphone there is a slider to withdraw the USB port for storage.

The frequency response of this mic is sufficient and yields a natural, unprocessed sound. The omni-directional polar pattern is essential for the microphone since you need to keep it plugged into your USB port, but at the same time this causes all keyboard noise to be picked up. Also, due to the required placement of the microphone, you will likely be around 1-foot away from the capsule, which will do no favors for your audio quality. The noise floor is also acceptable, where we did not start to hear any excessive noise until we set our gain above 50%.

Pros

  • Portable
  • Low noise floor
  • Decent audio quality

Cons

  • Picks up a lot background noise
  • Must remain plugged directly into USB port

Conclusion

Although this is a decent microphone that is very portable, I cannot recommend it. The requirement that you leave it plugged directly into a USB port, mixed with the lack of any alternate mounting options, means you will have to deal with excessive keyboard noise. If you are looking for a portable USB mic, I would recommend looking into the regular Samson Go Mic.

If you have any additional questions about this microphone, leave them on the youtube video, and I will try to reply ASAP. 

Buy the Samson Go Mic Direct
US: http://amzn.to/2hsKmP3
UK: http://amzn.to/2hBscq6

Buy the Samson Go Mic
US: http://amzn.to/2hjjvV4
UK: http://amzn.to/2hjjzEi

 

Bandrew Scott

Bandrew Scott is the founder and host of the youtube channel Podcastage, where he posts reviews of audio gear, and shares tips and tricks to improve the audio of your Podcast, YouTube Channel, or Live Stream.

He also founded the Geeks Rising podcast network, which is home to amazing education, wellness, and pop culture podcasts such as Tourette’s Podcast, Sunshine & Powercuts, and On The Subject.

Bandrew also runs his own show titled the Bandrew Says Podcast. On this show he analyzes the latest news to determine how it affects the content creation ecosystem, and shares that to help creates remain aware of how the platform they use is changing.