Quality

Antlion Mod Mic 5.0 Review / Test

Today's review covers the follow up to one of my favorite mics; we're covering the brand new Antlion Mod Mic 5.0. Before going any further, I do need to mention that for this review, Antlion sent me a review unit.

What is special about the Mod Mic is that it allows you to turn your favorite pair of headphones into a gaming headset, or a podcast studio. You stick this microphone on whatever headphones you want and you get one of the best sounding headset mics on the market.

Another huge  improvement over the last generation is that this mic has both Omnidirectional & Unidirectional polar patterns inside of it. They simply took both capsules from the 4.0 series and put them in the microphone head, so you can now use which ever polar pattern fits your use case with the flick of a switch.

This microphone is also a modular design! This means that you can make it fit whatever your setup is, as well as allow you to buy accessories if Antlion rolls out new modules for this microphone system!

If you are interested in this gaming headset, it will set you back $70.

What's In the Box

  1. Mod Mic 5.0
  2. Mute Switch Module
  3. 1m & 2m 3.5mm Cables
  4. Carrying Case
  5. Two Base Clasps
  6. Foam Pop Filter
  7. 2m Cable Wrap
  8. Cable Clips
  9. Extra 3M Adhesives
  10. Instruction Manual

Specifications

Omni Directional

  1. Frequency Response: 30Hz - 17.5kHz
  2. Sensitivity: -26dB

Uni Directional

  1. Frequency Response: 100Hz - 10kHz
  2. Sensitivity: -38dB

Performance / Features

The build of this microphone is mainly plastic and rubber, but the materials feel high quality. The magnet is much stronger, so the boom mic will be less likely to fall off of your headphones. The boom arm is much sturdier and stiffer, so no matter what position you place it in, it will not move. The cables are all kevlar reinforced, so you are not going break them, and the case provides ample protection for the mic while traveling.

This microphone has two polar patterns; omni directional & uni directional. In order to switch between the two, all you have to do is flip the switch that is on the microphone capsules body. It's as simple as that. The omni directional polar pattern picks up quite a bit of background noise, but that is to be expected with an omni polar pattern. The uni-directional setting eliminates background noise much more effectively, and if placed close to your mouth would eliminate even more background noise.

The omni directional polar pattern has a frequency response of 30Hz - 17.5kHz which is pretty good for a headset mic. While on this setting the mic has full lows and plenty of highs. When we switch to the unidirectional setting, the frequency response drops to 100Hz - 10kHz, which clearly lacks a bit in the low end as well as high frequencies. I cannot fault the uni setting for this, because it is mainly designed for gaming.

Something else I noticed while testing the microphone; it picks up minimal sound from the headphones. This is an issue that plagues many gaming headsets due to sharing wiring and housing. With the mod mic, you do have to deal with an additional cable (which they provide solutions for managing), but on the plus side, you eliminate the majority of the headphone interference. 

Pros

  • Great sounding Omni-directional microphone capsule
  • Noise eliminating Uni-directional capsule
  • Strong magnet to connect to headphones
  • Sturdy boom arm to hold form and placement of mic
  • Kevlar reinforced cables
  • Ignores headphone interference
  • Modular design

Cons

  • Adding a second cable to your headset (however, they provide options to manage cables)

Conclusion

I think this is the best option for people who want a headset microphone. You can use it to either improve the microphone's audio on your existing gaming headset, or you can use it to turn your favorite pair of audiophile headphones into a gaming headset, or podcast setup. The build quality has also been improved from the prior generation, and they have made a modular design so you can upgrade in the future.

All around, I would absolutely recommend this microphone whether you want to do light voice over work for youtube, gift it to a remote podcast guest so they have decent audio on their end, or if you just want to game with your favorite set of headphones.

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

Buy the Antlion Mod Mic 5.0
https://antlionaudio.com

BSP-022: Dynamic vs. Condenser Mics & How to Improve Your Audio

On episode 22, I talk about running into a crazy hippy in the desert, as well as how incredibly stressed and busy I have been the last few weeks. 

Then as the main topic, I discuss one of the most frequently asked questions, the difference between dynamic and condenser microphones, and then what are some of the best ways to improve your audio quality that most people don't do.

On this episode, I answered questions provided by ZacIsDolan, Super Sapp, Ahmet Kahraman, NerdCharacter, and Jay Snippety.

On episode 22, I talk about running into a crazy hippy in the desert, as well as how incredibly stressed and busy I have been the last few weeks.

Then as the main topic, I discuss one of the most frequently asked questions, the difference between dynamic and condenser microphones, and then what are some of the best ways to improve your audio quality that most people don't do.

On this episode, I answered questions provided by ZacIsDolan, Super Sapp, Ahmet Kahraman, NerdCharacter, and Jay Snippety.

Follow BSP on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bandrewsayspodcast
Follow BSP on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bandrewsays

http://www.geeksrising.com

00:00 - Intro
00:50 - Stressed Out
08:58 - Comedy Bang! Bang! Tv Show is BACK!
10:27 - Podcast Recommendations
QUESTIONS
11:11 - ZacisDolan-Road to 50 Subs: Why did my old mic pick up radio waves?
12:03 - Super Sapp: How mandatory in your opinion is it to get audio treatment? Does it effect the sound a lot?
14:52 - Ahmet Kahraman: How you buy lots of microphones
20:25 - NerdCharacter: What is the difference between dynamic mics and condenser?
25:25 - JaySnippety:  What are some of the simplest ways to improve audio that most people don’t do?
31:45 - Outro

Yuker Mic-001 Condenser Microphone Review / Test

Today I am reviewing the Yuker Mic-001. This mic is pretty cheap (approximately $27 US Dollars) and it comes with almost everything you will need to get started recording, sans microphone stand and audio interface.

This microphone bears an uncanny resemblance to the BM-700 and NW-700, so much so that I'm going to guess that it's manufactured by the same company. In the video I do a brief comparison and there are some minor audio differences. I also pulled apart these microphones below and took some pictures of the inner workings, and it is safe to say that they are not exact copies of one another.

What's In the Box

In this box you get everything you need to start recording other than a microphone stand and a USB audio adapter. You are going to get the actual microphone, a ball pop filter, a shock mount, and a cable (XLR to 3.5mm). The last thing you get in the box is a specifications sheet.

The box was missing 5/8" to 3/8" microphone stand adapter. However, if you buy a neewer microphone boom arm to use with this microphone, you will get an adapter with the stand.

Performance / Features

I have a problem. The spec sheet that I received had an image of a random microphone on it. The specifications on the specs sheet, and specifications on the amazon page were different as well. On top of this, the amazon page listed features that were not present on this microphone.

The frequency response of this microphone is either 20Hz - 20KHz, or 20Hz - 16KHz, I'm going to assume it is 20Hz to 20KHz because that is what the BM-700's frequency response is. The polar pattern is uni-directional (approximately 180-degrees at 1KHz) as well.

Comparison of inner working of Yuker Mic 001 & the BM-700

The amazon page states that this microphone has two switches: (1) Bass-Reduction switch to reduce room noise, and (2) -10dB overload protection switch to protect against clipping. I did not see either of these options on the microphone, I even unscrewed the whole thing, to make sure they were not internal options. 

There is the possibility that they mean "electronic switches", as in electronic components on the computer chips within the microphone, but I cannot be certain. I have included an image of the MIC-001 and the BM-700's inner electronics for reference. However, when I look at the spec sheet provided, it shows a the option to roll off the frequency response at around 100hz. This leads me to believe that there should be two physical switches on this microphone. one to activate the bass reduction and one to activate -10db pad. 

The build quality of this microphone is decent, but it is definitely a stay at home microphone. This is not the microphone you want if you are going to be traveling and want to record on the road. The shock mount does it's job perfectly, and the cable seems to be a high quality cable that will last for a while.

Pros

  • Cheap

  • Decent Sound Quality

  • Comes with Almost Everything you Need

  • XLR Microphone (can use different preamps, interfaces, etc.)

Cons

  • Unclear specifications

  • Features listed on Amazon, are not on the microphone

Conclusion

I think that this is a decent option for a microphone if you are on a budget. You can get everything you need to start for about $40-50. Because the audio quality of the Mic-001, the BM-700, BM-800, and NW-700 are all very similar, I would recommend shopping around and checking to see which is the cheapest.

I should note that I hook this microphone up using a $6 USB Audio adapter (linked below) which provides 5 volts of power, improving the audio quality. If you have any questions about the microphone, leave them in the comments down below or on youtube and I will get back to you ASAP. Thanks for watching & reading. 

Yuker Mic-001: http://amzn.to/1Qxn4C1
USB Audio Adapter: http://amzn.to/1X1asBV