If you are in need of a PC microphone, it’s likely because you understand that the built-in one on your computer may not provide the best performance. Whether it’s for personal or professional recordings, or for communication with others, having the right equipment is essential for optimal functionality.
In this guide, we will show you the best alternatives and tips to help you find the right PC microphone for you, according to your needs. A good choice, sooner or later, involves economic savings.
It also makes you waste less time, facilitates your conversations, and ensures greater sound quality in recreational activities and professional projects.
Right below we had listed out the best desktop microphones.
- Custom three-capsule array: This professional USB mic produces clear, powerful, broadcast-quality sound for YouTube videos, Twitch...
- Blue VO!CE software: Elevate your streamings and recordings with clear broadcast vocal sound and entertain your audience with...
- Four pickup patterns: Flexible cardioid, omni, bidirectional, and stereo pickup patterns allow you to record in ways that would...
- Onboard audio controls: Headphone volume, pattern selection, instant mute, and mic gain put you in charge of every level of the...
- Positionable design: Pivot the mic in relation to the sound source to optimize your sound quality thanks to the adjustable desktop...
- [Natural Audio Clarity] Operated with frequency response of 50Hz-16KHz, the podcasting XLR mic delivers balanced audio range,...
- [XLR Connection Upgrade-Ability] To use XLR connection, connect the podcast microphone to an audio interface (or mixer) using a...
- [USB Connection with Handy Mute] Skip the hassle of setting something up and plug the cable to play the dynamic USB microphone...
- [Soothing Controllable RGB] RGB ring on the desktop gaming microphone for PC, with 3 modes and more than 10 light colors...
- [More Function Keys] Computer microphone with headphones jack upgrades your rhythm game experience and gets feedback whether the...
- 360 Degree Position Adjustable Gooseneck Design --Plug and play USB microphone Pick up the sound from 360-degree with high...
- Mute Button & LED Indicator --One-click to mute/unmute your microphone for pc, Build-in LED indicator tells you the working status...
- Intelligent Noise-Canceling Tech --Premium omnidirectional condenser microphone with noise-canceling technology can pick up your...
- USB Plug&Play(1.8/6ft USB Cable) -- No driver required. Just need to plug & play for the microphone to start recording, well...
- Solid Construction--Adopting premium metal pipe and heavy-duty ABS stand to make sure that you will be satisfied with our computer...
- CONDENSER MICROPHONE: High sensitivity, low noise, and low distortion with a large 14mm diaphragm and clear sound pickup
- FOR STREAMING & MORE: 360° rotation adjustable stand mic is ideal to track your voice in real-time conference, online streaming,...
- CARDIOID PICKUP PATTERN: Cardioid pickup pattern microphone effectively isolates background noise, ensuring clear and clean sound...
- ONE TAP SILENT MODE: Stylish design USB microphone built-in convenient one-tap mute function that syncs with your laptop or PC....
- PLUG AND PLAY: Easy to use with no additional drivers required and connect with USB data transfer cable; it can be detached and...
- Clear Sound: Equipped premium chips and core, coupled with expert tuning, resulting in a pure, clean sound, providing...
- Vibrant RGB lighting: 4 RGB modes to choose from: 6 static color, single-color gradient, breathing, and mix-color gradient....
- Brightness Control: Adjust the brightness of the RGB lights by long tapping the RGB icon. Choose your lighting preference without...
- Easy Sound Control: Easily mute it by tapping the top of the mic, makes you respond flexibly to unexpected situations during live...
- All-in-One Equipment Kit: TC310+ is a completed mic & arm kit, equipped with a metal-made boom arm and the sturdy clamp that fits...
- CONDENSER MIC — Fitted with a custom condenser capsule, the mic's impressive sensitivity can capture more detail, especially at...
- SUPERCARDIOID PICKUP PATTERN — A tighter pickup pattern allows the mic to focus on your voice while suppressing room noise, so...
- TAP-TO-MUTE SENSOR WITH LED INDICATOR — Whether gaming, chatting, or streaming, instantly prevent audio mishaps by simply...
- BUILT-IN SHOCK ABSORBER — Find the sweet spot with a tiltable mic stand that also features a built-in shock absorber to dampen...
- PLUG-AND-PLAY DESIGN — Be ready to game, stream, or chat in seconds by simply plugging the USB mic into a PC and it's good to...
- 【Crystal Clear Audio Quality】Our Cardioid pattern condenser microphone accurately captures your voice, making it perfect for...
- 【Active Noise-Cancelling】Come in CMTECK CCS2.0 SMART CHIP with Cardioid Polar Pattern, which can effectively block the...
- 【Convenient Mute Button with LED Indicator】You can quickly mute/un-mute the microphone with the Mute Button and the built-in...
- 【Easy to use】 No drivers needed, just plug and record without external power supply, directly connect the microphone to a USB...
- 【Mini size with Adjustable Gooseneck】Adopted flexible and adjustable gooseneck metal pipe, easily adjust position 360 degrees...
- Crystal-Clear Sound: This computer microphone features exceptional 360-degree omni-directional audio pickup, capturing your voice...
- Plug-and-Play, Easy To Use: No drivers or software, simply plug this usb microphone into your PC to be game-ready in seconds for...
- Mute Button & LED Indicator: The gaming microphone features a touch-sensitive mute button, which allows you to instantly...
- Multifunction Use: The microphone for podcast can be automatically recognized on your computer or pc. The desktop microphone for...
- Premium Materials & User-Friendly Design: This streaming microphone features a metal gooseneck tube and ABS shockproof base for...
- Studio-Quality Sound for Clear Podcast Recording – The K66 USB podcast microphone delivers studio-quality, broadcast-level audio...
- Intelligent Noise Reduction Mode for Cleaner Podcast Audio – This podcast microphone features an advanced Noise Reduction Mode...
- True Plug-and-Play USB Microphone with Wide Device Compatibility – Engineered for effortless plug-and-play use, the K66 USB...
- Real-Time Zero-Latency Monitoring with Adjustable Volume Control – This podcast microphone features real-time, zero-latency...
- Precision Audio Adjustment Knobs for Full Sound Control – This podcast microphone gives creators hands-on control with dedicated...
Desktop Microphones Buying Guide
With the arrival of the Internet, the main elements for the different uses have become an essential part of our life. The microphone once intended almost exclusively for the professional market, today represents an indispensable tool for most computer operations. Let’s see what are the most frequently asked questions by users.
What Exactly Is a Desktop Microphones?
It consists of a diaphragm attracted by an electromagnet which, when vibrating, modifies the electrical energy transmitted to a circuit by different pressures.
It is used to transform sound waves into electricity and vice versa in the process of recording and reproducing sound, in order to increase its intensity, transmit it, and record it.
Its name derives from the word micro which means small and f ono which means sound. It is used for various functions that are done daily with the computer, such as to do video conferencing, recording king the music, talk, participate in online games, add sound to videos we post on social and in many other contexts.
What Use Is Made of Computer Microphones?
Microphones have many applications in different sectors: telephony, science, health, concerts, public events, mass media such as audiovisual productions (cinema and television), radio, live and professional audio recordings, development of sound technology, and voice recognition.
Today the use of microphones has increased considerably in all homes. It has stopped being almost exclusively a professional product. The most important platforms offer us the opportunity to communicate through audio, and the microphone has become one of the indispensable tools in our life.
What Are the Microphone Models?
The microphones are divided according to the type of transducer (energy converter), which is condenser or dynamic, and for its directional characteristics.
Sometimes other functions are used to distinguish the microphones, such as the size of the diaphragm, the intended use or the directionality of the main sound input:
- Condenser Microphone: Also called “electrostatic microphone” or “capacitive microphone”, in this type of microphone the diaphragm acts as a foil that “condenses” the vibrations of the sound waves, which cause changes to causes of changes in the distance between the diaphragm and the lamina.
- Dynamic Microphone: Dynamic microphones (also known as magneto dynamic microphones) work through electromagnetic induction. They are solid, relatively inexpensive, and resistant to moisture.
- Ribbon Microphone: They use a thin metal ribbon (usually corrugated), suspended in a magnetic field. The tape is electrically connected to the microphone output, and when it vibrates in the magnetic field it generates the electrical signal.
- Carbon Microphone: Also known as a push-button microphone, it uses a capsule or button that contains carbon granules between two metal plates. By applying a voltage on the plates, low electricity flows to the coal.
- Piezoelectric Microphone: A crystal microphone or ceramic microphone is based on the property of piezoelectricity (the ability of some materials to generate an electric potential when subjected to mechanical pressure, to convert vibrations into an electrical signal).
- Fiber Optic Microphone: Transforms audio waves into electrical signals by detecting changes in light intensity. During its operation, the light of a laser source travels through an optical fiber to illuminate the surface of a reflective diaphragm.
- No Laser Microphone: It can be used to capture sound remotely through microphone detectors. A laser beam is directed towards the surface of a window or on another flat surface affected by sound. The vibrations of this surface modify the angle in which the beam is reflected, allowing to detect the movement of the point of the laser beam which, once reached the instrumentation, is converted into an audio signal.
- Microelectromechanical Microphone: MEMS microphones (in English “microelectromechanical systems”), also called microphone chips or silicon microphones. A pressure-sensitive diaphragm is recorded directly in a silicon chip by MEMS processing techniques, and in general it is equipped with an integrated preamplifier.
- Hydraulic Microphone: It consists of a metal container filled with water in a small amount of sulfuric acid. A sound wave causes the diaphragm to move, moving a needle up and down in the water.
How Important Is the Directionality of Computer Microphones?
The directionality of a microphone or polar model indicates the sensitivity of picking up the sounds that come from different angles around its central axis. The way in which the microphone body is oriented with respect to the diagrams depends on the design.
Some associate various principles in the realization of the desired polar model. They range from the coating of their housing (diffraction/dissolution/absorption), to electronically join double membranes.
The polar pattern is defined as the focal distraction of sound. It is the absorption angle of the microphone according to an estimate. This factor depends, among other things, on the level, direction, and frequency.
What Is the Appropriate Directionality of Computer Microphones?
We have to choose what best suits our needs, taking into account that we can also access professional microphones that offer the possibility to choose between different modes since they are not limited to a single configuration.
Based on these characteristics, we can distinguish three types of microphones:
- Omnidirectional microphones: these microphones pick up sound from all directions.
- Unidirectional microphones: pick up the sound only from a predetermined direction.
- Bidirectional microphones: they pick up sounds from two sources facing each other thanks to a membrane that vibrates in two opposite directions.
What Is the Sensitivity of A Computer Microphone?
The sensitivity of a microphone indicates the decibels it can pick up. The lower our microphone can “listen”, the more sensitive it will be and will reach silent sounds. To get the opposite result we will set it on SPL (sound pressure level), which will show us how loud a microphone can receive sounds.
The sound of a drop of water as it falls or the whispers of a distant conversation can only be achieved by high sensitivity. Instead, the performance with the SPL must capture every detail in the midst of a confusion of indistinct sounds, without hearing any annoying noise.
What Frequency Response Should Our Microphone Have?
Another point to know is how a microphone responds in certain frequencies. The ideal is the one that has the greatest response. You can compare it in the manual in the frequency response table.
We will check how a microphone picks up the low, high, or medium sounds and we will know if it satisfies the characteristics we are looking for. For example, a vocalist will see in the frequency response curve of the microphone if it is more suitable for low, medium, or high voices.
Although the response is flat and the system treats all incoming sounds equally, in practice the response is not the same, and often the difference is very relevant.
What Are the Characteristics of A Microphone Should Be Consider?
The main characteristics of the microphones will help us to know better the performance and, therefore, to find the device that best meets the requirements we are looking for. However, they will help us try to get closer to the more powerful and defined sound. Among the main features we can indicate:
- Maximum Sound Pressure Level: Indicates the maximum level at which a microphone starts to distort. The more pressure it bears, the better performance it will offer us.
- Proper Noise Level: It is the noise that occurs when the air molecules collide against the microphone membranes due to thermal movement. In this case, it will be better the lower the level.
- Signal-To-Noise Ratio: Staying at the maximum pressure level the proper noise level is calculated. So, the higher the result, the better the quality offered by the microphone.
- Sensitivity: Indicates the effectiveness of picking up weak sounds. Greater sensitivity corresponds to greater ease in picking up more distant or weaker signals.
- Impedenzia: It is the measure of the resistance to the passage of alternating current, in this case inside the microphone, with respect to its frequency.
- Saturation Limit: It is not data available since there are no objective values to measure it. It depends on the construction of the microphone and what it can handle. All microphones distort the signal when the pressure level is too high.
