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.
- 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...
- Plug N Play audio recording with USB-C connection: Get quality audio recordings with this easy-to-use USB condenser microphone....
- Hi-Res 24-bit/96 kHz recording: SoloCast supports a high, studio-level bit depth and sampling rate.
- Tap-to-Mute sensor with LED status indicator: Simply tap the top of the mic to mute, and the easy-to-see LED indicator lets you...
- Flexible, adjustable stand: The easy-to-position stand swivels to support a variety of setups. You can even fit it under a monitor...
- Boom arm and mic stand threading: Versatile built-in mount adapter fits 3/8-inch and 5/8-inch threads, making it compatible with...
- [Natural Audio Clarity] Operated with frequency response of 50Hz-16KHz, the podcasting XLR mic delivers balanced audio range,...
- [XLR Connection Upgrade-Ability] Well-connected and smooth operation, the podcasting microphone, studio recording microphone grows...
- [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...
- Gradient RGB Symphony Lights: Cyclic and gradient RGB lights, in line with your live broadcast aesthetics. Bring you an immersive...
- Practical and convenient function: It is equipped with a one-button mute touch sensor. When you want to close the microphone, you...
- Cardioid Polar Pattern: This microphone features a cardioid polar pattern that captures crisp, smooth, and clear sound in front of...
- SOLID FIT: With a weighted carbon steel base, your big movements won't knock the mic down, even during intense gaming sessions....
- Plug and Play:PC gaming microphone for streaming, compatible with PS4/PS4pro/PS5 desktop and laptop. You can quickly enter the...
- ✔ Smooth Recording & Clear Sound for podcasting, chatting, recording vocals - Built-in high-performance CMTECK CCS2.0 SMART CHIP...
- ✔ Compact Design with adjustable neck - convenient using, suitable for podcasting, YouTube, Twitch, Skype, FaceTime, Gaming and...
- ✔ USB Plug&Play - built-in sound card, no drivers to install, hassle-free installation, well compatible with Windows(7, 8, 10...
- ✔ Unique Blue LED light gives you a great visual effect, you can turn it on/off with a switch
- ✔ Mute Button with LED Indicator - Quickly mute/unmute your microphone, and the built-in Indicator LED lights to tell you the...
- Gradient RGB & Quick Mute - Bicolored RGB automatically alters between 7 gradient color modes. The RGB microphone adds carnival...
- Vivid Voice Enjoyment - Designed for streaming microphone for PC gamer, the built-in PC mic capsule offers clear and full sound....
- Handy Use - Gain knob at the bottom is quick to access. If game sound affects your voice, you can instantly adjust the volume from...
- Convenient Installation - The plug-and-play gaming USB microphone for PC for streaming is compatible with PS4/PS4pro/PS5 desktop...
- Useful Accessories - Rubber elastic bands are firmly clamped on the shock mount of gaming USB microphone, which will reduce...
- Multi-Purpose Use: It is not a Speaker or Speakerphone, it is a condenser microphone. DM2 ideal for one-to-one and small-group...
- USB Plug & Play Design: no drivers to install, phassle-free installation, just plug it into a laptop/desktop and get started. The...
- Outstanding Sound Quality: Offers crystal clear voice capturing on meetings calls with 360°sensitivity pickup range(3m/10ft), 10...
- Easy To Transport, Compact Design: The portable design makes the microphone take up less space. You can put it in your pocket or...
- Built To Last : The microphone is constructed of sturdy and durable metal material and the base is fitted with an anti-slip mat...
- [Right Out-of-the-Box] The plug-and-play gaming microphone set doesn't need additional plug-ins or complicated device setup steps....
- [Cool Lighting Design] Two-tone automatic gradient RGB makes your PC windows microphone icing on the cake. With soft and...
- [Easier Function Use] Setting touch-mute button on the top of USB desktop mic for PC can be easily tapped with one hand, instead...
- [Original Sound Reproduction] Working with upgraded condenser USB cardioid microphone capsule, A6T can achieve energetic and warm...
- [Effective Accessories] With wide extensibility, the PC mic with boom arm is great for gamers who have various items on desk. You...
- Custom three-capsule array: This professional USB mic produces clear, powerful, broadcast-quality sound for YouTube videos, Twitch...
- Blue VOICE 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...
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.
