ICON Studio-Quality USB Streaming Microphone

I've been using it almost daily since I got it for ~ $260 in Nov 2021 (Black Fri sale). That's a lot of money for a mic that isn't going to be used for studio recording, but a real steal for the quality of what I got. Still more than what I need, to be honest, since Zoom, Teams, etc., compress the audio you transmit, but not too crazy given the amount of my day I usually spend in video conferences. A justified reinvestment of money I've saved on commutes, I tell myself. And the quality of sound that conferencing apps can handle is increasing, so I'm ready to take advantage as they improve.This is a really superb mic with an extremely accurate, full, articulate, and easy-to-listen-to sound. The mic has excellent off-axis noise coloration (reflected sounds from the side don't mess too much with the sound of you speaking into the top end). It does a good job, for a condenser mic, of rejecting sounds from places that it isn't pointed at. That minimizes disturbance from the many annoying sounds in my basement office which has not been soundproofed or treated to reduce sound reflection. With the gain knob on the bottom set to about 3/4, I can be heard perfectly with the mic positioned a modest distance (6-8 inches) above my head off-camera. Almost seems like a shotgun mic. I'm sure it sounds as good or better than plenty of XLR mics in a similar price range without requiring any of the extra expense and hassle of an audio interface, the cables, EQ, etc. that you would need to get the best from those.This mic is no effort at all to set up and use. Like pretty much any other USB mic, just plug it in, wait for it to be recognized and for the driver to install (my pc runs Windows 11) and you're good to go. No software included. You could get a free audio app like Audacity and use it to tweak the EQ or add effects and then set that as your device in your web conf app. But you're pretty much guaranteed to sound great without any of that with this mic. As with every mic, you do want to make sure your gain is set so it doesn't distort when you speak loudly and isn't too quiet when you speak softly.I use a boom arm to get it closer to my mouth, while still being out of sight, and to avoid sounds from desk vibration and keyboard noise. But the included TRIAD-ORBIT is certainly sturdy and seems like an excellent stand. The swivel mount is a joy. It is extremely well-built with threads or an adapter that work with any standard boom or stand. But the main thing is that it's designed so well. It effortlessly swivels and secures the mic, which is quite heavy for its size, in any needed position. The included braided cables are also very good.This mic will be more than good enough to get me started with content creation if I ever find the time for that. It's built to withstand a thermonuclear blast. Just nuts in terms of both sound and build quality. I can probably pass it on to my grandkids if I ever have any. It's quite a lot of fun just from a craftsmanship and aesthetics perspective. Highly recommended if you've got the spare cash.

This mic is built solid. The stainless steel frame will last a long time. The adjustable ball mount is very solid ( all metal ). I had a Blue Yeti that I was using between 2 computers, so I needed one for my work laptop. The sound quality is top notch and does a really good job with filtering out side noise. You also don't need to be right on top of it. You can speak away from 2 feet and it still records really well. I did have some issues with my computer not recognizing the mic with the USB-A connector, but when I switched over to the USB-C connector it locked on and was able to recognize it with no issues. So unless you have USB-C on your laptop , computer you might have issues with it.

This is a buy it for life type of device. Very heavy duty feeling which I appreciate a lot. Arrived EARLY which blew my mind. I haven't had a product arrive a day early in a very long time.I like earthworks, the philosophy, and the quality.I like the size of this microphone, its compact, better than shure or similar form factor. makes a big difference when you push the arm away and it doesn't use any space at all. as compared to the huge foam dynamic mics that are more common.This is a little short of a perfect product. To make this truly a buy-it-for life item, I would like to see the following changes:1. Multiple usb ports. I know some people complain that this is not usb c. It would be even better if it were usb c AND micro usb. And so if you do not have the right cable, you can improvise with a different standard if you happen to have that cable. This is a bit pie in the sky, but for something that you will own forever, this is type of forward thinking that can take a premium product like this to the next level of convenience.2. Gain nob notches at quarter increments. I would like this better if it had notch snapping feedback at quarter increments. Like it has now with 50 percent but at every quarter turn. The nob should have texture and a bit larger so that you can better control the turn action. I ask this because the mute button which requires a push can affect the gain. So I leave it at half way since its notched in, and less likely to budge suddenly when I press down to mute. If you want 75% its in a floating position between 100 and 50 and can drift over time with use of the mute button. Not a massive problem but could be perfectly fixed with notches at quarter turns, ribbed turn dial, and slightly larger knob.3. off switch. Right now, I have a switched usb port, so thats how i turn it off. Otherwise its drawing power and flashing on mute or always listening.Thats it really. This is a decent microphone. Practically perfect, but can be perfected even further imo with the changes mentioned above.

The only drawback is micro-usb port on the microphone. I would also prefer the ball mount to be detachable like in the PRO version.

After 3 months of use it stopped working. I had to put the wire in a specific position for it to work. The a after a while it completely stopped working. The second time I bought it, it was working fine. Then the metal price inside the hole you put the wire in the mic fell off and was loose inside the mic. Luckily we got a replacement one. We contacted support and they said to stop moving the microphone a lot. Just keep it in one place so it doesn't move.Do with this information what you will.

Me encanto, super funcional, hermoso visualmente, todo muy on point