FIFINEUSB Podcast Microphone for Recording Streaming, Condenser Computer Gaming Mic for PC Mac, Headphone Output&Volume Control, Mic Gain Control, Mute Button for Vocal, YouTube (K678)

I was having complaints while video conferencing that my sound wasn't always clear and understandable. To be fair, my computer is perched on the corner of my desk, so that I have plenty of desk work area. The computer mic was not designed for clear sound from over 3 ft away (when I'm sitting back in my chair during video conferencing.)This mic is indeed plug and play. Although you may need to (read the tiny instructions) to go into your computer's sound settings and specify 'USE DEVICE SPEAKERS' when you are using this microphone - as the mic defaults, out of the box, to the 'audio out' port on the bottom of the mic, for use with headphones. Set this preference one time, and you should be done with that forever. (Might also have to do it once inside of the ZOOM program, however.) The mic will pick up your voice as soon as you plug it in and begin to use it, and your laptop speakers will continue to be active.The SOUND is forever SOLID AND CLEAR with this microphone... no matter where I place the mic. It isn't omnidirectional, but honestly, if I place it anywhere reasonably in front of me, it doesn't matter that it isn't eight inches in front of me, it always picks up great sound. It gives me confidence when participating in the program.This is mic built solidly, sounds awesome, has high end features like mic gain (USE IT! IT'LL get your mic sound just right for your environment!)That MUTE button... works perfectly, and once glance at the mic will tell you if it is muted (red light) or active (green light) BUT it DOES NOT TOGGLE THE ZOOM MIC ICON... which means that the moderator thinks I'm unmuted on Zoom, even when the microphone is actually muted... Effectively, it is a double mute/unmute switch in ZOOM. I dearly wish that there would be an update that would coordinate the mics mute switch with Zoom's in program mute/unmute icon.However - I'm completely happy with my choice of this microphone!

This microphone is compact, elegant and provides professional grade performance - it is that good.Physical Construction:- All metal construction - very sturdy and solid build.- The 5" triangular metal base is very sturdy and has rubber pads underneath giving it a steady and slip resistant perch - this mic is solid.- There is a green LED on the front fact of the mic when the microphone is active.- Push the mute button and the green LED turns red to indicate the microphone is off.- The mute button operates silently but in the recording track, there is a muffled thump when the mute is activated but is not significant.- USB Cable - solid and well made.- The tilt of the mic may be adjusted by loosening the two knobs on the side of the body. The mic body still has a bit of play even when the knobs are fully tightened. Not a deal breaker but it could have had a better tighten and hold feature.Audio Performance and Frequency Response:- The FiFine mic was tested for voice recordings only and no musical instruments were used.- This microphone has only a cardiod pattern for pickup and it does exceptionally well.- The sound play back is clear, crisp without distortion and artifacts.- The microphone gain sensitivity can be set to drop the noise floor to achieve crystal clarity in your audio.- I used Audacity to record and play back recordings. A very useful tool to set the microphone gain for maximum clarity without being over driven.- With the mic tilted back facing my mouth straight on and the mic gain set at 25%, speaking at a distance of 6", the audio was clear without being over driven. This is monitored in real time by bar graphs and actual voice pattern plots.- Background noise rejection - Excellent! This was tested using a Bluetooth speaker placed 18" away at 10 o'clock position to one side of the mic and the volume set at pretty high (Using normal speaking voice level, a person sitting on the opposite side of the table would not be able to hear my voice as the speaker volume was set that high). As recorded on Audacity, the FiFine mic captured my voice clearly while rejecting 90% of the background music. The background music was heard faintly and did not compete at all with my voice spoken at a normal level. Impressive!Intended Microphone Application:- VoIP phone calls.- No feedback issues in using computer speakers 16" behind the microphone without using a headphone.Slight Negative Feature:- On the back of the microphone are the mic gain and headphone audio level adjustment knobs. These two knobs are the size of a pencil eraser and protrudes about the same dimension. The drawback is these knobs are smooth and have no knurling and this makes adjustments difficult. There is a indicating line on the face of these knobs to indicate position but it is rather difficult to see without a contrasting colored line. Fortunately, once these levels are set, you shouldn't have to mess with them very much and it is nice they are out of the way on the back side of the microphone.Final thoughts:This is one exceptional microphone for the price. Yes, there are features that are not available compared to the Samson G Track Pro but unless you really need those features, buy the FiFine mic as you will not give up any audio qualities. I have compared this directly with the Samson G Track Pro and it is very difficult to tell the G Track Pro is that much better from audio recordings made on Audacity. For those that want a great microphone that don't require an omni direction nor a figure 8 pattern, this is the microphone to get. The noise rejection test I did proved how exceptional this microphone really is.

Very well built. It felt solid in your hand. The placement of the knobs are good. The mic. gain and the headphone feedback volume knobs are located at the back of the mic. They are normally setup and left alone thus putting them in the back keeps the look at the front clean or less cluster.The mute button is located at the front which would be the button that is used all the time especially for those who use the mic. for meeting. In addition, the push button mute button is "noise free" when you push in or push out (to mute or to unmute). This is a great paid attention to the detail as it won't generate sound when you push the button to mute or unmute.For the sound quality, it is hard to evaluate as you would need the feedbacks from the far end. From what I can gather, the sound quality reported is good.The included USB cable is very soft. It has ferrite filters at both ends to help minimize noise interference. The cable is decently long that should meet most desk or boom setup. The plugs look very good with good size to grab on.The sound quality from the headphone is adequate. I do not have any other reference to compare how it matches other. However, according to the info, the amplify is not designed to drive some hard to drive headphones (such as high impedance headphones). It should be fine for typical 32 ohm headphone.The price point for this microphone is perfect and for good design and very well built.