Good choice for simple voice chat uses. Pair with nice headphones and it gets the job done for gaming. More than adequate for Skype and other voice programs. But not as clear or functional as a gaming microphone for regular gamers. Would fail to meet most standards if you were wanting to do audio recordings for podcasts or youtube videos.
Like many people, I wanted a mic to go with my high quality headphones. My PC headset with built in mic had speakers that were pretty shoddy, so this seemed like a no brainer. Use my high quality music headphones with this mic instead of spending $100 or so on a gaming headset? Yeah!
And it works in that regard to some degree. The mic clips to your headphone cable, so it's mostly out of the way, and not immediately in front of your mouth. This is nice, but also works against the mic. To compensate for this, the mic is omni-directional, so it picks up sound in all directions and is highly sensitive. So most importantly, your voice does come through fairly clear. But it also picks up anything else in the room. Fans, keyboard noises, mouse noises, dogs shuffling by, and whatever else you can think of. Without noise canceling, it's a live line.
Now for things like Skype and Google chats, I wouldn't imagine this to be a problem. If you need a mic for that purpose, look no further. The quality is good for the price, the sound comes through mostly clear, and you'll be understood by your friends. A sound purchase.
For gamers, this means this mic is almost required to be a solely push-to-talk mic. That's not necessarily a bad thing in a larger group, but with just a handful of friends and I, we like to use the voice activated transmitting in Mumble and Vent so we're not forced to press the key constantly. For this purpose, the mic worked... so so. With no mute switch, I had to software mute the program if somebody came into the room to talk to me. Luckily you can bind these keys with the software, but just something to keep in mind. Also, since the mic was picking up so much background chatter, I had a much harder time setting it to recognize when I was talking versus typing, putting my drink down on the desk, moving the mouse, etc. Once again, these are only issues if you use voice activated transmission.
But even with push-to-talk enabled, the sound quality is distant. Comparing it to other mics I have, it sounds like you are speaking away from the mic. My friends said I always sound like I'm away from the computer a little bit. Kind of tin can sounding. Clear enough? Sure. Just not all that loud and audible. Not as good as my relatively cheap Xbox/PC headset mic (
Xbox 360 Sharkoon X-Tatic SX Stereo Gaming Headset
) which rests closer to the mouth. For this reason, I preferred using the headset and sacrificing my listening quality so my friends could hear me loud and clear. I've also done recording comparisons, and when it is placed in the "clip" position on the headset wire, it is by far the quietest mic I have and picks up a lot of white noise. However, sound quality DOES improved quite a bit as you move it closer to your mouth. This kind of makes you want to lean down a little while talking and that's not a terribly convenient feature.
I gave this item 4 stars because it does exactly what it advertises. It works. And for the price, it works fine. But those expecting an extremely clear and functional mic should temper their expectations. Sound tests of the mic can be found on Youtube, and you'll hear some of the "tinny" and "distant" sound with lots of background "noise" that I referenced in this review. I don't regret buying it, since it's served me well for 6 months now without much fuss, but it also lead me to buy a nicer gaming headset and research higher quality PC microphones such as the Snowball and Blue Yeti. If you want quality sound, and have the cash (~$60-$100), look into those two brands and you'll find exactly what you need. For everybody else, this is a cheap alternative, but I did not find it as good as mics that rest near the mouth and that offer some form of noise canceling to reduce background noise clutter.
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Compare with similar items
 | Antlion Audio ModMic Uni Attachable Noise-Cancelling Microphone with Mute Switch Compatible with Mac, Windows PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One, and More | Antlion Audio ModMic USB Attachable Noise-Cancelling Microphone with Mute Switch Compatible with Mac, Windows PC, Playstation 4, and More | PC Goose Neck Microphone, Computer Microphone With Mute Switch and Stand, Plug And Play 3.5mm Microphone For Desktop/Laptop/iPad/Tablet | Logitech Labtec Desktop Microphone 600 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Rating | (4347) | (2227) | (1277) | (1875) | (426) |
| Price | $6.49 | $54.95 | $84.95 | $12.99 | $36.09 |
| Sold By | ZalmanUSA | AntlionAudio | AntlionAudio | new SOLUTION | Aliland |
| Hardware Platform | PC | PC | PC, Gaming Console | PC | PC |
| Item Dimensions | 8 x 2 x 1.5 inches | 78.74 x 0.1 x 1.57 inches | 9.09 x 3.19 x 1.59 inches | 6 x 1.5 x 14 inches | 12 x 6 x 2 inches |
| Item Weight | 1.12 ounces | 4.48 ounces | 4.94 ounces | 4.23 ounces | 4.80 ounces |
Products related to this item
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Customer reviews
Beware: Not the same mic as it was several years ago!
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2019
I bought one of these years back, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality and usefulness of the whole package. However, I just recently bought another a couple months ago, and I found that the mic's output was so low as to be unusable. Same setup as with the other Zalman Zm-Mic1, same look, same packaging, but with a big difference!Zalman, I'd be rating this higher and recommending this mic to everyone, but because of my last experience, I now warn people away! Get your quality control sorted!
Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2019
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Top reviews from other countries
getCTOwned
Great performance!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2017
Great performance!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2017
Being into high end 'Hi-Fi' headphones rather than gaming headsets, I found myself needing a mic. A friend reccomended the mod mic by Antlion so I got one and it is excellent!Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 22, 2017
However curiosity also made me get one of these, despite the somewhat 'mixed' reviews and I can say that for the price, this little mic is EXCELLENT.
It clearly picks up my voice and suprisingly, not much of the background noise either. I have done a side by side recording of my voice with both this and the modmic, and the difference is MINIMAL. This mic picks up really well and almost sounds the same as the modmic (which is 4 times the price), it is a little noisier, but thats due to its design and placement.
Overall a great product and the best value 3.5mm mic on amazon.
Images in this review
SirShakealot
My my my, been using this little guy for ages and he hasn't let me down
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2019Bzlom
Good voice quality, lots of background noise - good for gaming
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2019
Morgan
I'd rather a desk microphone.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2016
Gary Strang
Great Little Microphone
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 18, 2018
