It sounds good comparable to some of other microphone's I have costing 2 to 3 time's more and the quality is also on par with these other's. Sure beta 57a sounds a little higher in pitch and a little crisper to me, Sennheiser e835 sound almost identical at least to me. Use it for karaoke nice clean sound price. What I don't like it has no carry bag like any other microphone you might buy other than that we will see how long it lasts no buddy has complained about how it sounds yet
CJ
★★★★★
A Bit Pricey
Overall, I'm pleased with this microphone. I use it for small shows and karaoke. It works as advertised and has a noise-canceling feature. It feels nice and solid in my hand. The sound is clear and sharp with no crackling noises. It sounds better than my cheaper Pyle mics, but not that much better.
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because it's kind of pricey.
For those of you keeping score, here's the breakdown:
Design- A-
Ergonomics- A-
Audio Quality- B+
Value- B-
Overall Grade: B+
S
scooter guy
★★★★★
NOT AS ADVERTISED
This is NOT a QUIET HAND HELD mic as advertised. I've run karaoke shows and a recording studio for 20 years. I bought two of these and both are the worst mics I've ever had in my 30 mic selection when it comes to handling noise. On the positive side IT IS a VERY decent sounding mic if it's in a stand and not touched. Incredibly low ambient noise compared to other hand held mics for recording. Great frequency response and off axis rejection. But sadly, as I said, NOT a mic you could use for hand held use. I pair it with an mxl 770 silver on a single stand for doing vocal and acoustic guitar tracks which sound amazing. I got mine on sale for $55 which I think is a decent price. They've gone up to $70 now and I wouldn't spend that much for one. Drop the extra 10 or 20 and get a sure sm58. If you can get one for 50$ish, it's worth it however as long as its glued to a stand.
Gear Report
★★★★★
Solid dynamic mic
This is a nice dynamic mic for use without 48v phantom power.
It sounds pretty good for voice via my USA Audio Interface recording in Audacity on my Windows PC, and using the supplied XLR cable. When I switch to a XLR to USB adapter cable it loses a bit of highs. So, but sure you use the mic with a good cable.
I've been using it to mic the speaker on one of my guitar amps and it does really well in that role.
What I like:
- There is no switch on the side that I can bump accidently and turn off the mic
- the metal windscreen is really sturdy
- the mic body fees very solid
- I record in a room with a portable air conditioner. The mic does a good job of NOT capturing that background noise.
What I don't like:
- the body of the mic is so smooth and tapered that it slip from my grip sometimes. A bit of texture on the body would be nice.
- The mic holder doesn't have an adapter for the standard 1/4-20 threads on most of the stands that i have.
Craig G.
★★★★★
Good bang for the buck
Straight out of the box, this microphone has an impressive build. Although its weight is nice, it manages to feel balanced and comfortable in the hand. The grill is a little over-sized for my liking, but that’s a matter of personal taste. Removing it revealed what appears to be a very well-constructed coil capsule assembly neatly soldered in, along with a built-in pop filter.
I have a rather extensive home studio and own many, all pretty much industry standards and costing far more than this one. Nonetheless, despite its low price I was curious how it would stack up against those.
All of my testing was performed by recording using the REAPER DAW, via a Behringer ADA8200 A/D interface (Midas pre-amps and super clean). Playback was exactly as recorded, with no plugins involved.
- Vocals and spoken word:
Low-end seems to be a bit exaggerated. That’s curious, since per the included spec sheet it rolls off at around 120Hz, so you would think if anything it would lack bass response. It may just be my ears because I’m used to recording vocals using a R0DE NT-1A, whose frequency response is nearly flat as a board across the entire spectrum. So, I’m more than a little spoiled in that department. 😉
- Marshall DSL40CR combo amp, normally miked using a Sennheiser e609:
It really held its own there. Recorded sound was surprisingly good, but then again the amp wasn’t cranked up. I’ve no idea what this mike’s SPL rating is, and didn’t want to risk damaging the capsule. The Sennheiser has a rating of 150dB+ with full fidelity, roughly the equivalent of a jet plane taking off. That’s obviously an important spec when miking amps, since it’s usually done just an inch or two away from speaker grills.
- DW snare batter head, normally miked using a Shure SM57:
I’ve always used these on all my drums (except of course, the kick). It’s a workhorse of a microphone which can be used in all sorts of applications, and is commonly found in recording studios everywhere.
Every drum in my kit is miked with two additional overheads, so a tight polar pattern is critical to help prevent bleed-through. Comparing this microphone’s pattern to SM57 specs, it looked to be nearly identical. I believe it, as it did indeed do a good job of shunning off-axis sound. Its performance here was also great, even picking up snare spring sizzle to some extent.
Miscellaneous:
- 15’ XLR cable included.
I expected this to be cheaply made, but it’s actually of pretty good quality. I really like the huge stress reliefs on the plugs, something often missing from many types of instrument cables. The cable itself isn’t marked, so once again I've no idea of what its internal materials might be. However, I couldn’t detect a hint of line noise, even with no input signal present. That tells me both the microphone as well as the cable have a very low noise floor.
- No switch, as shown in one of the product photos.
Only present on the Carol PS-1, it's the sole difference between that and this product, with a price tag that's roughly the same. In my studio environment, I’d never use it anyway.
- Run-of-the mill clip.
While it’s nice that one is included, it’s cheaply made with plastic threads versus a brass insert and has no adapter. Then again, I need another clip like I need a hole in the head.
Summary:
Granted, comparing this microphone to the others I’ve written about is unfair to say the least, and was done purely for the purpose of at least getting a rough idea of its traits.
In the end, considering the overall build, sound quality, versatility and low price, it certainly surpassed my expectations. In my opinion, it’s the perfect choice for those looking for a decent multi-purpose mike, but don't want to shell out big bucks in the process.
Grant Harlow
★★★★★
Punches way above its price
Affordable dynamic mic, made in Taiwan.
Initially thought it’d be good to have as a cheap backup to other / more expensive mics but actually holds its own against my Shure SM57.
Build quality is great, feels good in the hand. Included cable is nice to get you started but is understandably cheaply made. Clip is standard, no issues. The only complaint is purely aesthetic and it’s that the shade of gray and type of paint used in the grille is.. unusual. Not enough to deduct a star!
Initial handling was surprisingly quiet, very little cable and handling noise. Carol do make claims of noise cancelling technology built in (passive, because there’s no power used here) and that shows in the low noise floor.
Plosives are ok but not great - the grille works but it’s not a silver bullet; you still need some mic handling skill to minimize how much of your breathe hits the capsule (which I don’t have because I’m primarily a guitarist). In post, a decent mic strip plug-in can (and did) help.
Tested against a similarly priced Digital Reference mic and found the Carol has a much smoother top end. If your voice is bright, this will work in your favor. Nice proximity effect when you get up close to it.
Others might prefer a brighter mic with more presence if their vocal is darker.
In my case though, recorded vocals compared very favorably with a Shure mic costing twice as much.
Definitely worth the asking price, and definitely worth 5 stars from a value and performance perspective.
C
CMD
★★★★★
Very solid
I am very happy with this microphone. The construction is very solid and it is made from sturdy materials. It has a nice weight to it. The sound quality is very good, and it would work very well for live vocals. I would put it almost on par with a Shure sm58. I like that it comes with a mic cable, which I did not expect. I use this for recording music and it has worked out well.
Eddie Rattlehead
★★★★★
Great Mic for Performance and Recording (Made in Taiwan)
This is a great dynamic microphone period. I used it with my band over the weekend during our rehearsal. Noise elimination is very effective. It also did a great job of not picking too much sound from the drums and the other instruments. The sound quality was so good, I also recorded a distorted (high-gain) guitar amplifier and it did a fantastic job while keeping the noise floor extremely low.
Build quality is very good. everything looks and feels heavy duty and sturdy. The metal mesh capsule also has an afoam layer inside acting like a windscreen/pop filter.
Overall, this is an amazing microphone for the price with several use cases. This brand made a fan out of me.
I sincerely hope that you will find my review helpful.
R Cagno
★★★★★
Well constructed, works well
I am pleased with this microphone. It has a decent sound and seems to be very well constructed. It seems to isolate the sound pretty well which is what I expect from a unidirectional mic.. The all metal construction gives it a quality feel. The included XLR cable seems to be of decent quality and performed well in my testing. At the current price of $69.99 it is a good value (in my opinion).
