Samson Q2U USB/XLR Dynamic Microphone

Stopped working in less than 2 months.

Well. Bought it in Aug. I’ve probably used this a handful of times and I use it to record music. Ive used it at most 15 times. In the middle of my session, it stopped working as it was hooked up to my headphones. First, I could only hear sound in 1 ear, and a few minutes after, I couldn’t hear anything. Can’t hear myself talk into it. When it works it’s fine, and sure I have a warranty, but I can’t keep having it stop working at random times…. and since it’s been almost 2 months with this and I’m experiencing this issue, I don’t know if it’ll be good for long term use. Didn’t expect to have this issue especially with the cost.

0:25

Great, affordable, professional-quality microphone.

This microphone is an excellent choice for just about any use case. It can connect directly to your PC via USB, or to other professional caliber audio equipment vial the included XLR cable. The video shows the excellent audio response, and gives a quick look at the mic in-hand. It feels substantial, and picks up audio cleanly, with minimal popping.

0:39

Made in USA

This is very nice.

Buy it. Seriously.

Over a year into my podcast with this mic and haven’t had any issues. We’ve been complimented since episode 1 on the exceptional audio quality. I record in a pretty bare bedroom and have no issues with echo or dead sound. Was recording via USB when this pic was taken, but have since purchased and interface and migrated to XLR with no issues.

This mic is worth every penny and I recommend it to everyone. Buy it. Add to cart. You won’t regret it.

Excelente calidad de sonido y versatilidad!!!

Compré el Samson Q2U para mejorar la calidad de mis grabaciones y ha superado mis expectativas. El sonido es claro, profesional y sin ruidos molestos. Me encanta que tenga opciones de conexión USB y XLR, lo que lo hace muy versátil para diferentes configuraciones. Además, el paquete incluye todo lo necesario para empezar de inmediato. Es fácil de usar, incluso para principiantes, y el trípode es estable. Sin duda, una gran inversión para podcasting, grabaciones o transmisiones en vivo. ¡Totalmente recomendado!

Button falling out, overpriced and cheap accessory kit

The microphone is overall good and has amazing recording quality, but a button (volume up) keeps falling out. I'm going to chalk that up to a manufacturing error, and it doesn't really affect the functionality. The accessories that come in the box with the microphone itself are of good quality, but everything else in the "bundle" is cheap Chinese junk that is priced double ($40 for something that's barely worth $20) what it's actually worth.

Worse still, the arm needed to be modified to work properly. On the surface it seems good enough, but the awful plastic wingnuts that came with it stripped themselves out in less than a month. I've since replaced them with better variants that restored functionality, but for the gouged price it's completely ridiculous. The included pop filter works pretty good for what it is, but it was shedding paint everywhere on Day 1 and overall feels fragile and likely to rip and/or break easily. Your mileage with everything may vary, and I highly suggest you buy the microphone by itself.

Highly annoyed

Truly disappointed, brought this microphone and it’s not turning on. Went to get a refund.

0:14

Love them

Just finished a video, and the audio is amazing, 🟢but if you get two you need to buy a their device.

Susanne Daniels

January 11, 2024

Sometimes this mic works sometimes it doesn’t

No idea how to trouble shoot. Cannot even return at this point. Like at the moment one mic is being recognized and one moment it doesn’t . Updating this review bc we found out it was the cable that was not working. They sent us a faulty cable

0:09

Pretty nice kit for the price

Because of the type of mic it is you of course have to be right up on top of it for the sound to be in good quality. As such you definitely need the wind sock to stop with the popping P. When there's nothing going through the mixer I've heard a couple of pops, like electrical pops or static pops, but so far today I've only heard that once. As those having XLR has a connection option because I'm using a Soundcraft Notepad 12FX mixer. For the price it's a pretty good deal, and if I needed more I'd probably go ahead and order them.

Doesn't turn off

The sound quality is good, but it doesn't turn off. I can't forget to unplug it after every recording, then remember to plug it back in when I start again. I bought an arm because the stand wasn't stable enough. I may return it.

0:21

Looks good and sounds good

Crazy value. Sounds like a high end mic for cheap!!

DO NOT BUY, CAUSING ME ISSUES, ALWAYS SAYING IT MALFUNCTIONED IN WINDOWS

It was working fine until a few weeks ago when I started to have issues, and had to keep unplugging and replugging to get microphone to work, keeps saying it malfunctioned in Windows, and I didn't even do anything to the mic, SAVE YOUR MONEY

Aubrey

June 28, 2023

Watch before you buy! Honest review

After doing a lot of research at what mic would work best for podcasting I came across The Q2U mic and I absolutely love it! Highly recommend if your doing a podcast with multiple people.

1:31

Richard Reyes

March 17, 2023

Easy to set up

I recorded my first podcast with this mic and sounds really good, I like the fact that I it connects via usb though it has other options as well. The material is well made, now the small tripod it comes with is a little flimsy but I have it on a adjustable stand, which works best for me. So the quality is good, it's well made and so easy to set up.

1:09

Been using this for 3 years now

I have been using this mic since 2020 and I love it. I have BAD BACKGROUND NOISES with a big family constantly talking in the background. Since this is a dynamic microphone, it usually only records sounds that are close to the mic which makes my zoom, discord calls, and podcasts CRIPSER and REDUCES ALL BACKGROUND NOISES. Not to mention, the versatility of this microphone is amazing as it can also be used for actual low-budget music production, film production, and maybe youtube videos.

For this price, it's an amazing mic. THE ONLY ISSUE I have with this mic is that you need a PROPER SET UP in order to get the full mileage out of this mic. Before purchasing, make sure if you're using this for a PC or desktop set up you have the proper space to install either a mic stand or a mic arm. Other than that, I cannot recommend this mic enough if you're on a budget and want a quality mic that can last you a long time.

Good not great beginner setup with one flaw: the off switch

This mic + stand has been part of my setup for 2 years now and while it's been good, it hasn't been great. If I had done a review one month in I would have given it 5 stars, but after some time I began to notice same bad things about the product.

Pros:

-All inclusive kit: I use the stand + microphone in my setup and it is no hassle at all

-Quality: I receive compliments to how I sound and have others ask me what I use and I do recommend this product to them :)

Cons:

-Useless pop filter: this cheap pop filter isn't worth using as it provides no change in audio quality and adds an extra inconvenience to your setup.

-The on/off button DOES NOT turn off the microphone: when it's "turned off" it lowers the signal to the mic so IT STILL TRANSMITS AUDIO. While in discord, sometimes if I have to mute quickly I flick the switch to off, but everyone can still hear you from the microphone, it'll just be noticeably quieter.

-Cable issues: From time to time, about weekly now my microphone will begin to cut out every few syllables. This is fixed by unplugging and re plugging the microphone. Inconvenient.

Overall, I still very much recommend this product. No product is without flaws and even when considering the useless pop filter and faulty off button, the microphone + stand value for the price is one of the best out there. This is a great beginner setup that can be upgraded over time.

Honest review

It is a great microphone to start with whatever your plans are, although it doesn’t really ask for anything to other more expensive microphones.

Excellent mic for the price. Great to start but also mEasy to set up or install. Quality materials. I highly recommend it. I use this microphone for podcasting.

I loved it!!!!

I love the audio of my podcast!!!

The mic is really good and it comes with everything that the website showed.

Works, but Obviously Damaged

I purchased a second one of these as I was so pleased with the quality of the first. Everything seems to work ok on the second one, but as you can see in the photos, straight out of the box it’s OBVIOUSLY been damaged, which any professional will tell you is NOT good for a microphone.

2 stars awarded because it IS functional at least, and sounds ok for a mic that’s been damaged, AND because the first one I ordered last year was pretty much perfect. 3 stars overall deducted for quality control- I should never receive a brand new mic that looks like it got dropped off a ladder or some other tragedy.

not problem at all ,buy it :)

Arrive perfect ,love it ,also cute for starting whathever u wanna do. I can hear the sound of the birds in my headphones ,love it

Rolando Izquierdo

January 13, 2021

Great Mic, No Issues except for On/Off Slider not working properly

The Samson Q2U sounds really good when I tested it in recordings and when chatting with friends on Discord. I have it fully set up and everything on my Desk (as shown in the picture attached). I haven't had any real issues with it since I bought it at the beginning of November 2020 outside of one issue which is the slider to turn it on and off recently not working properly. I've used it a good bit so I don't have to deal with pressing 2 Hotkeys to mute myself on Roll20 and OBS whenever I play D&D with my friends (or in general when I'm feeling precautious of my Mic being on while in classes). The issue itself is basically when I go and slide it to turn Off, it doesn't actually turn Off. The Samson Q2U is still collecting audio from me. From what I can tell, it just attempts to suppress the audio to the best of its ability but without filters, the audio can come through at low volume sounding very faint which is not good since you're not really mute at all obviously. It's mainly apparent if no filters are applied to it through digital means (maybe through Equalizer APO? haven't tried it) and unwanted noise comes in for others to hear.

There's a video attached to this review (I hope) that shows how the Microphone sounds like and also a demonstration of what I actually mean by the Microphone issue.

Moving on from that, however, because I know some people may be confused by the Audio Jack on the Microphone like I was, the whole purpose is so you can attach headphones to it and it acts as a Playback Device and the Up & Down Arrow act as buttons to mess with the Volume Percentage on your PC in general (even without plugging in the headphones to the Samson Q2U). Nothing more than that but I hear it's more in sync when listening to yourself by plugging it in through there (which I cannot confirm myself).

I think it's a good buy but beware of any issues me and others have mentioned since that is something you may come across. Issues mentioned by others however are something I haven't encountered as of yet.

10:54

good mic

nice usb microphone

Podcast mic 🎤

Love this mic! Have a podcast @babesandboozepod and I use this mic. Sounds so professional. Highly recommend this mic. 🎤 **It’s always sold out or on back order, so be sure to grab it when you see it available!

Fran Bego

March 13, 2020

Excelente para podcasters y creadores de contenido.

Necesitaba un micrófono dinámico para mis podcasts, ya que mi otro microfóno es de condensador y capturaba mucho ruido ambiente, el Q2U te permite grabar de forma cómoda sin preocuparte de los ruidos, naturalmente otorga una gran calidad de sonido y un increíble rechazo al ruido, aún con una ganancia alta rechaza bien. Si empiezas con los podcasts o haces streaming en vivo no compres un micrófono de condensador, ve por este, te ahorrarás dinero y tiempo.

Best Beginner Mic for Streamers

Sturdy build. Mic quality is amazing. Everything you need are all in the box.

USB port just... CAME OFF?!

So I loved this mic - it's awesome and for the price sound quality is stellar. But this morning I plugged it in to work on an audiobook and the light wouldn't turn on. Long story short, I finally opened it up only to find the micro USB port completely came off the circuit board, so now the entire mic is unusable. The weird part about this is I'VE ONLY HAD IT TWO MONTHS and I've never dropped it, I've never even unplugged the cord from the mic. It's either been on my desk or in a drawer specifically for the mic. I contacted the company and I'm waiting for them to get back to me.

***UPDATE: When I originally got the product, I kept the manual but not the box. I believe the serial number is on a sticker on the outside of the box, which is required for all warranty claims. I'm going to try soldering the USB port back on, we'll see if that works.

EposVox

October 2, 2018

THE BEGINNER MIC EVERYONE SHOULD BUY

I've reviewed and used a LOT of microphones in my day, and I can truly say that the Samson Q2U is THE MIC people should buy, beginners or otherwise.

It's got solid build quality

Sounds great out of the box

Provides a clear upgrade path by supporting USB and XLR

Direct monitoring via USB

Can sound even better w/ post-processing

Rejects background noise better than most other mics

Isn't too heavy

8:35

Javier Fernandez

August 19, 2018

Excellent quality for a USB Microphone

I bought this microphone to recording my guitar rehearsals into Ableton. I'm giving 4 stars, not 5, as I was trying to plug it into a Novation Audiohub 4x2 and then into Ableton; the con is that Ableton can't read it as part of the ASIO devices but as a MIME, so I have to switch it in the options every time I want to record the guitar.

Very well presented, feels heavy and resistent.

The alternative is to buy an Audio Interface, but then I should stay with the XLR Shure SM58 work horse...

D-Bass

September 21, 2017

Better than expected quality.

Better than expected quality. Sturdy construction.On par with Shure SM-58 series microphones,but half the price. Excellent netcasting mic. Only wished it did better than 16 bit,48kHz.