Your overall gaming experience can be enhanced two times by just using a good gaming microphone. Owning a microphone will definitely help you to communicate better whether you are playing multiplayer games, chat with friends or family on Hangout or Skype.
In this day and age of Twitch Streaming and Youtube Gaming, a lot of gamers prefer to do Voiceovers. They want to talk to their friends during gaming with the best quality Microphone Possible and have it all nicely recorded.
So, a question that often comes up is whether it is worth using a gaming headset or upgraded to a dedicated best quality gaming microphone to get the good Audio Quality Possible.
Best Microphone for Gaming 2024
Now I wanted to do this detailed Article for you to explain the differences and give you some examples to see what you can realistically expect from the different products in the Market and after that, you can buy the best gaming Microphone suitable for your needs.
[su_table]| Best Gaming Microphones 2024 | Latest Price | Connection Type |
|---|---|---|
| Audio-Technica ATR2500 | [su_button url=”http://geni.us/OYIKmz” style=”flat” background=”#f96e5b” size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”round” target=”blank” target=”blank” rel=”nofollow”]Check Price[/su_button] | USB |
| Samson Go Mic | [su_button url=”http://geni.us/w77AW7i” target=”blank” target=”blank” rel=”nofollow” style=”flat” background=”#f96e5b” size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”round”]Check Price[/su_button] | USB |
| Blue Yeti USB | [su_button url=”http://geni.us/vTCrtxZ” target=”blank” target=”blank” rel=”nofollow” style=”flat” background=”#f96e5b” size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”round”]Check Price[/su_button] | USB |
| Blue Snowball iCE | [su_button url=”http://geni.us/5OALVA1″ target=”blank” target=”blank” rel=”nofollow” style=”flat” background=”#f96e5b” size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”round”]Check Price[/su_button] | USB |
| Zalman ZM-Mic1 | [su_button url=”http://geni.us/0BAHWZD” target=”blank” rel=”nofollow” style=”flat” background=”#f96e5b” size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”round”]Check Price[/su_button] | 3.5mm |
| V-Moda BoomPro | [su_button url=”http://geni.us/5Ns51A” target=”blank” rel=”nofollow” style=”flat” background=”#f96e5b” size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”round”]Check Price[/su_button] | 3.5mm |
| Audio-Technica ATR3350 | [su_button url=”http://geni.us/gR4204d” target=”blank” rel=”nofollow” style=”flat” background=”#f96e5b” size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”round”]Check Price[/su_button] | 3.5mm |
| Rode NTG2 | [su_button url=”http://geni.us/uyGBScy” target=”blank” rel=”nofollow” style=”flat” background=”#f96e5b” size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”round”]Check Price[/su_button] | BROADCAST |
| Shure PG42 | [su_button url=”http://geni.us/RA9y” target=”blank” rel=”nofollow” style=”flat” background=”#f96e5b” size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”round”]Check Price[/su_button] | USB |
| Cad U37 | [su_button url=”http://geni.us/ziGKeM1″ target=”blank” rel=”nofollow” style=”flat” background=”#f96e5b” size=”5″ center=”yes” radius=”round”]Check Price[/su_button] | USB |
So far I have enlisted some of the best gaming Microphones available in the Market that you can buy anytime soon. But, before that you defintely want to know which Microphone would I recommend for somebody relatively on a Budget because as you all know Gaming Headphone’s Microphone Sucks, it doesn’t matter how high quality it is, it never compares to a decent external Microphone.
[su_note note_color=”#ffff7e”]To Help you Buy the Best Microphone for Gaming, I am reviewing each of them individually explaining the Pros and Cons in detail only for you :)[/su_note]1. Audio-Technica ATR2500 – Best microphone for youtube gaming
The First Gaming Microphone on our list is Audio-Technica ATR2500. This is a USB Condenser Microphone with a headphone port on it. Let’s talk about what you get in the Box of ATR2500, you get the Microphone along with the Mount, USB 5ft Cable and plastic body Microphone Stand.
The build Quality of ATR2500 Microphone is not the best, it is made up of the metal body, but the Plastic components on it looks kind of Cheap. A big complaint I have from this Microphone is the Mount, it doesn’t have any Shock Observers means if you hit the microphone’s stand by accident, then you can easily hear every second of the sound.
The Frequency Response of the Mic is 30Hz-15KHz which sounds pretty okay to me, it doesn’t sound like it is missing any big Frequency gap. So I think this microphone sounds pretty much Awesome and it has a slightly better presence than ATR2100 and this is what I expected because ATR2500 is a Condenser Microphone and ATR2100 USB is a Dynamic Microphone.
The Acoustic Sounded Great, the electric sounded decent and the Recorded voice sounds pretty good as well. If you have any desire to expand to the XLR port in near future I recommend you to go for ATR2100, and if you don’t have any, then I would recommend ATR2500 as the best fit for gaming microphone.
[su_row][su_column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][su_box title=”Pros” box_color=”#24b000″] [su_list icon=”icon: check” icon_color=”#24b000″]- Compatible with Windows and Mac
- Small In Dimensions
- Weight is Less
- Condenser Microphone
- No XLR Port Compatibilty
- No Shock Observers
2. Samson Go Mic – Best budget microphone for gaming
Pressed out under the budget of 50$, the Samson Go Mic advertises the solution for your podcasts and Game Streaming needs. Let’s check out how the Samson Go Mic can handle the vast needs of Gamers.
First, let’s start with what is in the box, WIth the Samson Go Microphone, you get mounting hardware to attach the Microphone to the Stand, you get the Mic Itself and the mini USB to USB cord and a Case.
The Samson Go Gaming Microphone is very travel-friendly, it will be protected by Nylon Ballistic Case. One thing to keep in mind is that the Case doesn’t fit anything apart from the Microphone Itself, So no space for USB cables in there.
Let’s jump into the design now, It definitely caught the attention with its vintage looks which definitely reminds me of the early 70s News Broadcasts. On the Microphone, you will find a mini USB port to connect to your computer and to power the mic, a 3.5mm jack.
The Samson Go Mic features ZERO latency Audio monitoring through a 3.5mm headphone jack. This feature mostly seen in high-end Gaming Microphones like Blue Yeti or the Audio Technica but you can get this feature in Samson Go which is very cool.
The Samson Go Microphone Features three different types of settings according to your Audio Needs, Omnidirectional, cardioid and Negative 10db. The omnidirectional recording will give you 360 degrees of Audio from the Microphone. You definitely need Omnidirectional Recording when Two or more people are speaking at the same time in the Mic.
Cardioid is a setting where Microphone is Capturing what is in front of it. The -10db lowers the gain on the Microphone to eliminate the extra noise.
The Samson Go Mic comes attached to a heavy-duty Laptop Clip/Stand. The Clip allows you to Clip your Go Mic On the Top of Laptop, but if you are using Personal Computer I am afraid you can’t use that clip instead you can use the Mic Boomer Stand.
Overall this Microphone worked really well for Skype, cam recording and GamePlay Recording. I personally recommend you to buy this one as it is the best in the budget gaming Microphones.
[su_row][su_column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][su_box title=”Pros” box_color=”#24b000″] [su_list icon=”icon: check” icon_color=”#24b000″]
- Light In weight
- Easily Clipped on Laptop
- Different Settings
- Low Price
- Travel Friendly
- Clipping Problems with PC
3. Blue Yeti – Best microphone for gamers
A good USB Microphone should do two things, sound great, quick and easy setup. For many years the Blue Yeti USB Microphone referred to as the Best Gaming Microphone by many experts including Podcasters, Youtubers, Bloggers and of course last but not the least Gamers.
It is also the best selling microphone on Amazon and has plenty of Positive reviews that actually turned into a nightmare for all the other manufacturers of Microphones.
So, without wasting any further time, let’s get to know why Blue Yeti USB tops the Chart. The Blue Yeti is currently 129$ on Amazon, but you can find it cheaper in different variations of the colors.
When you first open up the Box, you can find out Blue Yeti is not at all Small Microphone By any means. It is Foot long and weight about 3.5 pounds, I personally Like Grey color as it compliments my Mac Airbook Pretty well.
The Blue Yeti Comes with a USB Cable and it is compatible with both Mac and PC. You don’t need to install any Softwares to run Blue Yeti on your PC, you can just plugin to your computer and start to record.
You can fold your Yeti Microphone quite easily and place it on the computer table. The Blue Yeti is the absolute perfect choice for most of the people, when you start to look at the Microphones below 100$ you see they lack a few key features which Blue Yeti has. If you are looking for some extra features you probably have to spend a lot more on a complicated XLR mic with separate Audio Interface.
The Blue Yeti comes up with internal preamp and Analog to Digital Converter, which takes your input as an Analog Signal converts it into Digital and directly send it to your Computer. The Headphone Jack of the Blue Yeti is Latency Free and the bottom of the Blue Yeti has Firm Foam attached to it which helps it to stand firm in the same position.
It has four Different Recording Settings, Cardioid mode, Stereo mode, Omnidirectional mode and Bidirectional mode.
Cardioid Mode is used when you have to record the sound from the source which is directly in front of the microphone.
Stereo Mode captures the Sound from both left and right part to give you the wide and realistic sound.
Omnidirectional mode picks up the voice equally from all around. It is basically used when you are recording an interview or a duet song.
Bidirectional mode Bidirectional mode records the sound from both the front and rear part while cancel the voice form the sides.
This is so far the best microphone for gaming 2024 on the list.
[su_row][su_column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][su_box title=”Pros” box_color=”#24b000″] [su_list icon=”icon: check” icon_color=”#24b000″]
- Good Design
- Easy Setup
- Different Settings
- Low Price
- Value For Money
- Sometimes cause Problem Connecting to iMac
4. Blue Snowball iCE – Best desktop microphone for gaming
The next up on our list is the Blue Snowball iCE. It has a full Plastic Body with a metal grill in the front. Blue Snowball iCE has a single Cardioid Microscopic Capsule inside. So unlike other Different Modes, we talk about earlier in different Gaming Microphones, you can just operate Snowball iCE in single mode i.e Cardioid mode.
In the Cost of only 40$, the Microphone offers a good Audio Quality on a competitive budget. The Company didn’t focus on many things but to provide a budget-friendly Microphone to the gamers.
Inside the Blue Snowball iCE box, you will find USB to mini USB plug and a tripod that attach to the base of the microphone. Personally, this could be the best buy for those who are tight on budget, but I personally don’t recommend it if you have already used High-end Microphones Before.
[su_row][su_column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][su_box title=”Pros” box_color=”#24b000″] [su_list icon=”icon: check” icon_color=”#24b000″]
- Sound is Clear
- Easy Setup
- Cheap Gaming Microphone in the 40$ Budget
- Picks up Noise
- Only One Operational Mode
- Plastic Body
5. Zalman Zm-Mic1 – High Sensitivity Headphone Microphone
This next Microphone in the list is definitely a “Great quality at a great price”. I personally recommend this if you are literally low on budget, it got all the things of a Standard Microphone in it which is pretty much awesome to have in under 10$. It is designed to clip on a headphone cable other than your shirt so just keep that thing in mind before buying it.
Inside the box, you just got a microphone that has about 10ft cable attached to it. The built quality of Zalman Zm-Mic1 is descent, it has a typical rubber cable, at the first, it looks cheap and seems to break at any time. There are nubs on the Microphone to clip it on the Headphone cable.
Keep in mind, this is a very cheap price Microphone so I don’t know what you are expecting in terms of built quality. The part which I didn’t like is when you clip this Microphone on your Headphone it rubs off from your shirt and ends up making a lot of noise in the Recording.
[su_note note_color=”#ffff7e”]This is an Omnidirectional Microphone. If you are not having any separate room for recording the Audio Sound, then this is not the perfect buy for you as it catches a lot of noise from around. [/su_note]So Overall it’s a decent Microphone, but surely if you are expecting much, it cannot fulfill all your needs.
[su_row][su_column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][su_box title=”Pros” box_color=”#24b000″] [su_list icon=”icon: check” icon_color=”#24b000″]
- Very Cheap
- Picks up Noise
- Only One Operational Mode
- Not for Professional Gamers
6. V-MODA BoomPro – Microphone for Gaming & Communication
This is an add-on microphone for your V-MODA Headset or any Headset that has 3.5mm Input. So let’s straight jump onto what you gonna get in the box of V-MODA Boom Pro, an actual Microphone that has 3.5mm jack, a long single cable that goes into single 3.5mm TRRS Jack.
Along with that you also get TRRS Splitter so it takes the TRRS Jack and Splits it into Headphones and the Microphone input and lastly it comes up with the one year warranty.
The built quality of the Microphone is fairly nice you actually have an arm that articulates which absolutely is essential for a Headset. It has a long cable, then in the middle of this cable has a little remote, on one side it has a microphone mute button so if we hit that, it stops recording. On the other side, it has a Volume Control and then on the back of it, it has clipper so that you can clip this onto your t-shirt.
The entire microphone is made of rubber, unlike your Headphones. The Frequency Response is pretty much good and I find it easy and simple to communicate with my friend playing on the other side. The V-MODA Boom Pro Microphone works on an omnidirectional mode, but it does pick up a little bit of background noise.
If you are having a mechanical gaming keyboard chances are that it will pick up a noise from your keyboard, but other than that it seems like a nice gaming Microphone to buy.
I would basically recommend this Microphone to anybody who is unhappy with the Current Microphone on their headset that has 3.5mm line input on their headset.
[su_row][su_column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][su_box title=”Pros” box_color=”#24b000″] [su_list icon=”icon: check” icon_color=”#24b000″]
- Amazing Sound Quality
- Easy to Setup
- Excellent Build Quality
- Budget Friendly
- Compatibility Issues
- Catches little bit of Backgorund Noise
7. AUDIO-TECHNICA ATR-3350 Review
The next on our list is Audio Technica ATR-3350, and before we begin, you should know that this Microphone raises the bar on clip-on microphones. This lavalier Microphone is the good option for those who are looking for a high-quality clip-on microphone at a budget.
I personally recommend this Microphone for DSLRs, camcorders, audio-recorders or any other device with a standard 3.5 mm mic input and to my surprise, it comes with a metallic body which is absolutely Sturdy too.
ATR-3350 is not directly compatible with smartphones without the TRS to TRRS adaptor. The cable of the Microphone is very long, not that it’s like a bad thing, but I am not gonna need the cable which is 3 or 4 times the normal size.
So probably the best thing about this mic other than the amazing sound quality is that its wallet Friendly Microphone. You can buy this microphone in under 20$ from Amazon and I mean it’s perfectly affordable gaming Microphone for someone who is an amateur in Game Streaming and Podcasting.
The thing I don’t like about this Microphone is, it is battery driven and it gets empty so quickly and the other thing is it doesn’t have any Indicator light on the ON/OFF switch which makes it difficult sometimes to get an idea about whether it is ON or OFF.
[su_row][su_column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][su_box title=”Pros” box_color=”#24b000″] [su_list icon=”icon: check” icon_color=”#24b000″]
- Amazing Sound Quality
- Nice Accessories
- Excellent Build Quality
- Budget Friendly
- Battery Driven
- Battery Indicator Absent
8. Rode NTG2 – Condenser Shotgun Microphone
Rode NTG2 is definitely a good gaming Microphone for 269$. Now let me explain a little bit more about it, The Frequency response on this mic is pretty much even overall let say the lows are good, the mids are good and the highs are all good.
The Quality of Sound this Microphone can produce if you use it properly for your gaming is really really good. I myself preferred to use Shotgun Microphone, the reason behind it is that it doesn’t catch the overall noise around like people walking around, rubbing clothes and if you are also new to the Microphone recording, then Shotgun Microphone really helps a lot initially.
The Rode provides a reasonable good amount of voice but as it is a Condenser Microphone so it must require some power for the amplification of the voice and for that you can use either Power Batteries or the Phantom Power. The Microphone has in-built High Pass filter Which means it can filter out the some of the low-frequency noises.
Rode NTG2 has a very good tendency to reject the repulsive sounds for eg the voice of ‘p’ and ‘b’, but it’s not good in rejecting wind So if you want to reject wind sounds then you have to use something external like Dead cat Cover.
You can also use this Microphone directly for your DSLR but for that, you have to buy 8-inch XLR connectors Adapter However this adapter takes the low impedance output from your Microphone and converts it into High Impedance signals to go into the camera, the problem is this process creates a very noisy signal.
The problem with Rode NTG2 is if you are playing games in the room untreated with acoustics or having the problem of the echo, this Microphone is not the choice. Apart from that I really love this Microphone because it gives you more freedom to Record your voice while moving around which is required for the gamers.
[su_row][su_column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][su_box title=”Pros” box_color=”#24b000″]
[su_list icon=”icon: check” icon_color=”#24b000″]
- Amazing Sound Quality
- Excellent Build Quality
- Tendency to Cancel Repulsive Signals
- XLR Adapter Noise
- Echo Problem
9. CAD U37 USB – Best USB microphone for gaming
The Last Microphone in our list of Best Microphones for Gaming 2024 is CAD U37 Audio USB. First of all, CAD is a very reliable brand, it has some great sounding Microphones. Second, this is under 60$ Gaming Microphone. The CAD is pretty impressive in Sound quality alone.
For 50$-60$ for an excellent Cardioid Condenser Microphone that’s pretty impressive. The Microphone comes with different choices of colors, it comes in grey, black, orange, white (My Personal Favorite) and many more. The CAD U37 is built very slimly and sturdy and It has a plastic uniform body, not metal.
CAD U37 has LED light on the front which stays ON when plugged in and flashes in recording mode. There are also two switches in the front, the Top switch is just for how Sensitive you want the Microphone to be, the bottom switch is just to reduce the base so that you can have small background noise.
[su_note note_color=”#ffff7e”]The Settings I found best is top switch on the -10 and the bottom one on the base boosted or Straight Line Setting.[/su_note]It comes with 10ft USB Cable with Gold Plated Ends. Even though the body of the MIcrophone is made of Plastic material but the parts you have to screw in the Mic or the Stand are made up of Metals. It comes with a very Compact Plastic and a metal stand that is very sturdy and nice.
[su_row][su_column size=”1/2″ center=”no” class=””][su_box title=”Pros” box_color=”#24b000″] [su_list icon=”icon: check” icon_color=”#24b000″]- Amazing Sound Quality
- Excellent Build Quality
- Budget Friendly
- Little bit of Echo
- Not Fully Metal Body
Things you MUST KNOW before choosing your Microphone
[su_youtube_advanced url=”http://youtu.be/gDnJjl2UK5M” showinfo=”no” rel=”no” fs=”no” https=”yes”]Talking about what Microphone to use for a particular application is very confusing because everyone has different opinions. In this Gaming Microphone Buyer’s guide, you will learn about What to look for before choosing your Microphone.
When it comes to Microphones there are a ton of options available in the market, just one company make 18 different types of large diaphragm condenser microphones, it’s absolutely crazy. Before we get into drilling down what you wanna look for, let me first explain to you about different types of Microphones.
Microphone convert acoustic energy, sound into electric signals, the topic of a microphone is a little bit complex so for this Guide we are going to talk about basic types of Microphone.
Microphones are often referred to you by how they work, dynamic, condenser, piezo and by their directional characteristics such as cardioid, omnidirectional and Bidirectional.
Dynamic Microphone
Dynamic Microphones are highly Dependable, rugged and reliable. Dynamic Mic Functions just like a speaker only in reverse. There is a small movable induction Coil position in the field of a permanent magnet and the coils attached to it is a very thin diaphragm. When the Sound waves move the diaphragm, it moves the coils in the magnetic field generating a small value of electrical current. This Electrical current is the Microphone’s Output.
Because of their Constructions, Dynamic Microphones are best suited for Stage use where Ruggedness is important. Dynamic Microphones, in general, have the more limited frequency response as compared to Condenser.
Condenser Microphone
A Condenser Microphone uses a thin conductive diaphragm held close to a disk called the back plate. This arrangement basically works like a capacitor. When sound pressure acts on a diaphragm it vibrates slightly in response to a waveform. Which causes the variance in Output voltage, this variation is the signal output of the Microphone.
Condenser Microphones are different than Dynamic Microphones for a few reasons. The Diaphragm element is much lighter in Condenser Microphones so it can respond very quickly to sounds. Because of this faster response time, the sound is said to be transparent and Condenser Microphones are far more accurate than Dynamic Microphones. Condenser microphones are not resilient to shocks and humidity compared to Dynamic Microphones.
Condenser Mics have excellent Sonic characteristics and are widely used in recording live Productions. All Condenser Microphones require Power because they have the electronic circuit inside them, some of them use Batteries but often they use something called Phantom Power.
There are other few Microphone types Ribbon and Piezo. But I want you to only stick to Condenser or Dynamics.
Polar Patterns
All Microphones have their polar patterns that indicate how sensitive it is to the sounds coming from the different directions and the polar pattern of each microphone will definitely help you to decide whether it is appropriate for your needs or not.
- Omnidirectional Pattern – An omnidirectional pattern responds to sound nearly in all directions.
- Cardioid Pattern – A cardioid Pattern looks like a fat heart and rejects sounds directly from behind the microphone element.
- Supercardioid Pattern – A super-cardioid pattern looks like a narrow pattern in the front of the microphone, but starts to except the sounds coming from the rear of the microphone element.
- Shotgun Pattern – A shotgun pattern has a very narrow pattern on the front and has also a very narrow response from the rear. It does a pretty good job in rejecting the sounds from the sides.
Proximity Effect
The Proximity effect in Audio is an increase in the base or low-frequency response when the sound source is near to the Microphone. This is good to know because it can help with some sound sources and it can make other sound sources a nightmare to control.
[su_note note_color=”#ffff7e”] If you are just starting out and you are looking for an all-around microphone, I would recommend a large or small diaphragm Condenser Microphone.Few of the Dynamics Microphones have an outstanding voice but Dynamics have less output as compare to Condenser Microphones so they will need to be amplified more and this would definitely be required a preamp which might add a little bit of extra noise during the recordings.[/su_note]
Conclusion
It is very important to step up your gaming sound quality, I mean gaming Headphones can’t do the overall job of the Gaming Microphone. Because gaming Does drive the emotions, feelings behind the game. I can easily remember every sound that went pass to my ears, the Mario, the Gun Strikes of CS Go, Oh Bwoy! that’s the real deal. I am sure you must have understood the need for Gaming Microphones.
Let me give you the quick brief. According to Glinkster, the overall best Gaming Microphone is Blue Yeti USB while the best Gaming Microphone under budget is V-MODA BoomPro.
Now, just get your Microphone and push the limits of your system for extreme gaming!
Feel free to ask any doubts about Gaming Microphones and don’t forget to share your experiences in the comments section below.