Earthworks Icon USB Streaming Microphone (Stainless Steel)

The microphone certainly looks the part, with its stainless-steel finish and its broadcast-style, end-address capsule. But more important is the sound: Earthworks have crafted a mic that responds incredibly to the human voice, all while rejecting room sound, minimizing handling noise, and keeping any self-noise to a thankful minimum-even when you re recording at high volumes.

Delivers a Great Sound

This is an end-address, small-diaphragm condenser microphone with a cardioid polar pattern for minimizing the sound of acoustically imperfect rooms. On the tech side, the mic has been fashioned to deliver a rise speed of 14 microseconds, which means it reacts quickly and impeccably to the subtleties of your voice. Low-noise construction means the mic won t generate hiss or other machine sounds when driven hard. It s able to handle an SPL of up to 132 dB, which is quite high, and will come in handy for video-game play, where one might be audibly surprised by the sudden arrival of a virtual enemy.

Sonic Excellence Straight to Computers

With its Micro-USB connection, the microphone works out of the box with your computer to deliver studio-quality sound right off the bat.

Built-In Pop Filter

A built-in pop filter ensures you won t incur pops from plosives, so you can say phrases like pops from plosives without distorting the recording.

Cardioid Polar Pattern for the Untreated Room

The microphone makes use of a directional cardioid polar pattern to minimize off-axis sound. This polar pattern naturally, yet effectively tamps down room tone and focuses the audio capture on what s directly in front of the mic. Depending on your particular room, you may still need a little room treatment or some noise-reduction software to address issues such as your computer s hum or your air conditioner, but the chances of that are markedly lower with a cardioid polar pattern.

Built-In Monitoring

Thanks to the built-in 3.5mm jack, you can monitor your audio straight from the back of the mic.

Easy to Control

The mic offers simple controls and helpful haptic feedback indicators. A simple gain knob controls the mic level, with a default center position tailored for speaking about 3 away from the capsule. A haptic analog mute switch on this knob acts as an emergency brake of sorts, allowing you to mute right from the mic if need be.

Sturdy Integrated Stand

The integrated stand comes courtesy of Triad Orbit, a company famous for their studio-quality modular mic stands and mic-placement solutions. The mic can be disengaged from the stand by means of the integrated M2-R ball adapter, so you can mount the mic on any stand or boom you choose.