Samson - Q9U XLR/USB Dynamic Broadcast Microphone

I have had this microphone for a few weeks now and the sound of this mic is amazing being a dynamic mic you have to be close to your mouth to capture the best audio possible and is does a better job compare to condencer microphones on blocking unwanted noise from your room, it also has a XLR and usb ports which is perfect if you are on the go and need to connected directly to your phone or laptop to record your voice

Great mic. Gray price. USB and xlr. Comparable to Shure mv7x.

Pros: -Very solid build -Internal pop filter is actually adequate (although, the included windscreen doesn't hurt to either) -Very clear audio as long as I opt for the 'Mid' option on the back of this mic -Onboard sound settings available -XLR audio sounds excellent Cons: -There is no Samson software to EQ this mic should you go the USB route -Mic is rather bass heavy/muddy -No way to tighten or loosen the shock mount knobs on the sides of the mic -The audio quality via USB is not exactly great (at least for my voice) Overall: I think if you're really good at EQ-ing mics to cater to your voice, you could make almost any mic sound good. Same goes for this mic. I was NOT impressed with this mic's sound via USB. When you use this mic via USB, you're depending on the USB connection to supply the power. I use an audio interface with preamps via XLR and since this is a dynamic mic, I use a Fethead to get a bit more gain boost. The mic sounds beautiful for spoken word. Note: Out of the box, this mic did not sound like anything special (it sounded worse via USB). When I applied some EQ, compression, limiters, etc. to the mic via OBS, the mic sounded wonderful. Will it replace my SM7B? Nope. There is so much hype about how this mic would give the SM7B a run for its money. I disagree. I think its closest competitor would be the Shure MV7 or Rode Procaster. I'd say that this is a 'tweener' between the Procaster and MV7. Aside from that, great mic at this price point!

Sounds great! I love it because it can go directly to my Macbook with a usb-c cable. No need for an interface. you can plug it directly to an xlr too! There is a headphone jack with no latency. Good experience only for this mic. I use garage band to record my voice.

Definitely the best mic i've had so far! got the mic for a great discount, and the functionality on it honestly impressed me!

This microphone works get both via XLR/USB-C I haven’t had an issues with this mic like ever. Only thing is I would not pair this with the Blue Compass desktop microphone arm. The screws on the mount tends to get stuck with other things as if it was cold welded or something.

I will start my review with a shorter version in a list format, and then I will go more into specifics. I also want you all to know that my point of view comes from a streamer with some knowledge on how audio programs/equipment works. All my testing has been done through the applications Voicemeter, Audacity and OBS studio, and no audio interface or mixer was used. Pros -USB type C port -Comes with type C to male USB cable and type C to type C cable -Windscreen comes included -Even without XLR connectivity the microphone sounds better than others in the same price range. - Quality materials and finish on the shell and on the grill -Standard Mic Thread for easy mounting -24-bit/96kHZ with USB connection -Upgradable to a better quality if one day you decide to get an audio interface Cons -Not necessarily a con but if this is your first mic you will have to learn how to tune the mic to your needs that being a podcast, streaming, etc -No stand Let me start by saying that having a USB type C port is so much better than having a micro USB. I have another USB microphone that uses micro USB and it is a nightmare to get it to work since the plug is loose. Inside the box you get your paperwork and user manual, as well as a regular USB plug to type C Cable , a type C to type C, the windscreen, and the microphone. I really appreciate them having a Type C to Type C since it is easier to plug it in to a modern laptop or Macbooks without the need of any hubs. As mentioned i do not own any audio interface at the moment, since all my previous microphones have USB only, I have considered to upgrade but first i want to learn more on how to use the equipment. Anyways using the Q9U as a USB microphone is still better sounding than my other ones. The tuning from the factory is good, but can be tuned with the OBS settings if you are streaming or with Voicemeeter if you are looking to go more in depth. The microphone also has a premium quality shell made out of metal with a matte black finish. The grill that protects the capsule is also made out of metal but the foam windscreen adds another layer of protection. The microphone comes with a swivel style yoke mount also made out of metal that can be mounted to any stand or arm that has a standard mic thread. My only complaint would be that the mic does not come with any type of stand. I believe since it is a more professional microphone it is expected to have one ready, so i would recommend getting one if this will be your first microphone. If you are wanting to start doing streams/YouTube/podcast etc.., I would highly recommend this microphone since it is upgradable if you ever decide to upgrade your audio setup down the road.

The Samson Q9U is a beautifully designed studio microphone with plug-and-play operation, clean and clear audio capture, and flexible hookup options. It comes with both a USB-A to USB-C cable and USB-C to USB-C cable, and the mic natively supports USB-C as well as XLR output. However, an XLR cable is not included with the mic and you would need to supply that as well as an AI (audio interface) or mixer in order to use that connection type. The mic itself is hefty, at over 2 lbs, thanks to its all-metal zinc-alloy/steel design and integrated swivel yoke stand mount. It does not include a stand in and of itself, so be aware that if you purchase this mic you will need to provide your own boom or mic stand in order to use it. The mounting hole on the bottom of the mic is a standard 5/8”-27 thread, so stands using a 3/8” mount would require an adapter, which is also not included. While the metal grill on the mic and internal capsule shockmount already provide some noise attenuation, it also comes with an external foam wind screen as an additional buffer against pops and plosives for vocal performances. Inside its matte black metal housing, the mic uses a cardioid, or unidirectional, dynamic element with humbucking, which is a coil used to reduce the amount of electromagnetic interference and pickup from nearby radio frequency devices. The mic primarily captures sound directly in front of it while rejecting the sound coming in from the sides and back, allowing it to separate its source from other sounds in the room. However, this type of mic also produces the proximity effect, so when the mic is very close to its sound source you’re going to capture more bass tones than when you position the mic several inches to a foot away. You can also experiment with placing the mic on axis, pointing directly at the sound source, or slightly off axis to reduce the amount of highs and increase low frequency pick up. There are 3 physical controls on the mic, a press-in to activate mute button on the side, and low-cut and mid-boost switches on the bottom. Since I record mostly at home and don’t have a soundproof studio, the low-cut filter really helps to reduce low vibration noises such as the rumble of trucks and delivery vans as they pass on the street. When using the mic for spoken word with mid-boost, I noticed that my vocals were brighter with a clearer focus. I do wish that the mute button had an LED indicator when activated because it’s easy to forget that you’re on mute, especially if you’re not using monitoring headphones while live streaming. To that point, there are no lighted indicators whatsoever on the exterior of the mic, not for power nor EQ settings; though if you peer into the headphone jack when the mic is plugged in, you’ll see a faint green glow inside. Connecting the mic to a computer via USB-C is basically plug-and-play; since the drivers are all built-into the mic you don’t need to install any additional software or drivers. The mic has an internal pre-amp that can be adjusted using the volume slider in the device's properties on a Windows 10 machine. Both USB and XLR connection types provided clear and distortion-free sound at max gain, though for me, the USB connections produced slightly higher levels when speaking at a normal volume right up against the mic, around -10dB, than when using my AI (Scarlett Solo), around -15dB. There’s also a 1/8” headphone output jack for direct connection to headphones or speakers for latency-free monitoring of the mic feed which worked flawlessly. I found that when using an AI with XLR, the monitoring headphones/speakers have to be connected to monitor port on the AI instead of directly to the mic. I’ve also used the mic directly connected to my smartphone’s USB-C charging port. I didn’t need to use an externally powered USB hub to do so, and I was able to record decent levels from 0 - 6 inches away from the mic. The sound captured from this mic has a bit-depth of 24-bit and sample rate up to 96kHz, broadcast quality, regardless of which connection type you use. This hi-res format might be useful if you’re mixing the tracks or re-mastering the audio in post-production, though I personally didn’t hear the difference versus using the mic to record at 44.1kHz. Overall, I found that the mic produces warm and natural sounding recordings as well as clear and crisp audio with minimal background noise/hiss noise when live streaming. While I use it primarily for spoken word, I think it would also perform great for singing and instruments.