Audio-Technica ATH-M50xSTS-USB StreamSet Streaming Headset
My previous headset like all the other headsets I’ve tried and probably 99%-plus of the headsets on the market have tiny dynamic mics, limited by their design to how much audio they can actually pick up. My previous was a JBL Quantum 100, rated as having one of the top headset mics, but it was a dynamic mic and as with the others I had to give it a large amount of artificial gain (volume boost) in my OBS recording software in order for my voice to get recorded at the cranked-up levels people are used to on YouTube.
The Quantum 100 was lots better than all the other dynamic mic headsets I tried but it eventually started getting audio feedback into the mic pickup, and dropped audio–I think this was due to the combination of high artificial gain, environmental noise (hard-walled tiny apartment, wall heaters, etc), and noise-cancelling software filters.
The Audio-Technica M50 on the other hand has an actual condenser mic, which means it’s a powered microphone that picks up quite a bit more sound from the environment. I got it in the hopes that this would mean it would require less artificial gain, and thus avoid the sound feedback loop–and this did prove to be the case.
I’d worried that it would on the other hand have problems with picking up echoes in my tiny hard-walled-and-floored apartment, like my old Blue Snowball microphone–but miraculously, it doesn’t.
So this thing has really worked out great! Other plusses:
- it can capture in 24-bit PCM audio, which wasn’t an option with my previous headset
- the mic’s braided boom arm flexes easily and holds its shape far better than the arms on my previous headset mics–it stays where you put it
- the earcups are quite comfortable and the build quality overall feels much more solid and sturdy than other headsets I’ve tried; no creaky plastic sounds
- by default when plugged in it activates a monitoring mode where you hear an echo of the mic pickup in the earcups; a control on the headset toggles this on/off and controls the monitor volume level
- ^ that’s the only control on the headset–there is no volume control on incoming audio; at first I thought this was a downside but it has proven quite useful: I set Windows volume to a comfortable setting, and then can adjust volume per-game to whatever sounds comfortable to my ears–and magically that just happens to be a good volume for recording, relative to the mic audio level; no more extensive juggling and faffing about with different volume adjustments to try to find the right game audio level for recording, which was a real pain with my earlier headsets and their tiny volume knobs
- no software to install, it just works
- the earcup pads are replaceable
Two small negatives:
- the USB cord is not detachable, is plastic rather than braided, feels a bit on the thin side, and isn’t quite as long as I’d have liked; I’m using a braided USB extension cable (“SUNGUY” on Amazon) with it, which fits it quite well–but I wish the included cable was that good, not to mention detachable so it could be replaced if needed; it definitely feels like the weak link of the headset, physically
- the headband is padded but still sometimes feels like it’s digging a bit painfully into the top of my head; pushing it back slightly from the crown of my head fixes this, and the mic adjusts position easily enough to compensate, but it isn’t quite the natural and secure-feeling position where the headband would go; maybe my head is just too pointy or something ; D