I had already owned a CAROL P-1 microphone and was curious how the PS-1 would stack up against it, along with a few others.Initial observations:- Impressive materials and build.- Good weight, yet manages to feel balanced and comfortable in the hand.- Well-constructed coil capsule assembly neatly soldered in, with a built-in pop filter.- CAROL “AHNC Technology” anti-vibration design.Save the body color, all of these points are identical to the P-1. However, there is a significant addition in the form of a “slide potentiometer” switch, while the P-1 has no switch at all.I measured resistance using an ohmmeter at its two extremes, and found it runs roughly 450-600Ω. That said, despite the claim in the description don’t expect it to accommodate any sort of impedance matching. For all intents and purposes, it’s simply a 600Ω microphone with an on/off switch. However, it smoothly introduces a live signal without any popping or other noise when moved in either direction.Recording into the REAPER DAW via a Behringer ADA8200 A/D interface, there’s essentially no difference in signal strength or sound at either extreme. Frequency response is pretty much flat across the board, with the exception of a drastic drop-off at around 200Hz. That is mind, I wouldn’t recommend it for tasks such as miking bass guitar amps or kick drums, whose frequencies normally fall far below that.Accessories:- 15’ XLR cable.I expected this to be cheaply made, but it’s actually of great quality. I really like the huge stress reliefs on the plugs, something often missing from many types of instrument cables. I couldn’t detect a hint of line noise, which tells me both the microphone as well as the cable have a very low noise floor.- Run-of-the mill clip.While it’s nice one is included, it’s cheaply made with plastic threads versus a brass insert, and has no adapter. That’s not a biggie to me, as I’ve already got enough clips to sink a battleship around here. I’m sure most folks will find it to be satisfactory for the purpose.How does it compare to some of the industry-standard microphones I routinely use in the studio?- R0DE NT1-A (vocals): Not even close in clarity, seems to capture only mid-range frequencies for the most part.- Sennheiser e609 (amp miking): It really holds its own here, surprisingly comparable.- SHURE SM57 (snare miking): While sound is not quite as crisp, the tight polar pattern does a decent job of shunning off-axis sound from other drums.Summary:Granted, comparing the PS-1 to the other professional microphones I’ve listed is a bit unfair, yet was necessary in order to get a rough idea of its overall characteristics.In the end, considering build, sound quality, versatility and low price, it certainly surpassed my expectations. In my opinion, it’s the perfect choice for those looking for a decent multi-purpose mike without shelling out big bucks in the process.

I wanted so bad to love this microphone. It has A LOT of pros. VERY WELL CONSTRUCTED. Downright beautiful design. I actually like the shock mount and boom arm. Great for many uses. Not top notch but perfectly usable. teh touch mute is AWESOME because I hate the click sounds of mechanical mute buttons. It has a very healthy gain knob so you will have no problem getting enough sound. The microphone itself sounds GREAT BUT there are TWO very huge downsides to this mic. I hope Maono addresses these because this mic is ALMOST perfect.Pros:Perfect buildHardware gain knobTouch MuteFantastic vocal reproductionUSB type B connection which is sturdier than mini or micro connectionsCons:Although the mic is rated at 74 db signal to noise ratio, the pre-amp in this puppy is NOT good. which means your recordings are going to have a LOT of noise. You CAN NOT record with this thing unless you use a noise filter. I have to use two just to get it cleaned out. Had a client complain, YUCK.The mic is VERY ringy. If you tap on the mic it will ring two separate pitches for about 1/3 of a second. What that means is then when you speak or sing in the mic and hit one of those pitches, the mic will ring. Now you may not notice it right away but its there. You have to ring it out with a parametric EQ. Add a PEQ with an analyzer and tap the mic. you will see which frequencies you need to notch out, then it will sound better.So in conclusion this mic CAN sound great if you make some tweaks. but you need to do some post work. The problem is once you buy a good filter plugin like RX Elements or Waves NS1 (which are the ones I use to clean it up) you could have spent more on a better mic. But on the other hand, you really should have those plugins anyway if you do VO work. BUT, I still do like this mic and It is great for a travel and rough vocal demos and good for zoom calls.

We just got this, after I read many reviews. The picture is fantastic compared to our 4 year old, cheap Logitech web cam on a 4 year old Dell desk top downstairs. You could barely see the person talking.The 9000 worked fine for my son when he plugged it into our 5 year old Dell Inspiron (Windows XP Pro) to use Skype. He had not installed any of the software but it still worked great. Then he tried it a couple of days later and it didn't seem to work. I installed it on my newer Dell Latitude (also XP Pro), and when we tried to use Skype, I kept getting warnings about the microphone not working. The sound test failed.I tried again on the older laptop and got a message to change an audio setting (to acknowledge the USB port) and did. It is OK now. The newer laptop did not give me that option and Control Panel said the device was working but the sound test still would not work.The difference may have been I installed all the Logitech software on the newer computer which had the microphone problem. So I uninstalled the VID software and the driver software but left the Logitech webcam software. Now the sound test works and the picture is very good.I suggest you try it on a Windows computer first w/o the Logitech software, especially if you are mainly using Skype. That way, if you then install the Logitech software and find it is no longer working, you'll know what to remove. Yes, you may lose the ability to do some neat stuff, but decide what you want to use it for. We are a camera driven family so this is not our primary picture taking device, just a way to see each other clearly on the Internet if we need to use Skype. It does make that far more pleasant. Now we have to decide if we let our son take it back to school with him to use on his old Mac. It's going to be hard to give up.

This WebCam works great. It is a terrific value and the hardware gives you a sharp clear image. I think it's a great product but I did have one problem with it that wasn't mentioned in the setup instructions. I'm running a custom-built Asus P8Z68-V running 64-bit Windows 7 which was set up for photography and video editing. The install for the C615 required download since only Windows 8 is supported on the disk. I have never had an install problem with any software before until the installation of the Logitech C615 and I have over 120 gig of programs alone installed on SSD. The install for the C615 failed 4 times in a row. 3 of those resulted in a BSOD and one install failure required me to run the Windows repair utility (which said it was unable to repair anything). When I repeated the install after a BSOD shut down, the install would apparently proceed to completion but the WebCam was not detected (yes, it was plugged in). I finally discovered that the C615 would work depending on which USB port it was plugged into. Apparently all the install problems were strictly dependent on whatever rear panel USB it was plugged into. Worked fine off the front panel USB. I shifted around USB plugs and finally found a different rear USB plug that the C615 worked with. i,e. that would not result in a BSOD halfway through the install. After working through all that, the C615 is worked flawlessly. While I'm happy with the hardware, the install was a nightmare and I would've appreciated heads up that the hardware is sensitive to whatever USB is used. Note that I did specifically use the rear panel motherboard USB plug-in to avoid any issues with USB hubs. obviously, it didn't like the 1st USB but had no problems with the 2nd. Whatever I plugged into the 1st USB works fine. The C615 was touchy and there is nothing in the documentation to indicate there could be an issue. I deducted one star because of that. apart from the install, the hardware and software has performed perfectly.I purchased this product in April 2013 and posted this review in October. It's worked flawlessly for 6 months and I have every expectation that it's longevity will be excellent. One other note: I primarily use it to Skype and I've had comments that my voice has an echo when I use the onboard microphone in the C615. My voice is clear and the pickup is very good (considering the distance between where I normally sit and the monitor where the unit is perched) but the echo is only there if I use the onboard mic. If I switch to my headset mic, there is no echo. I think the onboard microphone in the C615 is very sensitive which would normally be an excellent attribute but in my case, my office has a tile floor and hard surface walls which contribute to a small but noticeable echo. It's less a function of the microphone than the environment it's used in. As I said, it's sensitivity would normally be an excellent attribute.

I already have an Akaso Brave 4 action camera (the only action camera I have owned) and will be comparing the V50X to it. I mainly use these action cameras for swimming at the beach/swimming pool with the kids and surfing but have occasionally used it outdoors while playing with my kids and few times indoors during family gatherings. Here are some of my Pros and Cons to the V50X compared to the Brave 4:Pros: First off, to get an action camera with touch screen and 4K capability for a $100 is an exceptional deal. It also came with a lot of different mounts and two batteries. This would save you some money and give you more options to use the camera. The image stabilization for the video in 4K seems to be better than the Brave 4 and from other reviewers just as good or better than a GoPro. Video at night or in low light also seems to be very good. Touch screen works well, responsive, and the functions are easy to navigate both using the touch screen and buttons. Build quality seems more sturdier than the Brave 4. Still photos are of good quality both during the day and at night/low light.Cons: The built in microphone in the V50X does not work well. Audio sounds muffled and very difficult to understand people talking unless you are the one holding the camera. I am hoping the Akaso will come out with a fix through firmware to improve the microphone audio recording. This may be a deal breaker for you if you want to have better audio quality in your videos. For me it is not that much of an issue because I use it with the waterproof case, which already lowers the audio quality because it is sealed shut. However, if it had decent audio recording then it would give me more chances to use the camera without the waterproof case.Summing up, the V50X is a really good action camera for the price point of $100. However, the audio quality is pretty poor and could be a deal breaker if you want the audio to be of decent quality. If you plan to edit your videos with music then this would not be an issue.

The headset comes well packaged with creatively folded cardboard shaped to accommodate the headset and accessories. My husband has been using them, so this is his review.Once I got the headset adjusted to my head, I found them to be extremely comfortable. I was very curious to see how the elastic band across the top would fare compared to the cushioning that you normally find on headsets. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not only comfortable, but allowed the top of my head to “breathe“ preventing heat and sweat.The ear cushions also receive high marks. They are very soft and pliable, making a good seal around the ear to keep out ambient noise. They are not only practical but comfortable as well. The ear cups are labeled “ L” and “R” inside for left and right respectively. Each ear cup rotates independently in a 90° arc towards the back. They also have a 10° vertical tilt to conform to your head shape. Overall size adjustment is affected by telescoping the earpiece into the headpiece like most other headsets.The left ear cup has the volume control and mute button on the back. It also houses the microphone in front which telescopes out and bends to where you need it. The headset cable also plugs in to the bottom of that left ear cup. The right ear cup is comparatively bare, with no controls or connections.The primary cable plugs into the headphones at one end, and the computer at the other. There is an adapter, splitter cable that comes with the headset for use on computers, which have separate headphone and microphone jacks. During our use on two different PCs, we ended up using the single plug and the adapter, both worked great.The sound quality on this headset is excellent. Their SteelSeries software has something called “Sonar” which is used for spatial orientation in an FPS game. This gives the user an audible "map" of their surroundings, and helps to amplify the sound of movement, with the intention of making you hard to sneak up on. This is a great feature.All things considered, this is an outstanding headset for both gaming and general use. I would certainly recommend.

Got this model for Xbox One because the upgraded models offer features that you can't use with Xbox. I also went for the Bluetooth version of the Arctis 3 so that I could use them to watch movies when I fly. They're a little bulky to travel with but I didn't mind. The sound quality is really good for the price and they don't sound too far off from my much more expensive Bose headset.PROS:Great soundVery comfortableBluetoothRetractable Microphone so you don't look dumb when you leave the house with themNoise cancelling (they aren't designed to be, but they do a very good job). On the plane they worked great for movies and in a normal situation when someone is talking to me - literally next to my face - I can't hear them when these are at max volume.CONS:I HATE that the mute button is on the top of the headset. The volume wheel, fine. But when I want to quickly mute the microphone I have to fumble around trying to find the button and then press it in. A flip to mute wouldn't work because the mic is on a flexible cord, so I would have preferred if there was a toggle switch somewhere near the base of the wire where it connects into the controller for quick and easy access.I also noticed that even when muted, a burst of air can be picked up. For example, I can talk all I want and the other party won't hear me, but if I blow air quickly/sharply into the mic it will get picked up on the other end. Not really that big of a deal, but if you want your mic to be muted then you want your mic to be muted.All in all it's a solid headset for a decent price without any unnecessary bells & whistles. If you're considering for Xbox One, I'd go for it. It definitely helps isolate sounds for gameplay and make hearing game noises such as footsteps/ other directional sounds and background noises easier.

This headset is very good for what it offers. To start, the sound is pretty good, and the bass is very nice. The ability to retract the microphone is good when I have to put it away and don't want it getting caught on anything. However, it would’ve have been nice to auto mute when retracted. As of now, the microphone still works but the sound is a little muted.The earmuffs are also very comfortable and I like that it goes over the ear, making it easy to wear glasses at the same time. The padding is covered by some cloth-like material which is better than PU which tends to flake and crack over time.The headphone itself has multiple ways to connect, I found that it works best with the dongle. The connectability with all sorts of gaming devices was very nice as well. The audio cable is decent, but I found out that you can distort the sound slightly if you move the audio cable around at the connection spot. I may have a faulty cable or bad connector port.There is also a bluetooth feature which takes a little bit to figure out. Connecting Bluetooth can be finicky sometimes. You need to press and hold the “M” button on the headphone to switch between dongle use or Bluetooth. There is no light indicator as to which mode you’re in but it does audibly give you the status. Once connected, the audio is smooth with no drops or issues.Another nice feature is that you can switch between dongle and Bluetooth with the press of the “M” button so you can switch between your computer (using the dongle) and your phone (using Bluetooth).The shell for the headphone also feels a bit fragile, with weaker-feeling plastic compared to some other comparable headphones that I’ve used. The dongle seemed a little loose in the USB port but it did make it’s connection. Just be careful not to knock it out of the port.Overall, I would say these headphones are a nice alternatives to some of the more expensive brands, but you need to be careful with moving the headphone and dongle around.As a budget alternative, it does the job well enough.