MXL AC-404 USB Boundary Condenser Conferencing Microphone - Black

I hope this helps others, but I got this purely for Twitch streaming. I've so far used it in several different environments, first for a conference room roughly 20x20 (possibly bigger) in which it had to pick up everyone's voice clearly even in the back rows, and 2nd at my own house on a table to hear people talking at a table roughly 3x6. Here's how it worked in both environments: In Conference Room: Ok so for a USB device this thing is RIDICULOUS. I tested this against the Jabra Speak410 speakers and the MXL blows it out of the water for several reasons. First it's smaller, it's simpler to use, it can be concealed much more, and the sound is MUCH better. This device was able to pick up everyone's voice in the room surprisingly well and honestly it probably did just as well as serious audio equipment that will cost you x3+ more than this single device. To top it off for my instance of using this I needed to use this through a skype session and I was still able to hear everyone clearly even with the downgraded sound quality. In a room at a table: I'm able to pick up everyone in the room clearly as if they are right next to the mic. In fact this mic probably works TOO well for this situation. Simply because it can pick up everything around it, probably even better than my own ears. Roommates sometimes will have on a TV roughly 15-20ft away and it will hear EVERYTHING going on on the TV clearly, it'll even pick up when the front door opens and closes and that's a solid 20-30ft away around several corners. So like most great audio equipment it will pick up the sound clearly, but you gotta make sure you put yourself in the right environment to use it so it doesn't pick up background noises. If you are running a podcast, I would only suggest using this if you need to pick up voices from a crowd, or if you have a large amount of people on a single podcast. But in general I would stick with the other mics such as the Yeti devices

This was purchased to use in an environment that is, frankly, supposed to be beyond the capabilities of this microphone. We have just started webcasting our homeowners association board meetings. There are 10 board members in a horseshoe configuration in the front of the room, speaking through a central sound system with speakers in the ceiling. The room is 1800SF of totally open area and the audience in attendance numbers from 40-60 people with an opportunity for them to speak through a completely different, portable sound system. The mic was placed approximately fifteen feet from the center of the horseshoe, pointing towards the board members. The webcam (Logitech BCC950, also from Amazon) is placed about ten feet behind the microphone and is piped into the portable speaker system via a 50 foot 3.5mm to 1/4" microphone cable. The operator (me) sits at the table with the webcam and runs the webcast software we are using (Anymeeting) on a Dell 3521 Laptop. Since I make a bit of noise typing, changing settings and remotely turning the camera, I wanted some separation from the mic, thus the reason for the different location. The microphone picks up the board perfectly - crystal clear to those attending via the webcast. It works seamlessly with Windows 8.1 and complements the video from the Logitech very nicely. When live participants speak through the portable system, it also captures them quite well. When remote participants are "called on", their voice also comes through the portable system and is also captured nicely although will give them a lot of echo since it's sending the same voice back out over the webcast. I could mute the mic during their question/comment but then other remote participants wouldn't hear it so the speaker just has to turn down their own speakers while talking and everything is fine. The only "downside" to the mic is that it is so sensitive that it picks up ambient noise so if someone in the audience makes a quiet, off the record comment, it is often picked up even though spoken softly. Adjusting the gain levels will likely cure most of this problem during future meetings. Or people will learn that they are live no matter how softly they talk if they are within a few feet of the mic. I can't isolate it anymore than that since the room is somewhat crowded. Since the mic is picking up the board and participant voices via the speaker system, I may be able to actually move the mic to the very back of the room since location should not matter if the overhead speakers are all working okay. I remember the days when a microphone of this quality would cost hundred of dollars and now this is under seventy. It seems to be of very high quality, comes with a nice little carrying case. I do recommend the 15 foot USB extension for placement purposes - it's here on Amazon for five dollars or so.

Overall this is a good quality mic for the price. I compared it to the similar Soundtech CM-1000, and there are pros and cons to each. Both had better sound than my Jabra Speak 410/510 USB speaker/mic, though neither has speaker or bluetooth functions. I would also check out the Samson GoMic, which (though not a boundary mic) is good sounding, very flexible, and less expensive. The MXL isn't really omnidirectional; possibly this is a function of the 3 capsule design? (pic attached). In any case, mine acts as a cardioid pattern mic (the slanted bit is the front), and I got good results orienting the mic this way. 90 degrees off axis was several dB down and sounded more distant, and 180 was even worse. The SoundTech CM-1000 was omni, and though it had a few dB more noise and didn't sound as good as the MXL on axis, it was better off axis. Thus, in a room with only a couple of people or for more distant pickup the MXL wins, but for a small round conference table the SoundTech does. The SoundTech allows you to daisy chain additional mics for better pickup for larger tables or rooms; the MXL does not. However, adding a second mic increased room noise by 6dB. Though it definitely gave more uniform pickup, in my room (noisy due to old A/C system) the background noise made this setup unusable. In quieter rooms this might be a good solution, but I'd verify that it works in your space before committing to it.

I own two of these excellent MXL boundary mics going back several years, and my testing shows they are still at the top for sound quality when video conferencing. Outstanding, natural sound near field, with very good far field pickup as well when placed on a solid flat surface, as is the intent with boundary mics. Output is usefully hot, i.e., louder than many USB mics I've tested. Works great as sound source for Teams or Zoom. Old fashioned mini-USB connection is not a problem for me, still own a lot of these old USB 2 cords, but also easy to get a USB C or Micro to USB Mini adapter as well and use the USB chord of your choice. Headphone/speaker 3.5mm out is high quality as well, allowing you to use the MXL as the interface for both audio in and out. Highly recommended as a USB mic for conferencing individually or in groups.

I've got to say, the clarity sensitivity of this microphone is far better than most, and the best micrpohone I've tried so far. This is, so far, the winner for our company conference rooms that hold 8-10 people. Here's how it stacks up in my book: - Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 , 1 star. Decent video but the microphone is terrible. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone! - Acoustic Magic Voice Tracker II , 2 stars. Great noise cancelling, but the audio is muffled and only good for 2-3 people in a room. - Phoenix Condor Beamforming Array Microphone , 2 stars. Audio is weak, tinny, and sounds like you're talking to someone on an old cell phone. Pretty lame for a $1000+ microphone. - Sound Tech CM-1000USB , 2 stars. Pretty crappy audio, wish I would have kept the box so I could return it. Lots of ambient noise pick up compared to the MXL. - Jabra SPEAK 510 , 2.5 stars. At just $100, this has better audio quality than the $1100 Phoenix Condor. The problem is that it only has one microphone, so compared to the MXL it sounds quiet, muffled and generally pretty bad. Still better than a few of the others listed here. - Blue Microphones Snowball , 2.5 stars. I'm not sure what all the hype is about. The MacBook Air's microphone was far better than the audio from this thing. Returned it. - ClearOne Chat 170 , 4 stars. This has pretty decent audio but compared to the MXL it sounds muffled and it chops in and out. The advantage is that since it's also the speaker it has perfect feedback prevention, meaning the person speaking through the ClearOne doesn't hear their own voice feeding back to them at all. I'd recommend this for 4-5 people in a conference room. - Blue Microphones Yeti USB , 4 stars. This is my second favorite compared to the MXL. Audio is pretty clear and it has decent range. The MXL still sounds better and has better full-room pick up though. - MXL AC-360-Z , 5 stars. This is basically four AC-404's put together into a single nice looking package optimized for Zoom Rooms. If you're using Zoom Rooms and have a room where you need to pick up speakers from any direction this is a *great* microphone package! Let me know what you think. These were all compared by myself during company meetings. At each meeting I'd have someone at the office connect 2-3 microphones to our conference room PC and then switch between them during the meetings.

Although I order a lot (a lot) from Amazon, I don't write a lot of reviews. However, I felt myself compelled to write one for this microphone because I've searched so long and purchased many other items in the quest for what I was looking for. I own my own consulting business that's run out of my home. Many of my clients are based outside of the US and, as such, I use Skype and GoToMeeting quite a bit. Most, if not all, of everyone I talk to uses a headset, which I hate to use. I don't like feeling of wearing one, plus I can't stand going through the process of switching inputs every time I wanted to use it. I wanted something that could sit on my desk and would be there when I needed it. My first shot was a boom-style microphone (think a fast food restaurant) that had a heavy base and could be turned and bent to get close to my mouth. While my voice was clear, people had a hard time hearing me if it wasn't very close to my mouth. Plus, because it was big and had a long arm, it would get in the way when it wasn't in use. I then starting using my old Plantronics Bluetooth headset which worked ok and was smaller and lighter than a boom-style headset, but didn't solve the issue of switching inputs every time I wanted to use it. Plus, because I have a beard, if it wasn't positioned correctly, people on the other end would sometimes hear a scratching sound. Then I found this mic. I was a little concerned because one of the biggest issues we have during our calls is echoing, especially when people use the built in mic and speakers on their laptops. Having this mic sitting on my desk about 18 inches in front of my computer's speakers I could almost guarantee that it would be a problem. However, I was absolutely shocked when I did my first call and the people on the other end were not only impressed with how clear my voice sounded, but with the fact that there was no echo whatsoever. I've since done dozens of calls with no problems at all. Because my voice was so clear when doing Skype and GoToMeeting calls, I decided to try it out with my Dragon NaturallySpeaking application that I had long since stopped using because I hated wearing a headset and it was a pain in the butt to change the inputs when I wanted to use it. To my disbelief, Dragon now works perfectly and I'm actually using it to write this review! Now this microphone just sits on my desk waiting for me to tell it to wake up and I can just start dictating to my computer any time I want. It's really starting to change the way I work, for the better. If you have a need to do online calls and, like me, don't want to wear a headset, I wholeheartedly recommend this microphone. Even if you don't do online calls, but want to use the dictation feature of your computer or of an application like Dragon, I recommend it very much as well.

For the longest time, I thought the microphones on headsets were acceptable. But after awhile, I realised that headphone mics never produced accurate audio. So, I decided to get the MXL AC404 for skype and for producing commentated videos. Compared to pretty much any headset mic I've tried, the AC404 produces superior audio. The mic itself is incredibly sensitive. It will pick up whispers from 20 feet away. If you're using the mic near the audio source being recorded, turning the gain down is highly recommended. However, I was disappointed with the somewhat high noise floor. More often than not, I had to use a mild-moderate noise removal filter on audio captured by this microphone. Even in a silent room in the dead of night, there was audible white noise. This noise occurs at all gain levels, and was not diminished when connected to different computers and devices. For skype, the noise floor is not an issue since mild, constant noise is automatically filtered out. There is a soft padding on the bottom of the microphone, but this does almost nothing to prevent noise from shock and vibration. Setting it anywhere on my desk will cause the mic to pick up every keystroke and mouse movement at a remarkably high volume. I solved this by setting the mic on a folded towel. Compared to similarly priced microphones, the AC404 is strictly utilitarian. It can only record in mono with a mostly omnidirectional (perhaps more accurately, a subcardioid) pick up pattern. The only thing that will prevent this microphone from picking up everything above and below, is the table on which it is set. The build quality is exceptional. The mesh and casing are entirely metal. Apart from the USB and monitor jack, there are no cheap feeling or plastic bits anywhere on the body of the microphone. One nitpick is that the USB port on the back of the microphone does not grip the USB plug very well. The loose fit could be problematic for some. My AC404 was eventually superseded by a Blue Yeti, which is a significant step up in both flexibility and quality of recorded audio at roughly the same price point. However, I still use the AC404 when I know that transporting the Blue Yeti might be a hassle. The mic and cable can tucked into the included zipper case and shoved into a bag without a second thought. The durability and size make for a very portable, high-quality audio recording set up. Pros: - Better than most headset mics - Exceptional build quality - Small size - Very durable - Extremely sensitive Cons: - High noise floor - Minimal shock/vibration mitigation - Loose fitting USB port - Mono only - Not really competitive with similarly priced microphones

So far I've been very happy with this mic. It's been difficult to find a PC microphone that is somewhere between dirt cheap and way too expensive, but this unit is reasonably priced considering it's performance. My previous mic was a $9 desktop model that had very poor performance. I had to over amp the volume so much, it could not have sounded good on the other end of ventrilo. I considered a logitech product, but after reading reviews I decided it was probably just a more expensive version of the $9 mic I already had. Unfortunately most PC mics seemed to range from $2 to $20 and the quality is as low as the price. This mic has a wider frequency range than all of the cheap PC mics, comparable to the range of a $300+ mic, but without the expense. Pros: This mic is weighted well, it won't slide around under the weight of the cable. Looks nice, metal black mesh with a red led light hidden inside to let you know its on (doesn't indicate status at all) Picks up sound easily, my recording level is at 20% and people have no trouble hearing me or the fish tank 6 feet behind me. Includes a cleaning cloth and leather-style carrying case, although somewhat unnecessary it's nice to be offered some extras when you buy something. Wide frequency range comparable to $300+ mics. Plug and play, no software included or required. Powered via the USB port, no external power source required. Other Comments: Specs state, "Outstanding sound quality even in noisy environments", and this is true, however this does not mean that this will cancel out background noise. Whatever is happening in the room is going to be picked up by the mic. I have a PC full of fans, a fish tank, a table fan, and PC speakers, all of which are broadcast to people when I'm talking. This isn't what I would consider a con though, as I have yet to see a mic capable of picking up voice well while eliminating background sounds without it being right up in your face. No where on the internet does there exist a picture of this mic with the red light illuminated. It's under the wire mesh and foam, roughly in the middle, though it is slightly to the right of center. If it's there for aesthetics, it's flawed in that it's not horizontally centered. It's not there to indicate that you're broadcasting or recording. All it really does is let you know that the mic has power via the USB cable. If you're into black hardware with red lights, then you'll be happy.

Solid conference microphone. Used it for my discussion book club's in-person meetup where everyone except 1 person was there in my living room. Said person was participating online, hence the reason for this purchase. Worked like a charm. The online participant could hear everyone's discussion clearly in a 180 degree cone. Good sound quality. All went very smooth. Recommended.

Works fine. I was hoping for a little bit more range when using Windows 10 speech recognition, 1m is fine, 2m does not work reliably any more in my case. Otherwise, very good microphone.

The microphone works as advertised. The item I received from Amazon though, have some cosmetic scratches on the side and bottom. I feel I paid for a brand new item but received a second hand one.,

Wir haben lange ein Konferenzraum Mikrofon für unsere Firma gesucht und sind hier fündig geworden. Alternativen von Logitech etc sind hiermit nicht vergleichbar, dies ist ein professionells Mikro, dass alle Anforderungen erfüllt. Unser Raum fasst etwa 20 Mitarbeiter. Plug and play USB, skype meeting, windows, im raum frei bewegen und in normaler Lautstärke sprechen, alles wunderbar. Nach 4 Jahren und diversen Malen vom Tisch Runtergefallen ist das Schutzgitter nun abgegangen, aber das Mikro geht immer noch.

lo utilizamos en una sala de unos 7m por 6m para un grupo de 12 personas en video conferencia y funciona muy bien