Is the AntLion ModMic worth it?

[MumboJumbo]

So...i currently have a Blue Snowball, that i bought off Amazon for 50$. It records the bassy characteristics of my voice pretty well, It cancels ambient noise, and the overall sound quality is great.

My friend bought new expensive headphones and he wanted to buy a new microphone along with them, he rejected my recommendation about the Snowball and bought the AntLion ModMic 4.0 instead for 50$, because he didn't want his desk to be cluttered. I understood his reasoning.

 

Unfortunately he's not too happy about the sound quality, it's good enough for Teamspeak (which is why he bought it in the first place) but his voice sounds really tinny and hollow. He should have listened to a sample on youtube before he made the purchase.

 

My question is, if the ModMic is just "good enough" for voice chat, why not buy the Zalman ZM-Mic1 instead? It's really cheap (around 8-9$), convenient for headphone users, and has a "good enough" sound quality, tad bit better than the ModMic in my opinion.I ask this because the ModMic gets a lot of recommendations around here.

 

Please try to keep it civil, and if you're a ModMic user, tell me what you like about it.

 

 

 

 

 

[EdgeUK]

The modmic is great for the money. I'd always choose a desk mic over one, however. I'm still not sure why people don't just use lavelier mics, they are far superior to most headset mics.

[ShearMe]

There's a lot more variation in the mic input on motherboard than people seem to realize, and even within batches of ModMics. They haven't nailed down the manufacturing process yet, so there's been some variances. What is good about the modmic is the pretty great customer service. Their product(s) are continuously in development, so errors do occur, but generally they'll replace your modmic with a newer version if anything goes wrong with your old one. 

 

Aint perfect, but it satisfies enough of a niche to be a good thing for consumers.

 

The Zalman Clip-on, again, will vary in performance depending on what you plug it into. It's cheap, it works, but there's only so much a clip-on can do. People with mechanical keyboards will find their friends ragging on them about it constantly. You can easily mod it to work similarly to a ModMic, but you won't be conveniently detaching it from a magnetic baseclamp.

[Lauen]

I've got a Mod Mic 2.3 and it is a tiny bit less clear than my Blue Snowball, but it has a bit of statick, as I have to have it on 100% volume and 10 dB boost. my Blue Snowball is obviously better, but in Skype, my friends hear next to no difference when talking normally, only real difference is that the Snowball picks up my keyboard pretty loudly. I usually position it between my keyboard and me.

 

but what do you mean, "cancels ambient noise"? it doesn't feature that, and it's a condenser mic, which is the more sensitive type. mine certainly doesn't cancel ambient noise. and yes, it's in setting 1, which is the most directional one, pointed at my mouth, but I can still hear stuff in the house in the background.

[MumboJumbo]

I've got a Mod Mic 2.3 and it is a tiny bit less clear than my Blue Snowball, but it has a bit of statick, as I have to have it on 100% volume and 10 dB boost. my Blue Snowball is obviously better, but in Skype, my friends hear next to no difference when talking normally, only real difference is that the Snowball picks up my keyboard pretty loudly. I usually position it between my keyboard and me.

 

but what do you mean, "cancels ambient noise"? it doesn't feature that, and it's a condenser mic, which is the more sensitive type. mine certainly doesn't cancel ambient noise. and yes, it's in setting 1, which is the most directional one, pointed at my mouth, but I can still hear stuff in the house in the background.

Well i exaggerated its sound cancelling features lol, I'm on setting 2 and it doesn't detect anything in my room except my voice (Red-Switches mech keyboard, ceiling fan, mini-fridge) which is good enough for me. If i open the TV it will detect it.

 

Also the ModMic 2.3 is pretty good and sounds a lot fuller than the ModMic 4.0 imo, but i heard it has a really high sensitivity so it doesn't cancel ambient noise all that well. 

[Lauen]

Well i exaggerated its sound cancelling features lol, I'm on setting 2 and it doesn't detect anything in my room except my voice (Red-Switches mech keyboard, ceiling fan, mini-fridge) which is good enough for me. If i open the TV it will detect it.

 

Also the ModMic 2.3 is pretty good and sounds a lot fuller than the ModMic 4.0 imo, but i heard it has a really high sensitivity so it doesn't cancel ambient noise all that well. 

yeah, the 4.0 is noise cancelling so it does sound different. 2.3 sounds very good, especially on higher end mic inputs, my Realtek ALC892 isn't the best. It does cancel more sound than my Snowball.

[MumboJumbo]

There's a lot more variation in the mic input on motherboard than people seem to realize, and even within batches of ModMics. They haven't nailed down the manufacturing process yet, so there's been some variances. What is good about the modmic is the pretty great customer service. Their product(s) are continuously in development, so errors do occur, but generally they'll replace your modmic with a newer version if anything goes wrong with your old one. 

 

Aint perfect, but it satisfies enough of a niche to be a good thing for consumers.

 

The Zalman Clip-on, again, will vary in performance depending on what you plug it into. It's cheap, it works, but there's only so much a clip-on can do. People with mechanical keyboards will find their friends ragging on them about it constantly. You can easily mod it to work similarly to a ModMic, but you won't be conveniently detaching it from a magnetic baseclamp.

Sounds odd to me that after decades they haven't nailed it down yet. Speakers and Mics have been here for more than a hundred years and they haven't advanced much compared to other types of technology.

 

edit: You meant only the ones connected to motherboards?  :wacko:

[ShearMe]

Sounds odd to me that after decades they haven't nailed it down yet. Speakers and Mics have been here for more than a hundred years and they haven't advanced much compared to other types of technology.

 

It's more about finding a consistent OEM that can produce it cheap enough, not about making a good mic. $50 really isn't that expensive when you think about it.

 

The Blue Snowball is an all contained unit, where Blue can control the preamp, ADC, and everything in between. They also are a big company with lots of expensive products that can fund the R&D of cheaper products. 

 

 

edit: You meant only the ones connected to motherboards?  :wacko:

 

What?

[MumboJumbo]

 

It's more about finding a consistent OEM that can produce it cheap enough, not about making a good mic. $50 really isn't that expensive when you think about it.

 

The Blue Snowball is an all contained unit, where Blue can control the preamp, ADC, and everything in between. They also are a big company with lots of expensive products that can fund the R&D of cheaper products. 

 

 

Mhm. I get it now, thanks.

 

What?

Question was if you meant that they haven't nailed the design down only to mics plugged in to motherboard via the standard jack.

[MumboJumbo]

yeah, the 4.0 is noise cancelling so it does sound different. 2.3 sounds very good, especially on higher end mic inputs, my Realtek ALC892 isn't the best. It does cancel more sound than my Snowball.

 Btw Lauen, why do you have both of them? just curious.

[BoltActionWaffle]

Now wouldn't be a bad time to buy a mod mic 4.0 because they're cheap an massdrop

[StormEye]

Modmic is definitely worth it.

 

However, I would have to warn you that its not that great for using it with voice activation chats.

 

Even a slight bump on the cable will activate your mic and might annoy the heck out of other people. Unless, of course, thats what you intend to do.

 

But push to talk will work great and sound decent. Nowhere near the quality of standalone mic, though.

[Lauen]

 Btw Lauen, why do you have both of them? just curious.

I don't have both of them, I've just seen countless comparisons

[MumboJumbo]

I don't have both of them, I've just seen countless comparisons

lol i wasn't clear, i meant why do you have both the Snowball and the ModMic?

[Lauen]

Well I bought the Snowball because I wanted a good mic, plus I started up a youtube channel not too long ago. Then I bought the Mod Mic just for the lols to see how good it was. now I usually use the Mod Mic for Skype with friends

[tehgray]

Well i exaggerated its sound cancelling features lol, I'm on setting 2 and it doesn't detect anything in my room except my voice (Red-Switches mech keyboard, ceiling fan, mini-fridge) which is good enough for me. If i open the TV it will detect it.

 

Also the ModMic 2.3 is pretty good and sounds a lot fuller than the ModMic 4.0 imo, but i heard it has a really high sensitivity so it doesn't cancel ambient noise all that well. 

So the snowball won't detect keyboard/mouse clicks? That's the only reason I was going to buy a modmic over a snowball. Figured if I put it on my desk, it would pick up EVERYTHING.

[MumboJumbo]

So the snowball won't detect keyboard/mouse clicks? That's the only reason I was going to buy a modmic over a snowball. Figured if I put it on my desk, it would pick up EVERYTHING.

The Snowball does pick up a lot more background noise than the ModMic 4.0. But my friends don't really complain about it when we talk on teamspeak. Also activating a noise-gate helps a lot.

 

In -10db cardioid mode while recording it doesn't even pick up my mechanical keyboard. I place the Mic right next to me, while the keyboard is behind it. (so the back of the Mic is facing the keyboard)

[tehgray]

The Snowball does pick up a lot more background noise than the ModMic 4.0. But my friends don't really complain about it when we talk on teamspeak. Also activating a noise-gate helps a lot.

 

In -10db cardioid mode while recording it doesn't even pick up my mechanical keyboard. I place the Mic right next to me, while the keyboard is behind it. (so the back of the Mic is facing the keyboard)

 

So the mic is between you and the keyboard? Isn't that annoying/get in the way?

[ShearMe]

So the snowball won't detect keyboard/mouse clicks? 

 

Depends how you set it up and how well you're able to position it. 

 

If you get it close to your mouth, you can usually turn the volume down enough that voice activation detection won't trip the noise gate.

[MumboJumbo]

So the mic is between you and the keyboard? Isn't that annoying/get in the way?

Not really. The mic stands in the corner of my desk and is directed toward me. The keyboard is facing me , and sits behind the line the mic is positioned. my hands rest on the keyboard comfortably .

[NannerBeans]

So the mic is between you and the keyboard? Isn't that annoying/get in the way?

You should take into account that he has red switches though.