FiFine K669 USB Podcast Microphone Review / Test
Today we are looking at another extremely budget USB Microphone by FiFine; the K669 USB Podcast Microphone.
This microphone is listed as compatible with the following operating systems: Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, XP Home Edition or XP Professional and Mac OS and Linux OX.
For the majority of this review, I have connected the mic directly to my mac computer with the computer gain set at ~10%, and the microphone gain set at ~25%, and then boosted +12dB in post. No other processing was done to the audio.
If you are interested in this microphone, it will set you back $25-$28 on Amazon
What's In the Box
Microphone
Permanently Attached Cable
Microphone Mount
Desktop Microphone Stand
Documentation
Specifications
Frequency Response: 20Hz - 20kHz
Polar Pattern: Uni-directional
Sensitivity: -34dB
Max SPL: 130dB
Performance / Features
The build quality of this microphone is what you would expect out of a $25 microphone. It has a metal construction but it does not feel like high quality materials, and it does not feel as though it's extremely well put together. The grill offers minimal protection from plosives, so I would suggest a pop filter. The front of the microphone has a single volume dial, which is a nice feature but has a bit of wobble to it. The USB cable is permanently attached which is less than ideal because if the cable goes bad you will just have to replace the microphone.
The frequency response is listed as 20Hz - 20kHz. When listening back to the audio it sounds compressed/thin, kind of like you're recording over a really nice phone call. Because of this sound profile, I do not think that I would personally use this for anything other than skype, chatting online, or home demos.
The polar pattern of this mic is listed as uni-directional, which means it should mainly pick up audio directly in front of the microphone. However, during the background noise test, it picked up quite a bit of my apple magic keyboard (which is a relatively quiet keyboard).
Pros
Super cheap
Microphone volume dial
No digital artifacts / clicking when gain set high
Cons
Audio sounds like high quality phone call
Permanent USB Cable
Conclusion
Overall, for $25, I think that this microphone is pretty decent. It doesn't have excessive line noise or digital artifacts, and the audio is relatively clear sounding. However, as I mentioned it does sound similar to a high quality phone call.
This means I will not be recommending this mic for any professional applications. If you are just going to be chatting online with your friends, or recording preproduction/demos at home, I think this microphone would be perfectly fine. You may be able to get away with this for starting a youtube channel, but you will be pushing it. Other than that I would recommend you look for a higher quality microphone.
If you have any additional questions about this microphone, leave them on the youtube video, and I will try to reply ASAP.
Buy the K669 (Affiliate Link)
Global: https://geni.us/k669