MXLAC-404 USB Boundary Condenser Conferencing Microphone - Black

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.

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.

We just purchased this Microphone. It worked great after we replaced the defective USB cable that came with the microphone. We will contact the company to try to get a replacement USB cable and will update this report concerning their customer satisfaction program. Just read some recent reviews where four people had the same problem in the since April 2013. I have emailed [email protected] and [email protected] 12-5-2013 We sent an email to the company over a three day weekend. One of the employees answered from home saying that he would send a new replacement cable the following day. It turned out that they had no more in inventory since the cable has been a problem on so many deliveries. We received a free replacement cable in two weeks and the Microphone works great with the new replacement cable. We appreciate the good customer support.

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.

Caro pero supongo que es el precio de calidad. Sirve muy bien para skype con mis padres que tienen "dificultades tecnológicas" ya que se enchufa al ordenador via USB y no con bluetooth. Lo único es que tienes que seleccionar este micro en la configuración de audio dentro de Skype.Capta muy bien sonidos sin demasiado ruidos de fondo, para tener conversación con 2+ personas a la vez.

Overall Good....

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

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.