Gaming peripherals have seen a true renaissance with the growing popularity of streaming. While it’s true that most gamer-centric accessories carry some sort of obnoxious or ’90s-style extreme branding, the fact is that this segment has matured into a beast of its own. People want gaming headsets and microphones to be the next big thing on Twitch.
However, headset mics just aren’t good enough to satisfy an audience, especially considering that they tend to sound a bit unprofessional. The larger your audience gets, the less you can settle for a miserable system. The solution is to purchase a standalone microphone.
[content-egg-block template=offers_logo hide=price]The microphone looks like a hairbrush and is held on a tilting stand with a fairly sturdy dual-shock mount. On the bottom of the capsule is a gain control for increasing or decreasing sensitivity, and on the back is a knob for switching pickup patterns.
When you first connect the microphone, both the audio output and the microphone input will default to the QuadCast on your computer. This is because there is a 3.5mm headphone jack on the back of the unit that you can route the output from your computer through. You’ll probably want to use your own setup, but the option is there if you want it.
If you live with family or roommates, the dedicated mute touchpad on the top is a godsend. Just tap it to activate the mute function. Plus, the mic has a backlight behind the mic grill, so you’ll never have to talk to a hot mic again without a highly visible reminder that you’re live on the air.
With the HyperX QuadCast, you don’t need a pop filter. A foam-like material just behind the microphone grill takes the pressure spikes out of plosive sounds (p, pf, etc.) that can damage more sensitive microphones and make you a real nuisance in a zoom or team meeting.
The HyperX QuadCast S is basically the QuadCast, but with NGenuity software that lets you customize the lighting effects. The PC app lets you do other useful things like adjust the volume, monitor the headphone volume, and view the selected polar pattern.