Customer Reviews

CAD U1 USB Dynamic Recording Microphone

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

I bought this mic to record voices for some amature video games my friends and I make (and secretly for beatboxing late at night). To this end it worked well, so I got a few friends together one day and we decided to try singing into it. Again, it worked above expectations. So I decided to put it to a real test: I recorded myself playing solo bassoon at various distances, and I was surprised at how it could pick up everything from tongue and pitch alterations to the clicking of my keys in a quiet room (with the boost on).

However, the puff reduction (thing that keeps the "p" sound from squealing) doesn't work nearly as well as I had hoped, but this is remedied by keeping a fair distance away when talking. Doing so subjects the recording to room noise and echo, but it's a fair price to pay for a $40 mic. Thumbs up.

One of my hobbies is online karaoke, and I've been on a quest to find a good quality digital microphone that will make my voice sound like... well, me :-) I'm only an amateur singer doing this for fun, so there was no need to spend hundreds of dollars on a top-quality professional mic. This one, however, fit the bill. Easy enough on the pocketbook, but still high quality-- my voice sounds GREAT when I record with it.

I do find that I have to keep a bit of distance away, in order to avoid the popping sound that comes with pronounced "p"s, as another reviewer mentioned. But this generally isn't a problem, and the mic is still pretty good about filtering out background noises even when I'm sitting a foot and a half away from it.

Oh, and the fact that it is shaped like a regular mic, and comes with the stand? That's just icing on the cake. I didn't think I'd have a need for a stand, but am I glad this package came with it-- I can't imagine what I'd do without it, now!

This mic is the best USB recording mic I have used, and I have tried several. Some are too bassy and some have very low volume. I use this mic now for recording with Sony Acid Pro and it works great for vocals and instruments. Just follow ALL of the instructions that come with your mic (it only takes about 5 minutes)and you are on your way to some of the best home recordings you will make.

This microphone is very good. The way that it looks is childish and as I opened the box I questioned if I bought a cheap karaoke set. This all went away after I unboxed it and tested it out. The microphone has a very good feel to it. It is not too heavy, but has a sturdy feel to it. Also, the metal wind guard is stronger than that of XLR microphones. It is super strong and also feels really "good" in your hands. The microphone's on off switch can be very useful if you are monitoring audio when you record and you don't want to listen to an echo while regularly using you computer. This microphone has a large range of sensitivity and can have a signal boost of 0db to 24db. This is great because it can be used for many different things: solo recording, group recording, sound effect recording, etc.

My one complaint with this microphone is that it picks up radio stations. This may not be a problem for everyone, but I am in downtown Chicago and it was picking up a hispanic station. Not loudly of course, and I didn't hear this until I threw on my Turtle Beach X31s. This however is a problem that can be fixed with a simple $5 dollar purchase. Just get a Ferrite Core 1/4" Cord Noise Suppressor and snap it onto the usb end of the cable. A ferrite bead is the capsule like block on the end of most high end electronics cables, especially media transfer cables like VGA cables. The ferrite bead blocks the radio interference and makes this a perfect microphone.

I would give this microphone 5 stars if it came with a ferrite bead attached or optional in the packaging; however, since it has be purchased separately i'm giving it 4 stars.

My girlfriend got me this mic for my birthday as I like to write music in my free time. This mic works beautifully for the price and anyone who says otherwise probably didn't read the instructions that came with the mic. There is actually a setting on your computer (for PCs) called either "AGC" or "Mic Boost" if this is enabled on your mic it will be very sensitive. I too was experiencing buzzing when I first plugged in my mic but after READING THE INSTRUCTIONS I found that if you turn off this setting on the mic it will eliminate all those extra noises you don't want to record. So I went into my mics settings in the control panel and turned of the "AGC" option and now the mic records beautifully and I have no extra noises in my recordings.

Very easy to set up an use. This is the perfect basic mic for someone who wants to record podcasts, or simply record their own songs or do a bit of karaoke on their computer. Decently priced, it is able to sit stationary or with the cord, allow the user to move around to make the user more comfortable performing. Made a nice gift for the future sister-in-law, who is learning music, but not ready for heavy duty equiptment at this stage in the game. But it has a very nice quality sound and is more than adequate for for her needs now, and will certainly last for years with proper care.

I love and usually use the Rode Podcaster (Rode Microphones Podcaster USB Microphone), but I wanted something lighter and cheaper to carry around. Something cheap enough that I wouldn't be too upset if I dropped it or something.

I bought this mic despite the mixed reviews, and I'm glad I did. It sounds great. I haven't had any of the humming or buzzing reported by others, but I have picked up radio broadcasts while doing a test recording at work. I suspect that the other reviewers may have been experiencing interference or a bad cable rather than a bad mic.

Despite the cheap price, I've actually gotten compliments while using this mic on Skype. It comes with a decent desktop stand, has an on/off switch, and is native USB. For the price, it's really great. (I'm used to spending around $200 and up on a good mic.)

I do voiceover commentary for videos and my primary concern is making my voice as clear as possible and reducing as much background noise as I can. I didn't want to do post editing to accomplish this and ideally, I wanted the convenience and low price of a USB mic rather than higher quality microphones using phantom power and a mixer. The ideal situation is, of course, all that equipment as well as a sound proof room, but that's not very practical for how I need to do it. I also use it for gaming online with friends and until this point I had used a standup Logitech mic on my desk. The quality was okay, and I liked having it hands free as well as not being a headset.

I chose this one because it had decent reviews, though some people complained it "picked up EVERYTHING." It was much louder and overall, my voice was far more precise and clear, but indeed, the background noise was much louder as well (exactly what I was trying to avoid). After tinkering with my settings, I ended up lowering the total volume and turning off AGC (automatic gain control - boosts low sounds and reduces loud ones). I also found that actually holding the mic in my hand as opposed to leaving it in the stand on my desk made most of the background noise go away. Hmm...

==== What I learned / Tips ====
- The overall quality is definitely higher than a standard desktop mic.
- Disregard the statement of "built in pop filter," you'll probably need an external one, especially if you're planning on singing directly into it. I don't actually have one; I simply point the mic sideways so that it picks up the sound of my voice a few inches in front of me, rather than aiming directly at my mouth. This keeps me from overloading it with sudden bursts of air and allows me to speak loudly when necessary.
- Update your computer's sound card and USB drivers!!!
- Keep your inbound volume in the 50-80% range to avoid sound distortions.
- The main issue I had wasn't the ambient sound in the room like I originally thought, but rather it was picking up vibrations from my LCD monitor...? This cheap (but sufficient) mic stand does not have shock absorbers! (I am SO disappointed! ;D) I put the stand and the cord on top of some soft foam to absorb the vibrations, reducing that pesky incoming background noise by about 90%. Dirt cheap solution. Groovy.

==== Summary ====
This product is what I expected it to be: a decent microphone for the price, just don't expect to sound like Celine Dion. You CAN get good sound out of this, just don't plug it in and expect it to wave a magic wand for you (as some of the reviews I've seen here seem to think it should). Tinker with your settings, move the mic around, try to optimize it to increase quality; and that advice goes for ANY microphone by the way! As my situation showed, a little research and experimentation goes a long way to ensuring everything works properly and that the sound quality is as great as it should be.

Upgrading to all the extra equipment and having a mixer would obviously be the ultimate way to get good quality, and if I were using this to record music, then I would have considered that option a little more seriously. But for clear, decent voice recording without having to do all that, this was a good choice and I'd buy it again.

This mic requires some initial setup. For example you need to turn the mic volume to the quietest or close to the quietest setting without muting it. Then change the default setting audio output setting to your computer speakers or headphones so you can listen to what you recorded. After that your ready to go.

Pros:
Great sound and volume
good deal, inexpensive
comes with desk stand

Cons:
picks up some background sound
Seems bigger and bulkier than necessary

Tips:
When you record sing at lest a foot away from the mic for best results and play instruments at least two feet away. Experiment with different distances for the best results, remembering that extreme distances will lower the mic's quality.

If you don't have any recording software you'll need to get some. Audacity works great and is free.

I bought this microphone even after reading reviews that gave it a low rating. One comment suggested that most people were unaware of how to fix their sound device, which is why they might be experiencing trouble. I've recorded on my computer before, so I thought I had the know-how to adjust my settings. Unfortunately, this product was terrible. I've done better recording with a $2.50 microphone I bought off eBay a while ago. There is a constant buzzing sound that is impossible to get rid of no matter how much tweaking you do. Thankfully the seller had a wonderful return policy, and I escaped unscathed except for a few lost hours. Don't buy this microphone.