Lots of microphone reviews, right? This is good, you will see a lot of pieces to build your opinion, this is what we are used to, but in order to come up with our evaluation, we put the microphones in certain frameworks for the conditions of their use, and today HyperX puts itself a little outside the scope of games to offer us ProCast XLR.
This new microphone, which comes to provide an experience that is not new to HyperX, but is not common either, will be the subject of our review today, which we will treat as a professional microphone for those who want to enter the world of audio or video content making because it is the first XLR microphone produced by the company.
What is the price of HyperX ProCast XLR?
But let’s remind you before we get started. This microphone is a good choice for gamers who want to start creating gaming content, but it won’t be the best for in-game communication due to the price for its functionality. We will deal with it as a professional microphone, as we mentioned above, that only serves professionals, especially since its price is $ 250, and this is a normal price in this category of microphones, so let’s go!
What are XLR microphones?
Before we open the box, let us walk you through the important advantage that XLR connections offer
XLR connections are balanced connections because they use three internal wires in the cable to transmit the positive, negative and ground electric signals. The negative and positive wires transmit the audio signal with different polarities, this contributes to the fact that any kind of vibration will not reach the microphone you are using in the first place, and at the same time it makes it suitable for you to use long cables of up to 9 meters in length.
This contributes to a more balanced signal delivery and makes the audio signal coming out or coming in to the device that uses these cables away from the signal vibration, interference waves or transmission of unwanted signals on the communication channels that consume these cables.
That’s why XLR cables are the best for professional microphones and musical instruments.
Open the box and look at its contents
Inside the box here is a single HyperX ProCast microphone with its own pop filter as there are no XLR wires and no stand included, which makes it expensive because you’ll have to buy the cable.
This stand won’t come cheap because you’ll need to buy a sturdy stand that can handle the weight of the heavy microphone. The microphone we are talking about here weighs exactly 371 grams, and that is why we recommend that you buy a high-quality stand so that its weight is not an obstacle to the Chinese products that we see on Amazon in the Middle East.
However, as for the microphone, it’s really big. Are we saying this is a defect? Of course not, that reflects his capabilities in the world of microphones if you ask us. Its weight stems from the quality of its manufacture in the first place, and the quality of its manufacture is what we will talk about first.
HyperX ProCast XLR microphone specifications
The microphone comes with specifications suitable for what it aspires to present, which are summarized in:
- Sound pickup: Cardiode
- Sensitivity: -38±3dBV
- Distortion: -118dBV
- Frequency: 20 Hz-20 thousand Hz
This mic we trusted before we even started our review. The microphone is made entirely of metal that surrounds the internal condenser, knowing that the internal condenser is the most important feature here in the microphone. Instead of using an electret dynamic microphone, a large size condenser surrounded by gold plating is used to improve the voice pickup performance compared to other microphones.
This is at the same time that it is surrounded by the part that is installed for the microphone itself, which is also attached to the microphone itself in order to prevent the effect of vibration on the microphone in the first place. Any movement that you will make will not affect the quality of the sound recording unless the microphone is removed from you, which will capture the sound from afar instead of capturing the sound of the movement itself.
The pop filter on the microphone will not be the pop filter you are thinking of. Here, HyperX does not offer that hat that resembles what the King of England’s guards wear, but rather what we can say about a stiff metal mesh that is curved with very small holes and is firmly attached to the stabilizer, as you can see in the picture.
Audio controls and the reason for the absence of Type-C / 3.5 mm
At the bottom we will find the control keys, and in fact there is no mute key. The first switch blocks all frequencies below 80 Hz in order to eliminate the slight noise around you or the sounds of movement that may occur while you are sitting in your chair doing nothing, and the second switch is the PAD switch that allows you to adjust the capacitor reception of the sound, which is 0dB or -10dB.
Not to go into a lot of technical jargon, only open -10dB if you need to record a louder sound in order to improve its frequency pickup without finding distracting and noticeable headroom.
At the bottom there is only an XLR input and no Type-C or 3.5 mm input, and this is because the XLR input and its connections aim to obtain the best sound quality through the audio card they deal with, unlike the Type-C that does not provide these features It and the 3.5 mm. Everything we see so far is wonderful and beautiful, but what about performance and real experience?
Performance experience with the HyperX ProCast XLR Microphone
First of all, let us remind you that this microphone works in a cardioid way, that is, it is designed mainly to pick up the sound from the front and leave the sound that comes from the sides and from the back. This means that you will not sit with your friend discussing the sales of tea companies on your podcast, but rather you will talk to yourself because he will only deal with those who sit in front of him.
This makes it ideal for recording audio for videos and also ideal for you if you intend to create your own content that you shoot in front of the screen or shoot on your own. Singing with instruments is also not the best solution unless you have the same instrument in front of you as you record, keep this in mind.
The sound that comes out of the microphone is clear and clear, as clear and frank as possible. This microphone can deliver sound levels realistically and without any kind of manipulation of the sound waves in an electronic way that makes your voice very superficial, even with a high volume it maintains this as well.
When working with the filter, you’ll find that the microphone isolates sound you don’t want. Buttons, switches or side sounds. It is not the best at getting rid of the sound of breath or the sound of air in general, so keep this in mind, or you can use software such as NVIDIA RTX Voice to get rid of these sounds.
This sound, again, is purer and more precious than the sound of your talking to your friends while gaming. The sound it provides is purely professional and has nothing to do with the world of games. Remember that it is for working on sound for beginners who do not want to go into many details and also want to get high quality sound.
Final verdict
Well. Let’s first look at the price of the microphone, which is $250 for it alone. Throw in $75-100 for a kickstand that can handle that much weight without tipping over or getting in your way. The package isn’t complete yet, that’s because you’ll add an XLR cable for $15.
It would be $365 max if you got the best arm, and it would cost less if the mic came with a stand that would work as a workaround or a basic solution if it made you uncomfortable at all, but that didn’t happen.
At the same time, there are plenty of options currently on the market that are even cheaper than the microphone alone, which makes the whole package cheaper.
This does not detract from its quality or what it offers, but the idea is that what it offers is similar to cheaper products and it will cost you a lot to get it. It could be your next option and it will be a great one, but remember that you will be paying in other pieces and it would not be the ideal choice for you if you are not a content creator or intend to work on your own audio content. Games, entertainment or communication? It shouldn’t be your first choice, nor is it, nor any XLR mic in the first place.
Carryminate evaluation
- Performance: 9
- Accessories: 7
- Design and manufacturing quality: 9
- Price: 7
Advantages
- Pure and clear sound.
- It does not transmit annoying distant sounds.
- Excellent build quality.
- Simple, intuitive control and works out of the box.
- The sound appears without any distortion even if it is loud.
Disadvantages
- Its cost and operating cost are relatively high.
- He does not come with his support.
- We would have liked to see the air sonic filter as an alternative to the pop filter.
