Endgame Gear burst onto the scene in 2019 with the XM1 gaming mouse and has gone on to build a solid reputation in the gaming peripheral market. Today, however, we are looking at something brand-new from the company – a USB microphone. With a big focus on high quality audio recording, and some fancy RGB lighting, the Endgame Gear XSTRM promises premium audio at an affordable price.
Timestamps:
00:00 Start
01:01 Unboxing / Panels
02:01 The Microphone and Stand
03:08 Design of the microphone
04:09 Ports and switches
04:25 It has RGB ! / Gain meter
05:17 SQ / Noise Cancellation
07:38 Pop Filter
08:15 With boom arm
08:49 Audio effects
09:26 Worth buying?
Specifications:
- 20mm real gold-plated electret condenser capsule
- Cardioid pattern
- 192 kHz/24-bit studio-grade sampling rate
- RGB illumination with 12 modes
- Gain & level indicator with G sensor
- Touch-sensitive mute button
- AI noise cancellation
- Magnetic pop filter
- Hot-swappable PCB
- Shock mount with 3/8 inch thread for arm & tripod mounting
- Zero-latency 3.5mm headphone jack
- Plug-and-Play for Windows®10/11 and Mac OS X® (or higher)
- Weight with/without table-stand: 820g/475g
The Endgame Gear XSTRM retails for £109.99 (on offer from £119.99) and is available from Overclockers UK HERE.
Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.
Pros:
- All-metal body.
- Shock mount and pop filter included.
- Angle adjustment built into the stand.
- AI noise cancellation.
- 24 bit/192KHz recording.
- The shock mount has a ⅜ mount and can be used with boom arms.
- Pop filter does a great job of blocking out plosives.
Cons:
- RGB on a mic will prove divisive.
- RGB gain doesn’t have visible marked levels.
- 192KHz sample rate is wasted on OBS / streaming platforms.
- Acoustic foam panelling is a nice extra but has potential for excess waste.
- AI noise reduction switch is very fiddly and hard to use.
KitGuru says: I wasn't sure what to expect with the Endgame Gear XSTRM, particularly because of its slightly ‘out there' design – but the sound quality was surprisingly good and my voice sounded natural. The AI noise cancellation is a feature I'd probably ignore though as it cheapens the overall audio quality. That aside, for the price the XSTRM is certainly worth buying.
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