The CLEANEST Mic EVER? NZXT Capsule USB Microphone Review!
Today we’re going to check out the NZXT
Capsule, which is NZXT’s first entry into
the world of microphones for streamers coming
in at 129 US Dollars or around 10-12 thousand
rupees in India.
It has some nice things going for it, and
it obviously looks amazing, but sound is probably
the more important aspect you would want to
know about, so this video is going to be recorded
with it so you can check out how it sounds.
Hey guys I am Siddharth and I can’t wait
to check out what this mic looks like in person,
so let’s get started.
The mic comes very well protected in a thick
foam casing, you get an adapter which I’ll
explain the use of, you get a Type C to Type
A cable to connect it to your PC, and you
of course get the mic itself, along with its
back cover which we will get to.
The design and build quality of the NZXT capsule
is its strongest aspect, NZXT always has the
cleanest aesthetics in the game, and that
is also true for this microphone.
I really like the black and white theme that
is going on with it, which of course fits
really well with my setup, and I think this
will
The mic is made of aluminum, so it feels very
strongly built, and it also doesn’t weigh
that much without the stand, which is actually
a good thing because that makes using it on
other mic stands easier.
It comes attached to a very heavy duty metal
stand with a thick rubber ring at its base
which is going to make sure it stays firm
on your desk.
You can adjust the tension for the tilt angle
of the mic from its sides, and the mic itself
is actually attached to the stand with a quick
release system, so if you want to quickly
shift it from the desk stand to another mic
stand, you can do it easily with a press of
a button, and NZXT has also included a back
cover for the quick release area so it doesn’t
look odd.
I think that NZXT is also planning to release
a microphone boom arm with this, so that would
make for a very good overall system.
Under the mic, you will find a USB C port,
a 1/4th inch screw thread, and a 3.5mm audio
out jack for real time monitoring with your
headphones.
The mic comes with a 1/4th inch to 3/8th inch
adapter, which also works as an extender which
will allow you to use the ports at the bottom,
and you will have to use it to attach it to
boom arms like this one.
Coming to the controls, we have a knob for
the microphone gain on top, and if you press
it, it will mute the mic.
We have another knob under it that controls
the volume for your monitoring headphones.
The knob on top is a bit too wobbly, but the
rotation on it is quite smooth, so I don’t
see it as being an issue on this mic, but
the bigger problem with these knobs is that
they don’t stop, which means that the gain
is controlled digitally, so a clockwise rotation
will keep increasing the gain until its maximum,
and counter-clockwise rotation will do the
opposite of that.
By default, the microphone is set at 50% gain,
and when you have the mic placed at your desk,
it is the perfect level, so it works really
well.
But the problem with this setup is that if
you use the mic closer to you, or if you speak
loudly, then the gain is going to be too high,
and the mic is going to clip, which means
that it is going to distort, which of course
doesn’t sound good.
With other devices and mics, you can set their
knobs at a fixed position, so whenever you
turn them on, you know what the percentage
of gain is, but this will always be at 50%
when you start your PC, so you may have to
set the gain on your PC in the sound control
panel, and this system can work, but I still
think that the regular implementation of gain
knobs that every other company has is way
better, and it has been like that for very
good reasons.
The mic does have a white LED ring at its
bottom that looks really great, and it turns
red when you mute the microphone, but if they
made this light turn red when the mic was
clipping, then the way the gain knob works
would’ve made sense, because you could just
reduce it if you saw the light turning red.
Now from what I understood by reading the
reviewer’s guide for this is that the philosophy
behind designing this mic was that NZXT wanted
to make something very simple and non confusing
to use.
They wanted to make something that you can
just plug and play without needing to use
a software, or worrying about things like
polar patterns, because this mic only has
one polar pattern which is cardioid, which
means that it is going to pick up noise from
its front, and reject it from its sides and
its back.
People not understanding how to use mics is
actually surprisingly common, and there are
many examples of people using their Blue Yeti
mics incorrectly.
Cardioid is also the only polar pattern you
will need for streaming, and there is almost
no point of having more polar patterns in
a mic like this, because they can actually
make the mic sound worse if you don’t know
what you’re doing.
So let’s test how well the cardioid polar
pattern works on this microphone, and right
now I am speaking in the front of the microphone
and this is what it sounds like.
Now I am speaking on the side of the microphone
so you can see how much of my voice is being
rejected, and now I am at the back of the
microphone and you can listen to what this
sounds like.
Finally we’re back on the front and we should
get back to the normal volume of my voice.
The size of the NZXT Capsule is on the bigger
side and there are multiple reasons for that.
The first is that it has a 25mm condenser
capsule inside it, and that is something you
find in a true large diaphragm mic, for comparison
the Blue Yeti has a 14mm capsule.
Now the Capsule size of a microphone isn’t
everything, and there are other factors that
determine the overall performance, but just
keep in mind that it is something that you
usually find in more expensive higher end
microphones, and I just haven’t seen a large
diaphragm capsule in a USB mic in this price
range.
The other reasons for the bigger than usual
size of the Capsule is that it has an integrated
pop filter and shock mount.
A pop filter keeps the mic from popping or
distorting when you create plosives with your
voice, which are bursts of air when you speak
certain works, and a shock mount keeps the
vibrations on the microphone’s body from
travelling to the capsule.
So let’s check how well the integrated pop
filter works on this.
Peter Piper Picked A Peck Of Pickled Pepper,
and Peck of Pickled Peppers Peter Piper Picked.
You can of course also use an additional pop
filter with this mic, so let’s test how
much of an improvement this brings.
Peter Piper Picked A Peck Of Pickled Pepper,
and Peck of Pickled Peppers Peter Piper Picked.
Now I am typing on my mechanical keyboard
with low profile linear switches that I forgot
the name of so you hear how much of my voice
vs. how much of the noise is getting picked
up.
And now I am bumping on my table to see if
the mic is able to resist the vibrations from
travelling to the capsule, and now I am tapping
on the mic stand to check how well the shock
mount works
Now I am going to put this microphone very
close to me, and generally with other mics,
my voice gets very deep because of something
called proximity effect, but NZXT seems to
have tuned the frequency response of this
microphone to reduce this effect by cutting
down the bass.
Whether you want the proximity effect or not
is something that depends on your personal
preference and voice, but if you’re streaming,
it can make the bass a little overpowering
for some people.
I personally like having some proximity effect
audible on my microphones, but I can see why
NZXT would try to cut it to simplify things.
The bass roll off can also help in reducing
the ambient noise, but I think that it is
a bit overdone on this microphone, and it
keeps it from sounding its best.
GUITAR DEMO
My overall thoughts on the sound is that it
doesn’t sound great, even on my voice, which
is on the deeper side.
NZXT has tried to optimize the sound of the
Capsule for capturing speech in a desk environment
primarily, and I am not sure what kind of
frequency response they decided was the best
for that use case, because it just feels like
there’s just too much cutting of the lower
end frequencies, and there is too much boost
in the higher frequencies which makes this
sound too sibilant for my taste.
In a desk environment, it is going to be further
away from you, which only makes mics sound
worse, so we are using this in a very favourable
configuration.
A boost in the high frequencies can actually
help if you’re streaming because it will
make your voice stand out or cut through the
other sounds in your game, so if that was
the logic behind tuning it like this, I can
see why they would do it.
But if I just had to use this mic for a video
like this, or just use it to record my voice
or chat with people, I wouldn’t use it,
because even the other cheaper mics that I
have used like the Hyper X solocast sounded
much better and non problematic in the high
end unlike the NZXT Capsule.
To demonstrate this point further, I will
compare this mic to a very cheap Maono Mic,
and I will keep these at the same distance
and read the same sentence so you can hear
what the difference
is like.
So
in conclusion, I have to say that I have very
mixed feelings about the NZXT capsule.
I absolutely love how it looks and feels,
and this is a decent first attempt by NZXT
in designing a microphone.
But I just don’t love how it sounds, and
that is the most important quality you would
want to have in a microphone.
In addition to its sound, I also don’t like
how its gain knob and even the headphone volume
knob works.
If you just want it for streaming, you like
how it will look on camera, and you think
that its tuning can help you, then it is something
that you can go for, but the competition for
USB mics in its price range is very tough,
and while the physical appearance of this
mic is very good, I didn’t find its sound
to be similarly impressive.
And that is quite unfortunate, because NZXT
does seem to have put a lot of thought into
designing this mic, and they did include a
large diaphragm condenser capsule inside it,
which must have a lot of potential.
But that is all I have to say about this microphone
for now, I am not sure if its tuning can be
improved with firmware updates, but these
were my thoughts in its current state.
Give this video a thumbs up if you liked it,
or a thumbs down if you disliked it.
Subscribe with bell, follow me on socials,
thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in
the next one.
