Check out more of the year's best tech in our PC Gamer Hardware Awards 2024 coverage.
I'm forever espousing the benefits of a good microphone. It's one of those things that you don't think you need until you try one for yourself, or hear an awful one over voice chat and realise what a terrible curse bad audio is on the people that have to listen to you on the daily.
Many microphones have passed our desks this year, and many have failed to meet the mark. But a precious few have stood head and shoulders above the rest, so we've gathered together the top three, thrown them into the ring, and let them bash their little pop-filters against each other until a clear winner remains.
First across the ropes are two exceptionally good units from Shure, a tried and tested name in the audio world that's made serious inroads into gaming and streaming mics this year. The Shure MV6 is a desktop mic with a difference, thanks to its excellent capture at range, solid build quality, and a mini mic stand that looks like it came straight off the stage at your local venue.
Then there's the Shure MV7+, a refinement of a classic that leaves just about all other podcast microphones in the dust. It's a multi-talented marvel, however, and makes a compelling case for itself as a podcast mic, a streaming mic, or really any other vocal-capturing duties you can think of. Point it at its target and off it goes, swinging for the rafters.
But what's this? A SteelSeries usurper? Yep, the SteelSeries Alias Pro kit includes a great mic, but it's the whole package that makes this a worthy contender for the crown. It's got a powerful preamp hidden in its Stream Mixer interface, along with programmable dials and buttons that really do make capturing and streaming audio simple.
So who will triumph? Cast your eyes over our contenders below.
Shure MV6 USB
When Shure announced a gaming microphone, you could almost hear the other manufacturers holding their breath. Y'see, Shure is a titan of mic manufacturing, having provided the capturing devices for virtually every great studio recording, live set, or podcast set up you can think of. Turning its talents to the gaming market proper was a bit of a keen move, as the Shure MV6 gives most of its competition such a thorough tonal thrashing, it almost seems unfair.
USB, plug and play, sounds great, captures at a distance, job done. Well, almost. It's a bit of a large addition to your desktop, and Shure's noise reduction has to work pretty hard if you're not sitting up close, meaning there's the odd digital wobble. Oh, and the cable is a bit short. But other than that? It's a stunner.
Read our Shure MV6 USB review.
Shure MV7+ Podcast microphone
However, if you think the Shure MV6 has this year's competition wrapped up from the start, think again. The MV7+ is a refinement on the old Shure MV7, and that was a mic that sat at the top of our best microphone guide for many moons. So what did Shure change to create this new model?
Well, it simply got rid of the main flaw, the plosive issue, added some lights, and tightened up the software. The MV7+ has a longer pop-filter, a lovely RGB lightbar, and a software suite that left me astonished with its ability to craft studio-grade sound right out of the box. Capturing great audio is supposed to be difficult, but this large and in charge unit requires virtually no tweaking at all.
Downsides? It doesn't come with a stand, so you need to provide your own. And it likes being up close, so it's a bit of a waste if you're not boom arm-ing it into the best position. But other than that? It's just plain fabulous.
SteelSeries Alias Pro
The SteelSeries Alias Pro is a bit of a different proposition to the two mics above. It's a pricey affair, but what you get here is a microphone that makes a whole lot of sense, and a preamp/mixer combo that aims to make streaming audio as easy as can be.
And in that goal, it succeeds. The Stream Mixer features two programmable dials and two RGB-ringed buttons, which doesn't sound like a whole lot of options. But you can customise everything to your liking, meaning audio adjustments, muting, channel-skipping and more are merely a press or a twiddle away. Combine that with SteelSeries' excellent Sonar software, and it makes streaming audio as simple as it gets.
Again, it's not cheap, and the mic is merely great, not exceptional. But as an overall package this is a seriously tempting bit of gear, and the sheer versatility of what's on offer makes for a tough contender in any audio-capturing competition.
Read our SteelSeries Alias Pro review.
The winner of the PC Gamer Hardware Award for the best microphone of 2024 will be announced on New Year's Eve. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Make sure you check in with us then to find out the eventual result.
