I'm excited to try out this microphone and see how it performs as a desktop recording tool. I've hooked up the microphone with a normal XLR cable running to my Behringer UNC 404 HD audio interface, which is connected to my computer via USB. I've applied phantom power to the microphone, which should provide enough juice for optimal performance.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn't need to use too much gain on the microphone. In fact, I only needed about 10% gain to get a clean signal. This tells me that the microphone is relatively sensitive and can handle moderate levels of audio without distortion. The end result signal is definitely cleaner than my motherboard's built-in microphone, which was prone to noise and hum.

One thing I did notice right off the bat was that the microphone sounds a bit warmer and fuller than my previous test microphone. It's not a dramatic change, but it's noticeable nonetheless. However, I would be lying if I said it sounded amazing - this is still a very affordable microphone, after all. The price tag of around $4-$5 makes it hard to compete with higher-end microphones in terms of sound quality.

That being said, there are some things that this microphone does particularly well. One thing that impressed me was its ability to handle ambient noise in the background. I've been using a desktop setup for my tests so far, and I wanted to see how this microphone would perform with my apartment's air conditioner running in the background. As you can hear, it actually did a pretty good job of capturing the sounds around me, even with the added noise from the AC.

Of course, no microphone is perfect, and there are some things that this one does poorly. One thing that stands out is its muffled sound quality - it's definitely not the most detailed or nuanced microphone I've ever used. But for the price, I'm willing to overlook some of these flaws in favor of its overall performance.

If you're looking for a budget-friendly microphone option and don't mind sacrificing some sound quality, this one might be worth considering. Just keep in mind that it's not going to blow your mind with its performance - but if you can get it for under $20, it's definitely an affordable option to consider.

I've decided to do a quick typing test using this microphone to see how it handles some of the nuances of spoken word audio. As I type away on my keyboard, which is positioned just below and behind the microphone, I can hear the sound of the keys clacking away in real-time. This should give me an idea of what kind of ambient noise the microphone can handle - and whether or not it's able to capture all the subtleties of spoken word audio.

As I type, I'm also going to play some music in the background - a quick clip from "The Lord of the Rings" soundtrack. This should give me an idea of how well the microphone can capture different types of audio and handle different frequencies. And just for kicks, I'll turn on my apartment's air conditioner again to see how it affects the sound quality.

Now that we've got everything set up, let's listen back to this clip and see what kind of performance we're getting from this microphone. I'm going to use Audacity to edit and enhance the audio, which should help bring out some of the nuances in the sound quality.

[Audio clip plays]

As you can hear, the microphone does a pretty good job of capturing the music - it's not too bright or overpowering, but still manages to convey the emotional weight of the song. However, there are some things that I notice in this playback that might be worth investigating further.

One thing that stands out is the fact that the sound quality is a bit muffled, even after using Audacity to enhance it. There's just something about the way the microphone captures sounds that makes them feel slightly distant or indistinct. It's not necessarily bad - but it's definitely something to keep in mind when using this microphone.

If you're interested in learning more about how to use microphones and audio software, I've got a tutorial up on my channel that might be worth checking out. It covers some of the basics of Audacity and shows you how to get the most out of your audio setup.

As I wrap up this review, I want to remind you all that there's no magic solution when it comes to microphones - but with the right setup and a little bit of post-processing, it's possible to make even budget-friendly mics sound pretty decent. If you're on the lookout for affordable microphone options, be sure to keep an eye out for deals and discounts. And if you've got any questions or comments about this review, feel free to hit me up in the comments below!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enin today's desktop microphone reviews we are reviewing the Excel Vaughn BM 800 I have received numerous requests to review a BM 800 microphone and I actually have to I'm gonna be reviewing at some point we're starting with this one because this one is part of a four dollar audio kit that I picked up on Amazon I believe during the Amazon Prime de sel and I just want to show you what you can get if you actually keep an eye out for sales as I receive a lot of comments about oh I only have X budget to which my response is usually will save up $10 more or you know there's nothing ever in my price range while this kit doesn't come with the arm it came with the microphone the windscreen which can help with plosives but is not technically a pop filter the microphone itself and the shock mount as well as the 3.5 millimeter to XLR audio cable it does not come with the arm to attach it to so that would cost as much as the microphone itself but you can make it work or save up later I just wanted to show what this is like so currently again this is the XL Vaughn ridiculous product name BM 800 they have one in black and gold which is like an the other one I'm gonna review and then this one is blue and silver with the black windscreen this is currently plugged into my desktops microphone in Jack which is the pink cable now when I reviewed the toner BM 700 I seem to have confused people with regards to how you can actually hook this microphone up because traditionally with XLR cassette setups this needs 48 volts of phantom power in order to activate well when you have it hooked up to a normal desktop computer using the included cable which runs from XLR to 3.5 millimeter to the pink not the blue with a pink microphone inject on your computer most steps desktop computers should power at fine as the microphone in Jack applies extra power it's not the cleanest signal but it does it to keep the mic powered and make it sound relatively ok it's not the cleanest thing it's not the highest quality microphone in the first place especially for 4 dollars but it's there if you're using a laptop or just don't have a proper microphone input then you're gonna need something a phantom power supply or a USB audio interface or mixer or something that provides 48 volts of phantom power which we will test next however I wanted to provide an initial microphone test this is how most people buying it would it would sound hooked up to a desktop computer do not buy this for a smartphone do not buy this for your PlayStation for your xbox or even really a laptop unless you have additional audio hardware a dedicated XLR cable and XLR phantom power supply unless you have all of that to actually power it do not buy this for a laptop and no it will not work on your phone your ps4 controller your xbox controller anything like that I got a lot of comments on that on my $32.00 audio kit now this is a light enough microphone that virtually any microphone arm will actually be able to hold it up and with the shock mount you can hopefully avoid too much background or you know rattling noise as long as you're not actually touching it too much now I have it about four inches from my mouth right now and in Windows I have the volume level for the microphone set to 100 but I have 0 DB of gain applied so as long as I don't get right up on top of it the audio from it sounds fairly loud however keep in mind the further it is from your mouth the more gain you will need to apply and the worse it will sound this is a site address condenser microphone here I'll pull this off real quick you're supposed to talk into this front side where it says Excel Vaughn not into the back not into the top you're talking to the top you're gonna start losing a lot of your range of your vocals and if you start talking to the back you're gonna start getting rejected this is a cardioid condenser microphone meant to be addressed in the side you can actually see the capsule and the X of on logo is the front again I usually don't recommend these wind screens as pop filters because that's not what they are that's not the purpose they serve yadda yadda but since it came with it I'm gonna go ahead and use it so this has all been connected with the included cable to the 3.5 millimeter microphone in Jack on my desktop I'm gonna use a real XLR cable hook it up to my audio interface which currently is a Behringer UMC 404 HD I believe give it a little bit of phantom power and we're gonna see how this sounds using basically its maximum potential as a microphone alright I have now hooked up the microphone with a normal XLR cable running to my behringer UNC 404 HD audio interface with phantom power applied and I only needed to use like like 10% gain like I did not need a whole lot of gain for this microphone the end result signal is certainly a lot cleaner in terms of signal noise than my motherboard microphone in port it's I'd say it's a little bit warmer a little bit fuller but it does still sound pretty muffled this is still a very cheap microphone it's not anything super fantastic or anything like that but it sounds a little bit more full it sounds a little bit more present and you don't get as much feedback and of course you don't need to use the specific audio interface this one's a little bit overkill this is for my specific test setup but there are plenty of cheap ones they just need to provide specifically 48 volts of phantom power there are some that say phantom power but not 48 volts it needs to specify that all right I removed the windscreen hopefully letting in too much ASMR weirdness going just to see if it helps with the muffled miss but I highly doubt it but overall it if you can get it for four dollars or for fifteen dollars or whatever it's a fairly cheap microphone I believe full price on Amazon right now is 20 bucks $19.99 not amazing but for that price it is hard to really compete in terms of sound quality just because everything and you know everything at that point or below is going to be pure garbage to be honestly compared to higher end audio so at that point if you can get something usable and apply a little bit of post-processing then you can really bring it out a little bit so I'm gonna do a typing test real quick this is me typing on I believe they're cherry black switches keyboard is below and behind the microphone which is proper placement although the microphones closer to the keyboard then I would like get some mouse clicks going all right now I'm gonna talk while I'm typing talking while I'm typing talking while I'm typing just get you an idea of what that's like and then I will kick on my AC in a moment so that you can hear that in the background because that's been a consistent theme in my tests although it's actually off today for once I'm gonna take what I use in my on-camera microphone reviews and I'm gonna read through a quote and then I'm gonna play it back with some post-processing some equalization compressor whatever I think sounds good I do have a tutorial up I had a lot of people asking in the last video where I did this specific thing I do tutorial up on my channel on how to make your audio sound better and audacity that will be linked in the description down below three rings for the Elven kings under the sky 7 for the dwarf Lords in their halls of stone 9 for the mortal men doomed to die one for the Dark Lord on his dark throne in the land of Mordor where shadows lie one ring to rule them all one ring to find them one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them in the land of Mordor where the shadows lie three rings for the Elven kings under the sky 7 for the dwarf Lords in their halls of stone 9 for the mortal men doomed to die one for the Dark Lord on his dark throne in the land of Mordor where shadows lie one ring to rule them all one ring to find them one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them in the land of Mordor where the shadows lie all right and now you're getting a sample with my apartment air conditioner running in the background just to see how it handles kind of more ambient room noise just so you have that information available to you this is how I try to include this in all of these desktop reviews mainly because it started on accident so while this microphone can't be magic you can't work magic with it you can loop in some VST effects within OBS studio if you're recording that way or an audacity as I mentioned if you're interested in this again it is not for dollars right now that was an Amazon Prime day sale but this kind of shows you what you can get with the BM 800 and if you keep an eye out for sales on microphones and I will I try to tweet those out whenever I like and share them we have a sick deals chat in my discord server over at E Plus vox.com slash discord go check that out hit the like button if you enjoyed check out product links if you just want to check out this microphone in general and the audacity tour tutorial things like that subscribe for more tech education and microphone reviews with a little dash of epic voice and I'll see you next timein today's desktop microphone reviews we are reviewing the Excel Vaughn BM 800 I have received numerous requests to review a BM 800 microphone and I actually have to I'm gonna be reviewing at some point we're starting with this one because this one is part of a four dollar audio kit that I picked up on Amazon I believe during the Amazon Prime de sel and I just want to show you what you can get if you actually keep an eye out for sales as I receive a lot of comments about oh I only have X budget to which my response is usually will save up $10 more or you know there's nothing ever in my price range while this kit doesn't come with the arm it came with the microphone the windscreen which can help with plosives but is not technically a pop filter the microphone itself and the shock mount as well as the 3.5 millimeter to XLR audio cable it does not come with the arm to attach it to so that would cost as much as the microphone itself but you can make it work or save up later I just wanted to show what this is like so currently again this is the XL Vaughn ridiculous product name BM 800 they have one in black and gold which is like an the other one I'm gonna review and then this one is blue and silver with the black windscreen this is currently plugged into my desktops microphone in Jack which is the pink cable now when I reviewed the toner BM 700 I seem to have confused people with regards to how you can actually hook this microphone up because traditionally with XLR cassette setups this needs 48 volts of phantom power in order to activate well when you have it hooked up to a normal desktop computer using the included cable which runs from XLR to 3.5 millimeter to the pink not the blue with a pink microphone inject on your computer most steps desktop computers should power at fine as the microphone in Jack applies extra power it's not the cleanest signal but it does it to keep the mic powered and make it sound relatively ok it's not the cleanest thing it's not the highest quality microphone in the first place especially for 4 dollars but it's there if you're using a laptop or just don't have a proper microphone input then you're gonna need something a phantom power supply or a USB audio interface or mixer or something that provides 48 volts of phantom power which we will test next however I wanted to provide an initial microphone test this is how most people buying it would it would sound hooked up to a desktop computer do not buy this for a smartphone do not buy this for your PlayStation for your xbox or even really a laptop unless you have additional audio hardware a dedicated XLR cable and XLR phantom power supply unless you have all of that to actually power it do not buy this for a laptop and no it will not work on your phone your ps4 controller your xbox controller anything like that I got a lot of comments on that on my $32.00 audio kit now this is a light enough microphone that virtually any microphone arm will actually be able to hold it up and with the shock mount you can hopefully avoid too much background or you know rattling noise as long as you're not actually touching it too much now I have it about four inches from my mouth right now and in Windows I have the volume level for the microphone set to 100 but I have 0 DB of gain applied so as long as I don't get right up on top of it the audio from it sounds fairly loud however keep in mind the further it is from your mouth the more gain you will need to apply and the worse it will sound this is a site address condenser microphone here I'll pull this off real quick you're supposed to talk into this front side where it says Excel Vaughn not into the back not into the top you're talking to the top you're gonna start losing a lot of your range of your vocals and if you start talking to the back you're gonna start getting rejected this is a cardioid condenser microphone meant to be addressed in the side you can actually see the capsule and the X of on logo is the front again I usually don't recommend these wind screens as pop filters because that's not what they are that's not the purpose they serve yadda yadda but since it came with it I'm gonna go ahead and use it so this has all been connected with the included cable to the 3.5 millimeter microphone in Jack on my desktop I'm gonna use a real XLR cable hook it up to my audio interface which currently is a Behringer UMC 404 HD I believe give it a little bit of phantom power and we're gonna see how this sounds using basically its maximum potential as a microphone alright I have now hooked up the microphone with a normal XLR cable running to my behringer UNC 404 HD audio interface with phantom power applied and I only needed to use like like 10% gain like I did not need a whole lot of gain for this microphone the end result signal is certainly a lot cleaner in terms of signal noise than my motherboard microphone in port it's I'd say it's a little bit warmer a little bit fuller but it does still sound pretty muffled this is still a very cheap microphone it's not anything super fantastic or anything like that but it sounds a little bit more full it sounds a little bit more present and you don't get as much feedback and of course you don't need to use the specific audio interface this one's a little bit overkill this is for my specific test setup but there are plenty of cheap ones they just need to provide specifically 48 volts of phantom power there are some that say phantom power but not 48 volts it needs to specify that all right I removed the windscreen hopefully letting in too much ASMR weirdness going just to see if it helps with the muffled miss but I highly doubt it but overall it if you can get it for four dollars or for fifteen dollars or whatever it's a fairly cheap microphone I believe full price on Amazon right now is 20 bucks $19.99 not amazing but for that price it is hard to really compete in terms of sound quality just because everything and you know everything at that point or below is going to be pure garbage to be honestly compared to higher end audio so at that point if you can get something usable and apply a little bit of post-processing then you can really bring it out a little bit so I'm gonna do a typing test real quick this is me typing on I believe they're cherry black switches keyboard is below and behind the microphone which is proper placement although the microphones closer to the keyboard then I would like get some mouse clicks going all right now I'm gonna talk while I'm typing talking while I'm typing talking while I'm typing just get you an idea of what that's like and then I will kick on my AC in a moment so that you can hear that in the background because that's been a consistent theme in my tests although it's actually off today for once I'm gonna take what I use in my on-camera microphone reviews and I'm gonna read through a quote and then I'm gonna play it back with some post-processing some equalization compressor whatever I think sounds good I do have a tutorial up I had a lot of people asking in the last video where I did this specific thing I do tutorial up on my channel on how to make your audio sound better and audacity that will be linked in the description down below three rings for the Elven kings under the sky 7 for the dwarf Lords in their halls of stone 9 for the mortal men doomed to die one for the Dark Lord on his dark throne in the land of Mordor where shadows lie one ring to rule them all one ring to find them one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them in the land of Mordor where the shadows lie three rings for the Elven kings under the sky 7 for the dwarf Lords in their halls of stone 9 for the mortal men doomed to die one for the Dark Lord on his dark throne in the land of Mordor where shadows lie one ring to rule them all one ring to find them one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them in the land of Mordor where the shadows lie all right and now you're getting a sample with my apartment air conditioner running in the background just to see how it handles kind of more ambient room noise just so you have that information available to you this is how I try to include this in all of these desktop reviews mainly because it started on accident so while this microphone can't be magic you can't work magic with it you can loop in some VST effects within OBS studio if you're recording that way or an audacity as I mentioned if you're interested in this again it is not for dollars right now that was an Amazon Prime day sale but this kind of shows you what you can get with the BM 800 and if you keep an eye out for sales on microphones and I will I try to tweet those out whenever I like and share them we have a sick deals chat in my discord server over at E Plus vox.com slash discord go check that out hit the like button if you enjoyed check out product links if you just want to check out this microphone in general and the audacity tour tutorial things like that subscribe for more tech education and microphone reviews with a little dash of epic voice and I'll see you next time\n"