A gaming microphone may not seem like a necessary hardware peripheral for a gaming setup when you play on your own, but for streamers and gamers who enjoy playing with their friends, a high-performing gaming microphone holds the same value as an excellent gaming monitor. Nevertheless, choosing the best gaming microphones with low noise capture, accurate audio quality, and smooth and precise drivers can be difficult given the plethora of gaming microphones available. There is no such thing as a perfect gaming microphone, but by determining your needs based on the game you play, chosen streaming platform, audience, budget, and recording requirements, you can find the most appropriate gaming microphone that would be perfect for you.
Technical Specs
Choosing the best gaming microphones based on excellent technical specifications will allow you to record and send audio that is crisp and clear. This is due to the audio sample rate and bit rate of your recorded audio.
A gaming microphone digitalizes your voice (analog signal) by sampling it (converting it into digital signals); therefore, the higher the sampling rate, the more accurate its recording will be. On the other hand, this will impact the bit rate (the number of bits played over one second) at the playback or streaming end. The higher the number of bits in one second, the more accurately it will be able to replicate the original recorded sound.
The frequency of a gaming microphone defines its recording capability regarding how many hertz it can record. The standard recording limit lies from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, which is the same as the listening capacity of a human ear. A gaming microphone will not be able to pick or record sounds that are out of its frequency range.
If you whisper during your gameplays, condenser gaming microphones are an excellent choice since they record low-frequency sounds in high quality and crisp audio. Nevertheless, their sensitivity to sounds also makes them vulnerable to picking up the background noise.
Another technical spec for gaming microphones is polar patterns. Polar patterns allow the user to learn how their microphone element picks up sounds. There are five microphone polar patterns (super-cardioid, omni, figure eight, cardioid, and hypercardioid) that determine the positioning of your mic and the intensity of the audio which will be recorded.
Connectivity
The best gaming microphones in the industry have different connectivity options such as USB, wired Bluetooth, audio jack, or Bluetooth. Although sound quality is not much different between wired and wireless microphones, we still need to consider portability, ease of use, reliability, battery issues, budget, and required frequency range. Wired gaming microphones (USB and audio jack) are easy to use with a plug-and-play option if you don’t find cable management a nuisance.
On the other hand, wireless gaming microphones with Bluetooth capabilities offer excellent sound quality and portability but may limit your frequency range and interrupt your gameplay when they need to be charged. The best current option for gaming microphones is Wired Bluetooth microphones. With the dual capability of connecting to your computer with a wire and wirelessly with Bluetooth, gamers can take advantage of the best of both worlds with easy portability and reliable usage.
A stand for your gaming microphone is an accessory that is needed for stability, durability, and easy portability. A table stand for microphones is preferable if you have a gaming table dedicated to our gaming arsenal. A boom arm for gaming microphones provides height to the recording microphone and recording span in the horizontal and vertical areas. A lapel or phone microphone is a small microphone used for mobile phone gaming/streaming. It is lightweight and allows for added portability as you play your favorite games.
Functional Use and Features
Selecting the best gaming microphones depends on your usage and the features you require. If you only require a microphone for gaming purposes, you can do without the extra features needed for streaming and save money. On the other hand, if you have a specific use for your microphone, such as streaming, singing, recording podcasts, or recording gameplay, you will have to look at special features that support that usage. A high-quality standalone microphone would be best suited to podcasters and musicians since it can give you the final mixed and edited product.
There are different weights of gaming microphones available, which may affect the portability of your gaming peripheral. Although heavier gaming microphones don’t necessarily mean better quality, they offer a sturdy body and durability. On the other hand, lightweight gaming microphones offer easy portability and ease of recording. You can choose a small phone or lapel microphone or a large microphone attached to a boom arm, depending on your usage. A larger mic will allow you to record sound from a larger surrounding space, while a small microphone will only allow you to record a range of sound frequencies with limited sound quality.
Some of the best gaming microphones in the market are available as a standalone option and in combination with a headphone. Standalone gaming microphones are entirely separate from the speakers, while the headphones include a high-quality gaming microphone with a great speaker setup. If you are looking to save money, you can opt for a two-in-one (speaker and mic combo) gaming headphone. Still, if you are looking to invest money in a great quality gaming microphone that is dedicated to your streaming or podcast sessions, you can choose a standalone gaming microphone. With a dedicated gaming microphone included in your setup, you can rest assured that your audio quality will never falter as you live stream with friends.
Choose the Best Gaming Microphones for Your Gameplay!
The guide above has detailed features you should consider carefully while choosing the best gaming microphones to add to your gaming setup. Check out the following curated collection of the best gaming microphones for people who never compromise on quality:
