NZXT Capsule Elite review
It isn't just mice and keyboards that have received the Elite treatment with NZXT's latest run of peripherals, as the brand-new Capsule Elite microphone proves. This is another market sector that's seen quite the explosion in terms of products in the last couple of years with the likes of the Logitech Yeti GX and the SteelSeries Alias being competitive options in the USB sector in the $150/£150 price range.
Yet, with the new Capsule Elite, NZXT seems to be offering pretty much an identical feature set to the competition alongside a smart design, highly adjustable stand and higher bitrate recordings for just $90/£85/€100. That sounds too good to be true, doesn't it?
Well, I'm here to tell you that it isn't. The Capsule Elite is an excellent USB microphone. I could just end the review there, really, but my editor would likely kill me if I did, so let me explain why.
The fact is that NZXT's latest microphone offers rich and full-bodied pickup as you'll hear from the sample audio with pleasant depth and clarity. It's a surefire cut above a lot of headset microphones from options that are well into double figures, while also taking it to those more expensive choices from Logitech and SteelSeries. I'm mightily impressed with the Capsule Elite right out of the gate.
Frequency: 50–20,000 Hz
Directional patterns: Cardioid
Controls: Volume dial, mute button
Recording sample rate: 192kHz
Bit depth: 24-bit
Weight: 560.6g (with stand)
Price: $90/£85/€100
You don't get the flexibility of other polar patterns, as the likes of the Blue Yeti and HyperX Quadcast S provide, but for solo recordings, the Capsule Elite's cardioid option will definitely suffice.
It's not only ideal for voices, but it also means that the noise rejection is second to none. This is because the pickup pattern is designed to pick up audio from the front while rejecting it from the back and sides. In testing it with a series of recordings while playing music at a reasonable volume from speakers behind the
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