PC Gamer Hardware Awards: The best microphone of 2024
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
