It is easy to find a cheap microphone especially now with all the no-name imports available on the internet. We had requests for a moderately priced microphone for youth groups and small mobile churches so we set out to find the best value currently available.
We tested several affordable handheld microphones and found that most come with an on/off switch, this can be good or bad depending on your perspective. Having the ability to turn the microphone on or off without adjusting the gain on the main audio console can be a benefit, but having a speaker talk into a microphone while it is off can be a little embarrassing. Here is the list of performance issues we tested for, keep in mind we are very critical on the performance of the products we promote.
1- Handling noise, does the microphone transmit noise through the case where you hold it in your hand?
2- Does the switch make any pops, clicks or boom noises when turning on or off.?
3- How does it feel in your hand? (comfortable, well built, or not so much)
4- How does is sound for speech and singing. (full, smooth, or not so much)
5- How much proximity effect does the microphone have (does it make you sound bigger the closer you get)
6- How does the microphone look? (professional or more like a toy)
After testing several microphones, we found that most did ok in one or two of the above areas and only the Audio-Technica ST90MKII preformed well in all. At the end of the day we were happy with the outcome because we trust and love Audio-Technica microphones.
We also put together the best deal we found anywhere on a five microphone and cable package. We are confident if you need to add microphones to your system and you are on a budget this is the right package for you.