INTRODUCTION

   The very first time i used a microphone with my PC was when i started playing online games back in the late 90's (who here remembers Kali?) and had to communicate with other players using either TeamSpeak or Roger Wilco. As you can imagine back then there wasn't much use/need for PC microphones other than communicating with other people (aside professional use) so it wasn't really easy to find and get a desktop one, let alone a high-quality one. Nowadays however things have changed and due to the very large number of streamers quite a few manufacturers have allocated serious resources in the development and manufacture of high sensitivity and feature-rich desktop microphones, both USB and 3.5mm ones. Strangely enough however not all gaming peripherals manufacturers have done so to date but since HyperX did last year, we just had to test their popular QuadCast Standalone Microphone out.

   HyperX is the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the world’s largest independent memory manufacturer, with the goal of providing gamers, PC builders, PC, console and mobile power users with high-performance components. For 16 years, the HyperX mission has been to develop gaming products for all types of gamers – high-speed memory, solid state drives, headsets, keyboards, mice, charging accessories for console players, USB flash drives, and mousepads – to the gaming community and beyond. The award-winning HyperX brand in known for consistently delivering products that deliver superior comfort, aesthetics, performance, and reliability. HyperX gear is the choice of celebrity ambassadors, pro gamers, tech enthusiasts, and over-clockers worldwide because it meets the most stringent product specifications and is built with best-in-class components. HyperX has shipped over 60 million memory modules and 7 million gaming headsets worldwide.

   The HyperX QuadCast is a USB desktop microphone model (compatible with the PC, MAC and PS4 and winner of the 2019 iF Design Award) that features three 14mm condenser microphone capsules positioned around the interior of its body (20Hz-20kHz frequency response with -36dB sensitivity) that allow the end user to use a total of 4 different polar patterns (stereo/omnidirectional/cardioid/bidirectional) to record audio at up to 16-bit/48kHz. That's not all however so HyperX has also equipped the QuadCast with red LEDs, gain control adjustment, mute button (mutes audio and turns of the LEDs), anti-vibration shock mount, 3.5mm headphone output (20Hz-20kHz/32ohm) and a special type of soft foam (red in color) on the interior of the grill which basically acts as a pop filter. Sounds interesting right?

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

The QuadCast retails inside a tall box that has a product image at the front right over the company and iF award logos.

Both the system compatibility and the bundled mount adapter are mentioned on the left side.

Taking a look at the rear we see the main product features printed in 9 languages and showcased with the help of yet another product picture.

HyperX has placed the QuadCast inside two thick pieces of black foam.

Contained inside the box are the QuadCast USB microphone, 3 meter long mini USB braided cable, 3/8-5/8 inch mount adapter, product catalog, warranty information paper and the quick start guide.

THE QUADCAST

Standing almost 25cm tall and almost 11cm wide the QuadCast is certainly a mid-sized model.

The only other red and black themed microphone i have here is the Arozzi Sfera and as you can see the QuadCast is much better looking.

Almost the entire body of the QuadCast is made out of metal and the top also features a red foam like material which as we mentioned earlier also acts as a pop filter (inside HyperX has also placed several red LEDs).

By using an anti-vibration shock mount the QuadCast can record clearer audio compared to other models.

HyperX has placed their logo at the base of the microphone which is also the gain control adjustment.

Moving at the rear we find the polar pattern selection knob (from left to right we have stereo, omnidirectional, cardioid and bidirectional), the mini USB port and the headphones 3.5mm port (allows you to hear how you sound).

Of course, you can control the positioning of the microphone from the rear (or remove the base altogether and use the arm mount).

The top of the QuadCast is rubber coated and also acts as the mute button (when muted the LEDs turn off).

Three very long rubber feet located at the base of the QuadCast ensure that it stays where you put it.

Red and black has always been one of my favourite color combinations so naturally i find the QuadCast unique.

CONCLUSION

   Since I’m not into streaming i can't claim to have used a large number of microphones lately, as a matter of fact aside the Sfera, Sfera Pro and the Colona USB microphones by Arozzi I’ve only used the Samson Meteor and the Blue Microphones Snowball ICE models. So, when i say that the HyperX QuadCast outdid them all in terms of recording quality (clearer and more accurate audio) i mean exactly that and not that it's the best USB microphone out in the market today. Of course, not all is perfect with the HyperX QuadCast and so out of the three systems i used it with it didn't play well with two of them (X79/X299). To be more specific it didn't "like" their USB 3.0 ports so it would connect and disconnect all the time causing Windows 10 Pro to freeze. This however didn't occur with their USB 2.0 ports so do keep that in mind if this ever happens to you. In terms of looks well i find it absolutely stunning and certainly much better compared to what I’ve seen to date. I would had liked it more had HyperX used RGB LEDs since that would be more a far more exciting feature than plain red ones (at least for some people) but red works fine for me as well. Also just like in the past i tried to record the various differences between each polar setting by recording a small audio clip from my 5.1 surround sound system (microphones was placed at the center of the room – slightly towards the center speaker however for optimal cardioid recording) so download and check them out (Cardioid/Omnidirectional/Bidirectional/Stereo).

   Almost 1 year after its release the QuadCast Standalone Microphone by HyperX carries a retail price tag of USD124.13 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and of 126Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) a price tag which although well within what i'd expect for such a product it's not exactly low. That being said however there’s no doubt that the QuadCast is a very good USB microphone with many features and audio recording quality that places it amongst the best in the sub-200$ range and for that it deserves our Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality
- Design
- Audio Clarity
- Available Polar Patterns (Stereo/omnidirectional/cardioid/bidirectional)
- Headphone Output
- Plug & Play
- Internal Pop Filter
- Arm Mount

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Detection Bugs (USB 3.0?)