If the interlocutors during the conversations on the Internet complain about the bad sound, then the best solution to fix this problem is to buy a microphone. It is not necessary to take an expensive model for several thousand rubles, because it is quite possible to get by with a budget solution, for example, Sven MK 200. This microphone costs a little money, but despite this, it has good characteristics and will provide decent sound quality for any type of conversation. Let's look at it in more detail.
Equipment
The Sven MK 200 microphone is worth starting with the kit first. The device is sold in a small blister pack. The equipment here is very poor: a round stand, fasteners for a rack, a stand (leg) with a microphone. Of course, nothing special can be expected from the budget device in terms of configuration, but still the manufacturer could add wind protection to the overall kit.
Appearance
The Sven MK 200 microphone looks pretty ordinary and unremarkable. The case, as well as other parts of the device, is made of plastic, and quite cheap. In some places there are even places with poorly processed material. Well, all right, all the same, a microphone is inexpensive and it would be foolish to demand ideality from it in everything. Regarding the plastic, it is worth noting that it is matte, without any glossy inserts, so fingerprints on the case will not be visible.
The lower part of the microphone also consists of a wide round stand, on which the leg is attached. The fastener itself, by the way, is universal and allows you to remove the leg from the stand and mount it on the computer monitor body.
As for the leg, it has a slightly bent shape and a length of 18cm. At one end is the microphone itself, and a cable for connecting with a 3.5mm plug comes out of the other. The cable length, by the way, is 1.8 meters, which is pretty good.
Connection
Connecting a Sven MK 200 microphone is very simple. All you need to do is plug the device’s plug into the appropriate connector on the computer’s sound card. You can also connect a microphone to the front panel of the PC, if it has the right connector. Installation of additional drivers after connection is not required, since everything works on the basis of plug & play.
The only thing that is recommended to be done after connecting is to go into the sound settings on the computer, go to the recording section and adjust the level sliders in the properties of the Sven MK 200 microphone. It is advisable to leave the gain at 0, and move the microphone parameter itself to around 35-40.
Characteristics and Testing
Before proceeding to testing, a few words should be said about the characteristics of the device.
The type of microphone here is electret, which is to be expected. Electret is a type of condenser microphones, only in a cheaper version and without the need for high-quality sound recording equipment. On the one hand, this is, of course, a plus, since recording from such a microphone can be done on absolutely everything, even on a laptop, tablet or the same smartphone. On the other hand, quality, in comparison with the same budget capacitor devices, will be much lower.
In directionality, the Sven MK 200 is an omnidirectional microphone, that is, the location of the sound source is not so important for it, as, for example, for cardioid devices.
The sensitivity indicator is 60 dB, which is quite good. The frequency range is less pleasing - 50 Hz at the minimum mark and 16k Hz at maximum.
Actually, with the characteristics over, we can proceed to testing.
In principle, for its money, the microphone demonstrates a very good quality. The sound is transmitted not perfect, of course, but much better than through the same built-in microphone on the webcam.
There isn’t the usual “gurgling”, “hissing” device or any other interference that negatively affects sound recording or is heard during a conversation. The quality, again worth repeating, is not ideal, primarily because of the narrow frequency range, but it is very, very good.
With regard to sensitivity, in spite of 60 dB it will be necessary to speak almost next to the microphone itself. The maximum permissible distance of removal from the device is 40-50 cm, but no more.
Reviews and price
Reviews of the Sven MK 200 show that the company’s microphone turned out to be very worthy in terms of its characteristics and the quality of the recorded and transmitted sound. There are no serious or significant disadvantages of the device. Unless some users note the fragility of the stand, cheap plastic case and marriage, which, albeit infrequently, but still occurs. As for the price, you can buy this microphone for 150-340 rubles, which, in general, is quite acceptable.