Level up your streams and podcasts with the TONOR cardioid condenser USB microphone

Tyler Lee
3 years ago

Over the past couple of years, many of us have experienced our fair share of video conference calls with classmates from school or colleagues at work. To be honest a lot of times this can be a bit unbearable as many people are using the microphones built into their computers or webcams or tablets, which honestly don’t always sound the best.

If you’re looking to level up your video conference calls, or maybe you’re a gamer and want to improve their streams, or you want to create a podcast, then it’s most definitely time to start investing into a proper microphone. Some of the more popular microphones can get pretty expensive and if you’re a bit hesitant dropping that much money, then perhaps the TONOR cardioid condenser USB microphone might be worth looking at.

TONOR TC30 USB microphone

One of the things we like about TONOR’s TC30 microphone is that it is powered by USB. Some of the higher-end microphones require an audio interface to power it which will just add more to your costs, but with the TC30 being USB powered, no additional hardware is required and no additional drivers are required either, just plug it in and you’re good to go.

The microphone itself features a cardioid pickup pattern with off-axis suppression, meaning that it will only pick up your voice (or whatever the microphone’s pointed towards) while at the same time suppressing background noise. Since most of us probably don’t have an acoustically treated room, this will help make your streams, voice calls, or podcasts sound a lot cleaner.

TONOR has also designed a hidden shock mount for the microphone which means that when you place it on your desk, the vibrations that come from your typing on a keyboard or moving the mouse around won’t be picked up by the microphone. There’s also an included stand and a pop filter to help with your plosives.

The TC30 is also small and compact enough where if you need to bring it around with you while you travel, that will not be an issue either.

Tips for getting the most out of your microphone

The goal of a microphone is to pick up audio. This is true regardless of how you plan to use it, whether it’s for work, streaming, recording podcasts, and so on. While more professional microphones can help to a certain extent, there are some best practices you might want to consider that will help you squeeze out the best-possible audio regardless of the microphone you use.

Keep things quiet

While some microphones tend to be more directional than others, keeping the environment you’re in as quiet as possible can go a long way to ensuring clean-sounding audio. By that we mean turning off loud fans or air-conditioning units. It can also mean picking a time of the day where your neighbors aren’t home in case you might have thin walls.

Also, if there’s someone in the living room watching TV, move to a different room that is quieter and has a door. You could also invest in thicker curtains for your windows which to a certain degree, can also help act as sound absorption material.

Position your microphone properly

Now, you can’t expect to place a microphone anywhere you want and have it record perfect audio. First of all, you have to check the pickup pattern of your microphone to see where it picks up audio the most. From there, position your mouth a few inches away from the microphone and speak into it.

With some more directional microphones, speaking into the side or having it pointed away from you will result in the audio being quieter and muffled. Also, ensure that the microphone’s back is pointed towards a possible sound source, like your speakers for example.

Since a lot of microphones tend to pickup audio that’s placed in front of it, having it pointed as far away from a sound source will ensure that as little background noise bleeds into the audio as possible.

Use headphones where possible

While you might use speakers most of the time, some microphones are pretty sensitive and can pickup sound coming from your speaker. This is the worst possible scenario for audio, especially if you’re on a conference call or live streaming because it will end up creating a feedback loop that will annoy anyone who’s watching or listening.

While there is software that can help eliminate background noise, it isn’t always perfect and headphones are generally the best solution in these cases.

Control your gain

Gain is basically how sensitive your microphone is when it comes to picking up sound. If you’re someone who speaks loudly, then your gain should be set lower than someone who is more soft spoken. Gain can also be adjusted depending on how far you’re sitting away from your microphone, so the further you are, the gain needs to be higher to pickup your voice.

It’s always a good idea to do a quick test and check the gain settings in your apps before hitting the record button to ensure that you don’t sound too loud or too soft.

Conclusion

So, if you’re in the market for a new microphone, then perhaps TONOR’s TC30 could be the microphone for you. At the moment the microphone is actually enjoying a discount on Amazon where it’s going for less than $50.

Hopefully, together with the TC30 and some of the tips and tricks we highlighted above, your future conference calls, streams, and podcasts will end up sounding a lot more professional than ever.

TONOR TC30 cardioid condenser USB microphone

Plug and Play: With a USB 2.0 data port, no additional driver is required. TC30 is compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux....
Cardioid Pickup Pattern: The mic has a cardioid pickup pattern and an excellent off-axis suppression function, allowing it to...

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