I have only been using this mic for a few days, but I am pleasantly surprised and rather happy with it. Don't expect it to be a studio-quality mic, but for the price point I would say it's brilliant - if set up correctly, as I'll explain further down. You can scroll down to skip to that part, but I'm going to explain exactly what the microphone comes with first.
First though, the mic itself and its included tripod both weigh almost nothing, and the only metal on the thing seems to be the mesh for the microphone top, the nut for the tripod pivot, and the audio jack. Despite this, it actually manages to feel somewhat sturdy - I don't feel like it will break if I look at it funny.
Now, like you probably are, I was conflicted over the massive range of reviews for this mic. Some people seem to have got some good results out of it (like the young man with the guitar recording, if that's still in the review media when you're reading), while others can't get it to work at all and declare it a one-star dud.
Initially, I had the same issue - I plugged it into my Windows 10 desktop and couldn't get a peep out of it. Windows wouldn't even acknowledge that it had been plugged in, like it does with most devices. I'm going to explain how I got the mic to work to a decent voice-calling standard in a second, but first I need to explain exactly what the mic is and what it comes with. You can scroll down if you'd like to skip to that part.
This is an unpowered microphone that connects to your phone/laptop/PC/device via a 3.5mm jack. Some parts of the product listing mention the microphone having a USB connection. This, for my copy at least, is false. There are adapters you can buy to turn 3.5mm jacks into USB connectors, but I did not receive one with this mic.
What I did receive with it, however, is an adapter which splits a combined headphone/microphone jack slot into a separate headphone and microphone slots, and that is important to note. Many reviews I've read for this mic complain that it did not work after plugging it into a PC's headphone slot, or into the universal jack slot on a laptop/ipad/tablet/phone etc. Some even said that it did work, but prevented devices from outputting sound over their speakers.
These are not faults of the microphone, but very much user error or design incompatibility. This is a microphone, and so it needs to be plugged into your PC's dedicated microphone slot - this is usually denoted by a pink border and/or a little picture of a microphone next to the slot.
Devices with only one jack slot often have slots designed to take headphones that have a built in microphone. As a result, plugging a microphone jack into that slot can cause the device to send the audio signal to the microphone (which has no speakers, it is just a microphone) rather than its speakers. This issue can sometimes be solved by the included splitter I mentioned. Simply plug the splitter into your jack slot, and plug the microphone into the microphone slot. You can then plug your speakers or headphones into the headphone slot, and you'll be able to hear the device's sound at the same time as using the microphone.
For laptops, tablets, phones and other devices with built-in speakers, you'd likely have to put headphones into the headphone slot to hear anything with the splitter plugged in.
With all that out of the way, I'm finally going to explain how I got my mic to work. As I mentioned, Windows did not notify me that it had been plugged in, and that worried me initially. However, this was because it is an unpowered microphone. The device still showed up in my Devices and Printers and Sound menus accessed through the control panel. Rest assured, it is a plug-and-play microphone.
That was a good start, but now I struggled to get any sound out of it. I would have to effectively put the microphone in my mouth to get any audible speech to register. Again, this is because it is a cheap, unpowered microphone - you should expect a low volume.
Again, though there is a way to remedy that. The easiest way on a Windows 10 PC would be to plug the microphone in, type 'control panel' into the search bar at the bottom left of the screen, and click on the control panel icon that should come up.
From there, type 'Sound' into the search bar at the top right of the control panel window and press enter, then click on 'manage audio devices', which should be near the top. Give this window a little while to pop up. Once it does, click on the 'recording' tab at the top of the window. This should give you a device simply called 'microphone' - with any luck, this should be our microphone. Click on that, and go to the 'levels' tab on the window that opens up. From there, you can boost the microphones signal up to an additional +36 decibels, which should make it more than usable from a normal distance away. Other programs such as Zoom, Teams, Skype, and Discord offer additional microphone settings if you need to tweak for that specific program, but for the most part if you're using this mic for video calls you should find overall that the mic is louder.
I imagine there is a similar process available on iOS, iMacs and Macbooks, but as I don't use those I couldn't tell you what to do.
You could also invest in a powered audio interface if you don't already have one - this would allow you to control the microphone's volume much more effectively. But at that point, you might as well just buy a more expensive microphone.
I don't believe tablets/ipads/phones have the same degree of microphone settings, so this product will likely make quiet recordings on these devices - keep that in mind.
Overall though, this is a good little mic for the money, and I'm happy I took the risk on it - I couldn't find anything else of good quality any cheaper anywhere else online.
I will update this review after a little while of using it to let you know how it stands up to prolonged use, but for now all is A-OK.
Please feel free to comment or ask questions if I could be of any more help with this microphone - is it a shame to see such a nifty little thing get so many bad reviews that relate purely to user error!
| Varumärke | DISDIM |
|---|---|
| Tillverkare | iDISDIM |
| Model | DI-19 |
| Delnummer | DI-19 |
| Kompatibla enheter | PC, Laptop, computer, iPhone, iPad, Smartphone devices |
| Speciella funktioner | Stativ |
| Färgskärm | Nej |
| Typ av strömkälla | Elektrisk komponent med sladd |
| Batterier inkluderade | Nej |
| Batterier krävs | Nej |
| Typ av anslutning | AUX |
| Har autofokus | Nej |
| Inkluderar uppladdningsbara batterier | Nej |
| Har programmerbara knappar | Nej |
| Tillverkare | iDISDIM |
| Artikelnummer | DI-19 |
| Paketets dimensioner | 27 x 14,5 x 3,9 cm; 190 Gram |
| ASIN | B0719CHFLS |
| Garanterade programuppdateringar tills | okänd |
