NZXT Capsule Cardioid USB Microphone Review

How Much Does it Cost?

The NZXT Capsule Cardioid USB Microphone is available from today with an MSRP of £109.99 or $129.99 in the US. The price isn’t “cheap” but given the prices of rival products from the likes of Corsair, Razer, HyperX, etc, it’s certainly competitive. For those wanting to invest in a quality microphone for streaming, I think NZXT is offering some pretty strong competition here.

Overview

I really like this microphone, but let’s get right to the elephant in the room first. The 96KHz mode is effectively not working as intended, and that much be addressed with an update as soon as NZXT can possibly roll it out. Either that, or they’ll have to change their marketing plan and sell it as a competitive 24-bit/48kHz microphone. Honestly, that’s its saving grace though, it’s not at its peak performance at that setting, but it’s competitive with every major rival. When set to this mode it sounds as good or better than everything else out there for this price range.

Update

So if NZXT can really get this fixed quickly, a competitive microphone may quickly change into a class leader with just a simple firmware update. That being said, if you buy this microphone, set it to 24-bit/96kHz and do some EQ tinkering of your own; it’s certainly got some stunning quality to it. However, I stress that if this is being sold as a plug and play device, the end-user shouldn’t need to do that, and I think NZXT agrees on that point.

Durable

The build quality is sublime. The metal housing looks amazing with that powder coated white finish. Albeit, if you want something more stealthy, the black version is all black, while this white version is really more of a two-tone look. The cast metal base with its lightly textured finish looks very premium, with a nice weight to it that makes it feel like an expensive product. Of course, it also means it feels very stable on your desk, and the weight makes it less susceptible to vibrations and wobbles.

Quick-Release

While the quick release is a time-saver, I doubt you’ll need to change stands overly quickly on any occasion, but it’s still nice to have. The stock stand looks amazing, but if you want to use a boom, overhead or any other kind of tripod, at least they’ve included the hardware to allow you to mount it correctly.

Plug and Play

Because it’s USB C, you can just plug and play on most devices. Of course, even if you lose or damage that cable, it’s easily replaced with an old phone charger or some slick new custom cable design you found on Amazon. There’s no software, no complex settings, just a quality microphone. The dials on the front are self-explanatory, and the built-in headphone jack for line monitoring means you’ll always know you’re levels are spot on.

Should I Buy One?

Right now, I think all the microphones in this price range are pretty great, and it’s very hard to say which is best, as they all have their redeeming qualities. However, NZXT does have some pretty fantastic build quality here, and it’s a very attractive microphone too, which can be important if it’s going to be on show on your live stream. The performance is as good or better than its rivals, and while it needs a firmware fix, that will should only push it ahead of the competition.

Final award pending firmware update.