Go Mic

The Samson Go microphone is ideal for anyone looking for near-studio quality sound recording for barely a fraction of the price. This USB condenser mic has gained reputation as being the most favourable microphone by YouTubers from all niches. Pros: - Small and lightweight - Three modes: - High quality sound - Great `bang for buck' value for money - Very laptop-friendly Cons: - Built-on clip could be more solid - Not completely desktop-friendly What's in the box?: The Samson Go comes packaged with a two-meter USB cable, a carry case (which can only fit the microphone and nothing else), warranty information, a CD containing some optional drivers and audio recording/editing software and a user manual. The microphone is packaged into a fairly small box, but that had effect on my reaction when I initially opened the box... First Impressions: It's tiny! The Samson Go microphone was much smaller than I had anticipated. Measuring just under three inches in length it easily fits into any desktop or portable set up. It features a switch to choose between Cardiod, Omni and -10dB modes, a 3.5mm headphone socket and a USB socket. The most prominent feature of the Go was the clip which allows the microphone to stand up on a flat surface or be clipped to a monitor or laptop clamshell. Sound Quality: It's a microphone, so no doubt you will want to hear for yourselves how well it performs. Below is a video comparing it to a built-in microphone on my Sony Vaio laptop to the Samson Go mic in three different modes: Overview & Verdict: This is a very well built product with incredible attention being paid to its design. Regardless of it being so small, it feels very solid in the hand and that gives it a very premium feel. It has plug and play compatibility with Windows and Mac so all you need is the two-metre USB cable supplied. You will be able to plug the mic into almost any machine and start recording right away! I found the balance of sound quality with price exceptional. For just over thirty pounds there is no microphone that rivals the Samson Go. Stepping up from conventional built-in mics I have been thoroughly impressed with the Go. My primary use for the mic is YouTube video voice-overs for which the microphone works very well. Sound is very crisp, clear and background noise is easily removed using the Cardiod or -10dB mode. I imagine this mic is also well suited to group podcasts and recordings too as the Omni mode does a very good job of picking up sound from all directions.

This sounds a bit worse than it is. In reality, this little mic sounds excellent. First the bad: * Nitpick - It doesn't have external controls (apart from a simple -10dB pad switch, with is very handy) and the build quality of the plastic housing isn't stellar. * Real niggle: The placement of the USB connector is also in such a place where it makes the microphone sag to one side. * Real niggle: The internal USB interface only supports 16bit 44.1kHz, where it would have been great if it could have supported at least 16bit 48Hz. 44.1kHz is CD quality, but 48kHz is a massive improvement for studio-based work. If this was a crappy microphone, this would not have been an issue. The reality is that this is a great sounding little microphone, so the 44.1kHz-only interface does limit the utility of this microphone (at 48kHz I would have had no issue using this microphone for professional voice-overs Do I dislike this microphone? Not at all, it's just that with a little bit "extra" it would have been able to punch well above it's weight. As a result, this is a good "rehearsal" or "jam session" microphone, and it's small size makes it great for travelling. I can heartily recommend this mic to singer-songwriters to use as a brainstorming microphone, and for a YouTuber/Gamer as a great streaming microphone. Unfortunately this won't be your "one-mic-for-everything" device. It's a bit pricey, so if you can justify paying for it, go ahead and get it. It's a great little device, in spite of all the shortcomings.

I purchased the 'Samson Go' primarily to create decent quality voice-overs for slide shows, podcasts and videos... a job which it does really well. I am a Mac user, and wanted this to replace the mic' built into my laptop (which sounds OK, but suffers from a bit of an 'echo'). The 'Samson Go' came with it's own (PC only) software, but since I'm on the Mac, I use GarageBand instead. Like other reviewers, I would also advocate the (freely available) software called Audacity, with which the mic' also works well (its worth downloading just to play with the different sound effects!). Unlike other reviewers, I don't think the mic' feels 'plasticky' but then compared to traditional pro' quality (heavy) microphones, then maybe it is... perhaps this is subjective according to how much experience you have with sound equipment. The clip does it's job well, but using this as a stand I would describe as acceptable rather than outstanding. I am no audiophile, so can't comment on the technical side of things... I find you have to be quite close to the mic (about six inches) for the best voiceover results, but even as a novice sound recordist, it's not too much effort to play with the set up until you get the sound you are looking for (just be prepared to invest a little time). In summary, if (like me) you are looking for the next step up from an in-built mic' to record voice-overs etc, then the Samson should fit the bill. If you need convincing, then it may be worth searching for some video reviews on Google/YouTube... most of these are very positive... they will give you an idea of the sound quality you can achieve, and should help you decide if this is the right mic' for you.

Ich bin keine Tonexpertin, dies vorweg! Ich nutze es für Sprache, kann daher zu Musik- und Gesangsaufnahmen keine Wertung abgeben. Nun aber zur Wertung: Für den Preis ist dieses Produkt absolut empfehlenswert, der Klang müsste nicht mal nachbearbeitet werden, wenn man nicht gerade “Radio-pingelig“ ist. Ich verwende das Mikrofon für Voice - overs, Skype und dergleichen und bearbeite die Aufnahme mit Audacity. Es klingt auch auf voller Lautstärke ohne Nachbearbeitung gut und rauschfrei. Ich muss allerdings dazu sagen, dass ich einen Popschutz verwende. Alle 3 Aufnahme- Modi tun exakt was sie in der Beschreibung versprachen. Der Omni- Modus wurde von mir über Skype getestet. Meine Gesprächspartner hörten mich “super klar und deutlich, als würdest du vorm Mikro sitzen“, dabei stand ich zu Testzwecken 7 bis 10 Meter entfernt. Die anderen zwei Modi nutze ich aber öfter. Dazu kann ich nur sagen: top! Wen es allerdings stört, dass man manchmal seine Atmung hören kann, der könnte enttäuscht sein. Es kommt ja immer darauf an, für welche Zwecke man ein Mikrofon einsetzen möchte. Nichtsdestotrotz haben mich die vielfältigen Möglichkeiten dieses Gerätes beeindruckt. Es klingt in jedem Modus super, jeder Modus macht was er soll. Es ist transportabel, klein und kompakt. Man kann es aber auch auf einem Pop-schutz befestigen. Echte Radioqualität hat es für den Preis aber logischerweise nicht, dennoch klingt es für ungeübte Ohren wundervoll. Die Verarbeitung ist absolut anständig: alles besteht aus schwerem, stabilen Metall. Ich wundere mich jedesmal erneut, wie schwer dieses kleine Ding doch ist. Die Klemme ist so gut gebaut, die bekommt man so schnell nicht kaputt. Und wenn sie klemmt, klemmt sie bombenfest, fast schon zu fest. Man könnte damit sicherlich ein Gummibärchen komplett platt quetschen! Wenn man sich da drin den Finger einklemmt, leidet man Schmerzen! Ein Nachteil ist allerdings, dass sich das Mikro nicht abschalten lässt, daher baue ich alles immer neu auf und packe es anschließend wieder ein. Für überspontane Skype- Anrufe in letzter Sekunde ist es daher nichts. Ein zweiter Nachteil ist der, dass in das mitgelieferte Täschchen nur das Mikrofon, nicht aber das Kabel reingepasst. Man braucht daher eine extra Tasche bzw. Aufbewahrung für das gesamte Equipment. FAZIT: Ich glaube, dies ist nicht nur eines der besten Usb- Mikrofone in der Größe, sondern auch in der Preisklasse. Generell glaube ich, es ist eines der Besten in der Preisklasse, ob Usb oder nicht. Es ist sein Geld nicht nur wert, es ist fast schon billig, wenn man die Vielfältigkeit diesen winzigen Teils bedenkt. Noch dazu hat es auf dem Pc und dem Smartphone plug & play! Ich kann es absolut empfehlen, zumindest für Sprache!

UPDATE June 15: I've had this mic for over 3 years now and it's still going just as strong as the day I bought it. IF it ever breaks, I've already made up my mind to buy another just like it. Couldn't be happier with it. Original Review: I was sick of dealing with poor microphones from headsets and all the hubbub of headphone microphones and I simply do not trust logitech or many other big-brand companies to produce long-lasting quality microphones that stand alone on a desk. I then found the Samson Go Mic and thought it might be the best solution for my needs. I was definitely pleased to finally do some of my own testing and find out that it was all they said it is and more. My uses for this mic include voip applications like skype, mumble, ventrillo, and others, as well as for blog posts and even amateur voice recording. I also wanted something better than my laptop's mic to record lectures for class. Everything comes through crystal clear on this mic even at low volumes. For my voip applications, I actually let it sit behind my keyboard but directly in front of my screen. In normal cardioid mode, it picks up my voice perfectly. I can even whisper very quietly and it comes through on the other end loud and clear. I never have problems with people saying they cannot understand me no matter how low I'm talking. This is also great for me since I often like to chat late at night when my girlfriend sleeps in the next room. I'm no longer yelling and waking her up at night because I'm confident other people can hear me even with my mic so far away. For lectures, I switch to omni mode and it produces wonderful results. It's like having a third ear that records directly on to my computer. I also love how portable it is as I can just slip it into either my laptop bag or pocket without an issue at the end of class. The only complaint I might have is that I find the cord actually to be too long as I'm either plugging the usb cable into my keyboard's usb port or laptop's on my desk and the extra length is just wound up in a wad in its original twist-tie it came with, simply adding more bulk when it doesn't need to. Other people may need the extra length though, so this is somewhat of a non-issue. Lastly, the stand is a fairly heavy metal that has more than enough weight to hold the mic and is a pretty good mechanism for doing so. I simply wish the clip opened further to attach to bulkier monitors. Overall, I love this mic and I'm very happy I went with this one over one of the blue competitors I've been seeing on sale lately. Its cardioid mode is excellent and the omni mode is great for recording lectures and conversations alike. I just wish more people had this mic so they'd all be as easy to understand on my end as I am on theirs. I would recommend this mic to anyone who doesn't need super-high quality, studio grade equipment for professional recording as it does a great job of picking up voices and is very well-built and portable. Seriously: get this mic - it's more than worth the 40 clams you'll pay for it. UPDATE: Still loving this mic, and have yet to have many problems with it, except for maybe one or two, which I list below. The mic actually picks up on too much sometimes, so you have to be careful with it somewhat. Specifically, I had originally positioned this mic in front of my keyboard thinking it needed to be that close to me to pick up well. When I was on skype however typing on the keyboard, people would complain that my keyboard sounded like it was being pounded by the hammer of Thor. Easy fix though: I simply moved it just above my monitor and nobody has complained since. The only other thing with this mic I might complain about is that it picks up GSM interference somewhat badly. I've had my phone sitting on my desk in skype and gotten a call only to hear people on the other end screech in horror that my mic was beeping and buzzing out of control. I've found that using better shielded cable has helped (and attaching one of those little circular magnets to that as well) but the problem still somewhat persists sometimes. This is only a GSM problem though from what I understand, and so shouldn't affect people on verizon/sprint, and also fairly common in almost all mics of this size or larger. Still, these incidences are rare and correctable, but something to be conscience of. I would still like to say that this is the best mic I've ever used and am extremely happy with my purchase. I still only wish a few of my friends online had one!

this mic sounds better than my $120 mic and its cheap.

I'm so glad I purchased this microphone. I read some reviews that said building quality looked cheap, but I completely disagree. The microphone is heavier than I expected, and the materials are nice to the touch. The sound quality is good for my use (Zoom calls and recordings), I haven't had complaints of external noise bleeding through the microphone. I do use the cardioid setting only and have never used the other settings. The travel pouch is only for the microphone, not the cable. Cable is long enough. Just plug and play, no setup needed. Spending over $60 CAD seemed a little steep, but I think it's a good price for the overall quality of the mic. I don't regret buying it. Only complaint, product registration for Samson is only available in the US when you buy from Amazon.

Buen micrófono, lo uso para clases virtuales y juntas, muy buena compra