Cyber Acoustics CVL-2001 USB Mic Review / Test
The clearing of all the cheap microphones off of my shelves continues, and today I'm reviewing the Cyber Acoustics CVL-2001.
During the majority of this review the mic is connected directly to my mac with the gain set at 65%. I did boost the audio slightly during portions of the test to make it listenable. During other portions of the test, I connected the mic to a Joby Gorillapod to get the mic closer to my mouth.
If you are interested in this microphone, it will set you back $40.00 on Amazon
What's In the Box
Microphone
Pre installed desktop mount/stand
USB Cable
Documentation
Specifications
Frequency Response: 40Hz - 18kHz
Polar Pattern: Cardioid
Bit-Depth: 16-Bit
Sample Rate: 44.1kHz
Performance / Features
The build quality of this mic feels pretty terrible. It has a cheap plastic body that feels very flimsy. It has a metal grill that I dented by barely squeezing it, demonstrating how bad the metal is. On the bottom of the mic, you will find a 1/4" threading (standard camera threading) as opposed to 3/8" or 5/8" which is standard for microphones. On the rear of the mic you have the USB port, and on the top of the mic you have an LED indicator light to let you know if you're getting power.
The frequency response is listed as 40Hz - 18kHz, and it sounds about as good as you would expect out of a $40 usb microphone. I did not do any close micing of instruments due to the poorly designed mounting options, so I cannot speak to that. I can however speak to the awful proximity effect of this thing. If you're speaking between 1-3 inches of this mic, it becomes terribly muddy and unintelligible.
The polar pattern of this mic is standard cardioid. The off axis coloration is very drastic, and it did not do a good job at off-axis or rear rejection. This is very important considering it is mounted on a desk mount that offers no shock absorption from the desk.
The overall performance of this mic was awful. The reason I say that is because of the noise floor which was terribly loud, causing a constant hiss in the background. Additionally, there is a grounding/shielding issue that adds a hum into the mix. So not only do you have a hiss, but you have a electronic hum to also destroy your recording. These two factors really ruin the microphone, and should make you look to other options.
Pros
Plug and play
Surprisingly good latency
Cons
Noise floor unacceptably loud
Grounding/Shielding issue causing electronic hum
Poorly design 1/4" threading
Cheap build quality
Conclusion
DO NOT BUY THIS MICROPHONE! 15 years ago you may have to suffer through the high noise floor and hum, but with how competitive the USB mic market is, you do not need to settle for that. If you're on a super tight budget you can go with the Neewer NW3u, which cost me about $15 and I think goes for $20 now, which offers equal tone, and much better noise floor performance with no electronic hum. The Marantz PodPack1 is another great option which sounds better, has no noise floor/hum, and comes with a boom arm, all for $10 more. So bottom line is, I see almost no reason why someone should buy this microphone.
If you have any additional questions about this microphone, leave them on the youtube video, and I will try to reply ASAP.
Buy the CVL2001 (Affiliate Link)
Global: https://geni.us/cvl2001
