Performance

For performance testing, there were a few different aspects that I wanted to check out. First off is the setup experience and just overall how it fits on your headphones. Then the other half of things is their performance and for that, I did our standard microphone tests that way anyone can hear how they perform and compare them to other devices.

So in the past, I have used ModMics with my VModa headphones for my LAN PC and I also tested them with the Ultrasone Pro 480i. But for a while now I have been using the Philips Fidelio X3 when I need headphones and I’ve never installed a ModMic on to them. For most headsets that wouldn’t be a problem, but with a fabric finish covering most of the outside I didn’t have any faith that it would stick. Sticking to a perforated screen will work, but not so much with fabric. Thankfully the Fidelio X3 does have a metal ring around the earcup, it’s not the ideal spot to mount it but it will work and the boom on the ModmIc is flexible enough to let me get the microphone into the right location. So all I had to do was put the headphones on and play around with where I wanted it, then clean that spot and stick it on. From there I used the S clips to clip the wire to the headphone wire and we were off to the races.

For audio testing, I recorded audio from both the ModMic USB 2 and the ModMic Uni 2 and put it alongside recordings from past microphone reviews including the past ModMics, gaming headsets, a variety of desktop microphones, and other basic microphones like webcams. The USB 2 was plugged directly in but for the Uni 2, I ran it through the Creative Labs X7 DAC. Both were set to 95% volume and the microphone boost was turned off. On our DAC I also turned background noise removal off as well. Both microphones performed well but I was surprised that I ended up being happier with the performance of the ModMic USB 2. The Uni 2 had a little bit of background noise and turning that option on in the X7 cut the volume down noticeably over the USB 2. The other big thing to note is how the ModMic compares to a lot of the desktop microphones, this is the more direct comparison. People who are buying a gaming headset aren’t going to be adding a microphone into the mix. But users who want a higher quality audiophile-focused experience are getting headphones and then adding a microphone like the ModMic or a desktop microphone. It’s hard for a compact microphone like this to compete with a larger microphone but the ModMics keep up. More importantly, though, they avoid picking up on a lot of the background noise. Desktop microphones that aren’t on a stand are especially bad at picking up any bump into your desk including when you type.

Beyond that, I’ve talked about it in the past but I do wish that the mounting for the modmic could have a little more flexibility. Specifically being able to spin. The current setup can adjust up or down but you get 90-degree increments. One of their older designs had a finer adjustment but didn’t grip as well and could fall off, so I understand the hesitation to make changes given how well this works. But maybe adding the spin into the mount itself could work. As long as you get the mount where you want, it's not a big deal. But if you miss, it is the one area where it can be hard to get perfect. That said the amount of flexibility that the boom has can make up for just about any misalignment.