\nThere are a lot of USB microphones out there for streaming and podcasting. Naturally, big names like Shure and Rode, who generally resided in the pro-sumer side of audio, have expanded into the content creator market by offering top-quality recording gear at somewhat more affordable prices. 512 Audio is one such company that’s taking its pro audio know-how and cramming it into the more wallet-friendly Tempest microphone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I guess the thinking is if you can make a mic good enough for Green Day (opens in new tab)<\/span>, it should be good enough for your true crime podcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n\nThere’s something about the look of the Tempest that I’m vibing with. It’s a simple yet sleek design. The cylindrical, all-black, grilled metal casing covers the 34mm large-diaphragm gold-plated capsule and has an old-school studio microphone aesthetic. When connected, a neat blue LED ring appears on the capsule, giving it just enough personality without looking tacky.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As you can hear from the test recording, the Tempest does a really good job at cutting out the background noise in my office, where the hum of my RTX 3090 (opens in new tab)<\/span>-powered gaming PC, or AC unit, tends to make its way into my work and Discord calls.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\nI guess the thinking is if you can make a mic good enough for Green Day, it should be good enough for your true crime podcast. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n
My voice was crisp and clear in the recording. In fact, it was so clear you could hear that I’d been fighting off a bit of a cold. Illnesses aside have a listen to how the Tempest sounds compared to some of our favorite mics, particularly the premium mics like the Shute MV7 podcast, a mic nearly double in price but has the same sample rate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Plosives are handled pretty well without a pop filter. If you’re looking for versatility, though, you might be disappointed since the microphone only has one polar pattern (cardioid); we’ve seen similarly priced mics like the HyperX Quadcast (opens in new tab)<\/span> mic, which has four polar patterns. More polar patterns give you more recording options if you stream with multiple people in the same room.<\/p>\n