 Excellent Microphone |
| Review Date: June 22, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Brandon Hale, Germantown, TN USA |
I've been waiting for this microphone patiently since it was first announced by Logitech ever so long ago. While the $80 price tag seemed a bit steep, the desire of having a completely wireless RockBand set and $40 in Amazon.com gift cards I earned doing internet surveys made the cost a little more reasonable.
I decided to use Amazon's trade-in service to take care of the remaining $40, and free shipping ultimately made it free, other than the time I used to do the surveys and 5 games that I could care less about. The trade-in service is pretty hassle-free. You select the games that you want to trade, print out the invoice and the paid postage-slip, pack it up, and send it off to process. I took care of all that on Thursday (June 11). They were received, processed, and my account was credited on the following Monday (June 15). I purchased through a Marketplace seller, which saved a little more cash at the cost of a slightly longer time to ship it. The total (with shipping) came to $71.94.
Now on to business... The microphone itself is significantly larger than the normal RockBand microphone. It's closer in length to the SingStar microphone, with a windscreen that is about 1.5 inches in diameter. Despite the increased size, its weight is not that much more than the RockBand mic, and it feels well-balanced once the batteries are in. The remainder of the mic is about the same width as the RockBand mic, so it easily fits into the same clip on my mic stand. The box also includes a wrist strap (mine had 2 actually), which attaches at the bottom near the antenna and should be helpful for preventing accidental drops.
The receiver also acts as a miniature stand for storing purposes, and it comes with a fairly long cord. Excess cord can be wrapped around the bottom of the stand, which helps counterbalance the mic when it is set on it. I had hoped that it would also be used to charge internal batteries within the mic as well, unfortunately it runs off of two standard AA batteries instead. The booklet claims a battery life of up to 20 hours, so battery changes should not be too frequent at least. I installed some of those fancy Energizer Advanced batteries (the ones which used to carry DLC codes), so it'll probably last even longer.
On my first trial of the mic, I simply fired up RockBand and synced the mic and chose a song. The mic appears to amplify to a higher volume than the standard mic, and its sensitivity was dead-on with the same settings that I'd been using for the RB mic. It had no trouble picking up my voice at all, and I could do percussion sections with a mere tap of the windscreen.
Next, I tried a range test. The booklet claims that it works up to 30 feet, and unfortunately my condo is not large enough for me to get that far away. It could easily pick me up in my tiny backyard, which is at most 25 feet from the PS3. I then tried going upstairs while singing, and got to the furthest point away in the house. It had no trouble picking me up through the floor and two walls (door open).
All in all, this is a very fine wireless microphone that requires no modding of any kind. Its price tag is admittedly a bit steep, but I suppose they can get away with that since it is the first quality USB wireless microphone that I know of available in the US. It claims to be compatible with the PS2, PS3, and Xbox 360, and may be used on RB, GH:WT, GH:M, Boogie, Karaoke Revolution, or the Sing It! games. I'd recommend it if anyone wants their RockBand 2 setup to be fully wireless. |
Awesome!
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| Review Date: August 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: SkyeNoir, Bay Area, CA |
Love this mic! We used it to play Rockband on an Xbox 360. Note: This mic does NOT work with a Wii! Microphone uses 2 AA batteries....which are even included! Microphone handle unscrews for battery insertion. It is nice because the batteries add a good weight to the mic, making it feel more professional and substantial in your hand. Set up took 3 seconds, literally plug and play. My friend is an avid Rockband player, and he said this mic was more responsive than his wired mic and had no delay at all. He went down the hallway to see if the receiver would still work, and even at 40 feet away it still worked perfectly with no interference. It's great because there is no cord to be in the way of other people playing with you. In my family, I sit behind and do the singing while my son and husband play guitar and bass. It is so much better to have the wireless so they are not tripping over the mic cord, not to mention it is one less cord to get tangled in the guitar cords, if you have corded guitars. This mic will be perfect for Beatles Rockband where you can use multiple microphones.
I found only a few cons to this product, but they were not major enough to not give it 5 stars. 1. The wrist strap does not tighten. It would be better if it cinched like a Wii remote wrist strap. 2. No directions were in the package even though it claimed there were. No big deal, it is extremely easy to figure out. Put in batteries, plug it in and that's it! 3. It doesn't have any buttons on the mic to control game options, so you still have to use the game controller to change options, join the game, etc. There really is no space on the mic for them to add buttons anyhow because of the twist mechanism for the batteries. My friend's corded mic for the Xbox has controller buttons on it, but we both agreed we like this mic better, so it is worth the sacrifice.
I would highly recommend this, especially if you plan on walking around a lot, (or just get plain crazy when singing,) plan on playing Beatles Rockband with more than one mic, or just want something that feels professional. |
Logitech scores a homerun with the wireless MIC, pc's and mac's welcome!
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| Review Date: August 26, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Tarun Chachra, Hillsborough, NJ |
Logitech has done it again..this time with a wireless Microphone that is intended to be used with game consoles such as the PS2, PS3, Wii, and the XBox 360. However, it does much more....it works on both PC's and MAC's without any additional software installs. And now for the review:
Box Includes:
Logitech Microphone
2 AA Batteries (Thank you Logitech)
Two nylon hand straps. (use if you need them)
A base with a usb cable that attaches to your console/computer (essentialy the receiver and a stand for the mic).
Manuals (which I didn't even need to use to get started, but did read to see if I was missing anything.)
Xbox360:
**Note, couldn't test on a real game on PS3 since we don't have one, but device was recognized and usable.
XBOX 360: We have rock band for the 360 and my son is an addict when it comes to drumming, guitar strumming etc...he has his sister do the singing via a Logitech wired usb MIC made for the 360. Naturally the wireless model was a welcome change and has a bit more of a professional MIC look and feel. Off they went, tearing the roof off of our home and in the end it seemed that the performance of the microphone was on par with a wired model. In other words their scores were the same....the voice recognition worked as it should in Rockband.
Unfortunately we do not have any other games that can use a MIC, currently...but RockBand is pretty popular around here.
PC/MAC - I am a cross platform user and naturally anything with a USB port has to be tested on my computers...I mean that's what a USB port is for, isn't it? So first I plugged the MIC in to my Windows 7 x64 machine and the drivers installed on their own. I went to the audio section and made sure the MIC was listed, which it was...as a Logitech USB Microphone. I did the usual tests of blowing in the mic, whistling, etc...perfect. More on the test below. Once I was satisfied with the PC I plugged the MIC into my Macbook Pro and voila, detected and installed without issue..same series of tests through the system preferences/sound icon. I am now a happy camper...but I only use a mic on my computers for Skype...so it was time to give it the ultimate test.
I made three lengthy phone calls and clearly explained to the other party that I was testing a wireless MIC and that I would be moving away from my computer at regular intervals. (2 of the 3 calls were on a PC and 1 on the MAC). I basically moved away from the computer at 2ft intervals for a total about 20' and clearly into another room. The callers actually said the voice quality was perfect, in-fact there was no loss in clarity and or volume at any distance. I could get very detailed here...but the summary is that it does work and it works flawlessly. Naturally walking 20ft away from a computer for a phone call is strange since you have to turn the speakers up to hear the other party.
(**The MIC does have a push button on it that acts to power on the device and power it off. It can also be used to pair the mic to the base station should they ever lose connectivity)
Logitech has another stellar product on their hands, and I would not expect it to be any other way. I will be updating the review to inform you of real world battery life. But for the time being this MIC gets a 5/5 in my book for the look, the feel, and the over all quality and compatibility that it offers. |
Great sound quality, easy setup!
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| Review Date: October 22, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Jennifer Ray, Nashville, TN United States |
Having recently become interested in online karaoke sites, I was more than intrigued by the Logitech Wireless Microphone and knew I had to have one.
I was at first disappointed that it uses batteries rather than being rechargeable. Then I realized that I actually prefer the batteries so that if you run out of juice while using the microphone, you can quickly change the batteries and keep going rather than having to wait until the device recharges. Plus, I can use rechargeable batteries in it, which satisfies my wish nicely.
The sound quality is just stellar. I've been more than pleased with the quality at which it records the vocals and it seems to do a fine job of not picking up background noise in my home (cats...)
The setup is a snap. There is no software to install, simply plug the wireless receiver into a USB port on your computer and you are ready to go! Well, there is a very quick driver install, but Windows had no trouble finding those quickly. The setup is practically invisible to the user.
For my needs, the Logitech Wireless Microphone is more than perfect. I highly recommend it to those looking for a good quality wireless microphone for their PC.
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Works great with Rock Band!
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| Review Date: November 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Terry Mesnard, Bellevue, NE |
One thing that happens constantly at my place is Rock Band parties. One thing that hampers these fun parties are cords. I can't stand them and what inadvertently happens is a web or cords that (sometimes drunk) people have to manuever around. It's not exactly the best experience at times. When I heard that Logitech was bringing a cordless mic to the party, I got excited for a couple reasons. Of course there's the aforementioned cord issue but also that Logitech makes some great (albeit usually expensive) products. The Wireless Microphone fits right in that same area.
Setup is a breeze. The package comes with two main pieces, the microphone and the holder/USB receiver. Plugging the USB receiver into the Xbox 360 provides you with the wireless capabilities but also doubles as a place to hold your microphone when not being used. It takes AA batteries which is good and bad. I really enjoy products that have a built in rechargable battery, but this also allows quick and easy replacement if you're in the middle of a party and don't have time to recharge.
The microphone works very well. It's more like a full-sized microphone that I'm used to at Karaoke bars and has a nice, heavy heft to it. It picks up your voice a lot better than the mics that come with either Rock Band or Guitar Hero and the sound quality it picks up is also much clearer. I even used it on my PC and recorded some voice tracks to test the quality and it works wonderfully. Ultimately, you get what you pay for and the Logitech microphone excels at both a more maneuverable option and as a great quality microphone. Very much recommended. |
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