A trio of controls set conveniently on the Profile’s entrance facet allows you to simply dial in ranges on the fly. There’s a knob on the high for mic enter; a headphone quantity knob on the backside; and in between, a mixer knob to regulate the stability between the mic’s direct output and your pc output. That final inclusion is nice for video calls, letting you fine-tune the combination between you and your caller to perfection.
Perhaps the best function for calls is the Profile’s onboard mute key, which glows a deep purple while you’re muted or a pleasant inexperienced while you’re not, assuring that different callers solely hear you while you need them to. The LED additionally lights up orange if you happen to push the Profile’s cardioid diaphragm to distortion, although you’ll actually should belt to get there. You’re extra more likely to distort on the digital facet, particularly if you happen to’re utilizing direct monitoring.
The one time I had to make use of any software program settings was after I wished to bypass the headphone output for my audio system. After all, the shortage of software program means there aren’t any further results or EQ, however that’s fantastic by me. Any respectable digital audio workstation provides plug-in choices inbuilt, and also you’ll possible discover there’s no must EQ the Profile anyway.
It’s price declaring that there’s no solution to change the mic’s polar sample, however except you’re hoping to share it with a colleague or use it as a room mic, this shouldn’t matter a lot.
Luscious Sound
To start out issues with a bang, I recorded what might be the silliest faux podcast intro within the style’s brief historical past. My objectives had been twofold: to guage the mic’s general sound signature and to see how a lot pop and proximity impact (further bass while you’re near the mic) the Profile incurs at completely different distances. Making my spouse roll her eyes was only a bonus.
I did most of my recording on the fundamental 44.1 kHz and a 16-bit depth, which produces smaller information for fundamental setups, however you possibly can step as much as 44.8 kHz at 24 bits.
The first takeaway is that the Profile sounds phenomenal for spoken recordings. My foolish little monologs, which completely included a run of Peter Piper’s peppers, sounded splendidly easy, clear, and balanced. I listened over headphones, displays, and my Mac’s onboard audio system, the latter of that are much less forgiving for poor recordings than you would possibly assume.
You possibly can most likely get away and not using a pop filter if you happen to again off the Profile and communicate fastidiously, however if you happen to’re severe about your craft, you’ll greater than possible have a heavy breath or a hard-popped consonant to try to repair later. Your most secure wager is simply to filter them out to start with.
I additionally did some fundamental vocal and guitar recording, together with each concurrently, and the Profile stepped up properly. Centering the mic between devices, it picked up nice definition with a remarkably regular output for a chunk of {hardware} that begins comfortably near $100. For those who’re doing way more than music demos, I’d nonetheless suggest contemplating a regular microphone and interface, however the Profile did a swell job for a stand-alone setup at this value.
I took a number of video calls with the Profile over a few weeks, and once more the outcomes happy my ears in addition to these of my callers. One colleague advised me I gave the impression of I used to be “within the room,” and WIRED editor Parker Corridor mentioned the Profile gave the impression of a Shure SM7B, a legendary studio and radio standby. On my facet, I discovered myself actually having fun with the dulcet tones the Profile produced, which most likely made me a extra prepared and blissful participant.
Whereas I want Sennheiser would have included a pair extra equipment within the Stream Set, the Profile is a unbelievable microphone for a number of use circumstances. Whether or not you’re constructing an entry-level studio, moving into podcasting or live-streaming, or just trying to spruce up your video chats, Sennheiser’s entry-level possibility is a killer solution to increase your sport with out breaking the financial institution.
