Neewer NW-800 - A budget mic NOT worth buying.

[@JohnPersona]

The NW-800 is a good microphone if you're a mobile youtuber such as myself. It may not be the best, but its a good microphone when you're on a budget.

[@DrewTalksTech]

You must have gotten a better unit than I did. This one sounded worse than even the microphone on my smartphone.

[@JohnPersona]

@@DrewTalksTech Ah, I see. Maybe unscrew the bottom and fool around with a few cords, might change your mind. Its also marketed wrong, the components suggest that its not even a condenser mic. It might also change because I'm using a double aux splitter mic and headphones, so I can use the mic and headphones at the same time.

[@nostalgiagogglesgaming]

We use this mic on our channel and I think you may have a defective microphone. But there's always more to it as well. If you're looking to plug in the mic and go with nothing more to do then yes, this microphone isn't super amazing. A little bit of EQ and you get a really good sounding mic.

[@DrewTalksTech]

Nostalgia Goggles Thanks for commenting! I figured it was a defective model. The diaphragm inside was way smaller than it seemed it should be, so I figure it’s something that might be a cost cutting measure or something done wrong in manufacturing. I may purchase another one and see if I have any luck. I have the MXL770 right now which is really exceptional, but having more mics never hurts!

[@The_Eldest_Millenial]

​@@DrewTalksTech It isn't a diaphragm, its a cheap electret. You are right and everyone else here just has poor basis-for-comparison, most likely. It sounds better than the crap they *were* using so they think it's "good". It is not. Its deceptive and crap. Full review and teardown from an audio enthusiast here: biptunia.com/?p=1256

[@yamaharider2014]

This mic is great, I use it for vocals in my studio. You have so much static going on and you aren't even speaking directly into the mic. Also you have no treatment for your room, so you wont even be able to test the mic to its fullest potential.

[@DrewTalksTech]

I don't need a "fullest potential" if its lower potential is garbage. Under the exact same conditions, same interface, etc, the MXL 770 sounds worlds better (see my latest two videos for that, and I will review the new mic soon). I've seen a lot of positive reviews and tests which have produced far better results so I'm wondering if I didn't get a different unit than some other people. Either way, it sounded worse than the microphone on my cell phone, so whatever unit I got was trash. I'd love to check out your content using the mic though!

[@tannertamej5955]

This goes against everyone is saying. It may not sound good b/c you may not have phantom power

[@DrewTalksTech]

Tanner TamejGames Using a Behringer U-Phoria UMC22. Provides phantom power and it was turned on. A lot of folks including myself are thinking that the manufacturer is cutting corners on a percentage of the units expecting that most of the people who get the shoddy units may not be able to tell the difference. I was able to see through the screen and the actual unit inside was way to small to be a real condenser.

[@tannertamej5955]

DrewTalksTech thank you because I was about to buy this!

[@DrewTalksTech]

No problem! It’s a gamble at least, from the looks of it the good units are pretty good, but I can’t recommend taking the risk.

[@0000song0000]

@@DrewTalksTech i seriouslythink it's the Behringer... I got a Steinberg UR44 and everything sounds 1000 times better

[@BigDuckEnergyTM]

I agree that they're not great sounding microphones, BUT they make great donor bodies if you want to build your own mic. I got mine for $11 on sale. I plan to completely gut it and install the new circuit board and 34mm capsule I have on the way. Will be in it about $65 and this will be a good quality microphone (at least on paper.) There are several issues with these mics. Part of the problem is in the power section and the shenanigans they pull to make it work without Phantom power (looking at you zener diode.) Another is the tiny, POS capsule that's tucked inside the headbasket. Construction is decent, the internals are not worth saving though.

[@TechDeals]

Hey Drew! Thought I'd stop by and say hello and leave a comment... :) Saw your reply to me on Twitter, I know the feeling! It wasn't that long ago for myself! Keep at it! :)

[@chickenrnli]

did you use it with phantom power? plugged straight into a PC i wouldn't be boosting

[@DrewTalksTech]

I ran it through a Behringer UMC22 with phantom power turned on. Somewhere else in the comments I had a little discovery of what seems to have happened more specifically, but I'm fairly sure it was a faulty unit or poor quality control.

[@Swhiting]

Hi, I understand this is an older video, but thought I'd give my two cents. I'm 100% sure you have a faulty unit here, I've used these before and I've had a very good experience with them. But something to note, the second mic you used seemed to have a lot of noise, which might suggest the Beringer unit you were using wasn't supplying clean power. That being said, it's always a gamble with cheap mics like that, so you win some and lose some I suppose

[@DrewTalksTech]

El Gato Valorant Thanks for contributing! The power is clean on the Behringer unit, I just had no clue how to gain stage so the gain was way too high. Definitely a faulty unit for the NW-800 though!

[@Microtonal_Cats]

FINALLY! someone who speaks the truth. There are so many idiots claiming this is a good mic. I did a blog post on this a while back. Includes pix of where I took it apart and discovered it's not even a real condenser mic! Edit, you linked it already. lol! also, a bunch of different mics from different companies are this mic, or another like it, rebranded. And I dig your cat also!

[@DrewTalksTech]

Awesome that it was your blog post! Thanks for reaching out! It was shocking to me how bad it was. I ended up springing for the MXL 770 which is exactly what I was looking for. Budget is always a gamble with audio gear but that one's not even worth betting on. Haha

[@pointvicente123]

Great honest review and raw. My plan is to use the hardware that comes in the kit which is the adjustable Mic Suspension Scissor Arm, Shock Mount and Double-layer Pop Filter. For $25 hmm. maybe i'll post a review of what actually comes with kit. I've heard its decent but are those folks being honest. I better watch the rest of your video to see if you talk about the rest of the junk that comes with it.

[@DrewTalksTech]

I didn’t go too much into the things that come with it. They seemed reasonable, I didn’t have much to complain about. If the mic I received hadn’t been awful I’d have been satisfied. It seems that Neewer might be shipping some units that are good and others that aren’t so good to save money and in the hopes that some people won’t be able to tell how bad it is.

[@jamie6165]

Firstly.. Great cat. That's a tremendous cat. Probably the best cat in the world. Secondly, I just ordered this as the reviews on amazon were mostly positive. I have a pair of shure condenser mics too but I use them for room mics and wanted a basic bitch just for talking into. Thanks for the review

[@hatben]

It's weird, the audio in the video review you linked sounds way better than yours. And all the comments are saying they bought it and it sounds bad like yours. It's like he's got a completely different mic. He also does claim it's a condenser mic, but the written review that tore it apart shows it clearly isn't one. Something fishy about this.

[@DrewTalksTech]

Right? That's what I was thinking too. Super strange.

[@seymour6686]

It sounds great

[@DrewTalksTech]

xSeymour HAHAHAHAHAHA

[@seymour6686]

DrewTalksTech are you talking in to it in the video because it sounds great

[@DrewTalksTech]

I legitimately thought you were joking. It’s horrible! It’s tinny and muffled, even worse than the mic on my cell phone! Literally any of my other videos sound miles better. It would sound better if I used a tin can and a string as a microphone. I did goof in my recording setting and have it record to the left channel only, but that won’t impact the quality of the thing.

[@saltapicchio7417]

But your cat is lovely :)