This is our hands-on review of the new Sennheiser Profile USB Mic Streaming Set. After launching in late March, we have now had enough time to really put the setup through its paces to deliver a verdict. Sennheiser’s gear has been a staple in professional recording studios since the mid-1940s – you’ll be hard-pressed to find a commercial studio without some of its mics and other gear present, in my experience – but today we are taking a look at the USB side of things for home podcasters, streamers, and music makers. The spoiler version here is that it’s good…really good. Head below for the details.
Hands-on with Sennheiser Profile USB Mic Streaming Set
The Sennheiser Profile USB Microphone Streaming Set includes a boom, the hardware required to quickly latch it onto your desk or tabletop, the USB-C cable to connect it to your system, and the microphone itself. (There’s also a nice little microphone pouch for storage between uses, but there’s nothing particularly protective about it when it comes to travel and whatnot.) This bundle comes in at $199 shipped and is the one we had a chance to review here.
However, you can also score the Profile USB-C microphone with a tabletop stand for $129. And as a side note, the boom arm can also be purchased separately for $99. In my experience, it is one of the nicer options out there, no matter what mic you might be using (more details on that below).
Profile USB microphone
The mic’s metal housing looks and feels great to me. It also features a unique design with an interesting cutout that you see in the imagery here – this not only looks cool but also marks a point of articulation so you can angle the microphone itself. This is a sweet little feature you almost never see from other brands, and it adds another level of adjustability to the already quite impressive boom arm we will discuss below as well.
On-board controls
The cardioid condenser capsule USB-C-powered microphone features a soft-touch mute button with LED indication (green means on, red means off), gain control with an LED ring for clip indications to let you know if your signal is running too hot, a mix control for balancing the microphone and playback monitoring levels to taste, a 3.55mm headphone input, and a headphone volume control. In other words, all of the usual fixings are in place here and implemented quite nicely.
How does the Profile USB mic sound?
When it comes to how the thing sounds, it’s always tough to put into words. A clearly subjective experience in more ways than one, the way that I personally feel about the audio quality is nearly irrelevant to your preferences. But I do find it to be on par or better than most of the USB mics I have tested in this price range and would be surprised if all but the most particular of folks wouldn’t feel the same.
Features at a glance:
- USB-C powered (MacOS/iPadOS/Windows/Android)
- Cardioid condenser capsule for professional sound and off-axis rejection
- Adjustable tilt function with self-locking joint for optimal positioning
- Soft-touch mute button with LED ring to indicate when engaged
- Gain control with LED ring to indicate power and audio clipping
- Mix control for balancing microphone and device level
- 3.5 mm headphone output for audio monitoring
- Headphone volume control
- Robust metal housing and premium finish
- Profile includes microphone, table stand, and 1.2 m USB-C cable
- Profile Streaming Set includes microphone, boom arm with integrated cable management, 3 m USB-C cable, and mic pouch
The Boom Arm and desk clamp are fantastic
So let’s talk boom arm here…This is the best microphone boom arm I’ve ever used.
Right off the top, I’m very impressed with the quality. It is made of what feels to me to be quite a sturdy and robust metal with smooth swivel and angle adjustment action – the whole thing looks great in my setup (and probably just about anyone else’s).
The articulation and adjustable nature are on point here for me as well. It swivels about as much as you would need it to where the arm connects to the clamp, with adjustments available at all three articulating elbows along the boom. Each of these is perfectly tight, stays in place when and where you need them to, and can still easily be adjusted before, during, or after your stream.
It’s simply fantastic and largely worth the price of the entire streaming kit just for the boom arm.
Cable management
There’s also a nice little track with quick-fasten points throughout to neatly guide the included USB-C cable down the boom arm, from the mic to the clamp. Obviously, you could just wrap the mic connection cable around any old boom arm (or just leave it dangling all over the place), but this would typically require purchasing a much longer and more expensive cable than you would have needed otherwise. Sennheiser’s implementation of a neat little cable track, as far as I’m concerned, is basically a must, an attractive example of such a design feature, and a more than welcomed addition to the entire setup here.
Although it would have been nice to have a slightly wider or double-cable track so you could do the same for your headphones cable, that’s not something you see very often on gear in the home streaming category from just about any brand.
Tool-free installation
The included hardware and clamp that connect the boom arm portion to your desk are equally well-built and robust, delivering a metal squared-off C-style clamp and a thick bolt to tighten it into place. There are absolutely no tools required here. It can fit on all but the most irregularly thick surfaces and was a dream to install. I had the clamp clamped, the microphone hovering in place over my desk, and the boom arm boom armed in literally seconds, and you will too.
Sennheiser Profile USB Mic Streaming Set Wrap-Up
Sennheiser’s Profile USB Microphone Streaming Set is easily one of the best I have had the pleasure of testing out. It is attractive and functionally sound, and the bundle delivers both a microphone and boom arm that are certainly worth the price.
The C-clamp is wonderful, installs in seconds, and, combined with the unique pivot point on the mic itself, makes for quite a versatile setup no matter how much you like to really handle or work the mic and arm during your streams or recording sessions.
Sennheiser is a storied German audio brand that has been outfitting professional recording engineers for years (since 1945 to be exact), and I always tend to look towards these sorts of brands when it comes to more consumer-based or at-home recording gear. I would recommend this setup to anyone looking for a comparable product in the price category and might even try to convince them to save up for it if they were hoping to spend less.
Buy the Sennheiser Profile USB Mic Streaming Set
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