We’ve seen plenty of companies expanding into the podcasting and streaming audio space like NZXT, but today we’re taking a look at another player. The new Deity VO-7U is a dynamic broadcast microphone aimed directly at streamers and podcasters with RGB lighting built-in and some other handy features up its sleeve. Be sure to hit the video below to see and hear all of the details.
Overview
Deity has a rich heritage of professional audio, so it makes sense to see it stepping into this new space. The Deity VO-7U is a dynamic microphone that is generally better at knocking down background and room noise when compared to condenser designs.
It also features built-in RGB, physical controls for the mic gain and headphone out, and a built-in limiter to help prevent clipping.
The Deity VO-7U is available in two different kits. For $170, you get the microphone, tabletop tripod, and two cables. For $200, the mic comes with a boom arm, pop filter, and cables.
Deity VO-7U: Design
We got our hands on the boom arm kit, which for just $30 more would probably be the kit I would pick anyways.
The microphone itself has a large overall design with some handy physical controls directly on the body. Under the main Deity logo is a mute button. It’s not as easy to actuate as a capacitive button on the top of a mic like the QuadCast and SoloCast from HyperX, but it takes a little bit more force than what I anticipated. I imagine this helps to prevent accidental muting, but I was a little surprised by how far I needed to press the button. Muting the microphone will make the RGB strip at the bottom flash red as a reminder that it is muted.
On one side of the microphone is a headphone out volume dial with hard stops. On the other side of the mic is a microphone gain dial.
Deity VO-7U: Video
Pressing in the dial for a few seconds will enable the RGB lighting ring on the bottom of the microphone. This is hardware controlled so there is no need for an app to control the lighting. Once the lighting is turned on, a single press of the gain dial will change the current RGB setting. There are 12 lighting modes in total that range from static colors to an RGB rainbow and breathing effects.
On the bottom of the mic is a 3.5mm headphone out and the USB-C port to connect to your recording device. The kit comes with both a USB-C and USB-A cable to work with different devices.
For mounting the microphone, the VO-7U has a two-stage threaded receiver to work with mic stand mounts with differing diameters.
Deity VO-7U: The Stand
What makes the kit stand out to me is the inclusion of a boom arm. Purchasing just a boom arm by itself from Amazon can be as cheap as about $16 for one like what I’ve been using for the last two years, or $40 for something more similar to what is included in the Deity kit. It doesn’t seem as robust as what the Rode PSA-1 would be, but it’s also only a $30 upgrade.
Despite being on the cheaper feeling end, it has a large design that lends itself well to a variety of placement points. The arm can easily stand over a standard 27” monitor, or can comfortably sit on the side of a wide desk and reach to the middle.
When it is stretched out to nearly its max the stand will start to dip a little bit because of the weight on the end of the boom arm, but this does seem a little excessive to me and I can’t imagine many setups would require that stretch.
On the bottom of the boom arm base is also a handy place to hand a pair of headphones. So instead of buying something like the Elevation Lab Anchor Side, the Deity VO-7U has a holder built-in.
Deity VO-7U: How does it sound?
Before we dive into how it sounds, there is another feature that needs to be called out and that is the built-in hardware analog limiter. If you are let’s say, an expressive streamer or podcaster whose volume can vary drastically throughout a broadcast or recording, this can help to prevent clipping audio if things get a lot louder than your standard volume.
Now, if you are screaming directly into the microphone with your mouth pressed up against the pop filter, some distortion will still transfer into your audio. But it’s not the heinous digital clipping that would destroy a listener’s ears.
Moving on, the Deity VO-7U sounds great as a USB broadcast microphone. There is plenty of presence in there with a nice healthy low end. I think it sounds great for spoken work and it gives my voice some nice depth.
Compared to my go-to, the HyperX SoloCast
But when I went and recorded with the HyperX SoloCast that I’ve been using forever, the SoloCast had a bit more mid-range presence in my opinion. The Deity had a deep sound to it, but the HyperX was maybe a bit more clear thanks to that focused mid-range.
One other key difference is the distinction between the SoloCast, which is a condenser microphone, and the dynamic Deity VO-7U. That dynamic design is meant to be less sensitive meaning you can speak with your mouth basically directly up against the microphone when using that pop filter. That also means it doesn’t pick up room and background noise like typing on a keyboard as much as a condenser mic that is more sensitive.
The Deity VO-7U also seems to keep desk noise at a minimum. I didn’t really notice impacts transferring into my recordings when testing the mic.
Now I think both sound great and we have sound examples of both in the video if you want to hear them for yourself. And I’m a huge fan of the design of the VO-7U and I absolutely love that it comes in a kit with a boom arm. I’m pretty vocal about suggesting getting a boom arm, even a cheaper one like I’ve been using, for any podcast and streaming mic that I test.
In fact, I recently made a video about how to make the SoloCast even better by adding a boom arm and a shock mount. And while takes the SoloCast to the next level, there are still some features that it will never have like the RGB and the dynamic.
9to5Toys’ Take
I think Deity has a massive hit with the VO-7U, especially with the boom arm kit. Of course, you can add a boom arm and shock mount to other microphones, but it’s hard to deny the simplicity of ordering it all in one kit from a reputable company. And with the built-in limiter, physical controls, and the inherent dynamic mic design, the Deity VO-7U is a great choice for podcasters, streamers, and other creators.
Buy Deity VO-7U
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