ZealSound Gaming Mic with Boom Arm vs ZealSound USB Condenser Gaming Mic

The ZealSound Gaming Mic with Boom Arm is the kit version: the Xbox-compatible condenser plus a clamp-on boom arm, a shock mount and a pop filter. At about $60 it costs roughly $10 less than the mic and a comparable arm bought separately.

The arm is the reason to buy it. A mic on a desk stand sits a foot away next to the keyboard; a mic on an arm sits at your mouth, which lets you turn the gain down and takes most of the room out of the sound. That is the biggest upgrade a condenser can get, and this kit includes it by default.

The mic itself is the same class as the standard model, with the mute and monitoring jack, and it works on Xbox as well as PC, Mac and phones. Owners rate it 4.5 across its first 38 reviews, so treat the score as early.

The ZealSound USB Condenser is the model most people mean when they say ZealSound. It is a cardioid condenser on a weighted desk stand, and for the money it sounds clear and forward in a quiet room, which is the only room it should be used in.

The controls are what put it ahead of the other cheap condensers: a real gain knob on the body, a touch mute on top, and a 3.5 mm jack for monitoring yourself with no delay. Those three things are what you reach for live, and most $30 mics have none of them. The RGB ring switches off with a long press.

The catch is the capsule. It hears the keyboard, the chair and the PC fan as clearly as it hears you. Move it onto an arm, close to your mouth, and turn the gain down, and it behaves. Owners rate it 4.4 across more than 900 reviews.