NZXT Low Noise Microphone Boom Arm Review
Peter Donnell / 2 years ago
Performance
Installation was a breeze, with one end obviously going onto the desk, the other end for the microphone, and tucking in a few cables along the way. But what is it like to use? Well, it does what it was designed to do, no big surprises there really!
Moving it around, it’s very quiet. As I said before, I’ve used a few of these, and they mostly have a noticeable squeak or creaking sound when you adjust them. You certainly don’t want those noises on your stream or recording, so it’s a nice advantage to hear… well, not hear, with the Boom Arm.
The clamp does its job really well, I haven’t had any issues with it moving around, and I didn’t over-tighten it either, as it may damage my low-cost Ikea desk. However, the rubber grips hold on really well regardless.
The hidden springs seem to work exceptionally well. Some of the ones I used in the past, you need to slacken the bolt at each joint, adjust it, and then tighten it again, but this one just works well once you set a good tension and you can still make adjustments after. You move it, it moves, you stop moving it, it stays. Sounds obvious, I know, but it’s just a really smooth and reliable action every time.
The boom will handle a microphone of up to 1.18KG, although I suspect a little heavier would do just fine too; it’s unlikely you’ll find many that weigh more than that anyway.
I love that the cables are all hidden too, not only does it look clean, but I don’t feel like I’m going to trap or cut a cable while making adjustments.
Overall, being able to get that perfect microphone position every time is absolutely awesome. Perhaps you need it closer to your face, or you don’t want to block something from your camera’s view, whatever you need, this is such a huge upgrade over a simple microphone stand on your desktop. You look and feel more professional and it feels more productive, so I can’t recommend this setup enough!