The new Mic M3 is part of Creative’s Live! series of products that seemingly revolved mainly around webcams, thought I’d extrapolate it to say gear helps with work or communications. Creative Live! Mic M3 is the company’s first USB microphone, and it retails for S$89.
Unboxing
Inside the box, you will find the following items:
- Creative Live! Mic M3
- Adjustable Microphone Table Stand with Ball head
- Detachable Pop Filter
- Micro USB Cable (1.5m / 4.92 ft)
- Quick Start Guide
Tech specs
| Dimensions | Microphone alone: 57 x 61 x 127 mm With table stand & pop-filter: 88 x 96 x 215 mm |
| Mounting options | 1/4-inch and 5/8-inch screw mount |
| Weight | Microphone: 170g Table stand: 380g Pop-filter: 20g |
| Polar patterns | Cardioid and Omni-directional |
| Sensitivity | Sensitivity (@ 1 kHz 0 dB = 1V / Pa) – For Cardioid Pattern: -35 ± 2 dB – For Omni Pattern: -36 ± 3 dB |
| Recording resolution | PCM Stereo 44.1K / 48K / 88.2K / 96 kHz, 16 / 24-bit |
| Playback resolution | PCM Stereo 44.1K / 48 kHz, 16-bit |
| Headphone monitoring | Supports 3.5 mm, 3-pole, Up to 32Ω Frequency Range: 50—18,000 Hz |
| Controls | – Mute and unmute microphone feature – Direct volume level adjustment during mic-monitoring |
Build quality and design
The Mic M3 is built mainly from plastic, which makes the overall microphone rather light at just 170g. The shape of the microphone leans towards that of a condenser microphone where it has a flat top. To help provide solid stability on a desk, the included table stand is way heavier at 380g. The stand comes with a ball head attachment that allows you to tilt the Mic M3 to 90º and rotate 360º.
The bottom of the microphone is where all the ports are connectivity is located. You’ll find a 1/4-20 UNC thread so it works with your standard tripod mount. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack that is used for headphone monitoring. And the USB connection that the Mic M3 uses is unfortunately micro-USB. Also, as the micro-USB port is located at the front of the Mic M3, it can look a little unsightly with the wire dangling out from the front.
There are knobs on the microphone to adjust the volume and switch polar patterns, along with a button to mute/unmute. The knobs could use a little grippier material so that it is easier to rotate it, while the buttons can feel a tad hollow. But for a S$89 microphone, I wouldn’t nitpick too much.
There is a single LED light located at the front of the mic to show whether the Mic M3 is muted or unmuted. Unmuted is highlighted by a blue light, and muted shows a red light. The LED light is incredibly bright and if the Mic M3 is within your line of sight it can get rather distracting. Creative can consider using a small LED strip or use a stronger diffuser inside. For me, I decided to put some black tape over it.
Features
Creative included a pop-filter which attaches on to the microphone magnetically. The pop filter helps to reduce explosive pops in your speech such as pronouncing words with B, D, P, T. I found that unless you are really speaking very close to the Mic M3, you don’t actually need to use pop-filter. Or maybe if you want it to block out the incredibly bright LED light.
The Mic M3 is able to record up to 24-bit / 96kHz high quality recordings. You’d have to make an extra effort to enable in both your settings of your Windows or Mac computer.
Headphone monitoring
As aforementioned, the Mic M3 has a 3.5mm audio jack which is used for headphone monitoring, which allows you to hear in real time how your voice sounds like as you’re speaking. Having this feature is great as it allows me to evaluate the quality of my recording at my current mic placement. If you’re intending to use the Mic M3 for recording your podcasts, then this feature should be frequently used. You can also adjust the volume of what you can hear via the knob located conveniently at the front.
Two polar patterns
The Mic M3 features two 14mm condenser capsule to offer two polar patterns – (1) cardioid, and (2) omni-directional. It’s nice to see Creative offering versatility in their products, truly bring the best value they can in each of their products.
Cardioid pattern will engage the front facing condenser to capture what is directly in front of the microphone. This is best used for recording podcast or when you’re communicating in game or in meetings. The omni-directional pattern is more suited when you have multiple users in a meeting, so it can pickup sounds coming from all directions.
Recording performance
The recording quality you get out of the Creative Live! Mic M3 is really nice – voice is clear and accurate. You should manage expectations that the performance and noise floor won’t be as good as higher end mics such as Shure. Using the cardioid polar pattern, you can get a more focused sound with good low-end. Depending on how near the Mic M3 is to your mouth, the recording you get will have more depth. I found that a distance within a maximum of 15-20cm should provide good recording output. On the other hand, the omni-directional pattern will provide a more open sound along with whatever sound that your room has.
One thing I realised is that since the Mic M3 has a plastic build, it is sensitive to vibrations from your desk (when typing for example) which gets picked up back into the microphone. I’d recommended mounting the Mic M3 on a boom arm if possible.
Conclusion
Creative Live! Mic M3 is a great starter kit for anyone who is looking to get more quality out of their recordings, be it just for Zoom calls, gaming or podcasts. Fundamental and important features such as having headphone monitoring, button for mute, 24-bit recording, and compatibility with 1/4-20 UNC thread, make the Mic M3 a versatile option. The Creative Live! Mic M3 retails for S$89.