Genesis Radium 400 microphone test – Don’t spare text boxes!

I don’t understand the people who design headphones and earphones with microphones. Also, I understand that the focus is on sound reproduction, but it is more than strange that even the more expensive products are able to put in a microphone. It is clear that for a simple Discord or other VoIP chat during a game, more is theoretically not necessary, but it would not be a problem if we did not have to communicate live at the level of World War II military radios. And if we want to post videos with our own commentary on the Internet’s social platforms, then these “primitive” methods will absolutely bleed.

Fortunately, Genesis reliably comes up with affordable solutions, this time a microphone specially designed for streamers landed on my desk, the Radium 400. After unpacking, I, like GeryG, was surprised by the weight of the device itself – it has substance, even though the previously tested Radium 600 unlike , there is no control here.

Never mind, there are other tricks here: in addition to the sponge cap and pop filter, as well as the 2.5-meter USB cable, the package also includes a one-elbow adjustable arm that can be screwed onto a table, as well as a vibration-absorbing holder. What I was a little missing was a piece of velcro tape, which I could have used to fasten the cable to the elbow (of course, this is very easy to replace), apart from that, I was absolutely satisfied with the package, it is a well-thought-out package.

The technical parameters of the microphone itself are quite impressive: 24-bit resolution is associated with a sampling frequency of 192 kHz, and the frequency range is 30-16000 Hz. In addition, there is the cardioid sound characteristic and the fact that it is a condenser microphone, so everything is there for high-quality recording. . At 100% volume, I noticed some clipping, but when I turned the volume down to 95%, nothing like that happened, even when shouting.

The Radium 400 is still suitable for male vocals, but my wife’s soprano vocals were a bit too much for her: unfortunately, the high notes are spread out a bit, not clear when listened back. Of course, I know that this can be considered an extreme use (especially since we tested it with opera arias), but it can’t hurt to know.

A hundred words have the same ending: the Genesis Radium 400 is very well done. As a general USB audio device, it works perfectly with almost all platforms without any problems, and its sound quality is absolutely fine. At least for streams/recordings with text, VoIP calls – for music, vocals, it’s better to look for a better tool.

The featured product was provided by Genesis.