MSI ALREADY HAS A substantial range of
tech and computing peripherals, ranging
from monitors and keyboards to mice and
even gaming chairs. The company has
now extended its arsenal even further
by entering the microphone market. The
Immerse GV60 streaming mic aims to
take on the likes of Elgato, HyperX, and
Blue in this area. A standalone mic is an
essential part of a streaming setup, but
is the GV60 a clear winner for Twitch use?
MSI products are usually aimed at the
budget to mid-range market but, from
first impressions, the GV60 appears to
be more premium than that. Weighing in
at 2.42lbs, it’s a heavy microphone that
feels extremely sturdy on a desk due to its
thick rubberized base. The construction
is an all-black matte aluminum design
with touches of gunmetal gray.
Compared with some of MSI’s other
products, many of which sport bold,
eye-catching designs, the GV60 looks
and feels like a premium device with no
cheap plastics in sight. In fact, at first
glance, it’s hard to tell that this is an MSI
product, with only the presence of two
subtle logos give that away.
Included in the box is a foam pop filter,
although the GV60 looks much better
without it. There’s also a USB-C to USB-A
cable measuring 3m in length, which is
enough for you to move around the room
without having to stop recording. Also
included are two screw cover caps if you
want to take off the desk stand and use
it on a boom arm. This connects through
the use of the 5/8-inch boom arm screw
hole on the bottom of the mic, however,
an arm is sadly not included.
The microphone is convenient to use
and being a simple plug-and-play device,
you can start using the GV60 in no time
at all, without the need for additional
software and drivers. In terms of the
design, all the controls are on the front.
There are three vertical control dials and
a mute button that sits below these. One
gripe we had is how close these dials are
to each other, as it's easy to accidentally
knock the other controls and adjust the
wrong one.Is this streaming mic
a crystal-clear winner?
MSI Immerse GV60
Streaming Mic
9
VERDICT MSI Immerse GV60
Streaming Mic
TUNING IN Premium feel;
multiple recording modes; high quality
recording rate; plug and play.
TUNING OUT Awkward control dials;
slightly bulky.
$130, http://www.msi.comSPECIFICATIONS
Sample rate 96kHzBit rate 24-bit
Frequency response 20Hz-20kHzMicrophone sensitivity 36dB (±3)
Recording modes Stereo,
omnidirectional,
cardioid and
bidirectional
Connection USB-C to USB-AWeight 2.42lbsThe top dial gives you the option
to switch on-the-fly between four
recording modes. There's a stereo
mode for recording both left and right
channels, useful for capturing vocals and
streaming. The omnidirectional mode is
good for recording multiple voices at once
in a conference call, perhaps if you're in a
meeting gathered round a table.
There's also a cardioid mode that
directly records in front of the mic to cut
out unwanted background noise, which
is ideal for podcasts. The final mode is
bi-directional recording, capturing audio
from the front and back of the mic for
instrument recordings or one-on-one
interviews. Having all of these features
on one dial is much more efficient than
opening up an application.
Below the dial is the headphone
volume and below the mic is a 3.5mm
jack. This provides you with zero-latency
playback, great for monitoring your
recordings. Lastly, there's also a dial
for the microphone volume—all of these
dials are well built and turn smoothly.NAILED IT
For a first attempt at a standalone
microphone, MSI has hit the nail on the
head. With a studio-grade 24-bit/96kHz
sample rate, this microphone picks
up audio with great clarity. Of course,
if you're live streaming, the software
will likely condense to a sample rate of
48kHz, but having this quality at hand is
great for other recording purposes.
When using the microphone close up
on calls, the pop filter works effectively to
smooth the audio and cut out background
noise. Regardless of what we've been
recording, the GV60 is capable of tackling
it all with high-quality reliable audio.
As a streaming mic, it compares well
to other similarly-priced alternatives
such as Elgato’s Wave:3 microphone,
one of our current go-to mics. However,
it is a diverse microphone with enough
adjustability to use in many different
situations. We found the ability to switch
between the different modes came in
handy when using this in a gaming partychat with pals and also it in our more
formal weekly Google Meet calls.
With a great premium feel, pinpoint
directional recording, and crystal clear
audio quality, this is a great all-rounder
and a positive step for MSI in the audio
recording market. –SAM LEWIS©MSI
APR 2022 MAXIMU MPC 87