The Best budget studio mic for creators?
In this weeks video, I had the opportunity to review the FIFINE K688 Condenser Microphone. In this post I share what I like and dislike about the microphone, it’s features and who it is for.
5 things I like about this microphone
First, the price point is amazing. It’s less than $100 USD and if you get a boom arm, FIFINE has one and it’s a solid metal construction one. The two together I paid $129 USD (FIFINE paid me the cost of the microphone only, but I’ll get into that later).
Second, the build quality of the microphone itself is really nice. It’s main body is metal and it’s lightweight. It doesn’t feel “cheap”.
Third, the quality of the audio is great. I highly recommend watching the YouTube video where I compare the quality of the audio between two other microphones, one that’s half the cost of this one and one that is 3 times more expensive. And honestly, it held up very well.
Fourth, the connectivity is flexible. You have the option to connect via USB-C (with provided cable) or XLR (not provided). This helps bring down the barrier to entry for potential creators and aspiring podcasters, because you do not need to buy an expensive audio interface to get started. Plus, if you’re on the go, you can just plug straight into your computer and get going. The additional perk here is that the USB-C cable has a USB-A dongle attached to it so if you’re on a computer with no USB-C connection, you’re covered. It’s the small details.
Fifth, the onboard controls. Although these controls only apply to USB-C connectivity it’s got everything built in you’d normally expect on an audio interface, like the Scarlett Red Solo 3rd Gen that I own. You can control the gain of the microphone, plug in headphones to monitor audio and control the volume of the headphones all on the bottom of the microphone. Additionally, you have a tap to mute button on the side of it, making it easy to quickly mute - and it lights up green or red. Side note, you could theoretically connect this to your iPhone or Android with the USB-C cable and record audio, I simply haven’t tried it yet.
1 thing i don’t like
I truly had a hard time thinking of ANYTHING that I disliked about this microphone. But I will point out one that requires a bit of finesse. Because this microphone is intended for a boom arm you do not have a good solution for tabletop usage for when you’re on the go or simply prefer table top stands.
However, the connection you get with the microphone fits 3/8” threads and you can easily get a stand separately. What I have done is use the 1/4” to 3/8” adapter that came with the boom arm and then connected my Ulanzi F38 quick connection plate to it so I could sit it on my Ulanzi TT38 table top tripod.
It’s a creative solution what I did, but it works. And it unlocks opportunity to connect it anywhere since most accessories for camera gear uses either 3/8” or 1/4” threads.
So this portability “issue” is really a non-issue because the use case of this microphone is not meant for portability, but I do notice podcasters on the go and even YouTube creators traveling and wanting to still have a way to use this microphone style for their videos.
you don’t need to bleed your wallet for this…
This is not the Shure SM7B but it is not far off in terms of looks and aesthetics. But does it compare to it in quality? I wouldn’t know, I don’t own the Shure microphone (but I would if I could).
But what I do know is that the microphone landscape is quite large and it can be overwhelming the amount of options you have as a creator. And like anyone else with bills to pay, I want to make sure I’m not overpaying for something if I don’t NEED the nicest thing.
Sometimes, budget options, like the FIFINE K688, do the job well enough where no one is even going to notice the difference.
My alternative option for microphone to the Shure SM7B was actually the Rhode Pod Mic, which I love the look of it and I think it sounds quite nice. The K688 is similar in cost to the Rhode counterpart, so if I were to choose between the two, I would go for the Rhode.
But why didn’t I?
Short answer, I was given the K688 by FIFINE to review it as a result from my previous desk setup video doing well. And honestly, I’m glad that I got the opportunity to try it out because it means that I did good enough on that previous video to grab someone’s attention.
who is this for?
Any creator who is wanting to get into podcasting or YouTube and has a limited budget should consider this microphone. I am not saying buy this one specifically, just put it on your list of other microphones to compare. Again, this market is big and there are a lot of options to choose from.
I still fit into this category since I’m newer to YouTube and having this dedicated microphone will reduce the friction I had previously of having to hook up my DJI Mic 2, make sure the receiver is actually ON (because auto on isn’t a thing with the Sony adapter, come on now) so this microphone has really helped me a lot already.
If you’re in the market for a sub $100 microphone, this is a great one. The caveat is to plan to spend more to get the low profile boom arm if that’s what you’re into, otherwise, FIFINE has a bundle deal with their generic boom arm for the same price as the microphone by itself, so you’re basically getting a free boom arm.
Final thoughts / Disclosure
I think this microphone is great and it fits into my workflow, but do make sure it would be a great fit for you and your workflow and don’t just go buy it unless you absolutely need it.
All of the links below are links to all the products mentioned in this post and all links are affiliate links so if you purchase something through these links they directly support me without costing anything extra to you.
