Ion Audio U Cast Podcasting Kit with USB Microphone
- High-quality USB microphone with desktop stand, records directly to computer
- Includes headphones for monitoring recordings
- Plug & play support in Windows & Mac OSX
- Bundled with audacity software for recording & editing
- Free web podcast hosting for 30 days at Alesispodcast.com
- Free web podcast hosting for 30 days at Alesispodcast
Podcasting kit with USB microphone includes headphones for monitoring recordings.
List Price: $ 99.99
Price: $ 43.00
Could Have Been a Contender!,
Well, my wife wanted this kit after seeing it at one of the big electronics chains. After comparing prices, I went ahead and ordered this from Amazon. When it arrived, I was fairly impressed by the size and heft of the microphone. Unfortunately, it is also the weakest part of this package. Apparently the USB port on the microphone has a light soldering connection, because it broke after a month! This is the first time that has ever happened to me with a USB device, so I was shocked! We did not abuse the microphone at all, so it is definitely a product quality issue.
As far as some of the other items included with this kit, the headphones were nothing special. They are simply some of the padded headphones you find in stores for around $20 (cheaply made and fragile). The included software consists of the freeware program called Audacity. It is a good program and is widely used to record audio files.
In conclusion, I am truly disappointed about the microphone build quality and would not recommend it for your audio needs.
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|Great Entry-level kit,
I bought this to start a podcast with and I love it. Right out of the box it has everything I needed, including a pretty solid mic, headphones, and software. Audacity isn’t entirely intuitive, but I muddled through. And for an entire kit to decide if you want to spend the big bucks on going more professional, this is perfect. It even comes with a free 30 day subscription to a podcast hosting site (which is enough time to decide if this is something you want to keep doing or not). If you have the dollars to blow, you can find a better set-up by buying separate components. For an all-in-one, ready right out of the box trial kit, there’s none better than this.
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|Entry level – OK for price,
This is OK for low budget entry into podcasting. The sound quality is OK. The free audio mixing software is not very easy to use. I recommend you pickup a book on Audacity alone.
The mike’s info here and at Ion’s website fails to mention that this is a cardioid-condenser type mike. This is important to know. One huge limitation: You can only connect to a USB–meaning, if you want to connect it to a preamp or mixer board or any audio interface device–you can’t.
So, if you just want to play with podcasting, it’s ok; otherwise, I recommend you save a little more and get a good omnidirectional mike, (condenser types are more abundant and cheaper, but more fragile than dynamic type), a pop filter(trust me, you’ll need it), a USB 2 input preamp device (a preamp–will amplify your voice without distortion) and you’ll be in good shape to do higher-than-amateur work. Best of luck.
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