Antlion Audio ModMic 5 Review

1. Introduction2. Unboxing and First Look3. Performance and Closing Thoughts4. View All Pages

To test the ModMic 5 I used it as a gaming mic while playing online, and I also recorded myself talking with the ModMic to give you a demonstration of the audio quality.

First, though, I want to touch upon the practicality of the ModMic 5. Antlion Audio are clearly aware that having an extra cable could cause some issues which is why they have included two methods of combining the mic's cable with the wire from your headphones.

The first method is to use the included 2m cable sleeve – you can wrap this sleeve around both the wires to combine all the cabling into one neat package. However, this is easier said than done – the sleeving itself is quite stiff, and you are unlikely to want to have sleeve and unsleeve the cables very regularly. This makes using the sleeve a bit difficult if you have a single pair of headphones you want to take on-the-go, as well as use at home for your gaming sessions.

The second way to combat the cabling mess is to use the included cable clips. Antlion include 10 of these which more than enough to clip your cabling together in a neat fashion. However, this way of doing things is still a faff – nobody wants to have to clip and unclip their headphones every time they want to game.

The ideal solution would be to have a dedicated set of headphones to use for gaming, so you can leave the cabling permanently tied together. However, this is obviously a large extra outlay, which may not be practical.

Elsewhere, however, the ModMic proves to be very adjustable. It is great to have the choice of 1 or 2m cables, while the flexible boom is another feature I greatly appreciate. You can even flick the boom out of the way thanks to the magnetic attachment of the boom to the adhesive clasp – the magnets are strong enough to prevent the boom from falling off, while there are grooves on the clasp which lock the boom into its new position.

Audio Sample from the microphones below. Note: there is a small amount of EMI (background interference) noticeable. This is because I plugged the ModMic directly into my microphone jack. Antlion Audio recommend using a USB DAC which should eliminate the noise. Sadly, I did not have one to hand for testing today.

Moving on to sound quality, then. I actually took 3 recordings to present here – to allow you to hear the ModMic for yourself. The first recording was made by using the ThunderX3 TH40 headset's supplied mic (review HERE). This acts as a baseline to allow us to compare the ModMic 5's quality with a conventional gaming headset. I then recorded myself using the uni-directional mic mode, followed by the omni-directional mode.

As you can hear for yourselves, the ModMic 5 is much better all-round when compared with the TH40's mic. For one, it is much crisper, but at the same time, the sound is well-balanced – less tinny. Switching to the omni-directional pattern mode also made noticeable differences. In this mode, I found the ModMic 5 to sound fuller and richer – there is slightly more depth when compared the uni-directional mode, while the sound is light years ahead of the TH40's mic.

I also used the ModMic 5 while Skyping my brother-in-law to get his feedback. He mentioned some similar points, noting how the the ModMic is ‘clearer' and and the sound is ‘crisp and detailed' with ‘greater depth' when compared with the TH40. He also pointed out how the uni-directional mic pattern may not sound as good, but it is very effective at cancelling out background noise. We tested this by playing music in the background while talking, and switching between the omni-directional and uni-directional patterns to hear the difference. As such, we can conclude that the omni-directional mode allows for the best quality audio transmission, and while the uni-directional mode may not sound as good, it has effective noise-cancelling properties.

All-in-all then, the Antlion ModMic 5 is a good product. Its biggest issue is how to tidy the cabling – neither solution presented by Antlion is perfect. However, this is only a real issue if you frequently move your headphones around.

The sound quality is excellent, too, with the ability to choose between omni-directional and uni-directional mic patterns being a big plus. There are also lots of user-friendly features – such as the flexible boom and different lengths of cable extensions. The ModMic 5 is thus a great way to still use your high-quality headphones while gaming, without losing the ability to communicate with your teammates.

You can buy one from OverclockersUK for £67.99 inc. VAT HERE.

Pros

• Great sound quality.
• Magnetic clasp means the mic is not stuck to your headphones forever.
• Options included to prevent cable clutter.
• Omni-directional and uni-directional modes each have their benefits.
• Flexible boom.

Cons

• No perfect solution to having an extra cable coming from your headphones.

KitGuru says: If you want to use your high-quality headphones while gaming, the ModMic 5 lets you do that in style. Sound quality is great, while there a lot of options made available to the end-user. The only issue is the extra cable – for which there is no perfect solution.

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