Antlion Audio's Modmic.
If you've ever been in the Sound City sub-forum asking about headsets you'll have come across people recommending "proper" headphones and a clip on mic. The Zalman and Speedlink variants spring to mind. While they do the job, they don't do it very well or practically. But as it's been the best solution for headphone lovers, it's the one I've recommended myself up until very recently. A highly adjustable, removable boom microphone that works in tandem with the headphones you already have? I'll give that a shot.
Here's a video explaining some of the basics in a more straightforward fashion than I will manage. There's also a full list of the technical specs here.
I literally stumbled across Antlion Audio and their ModMic a few weeks ago and it seemed to be the solution I had been looking for. I sent away an email asking about Neoclasp(the part that attaches to the headphones) and got talking to one of the AntLion team. Jimmy was a very helpful and forthcoming chap. Antlion are a very small company of gamers from Portland, Oregon, they are about 4 months old and relying on word of mouth(much like this). So I put through an order via paypal with a few extra of the currently free clasps and waited on the postman.
About 10 days later it landed.
Here's how it looks when it arrives(minus the regular jiffy bag/padded envelope). A few clicks and you'll get to the full size images. I'm afraid my camera and photography skills aren't the best.
It's an extremely sturdy cardboard tube with the ends pinched. Instructions are printed on the outside along with a personal thanks from Antlion which is pictured below. All on recycled paper. Minimal, clever and entirely functional packaging made from environmentally conscious materials scores a load of brownie points from me.
These are the contents of the happy tube of functionality. Unfortunately the thing missing from this picture is the wipe you get for cleaning up the surface of the headphones(which is a must) before attaching the Neoclasp. A lack of foresight on my part, I had used it before taking pictures.
You can see the rather simple little clasps here. After watching videos of the ModMic being raised and lowered I had assumed there was some sort of mechanism specifically for that. What actually happens is that when you flip the mic up, it rises up on the "teeth" and locks back in on the other side of the next, so it doesn't rotate like a traditional boom mic, it turns in 90° increments. This is the same design that makes it stick in place so well, but detaches easily when needed. I love this kind of convergent design.
Here it is installed on my trusty K702 headphones. Even having it in the working position it's not visible and it's easy to forget it's there. They've been a good test for the modmic, they aren't perfectly flat and they have fairly open mesh.
Getting it on was a simple job. Open the little packet with the alcohol swab, rub the area you want the Neoclasp to be, peel off the backing and stick it on. I aired on the side of caution and held it in place for a couple of minutes then left it alone for a while before I attached the mic. If it was really necessary, I can't say but the Antlion site suggested letting it cure for difficult surfaces. The sticky part is quite clever. It's not just a piece of sticky paper, or foam in the traditional sense. It's a plastic material, squashy and malleable, so it will follow most surfaces and make great contact. The common theme here seems to be simple and clever design.
If you click through to the full size image you can see the lovely little Antlion ModMic logo.
So on to how it actually performs. It's as good a mic as I have heard and tramples all over the clip ons I've used in the past. With it positioned at the corner of your mouth, not in front of it, you eliminate the dreaded darth vader/abusive phonecall effect we've all heard at some point or another. Being so close to your mouth you don't need the mic levels set high enough to pick up someone "clearing their throat" in the next room either. There's plenty cable(3.5m) and the excess can be tied up with the attached velcro cable tie. Using it over skype and mumble, the quality was fantastic, clear as crystal. I got similarly excellent results using it with my Mixamp on the ps3. When it's not in use I can just whip it off and stick it to the side of my pc, it even holds onto the coated metal hooks I have on the side of my desk for hanging headphones.
For those interested in removing the clasp, I sacrificed one in the name of science. I attached one to my headphones and left it over night then set about getting it off. Sticking my nail under the edge it started to come away, some controlled tugging and it came off and I'm happy to say in one piece. There was some very slight residue and tackiness, but nothing some isopropyl couldn't handle. You wouldn't know it had been there. I really should have taken a photo of the pad and headphones after I removed it, but I did get a picture of the clasp without the adhesive. Below is the total of the residue left on the neoclasp and without any cleaning up. I've got one clasp left that I will try on another set of headphones(Antlion are looking for feedback on Grado headphones) and however that turns out, I will dismantle the clasp and get pictures of the pad.
I really can't think of any glaring negatives, one alcohol wipe isn't going to be enough if you are putting clasps on more than one pair of headphones or worst case you mess up attaching the Neoclasp, which isn't very likely, but I've always got a decent amount of isopropyl alcohol at hand(the stuff is delicious). The wire isn't the thickest I have seen, but with a modicum of common sense I can't see it becoming a problem and I would miss how light it currently is if thicker meant heavier. Of course there are some people out there who could be flash and get to work with some braided sleeving and heatshrink tubing, which would be a cheap and elegant, if semi-permanent solution. I enjoy being able to take it off completely and easily, but it's really down to personal preference.
So in conclusion it's the best mic I've had the pleasure of using with some fantastic design choices and very little(if anything) to complain about and I can recommend it without reservation. It's going to cost a bit more than a clip on or standard desktop mic, about £25 delivered(depending on the current exchange rate), but you get a fantastic sounding, easy to live with product that is supported by a small business with a great ear and open and friendly communication with the customers
www.modmic.com
If you've ever been in the Sound City sub-forum asking about headsets you'll have come across people recommending "proper" headphones and a clip on mic. The Zalman and Speedlink variants spring to mind. While they do the job, they don't do it very well or practically. But as it's been the best solution for headphone lovers, it's the one I've recommended myself up until very recently. A highly adjustable, removable boom microphone that works in tandem with the headphones you already have? I'll give that a shot.
Here's a video explaining some of the basics in a more straightforward fashion than I will manage. There's also a full list of the technical specs here.
I literally stumbled across Antlion Audio and their ModMic a few weeks ago and it seemed to be the solution I had been looking for. I sent away an email asking about Neoclasp(the part that attaches to the headphones) and got talking to one of the AntLion team. Jimmy was a very helpful and forthcoming chap. Antlion are a very small company of gamers from Portland, Oregon, they are about 4 months old and relying on word of mouth(much like this). So I put through an order via paypal with a few extra of the currently free clasps and waited on the postman.
About 10 days later it landed.
Here's how it looks when it arrives(minus the regular jiffy bag/padded envelope). A few clicks and you'll get to the full size images. I'm afraid my camera and photography skills aren't the best.
It's an extremely sturdy cardboard tube with the ends pinched. Instructions are printed on the outside along with a personal thanks from Antlion which is pictured below. All on recycled paper. Minimal, clever and entirely functional packaging made from environmentally conscious materials scores a load of brownie points from me.
These are the contents of the happy tube of functionality. Unfortunately the thing missing from this picture is the wipe you get for cleaning up the surface of the headphones(which is a must) before attaching the Neoclasp. A lack of foresight on my part, I had used it before taking pictures.
You can see the rather simple little clasps here. After watching videos of the ModMic being raised and lowered I had assumed there was some sort of mechanism specifically for that. What actually happens is that when you flip the mic up, it rises up on the "teeth" and locks back in on the other side of the next, so it doesn't rotate like a traditional boom mic, it turns in 90° increments. This is the same design that makes it stick in place so well, but detaches easily when needed. I love this kind of convergent design.
Here it is installed on my trusty K702 headphones. Even having it in the working position it's not visible and it's easy to forget it's there. They've been a good test for the modmic, they aren't perfectly flat and they have fairly open mesh.
Getting it on was a simple job. Open the little packet with the alcohol swab, rub the area you want the Neoclasp to be, peel off the backing and stick it on. I aired on the side of caution and held it in place for a couple of minutes then left it alone for a while before I attached the mic. If it was really necessary, I can't say but the Antlion site suggested letting it cure for difficult surfaces. The sticky part is quite clever. It's not just a piece of sticky paper, or foam in the traditional sense. It's a plastic material, squashy and malleable, so it will follow most surfaces and make great contact. The common theme here seems to be simple and clever design.
If you click through to the full size image you can see the lovely little Antlion ModMic logo.
So on to how it actually performs. It's as good a mic as I have heard and tramples all over the clip ons I've used in the past. With it positioned at the corner of your mouth, not in front of it, you eliminate the dreaded darth vader/abusive phonecall effect we've all heard at some point or another. Being so close to your mouth you don't need the mic levels set high enough to pick up someone "clearing their throat" in the next room either. There's plenty cable(3.5m) and the excess can be tied up with the attached velcro cable tie. Using it over skype and mumble, the quality was fantastic, clear as crystal. I got similarly excellent results using it with my Mixamp on the ps3. When it's not in use I can just whip it off and stick it to the side of my pc, it even holds onto the coated metal hooks I have on the side of my desk for hanging headphones.
For those interested in removing the clasp, I sacrificed one in the name of science. I attached one to my headphones and left it over night then set about getting it off. Sticking my nail under the edge it started to come away, some controlled tugging and it came off and I'm happy to say in one piece. There was some very slight residue and tackiness, but nothing some isopropyl couldn't handle. You wouldn't know it had been there. I really should have taken a photo of the pad and headphones after I removed it, but I did get a picture of the clasp without the adhesive. Below is the total of the residue left on the neoclasp and without any cleaning up. I've got one clasp left that I will try on another set of headphones(Antlion are looking for feedback on Grado headphones) and however that turns out, I will dismantle the clasp and get pictures of the pad.
I really can't think of any glaring negatives, one alcohol wipe isn't going to be enough if you are putting clasps on more than one pair of headphones or worst case you mess up attaching the Neoclasp, which isn't very likely, but I've always got a decent amount of isopropyl alcohol at hand(the stuff is delicious). The wire isn't the thickest I have seen, but with a modicum of common sense I can't see it becoming a problem and I would miss how light it currently is if thicker meant heavier. Of course there are some people out there who could be flash and get to work with some braided sleeving and heatshrink tubing, which would be a cheap and elegant, if semi-permanent solution. I enjoy being able to take it off completely and easily, but it's really down to personal preference.
So in conclusion it's the best mic I've had the pleasure of using with some fantastic design choices and very little(if anything) to complain about and I can recommend it without reservation. It's going to cost a bit more than a clip on or standard desktop mic, about £25 delivered(depending on the current exchange rate), but you get a fantastic sounding, easy to live with product that is supported by a small business with a great ear and open and friendly communication with the customers
www.modmic.com
