Antlion ModMic USB

Now, of course, you can buy a new set of headphones with a mic, which might mean spending a lot of money to match the quality of your existing pair. Or you can try adding a microphone attachment. Antlion Audio offers an alternative to buying a whole new pair of headphones with their ModMic models (ModMic5), here we are looking at the ModMic USB. ModMics are simply microphones that can be attached to existing headphones.

The two-metre-long cable of the ModMic USB ends, as the name suggests, with a USB type A plug. Antlion Audio includes two so-called “Base Clasps” to attach it. These clamps are attached to the preferred side of the headphones, ideally where the headphones join their cable. You need to take care to find the correct angle, as they can only be adjusted in approximate increments. On the non-sticky side, the clips are magnetic, just like their equivalent on the microphone. The second holder serves as a spare or you can use it to customise another pair of headphones. On the microphone itself, a screw can be loosened on the magnetic holder to angle the microphone or adjust the length. The ModMic USB comes with a manual with tips to help you attach it correctly. Also included is an alcohol wipe to clean the area to be glued, ten clips/clamps to reduce the chaos of your cables, and three spare adhesive strips in case you want to remove the holders and use the ModMic with another set of headphones. They are also supplied with a matching case to ensure safe transport, and a pop guard.

If everything is mounted and connected to a PC, Mac or PS4, you have two setting options on the microphone: with the “omnidirectional” pattern, the microphone captures everything from 50Hz to 20kHz. Here the microphone sounds very good, warm, and clear, with hardly any noticeable noise. In a quiet environment, my computer’s fans were only slightly audible.

If the situation is less stable, the microphone can be set to “unidirectional” (cardioid). The frequency range shrinks to 100Hz to 10kHz. Of course, this affects the sound somewhat, but speech is still excellently reproduced. By trimming the low and high frequencies, some noise is lost without interfering too much with the sound of speech. Last but not least, there is a mute button with a red LED on the cable, which allows you to mute the microphone quickly. Unfortunately, volume settings cannot be adjusted directly on the microphone; they must be controlled in the corresponding system settings.