Antlion Audio ModMic 5 Modular Attachable Boom Mike

Before getting to the bad, I want to chime in on what I did like about this version compared to the ModMic 4, which I also own. Its evident that Antlion listens to their customer base, as many of the differences are solutions to complaints regularly voiced about the ModMic 4. Pros: - The obvious ability to add a microphone to any pair of headphones. I personally use Sennheiser HD580's, and being able to have a mic with those is a fantastic combination. - The audio quality is actually quite good if you ignore the static hum. See my con for clarification. - The ability to chose the cardioid pattern is interesting. However, I don't see why anyone would want to use this in omni-directional mode. The point of a headset is to only pick up your voice, and not the surrounding background noise. - The modular cable design is great, especially for the longevity of owning this device. If a cable isn't the correct length, or breaks, you can simply buy a new one from a 3rd party relatively cheaply. - They included more extras! Extra cable management clips, extra headphone bases, and a cable management sleeve which is commonly used to hide bundles of cables when organizing electronics. These alone are worth around $15, its really great to see a company taking a small hit on profits to add convenience (although, they likely only lost a dollar or two per unit, not a huge deal). Also, it uses the same clips and mounting bases from the ModMic 4, so switching between the two models would be seamless. Con: The ModMic 5 suffers from the same issue which plagues most headset mics, a constant static hum. I tried both cardioid patterns, with and without a usb adapter (a usb adapter or sound card solves this problem for the ModMic 4, and most headsets), adjusting the frequency and levels.. nothing worked to get rid of it like I am able to with the ModMic 4. Perhaps I received a defective product, but more likely its present in all models. I guess for most its unnoticeable, but for me it drove me insane. I have a background in live audio production and am used to signal interference, but not this bad.. I would be using this for livestreaming games, and communicating with my teammates. I cannot have that noise broadcasted, as it would drive everyone insane. This is the only reason it lost 2 stars for me, othewise it would've been perfect. Summary: If you have a ModMic 4, and are content with it, the ModMic 5 is not worth getting. The audio quality increase (assuming you dont experience the hum problem I had) isn't really worth justifying the monetary cost for minor changes. Otherwise, sure, give it a try, maybe you'll have better luck with the static hum than me. I ended up returning mine because of this noise, and will continue being extremely happy with my ModMic 4.