USB Microphone With Tripod Stand

Due to the pandemic exiling everyone to their homes for zoom calls and online presentations, I sprung for a bit more money to give this equipment a shot. I am aware of the external sound drivers, USB audio plug-ins and mixers. There are a multitude of ways to stream, present and capture audio but the problem I found is the software of these various services interrupting or overriding functions that make problems for just about everything I use to communicate, teach and record audio. First off, each piece of software is going to have their own merits, drawbacks and compromises to deliver audio -- but the issue I am having is none of them seem to recognize sensitivity in the microphone consistently. This is where the USB microphone comes in. I had hopes that the device would allow for me to have one consistent means of delivering audio to an audience across all platforms I've gotten familiar with using. This is not the case, which makes me wonder about the software's functions when it comes down to trying to give a call or a presentation. While the audio drops, the gain on the microphone and the gain from software seem to cancel one another out as they frustratingly fight for dominance on the output to an audience. In a way, the constant triggers of these changes means I am going back in to the software to fine-tune the settings then switching back to adjust the hardware. I am frustrated. This by no means makes the hardware somewhat inferior, I don't doubt that this USB microphone has its merits, but the compromise in simplicity is made up by terrible software. I would've loved a separate driver to clearly manage the input of the microphone that made universal changes through multiple programs, meaning I set it once then forget about it. Windows picks up the device as "Generic PnP Microphone" which isn't too exciting, but given that each program can't quite fine tune to the hardware; we get very "generic" sound to the audience. I hate it, I tried fine tuning it within windows, found a sweet spot, only for a number of people to complain on whatever platform I am using at the time. When I switched exclusively to using my webcam microphone, I received more praise that the audio was more 'balanced' and stayed consistent. I've moved, changed, adjusted and fixed this device into a number of positions. I am about done with trying to 'fix' the audio to remain the same across all the programs I am using. With this being said, as a single, stand alone upgrade over a built in laptop microphone, this works great. If you already have a desktop with above average specifications and are looking to add higher quality audio -- change out the webcam first. I believe the microphone in some of the cameras are fine tuned enough where the input matches to speaking rather comfortably on all platforms. Well , what is actually good about this particular USB microphone? It's powered by USB, no external power supply or setup required. For the layman setup, this is invaluable as Windows will primarily pick-up the device and configuring in the individual software is down to setting preferences. Individual tweaks, adjustments are excluded and you can only adjust the dial gain on the hardware then go into the settings of any given software to make final adjustments. In all, I am mixed to uncertain if I'd recommend this to users looking for a cheap means to do live streams and host their voice on multiple platforms. The drawback to a single device operating on USB can give some mixed results on how software treats the hardware. In Zoom and Discord for example, the microphone is listed as "Generic PnP Microphone". Take of that what you will, I've been reeling around the functions of the drivers in and software functions on this microphone. Thus far, the 'best' overall audio is captured by my webcam, which I purchased for around $70 more than the microphone. while I am toying with other microphones, webcams and different setups. I've spent around a year trying to find the best space for balancing business type presentation with other programs. This microphone has the potential, but, for dictation, zoom, discord, it falls flat on some performance in my views. After driving it for a year,I am going to roll back on the webcam solution until a better, cleaner means of getting my voice across multiple devices is found.