Samson Satellite

I wanted to shift from a headset mic to a standalone mic for my multiple video conference calls per day, and also wanted to be able to use regular earbuds to monitor both my own voice in real time and hear the sound from my computer, so this seemed to fit the bill. I wish I'd read the manual first. I unpacked it and just plugged it into my Microsoft Surface Pro via a USB hub (I got an error message about insufficient USB resources, but that was the fault of my complicated setup and the Surface, not this mic), but quickly discovered that either the recording or the playback was spotty; either the other people couldn't hear me clearly, or I couldn't hear me or them clearly through my earbuds. I thought the mic was faulty, and was about to return it, when some Googling and referring back to the manual revealed (in simple instructions I'd failed to read first) that there is a special requirement for Windows users: you need to use the Sound settings control panel --> Device properties --> Additional device properties --> Advanced for *both* headphones and microphone to make sure that the Satellite mic's inputs and outputs use compatible sampling rates. In my case, I ended up using 2 channel, 16 bit, 44100 Hz for the headphone jack, and 1 channel, 24 bit, 44100 Hz for the microphone--only the last figure (the 44100 Hz) had to match. That done, the mic started working perfectly, and I'm getting all kinds of compliments on the sound quality at the other end. (As a number of reviews have suggested the Satellite is extra-sensitive to plosives, I also bought Samson's combination mic stand and pop filter, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C29BW7G, which had the extra benefit of raising the mic to a better height.) Bottom line: I'm thrilled with it, and recommend it for Windows users *AS LONG AS YOU READ THE MANUAL WHEN SETTING IT UP.*

Easy to use. I love the option of being able to plug directly into my computer or my phone. And I can also plug headset into the mic to monitor recording. The mic came with a foam windscreen, which is great, but honestly, I didn’t think the sound was any better than using the mic on my webcam. Fortunately, I opted to get the pop filter that was suggested at check out. Audio quality was greatly improved. Sounds great now.

I got mine two weeks after ordering and I have tried this microphone on both my iPad and laptop. It works perfectly well on my iPad where I used GarageBand to do testing, the sound came out crisp and clear. I sounded so good in it and I can’t wait to try out singing on it when I have the time. For laptop, it sounds not so clear and it is probably because of the headphones’ settings. Need some time to understand how this microphone works on laptop where you have to know the settings for both headphones and microphones on laptop. Overall, it is a good buy for me.

This microphone is super! The sound quality is excellent! I’m so glad that I use it to record my podcasts! I recommend it for anyone trying to create professional quality recording!

It's got the looks and a descent sound, but the USB side of things is seriously lacking. I've spend several days tuning it to work on Linux, and got it working good for most of the time. But even tuned very tightly with both time-based and interrupt-based scheduling it would randomly glitch and start producing metallic (wrong sampling rate) sound. Seeing how unreliable it is, I returned it and got an XLR mic with a separate sound interface.

Sound quality isnt "podcast" quality, much less studio quality. But the sound is clear, clean, and good enough to talk with people or use speech-based software. The value for the price is pretty darn good. Would recommend.

It did NOT work properly with an iPad Pro with a USB-C connector. I tried several cables including an "official" Apple USB-C cable. Gain was so high that clipping occurred. There is no microphone volume control on the unit or on the iPad. Even with dead silence you could tell that an automatic gain control was in play. Background noise would be amplified in the recording. I consulted Samson several times with no resolution. I sent it back and ordered a Shure MV88+. Yes, more expensive, but the Shure also has an app to control the polar pattern, gain, compression, and even EQ.

The light blinked red, yellow, green for no rhyme or reason. Sound came on/off during live videos. Very frustrating. There's a button on the control panel that doesn't do anything. Worked (when it was working) up close to primary speaker, but the omni-direction in a 10x12 room did not pick up the voices adequately a few feet away. Overall, it was a giant fail.