The best USB mic you’ve probably never heard. sE Electronics NEOM is HUGE!
The new sE electronics USB microphone, the Neom, has a massive sound. But is it the best of the USB bunch? We go head-to-head with the Tula mic, the AKG ARA, the Neat Bumblebee 2, and the Rode USB Mini. Grab your headphones because you’re not going to believe your ears!
Chapter Markers:
00:00 - There’s been a murder
01:00 - Sponsored by…
01:21 - A closer look
02:20 - VS!
02:51 - Rode Mini
03:30 - AKG ARA
04:30 - Tula
05:17 - Neat Bumblebee 2
06:33 - 11?
07:22 - Mounting to boom arm
08:58 - Rode on the Boom
10:17 - ARA on the Boom
11:23 - Tula on the Boom
12:35 - Neat on the Boom
13:53 - Recording on Mobile
15:40 - Final thoughts and observations
Looking to buy a mic? When you click one of these links, you help support the channel.
Affiliate links:
sE Electronics NEOM microphone - amzn.to/3Kqpukg
Neat Microphones Bumblebee 2 - amzn.to/3LutykL
Tula Microphone - amzn.to/3vmAISG
AKG ARA Microphone - amzn.to/3EXzXCI
Rode NT-USB Mini - amzn.to/3EYS0IL
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Thanks for this breakdown. I'm in the market for one and you've really helped.
Absolutely brilliant video. Huge thanks to you good sir!
Most welcome.
All of your vids have an amazing sound. This alone is a reason to watch 😎
Thanks!
Getting started here getting into voice over and your channel has been a god send I appreciate the mic comparisons
Thanks for the comment!
I was just checking to see if SE had any USB options and here you are, good sir. You helped me out with the Podmic, and it looks like you helped me out again!
Great to hear!
For a mic review video, your videos are surprisingly entertaining and addictive to watch.
Thanks!
Thanks for your Review on this Mic! I been thinking of Getting it for a cartoon I'm working on!
Hope you enjoy it!
@@creatorsvillage Indeed I have! Got it a few Days ago! Fantastic Mic! Thanks again for your review! Best one out there!
I'm not sure how KZhead served up your channel, but I'm really enjoying both your content and the personality and style.
Thanks man.
I think this is as good as it gets if post processing is something you don´t care about. I ordered one to try it out. Thanks for the review. Subscribed.
Hope you enjoy it!
Glad I discovered your channel it so refreshing to see your.Great review and it’s clear how much fun you add making the video what was the record software you used on your iPhone when testing the mike
It was just voice memo
sE and Neat are probably my two favorite mic companies rn. The products they release are extremely good quality for the price
Agreed.
Amazing to hear! 🙏🙏
I live in Kansas City too! And great mic review you’re a funny guy lol
Awesome! Thank you!
Never thought I'd enjoy an audio review video this much lmao. Love the jokes.
Thanks for watching!
I LOOOVE your videos!!
Thanks!
Not just entertaining and relevant, but also originating from the sweetest man cave in the VO community. Did you recently add the Make People Happy reminder? Love your space.
Yeah, thanks for noticing. I find that statement to cut to the root of my "why". Thanks for the kind words.
Thanks. Useful review. There's a slight sync issue. 100ms delay needed on video?
Hmmm, i'll take a look
sE really makes impressive mics, especially for the price. I have a pair of SE-8 small diaphragm condensers and they give my Neumann KM-184’s a run for their money.
Wow! Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for the kind words! 🙏
You simply the best!)
Thanks!
Your voice is in the same league with Booth Junkie...makes almost all mics sounded good, IMHO.
Oh wow, such a compliment! Mike is an amazing guy with an amazing voice. Thanks for watching!
I really like your videos
Thanks!
I really like this mic for my day-to-day office work, but it is REALLY low to the desk. Easy solution? Shure A26X Extension Tube for Desk Stands - adds 3 inches to the height of this (or almost any other) mic stand.
Awesome fix!
Is it good for gaming,i mean if i buy it instead hyper x quadcast s is se neom usb would be better choice???
I was about to buy the SE handheld Chrome finish. But that one is an XLR so I will have to get an audio interface. Do you recommend this one over that? Another recommendation for you. CAD has an audio interface for $70 CAD connect II. I can send it to you to review if you want
What are you going to doing with the mic? Voiceover? Streaming? Podcasting? Think about the end application when you are considering mics.
Very nice review. Lot of work on your end….I agree Tula still wins. But if you are live streaming, teaching a class etc.. SE would rock..instead of using a Lav or headset mic.
I think so too.
Great review. What about singing? I'm a voice teacher and many of my students want to record direct into garageband without the hassle of a preamp. What do you think is the best usb mic for singing, reasonably priced (under 200)? Thanks -
Ack! I don't know! I'm so not a singer. Sorry.... You could check out the Podcastage channel, he sings on his mic reviews.
Thanks for the great review. Is there a static sound while you record on the mobile? If there is what may be the cause? I want to use this microphone with both my PC and mobile (Android) but couldn't decide which cable to use. Should I buy a USB Type C to USB Type C cable and use it when I want to record on my mobile, or should I just buy an USB A to USB Type C adapter for the existing cable?
It's tricky because adaptors can sometimes fail. Whenever I can, I try to get a cable with the correct connectors.
@@creatorsvillage thx for your reply. I purchased the microphone after a small research I made after seeing it in your video. I liked the product. It works quite fine with a PC. But because of background noise problems like fan noise and echoes of an untreated room, I purchased a USB-TypeC to USB Type C cable to record in a better environment (I also didn't want to encounter any problems caused by an adaptor) The microphone works fine with my Android phone. But, I am not very happy with the outcome. Because, as I learned recently, android phones can record at 16bit at best, and programs that I have used to record pick the sound both from the USB mic and the device's own mic at the same time, which may cause a problem. Not bad, but not as expected for sure. I am still trying to figure it out.
@@tulga3760 Good luck and keep trying!
Would you still recommend the NEOM Microphone this year? I'm planning to purchase it soon
It's still a great mic
not the HyperX Quadcast S, but it's the best from the ones i've never heard about so the title is not lying
Thanks!
@@creatorsvillage you're welc ^^
Hi Nick. I urgently need your advice and expert opinion! Which mic sounds better, Neom or Rode NT-USB? The price of them is almost equal. The main application is voice over. It is mainly needed for travel, in studio i use Neumann TLM 102.
I would not recommend the road NT USB for voiceovers unless you do a lot of post processing. For some reason they went with the new trend of boosting the high-end , dropping the low end, and this creates a lot of hearing fatigue. It's also a bit muddy like most rode mics. For gamers, I give it a B- ... for voice over, I give it a C- Fifine's first microphone, the k670, is still available and is a superb microphone for only $40. This was before the whole top end boost trend which Gamers seem to love. And it's somehow has amazing room rejection. I think they went all out for their first mic. All KZheadrs love it but for some reason say the headphone jack is no good. I've owned two of them and I disagre. For voice overs I give the k670 (k670b if I want black and pay more) a B- for voice overs. You will need a pop filter or a screen. I got mine for $4 Lastly, if you have a nice deep voice, and can spend an extra 80 bucks, (vs the rode ) I strongly recommend the sure mv7. That one gets a solid B The only other USB mic I've ever considered is the one on this video because I love se.
Hey, so I have both of these mics, and I like the Neom much better.
Hi I purchased the Neom today and would like to solve a query. I am using Logic Pro X. The Neom shows up as 2 channels, therefore in Logic the options are, Stereo, Dual Mono, Mono, so what is the best option to use, it looks like the 2 channels are identical using the stereo option ? So is that doubling the sound? Would it best just to use one of the channels ? Which is the optimum ?. On an iPhone it seems it will record both channels by default ? How were you recording it ? Thanks Tim
Hi Tim, I always record my VO as a mono track. Thanks for the comment!
I was wondering what headphones you were using in this video?
Sennheiser 280 pros.
Huh, cool mic, cool review. P.S. Being able to add the low-end to the Rode Mini (activating the "Fat Bottom") is a real gamechanger, it made me actually like the mic's sound. But it's annoying that you have to use software to do it and the software is itself annoying. Also, yes, muting the headphones instead of the mic is baffling and useless behaviour.
I was so impressed I immediately bought a NEOM from AMAZON. For me on Windows 10 it's the opposite of plug and play. It seemed to install - the NEOM joined the Mic menus as an option - but No Volume in monitoring programs, or Zoom. Everything looks ok but no sound (yes, gained is turned up and mute is turned off). For example, I can put it into and out of blinking red mute mode, but no sound either way. I also later tried the "optional" software but no difference. I wonder if I got a dead unit with a missing wire somewhere. same results on 2 win10 laptops. UPDATE MAY 10: I got a second one and it works fine. Manufacturer says they will drop ship me a new one and asked for the first one, the defective one, back, to troubleshoot their quality control. It was a big time sink to get the defective one (a lot of booting & rebooting & trying 2nd laptop etc).
Crazy. It's not unheard of to get a bad unit. It's happened to me. I'm using a Mac so I can't actually help you troubleshoot. It does say that it's supposed to work on both mac and windows. Maybe check the cable?
@@creatorsvillage Yup, tried two cables and two laptops but thanks. I recall you had some brand of mike recently with a loud rattle & replacement. I got a teleprompter last year that was defective. It happens. my serial # for NEOM was 00076 suggesting one of the first.
@@creatorsvillage I tried a 3rd cable and got "flashing white' which is not covered in the manual. With every cable, the lights turn on, and the mute button flashes red during mute, but the Mic button never shows any green, which I think it should during speaking.
@@brucequinnplayground2114 Yeah, my first Tula was defective. Loose capsule.
@@brucequinnplayground2114 I got a flashing white once while recording this video. turns out I had to unplug and replug the cable and everything was fine. I hope you're able to figure this out.
Did you boost the audio in post? I just got this mic. When I tested the audio is too faint even with 100 percent mic gain and level. I was talking hardly 7 - 8 inches from the mic. I had to boost audio by 8dB to make the audio sound normal audible.
Hmm, no I didn't boost it in post.
Which you do prefer between this and the at2020 (I have the usb and the xlr and they are verysimilar if not identical)
I like the NEOM a lot. But only for things that prefer that modern, aggressive sound.
The hat gave it away anyway. Like your vids, thanks.
Thanks for watching!
can you link to the media adapter to connect it to iPhone? and also can you record video with the microphone using the iPhone? thanks!
nvm found it
Sorry for the late response, been under the weather. Glad you found it.
Greetings from Poland
Greetings!
Well you just sold me another microphone I didn’t need.
We should start a support group.
Has anyone tried this mic with Jamulus? I'd be interested to know the ping/delay numbers you get. Thanks!
Me too.
Love your content, but a correction is in order: not the first from sE. I use and quite like their sE X-1 USB. Now discontinued. Use it as my travel mic. Could have been named by Elon Musk at his most immature. Didn’t realise how the name sounded till I said it out aloud to someone.
Thank You! I had no idea they had made a version of the X1 in USB.
I just read that Saudi Arabia has plans to build a huge new model city which will be called NEOM.
LOL
Does using a shock mount help for Akg Ara?
You know, it only has a hard mount. I haven't found one that will work for the ARA.
SE electronics is no joke and this one sounds great in your voice but I do think it can use a little processing to clean up the low end slightly
Brother I am from India and I want to know Scarlet solo bundle or usb nemo ... which one is best for voice over
The scarlet will allow you more versitility in the future.
Thanks, I watched this before I made up my mind. NEOM has the best kung fu!
this thing can compete with SM7B for streaming, great quality........
It really is.
SE electronics 👍
What mic you are using
This is the sE Electronics Neom
Trying different mics out for general purpose including ContentCreation and Streaming and the Neom was one of them. But i will send it back. For one, it is one of the more expensive mics, it has a bad rejection of tapping/vibrations and (thats the most important thing) it blinks all the time. If you are speaking, it blinks green everytime, if you mute it, it will blink red all the time and there is no way to turn that off. :I (Also the ASIO from SE resets my settings everytime) Except for that, it sounded quite nice and the look and build quailty are pretty nice too. I realy think they should add some form of a free-swinging capsule to it, for mobile usage without handling noise/vibrations and make every LED just a solid color. Next mics im testing will be the Bees. (Bumble and King) And i think more XLR mics should have a mute button btw, what is something that might kick the King out of the ring for me. On the other hand there are several reviews of it, that show that it is not the most sensitive condensor, so it will also work in semi-treated rooms too. Looking forward to it. ;D And your videos are helping me a lot, even when your voice is way superb to mine. ;D (So its not easy to know how mics sound for mine)
thanks for the comment! Good luck!
it might be one of the better new mics for streaming, but considering sE doesn't even list the mic's self noise 🤨 🤔... I doubt it's better than a Røde NT1 for voice-over.
The NT1 isn't a USB mic, and one of the compliants of the NT USB Mini is the noise floor.
@@earthlydescent fair enough, but my point is that for the price of NEOM, you can get an NT1 which is one of the lowest self-noises in a mic. usb mics in general have 🤮 self-noise.
I might have to do a home self noise test with a bunch of my USB mics to see where they sit.
It does sound great, but I think you gave it a pass on the handling noise (maybe because of the rush?), which to me sounded almost as awful as the Ara
I'll go back and take a closer look, thanks for pointing that out.
This one or Tula?
ACK.. So hard to choose. The Tula is going to give you a more natural sound. The Neom will give you more punch.
maybe you can teach me english, your accent is quite nice
thanks!
Thanks for this test. To me the Tula has the best sound by far, but it's butt ugly, impractical and expensive, so Neom for the win.
LOL that made me laugh. first time i've heard it called Butt Ugly. LOL
Ur funny..r u a comedian sir?
Hellooo from France Is it working on android smartphone? The se electronics Neom USB
Hi France! I don't know. I'm not an android user. But it claims to on the website.
@@creatorsvillage hello since my comment I bought this microphone and he is very very good even without any software just plug it it's perfect and I bought the Se electronics 2200 it's an amazing microphone for to sing! For his price he is better than the horrible rode nt1a! Just open the microphone and you will understand the differences 😂 The se electronics 2200 for 220usd he has the same quality than microphone around 1000 euros!! That's the market and reality of that!