Asus ROG Strix Magnus

[Inle]

Asus' first entry into the field of streaming microphones - the ones used by Twitch and YouTube streamers - is a great one. The ROG Strix Magnus is packed with features, comes in a compact form factor, and its sound quality will make your followers and subscribers happy.

Show full review

 

[Prince Valiant]

The design looks like a stick of deodorant .

 

[Inle]

The design looks like a stick of deodorant .

Aye, when you first unpack it, you don't know whether to talk into it, rub it on your armpits or try shaving with it

 

[Chaitanya]

RGB on mic, when will this RGB nonsense stop? Also never going to buy a mic from manufacturer which doesn't specialise in mics.

 

[Totally]

I don't agree, it's decent on cardioid but it's absolutely terrible in stereo and worse with ENC active. Both the Rode and the Audio-Technica mics sounded significantly better, with the AT being the better sounding of the two if I has to pick.

 

[Inle]

I don't agree, it's decent on cardioid but it's absolutely terrible in stereo and worse with ENC active. Both the Rode and the Audio-Technica mics sounded significantly better, with the AT being the better sounding of the two if I has to pick.

Try to play the Cardioid and the Stereo clip by switching from one to the other and back - you'll soon find out that they sound very, very similar. In the Stereo mode, the voice gains a bit of width and everything sounds generally a tad "softer". And more noise is picked up from the surroundings, as stated in the review - if you look at the pickup pattern, it's quite obvious why that's the case.

We agree on the ENC mode though - no serious streamer will use that. Or anyone else, for that matter

As for the Rode vs ATH - for me and my ears, Rode all the way. Hands down the best sound quality in the $150 bracket. I have yet to hear a nicer, deeper and warmer sounding condenser microphone in this price range. People usually compare it to the Yeti (Pro) - perhaps a topic for one of the future reviews

 

[Basard]

RGB on the backside so all the internets can see them on your mic while you stream.

 

[erixx]

I have the Samson C01uPro with Samson software for Noise reduction and the result with dictation (Dragon) is terrific. I have it in front of the mechanical keyboard and I am sure it makes my productivity worse. A real keyboard noise reducation would be great. (or back to 5€ rubber domes keyboard, lol)

Does this mic have that?

 

[Inle]

Do you need to type and talk at the same time? If that's the case, this is what you can expect in terms of quieting down your mechanical keyboard by using the ENC recording mode on the Magnus:

https://soundcloud.com/user-7162358...s-150-enc-mode-with-typing-and-mouse-clicking

The sound quality degradation is substantial and I wouldn't recommend using that recording mode at all. That leaves you with the Cardioid recording mode and some sort of software filtering (ie. Equalizer APO), if needed for your exact use scenario.

If you don't have to talk and type at the same time and are just wondering if the Magnus wouldn't get in the way as much, then yeah, it definitely won't. A size comparison with the Rode NT-USB and ATH AT2020USB+ from my review:

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Asus/ROG_Strix_Magnus/images/microphone-comparison.jpg

The Samson is a tad shorter than the Rode NT-USB (the biggest one on the photo), without the mount.

 

[erixx]

Yep, I mix typing and speaking. APO Eq looks very pro! Awesome.

 

[Th3pwn3r]

At that price point definitely not interested. The RGB crap is a deterrent for me as well. It would be weird having a transformer on the desk as well .

 

[Totally]

Try to play the Cardioid and the Stereo clip by switching from one to the other and back - you'll soon find out that they sound very, very similar. In the Stereo mode, the voice gains a bit of width and everything sounds generally a tad "softer". And more noise is picked up from the surroundings, as stated in the review - if you look at the pickup pattern, it's quite obvious why that's the case.

We agree on the ENC mode though - no serious streamer will use that. Or anyone else, for that matter

As for the Rode vs ATH - for me and my ears, Rode all the way. Hands down the best sound quality in the $150 bracket. I have yet to hear a nicer, deeper and warmer sounding condenser microphone in this price range. People usually compare it to the Yeti (Pro) - perhaps a topic for one of the future reviews

It's just that constant muffled hum that is happening in stereo is a bit too distracting, really noticeable in the pause after "mouth" after when you say the microphone is position "30sec away from my mouth"

 

[Inle]

It's just that constant muffled hum that is happening in stereo is a bit too distracting, really noticeable in the pause after "mouth" after when you say the microphone is position "30sec away from my mouth"

Yep, good ear, those would be the 6 fans in my PC case, which is sitting on top of the table (about 20 centimeters to the right of the right speaker - you can get a sense of its position by taking a look at this photo) And it's a very quiet PC at that, nearly silent to my ear from the sitting position (in front of the microphone, if you refer to the same photo).

That's the thing with the Stereo mode that I wrote about in the review - it will pick up everything to the left and the right of the microphone. If my case was under the table, the hum wouldn't be audible. That's why the mileage will vary from person to person. The Cardioid mode doesn't pick up stuff that's happening on the sides nearly as much. That's why Asus themselves are declaring it as the most "general purpose" recording mode.