Microphone Performance

I tested the retractable bidirectional microphone of the PowerColor Alphyn AH10 in wireless mode. To review the microphone's sound and to compare it to other similar headsets, I used the Adam A7X speakers and Shure SRH840 headphones, both being studio monitors, connected to the powerful EVGA NU Audio Pro sound card, acting as a DAC, and the Topping A90 Discrete high-quality (pre)amplifier. The testing was done in Discord, TeamSpeak, Skype, and Audacity, and I also used Audacity to record sound from the microphone. The sound was recorded with microphone sensitivity set to 100% and was not post-processed or edited in any way.

For reference, this voice recording has been made with Rode NT-USB, a high-quality studio microphone:



This is the sound recorded by using the bidirectional microphone of the PowerColor Alphyn AH10, with the supplied pop filter applied and ENC on.



As expected from a wireless gaming headset, my voice sounds compressed but sufficiently clear. However, I had to speak louder than usual, and even then, I didn't sound particularly loud. If your teammates find you too quiet, you may need to adjust the output volume slider in your VoIP app, as the microphone boost feature is not available through the Control Panel or the Keystone software driver.

Below are samples from several other wireless gaming headset microphones for comparison. You'll notice that all of them sound significantly louder than the PowerColor Alphyn AH10.







Finally, here's a quick test of the ENC (Environmental Noise Cancellation) feature integrated into the microphone. You can toggle it on and off by pressing and holding the microphone mute button.



The ENC technology does an excellent job of suppressing background noise, such as the clicking of mechanical keyboard switches, without negatively affecting voice quality. As a result, it's a good idea to keep it enabled at all times.