Microphone Performance

The SPC Gear VIRO Infra gaming headset microphone was tested by connecting it to the Creative Sound BlasterX G6 sound card and a sound card integrated on the motherboard. The motherboard in question is the ASUS MAXIMUS XI Formula equipped with the SupremeFX S1220 audio codec. To review the microphone's sound and compare it to similar headsets, I used the Adam A7X speakers and Shure SRH840 headphones, which fall into the studio monitor category. I connected them to the Audiolab M-DAC, a high-quality digital-to-analog converter that functions as an external sound card when connected to a PC. I did the testing in Discord, Skype, and Audacity, and I also used Audacity to record the sound from the microphone. The sound was recorded with microphone sensitivity set to 100% and not post-processed or edited in any way.

For reference, I recorded this sample with the Rode NT-USB, a high-quality studio microphone:



This is an audio clip recorded by using the detachable microphone of the SPC GEAR VIRO Infra gaming headset:




The microphone quality is beyond anything I'd dare to expect from a sub-$50 gaming headset. My voice sounds pleasantly natural, has plenty of depth, and there are no audible signs of stuffiness or compression. The supplied pop filter does an excellent job of helping with plosives, so there are no popping noises even while I'm keeping the microphone capsule close to my mouth. The microphone definitely benefits from close proximity to your lips, so the addition of a pop filter is welcome. It's a cheap but extremely useful piece of foam, which many other manufacturers don't consider bundling with their headsets. Finding it on the €38 SPC Gear VIRO Infra is admirable.

I don't have to be particularly brave to conclude that the SPC Gear VIRO Infra microphone sounds better than the microphones of gaming headsets costing two or three times as much. Our SoundCloud profile has plenty of samples to prove it. You can listen to some of them below. I've limited myself to analog gaming headsets to keep the list concise.