Product: EPOS B20 Streaming Microphone
Type: Microphone
Price: $329 AUD
Availability: Now
Link: eposaudio.com/en/au/gaming/products/b20-grey-gaming-microphone

Having a dedicated microphone used to be a thing for broadcasters and musicians. That is, looking back several years to a time when people travelled the globe on buses that had wings and gatherings of people happened in the thousands for some reason. Jokes aside, we’re now well and truly in a different time. In the sense that there are a number of reasons to plug in a dedicated microphone.

From streaming on platforms like Twitch, to recording and editing clips for YouTube, or simply dialling into Zoom or Discord and bringing some audio class to a virtual room. On that note the EPOS B20 Streaming Microphone is great for all of the above.

EPOS, the gaming audio brand formerly known as Seinnheiser, is no stranger to exactly that - gaming audio. It’s headset and headphones have always featured exceptional sound quality, covering the entire spectrum of budgets. The EPOS B20 Streaming Microphone is the company’s first dedicated mic.

And with microphones having been a staple component of its products over the years, it definitely has that audio recording experience under its belt.

Tech Talk

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But there is a difference when making the jump from a headset microphone to a dedicated one, which all comes down to how microphones work and the flexibility needed if you’re serious about streaming.

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The EPOS B20 Streaming Microphone is the company’s first dedicated mic. And with microphones having been a staple component of its products over the years, it definitely has that audio recording experience under its belt.

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For the EPOS B20 the company is touting “studio broadcast quality”, which coupled with its own simple-to-use software and plug-and-play USB interface means there’s very little in the way of setup and installation to mess around with. The included desktop stand compliments the overall minimal design found across the product, though if it were a little heavier it would feel a tad more stable. The EPOS B20 also supports other setups like mounting or placing on a boom arm.

Microphone

• Microphone: Condenser Microphone (3 condenser capsules)
  
• Frequency Response: 50-20,000 Hz
  
• Pick-up Pattern: Cardioid, Bidirectional, Omnidirectional, Stereo
  
• Sensitivity: -37 dBV/PA
  
• Recording Sample and Bit-Rate: 24bit - 48kHz

Speaker

• Frequency Response: 20-20,000 Hz
  
• Impedance: >15 Ω
  
• Power Output: 20 mW/16 Ω
  
• Signal-to-Noise: 90 dB
  
• Playback Sample and Bit-Rate: 24bit - 96kHz

With no latency across recording and playback the USB-powered EPOS B20 is as versatile as you’d want a standalone microphone to be. The physical audio controls can be synced with those on PC too, making for a hands-on feel that compliments the excellent build quality. You can calso easily switch between various pick-up modes for directional single-voice recording through to multiple people gathered around a table or desk. Headset monitoring is available via a single 3.5mm jack too.

The EPOS B20 is versatile to a fault, and this extends to full compatibility with PS4 consoles on top of PC. The only real draw-back is that the on-board controls lack tactile feedback in that you can’t really tell what the volume or gain levels are set at just by looking at the microphone -- here it’s a mix of hardware and software to get things set ‘just right’. The EPOS Gaming Suite app continues to impress on Windows 10, and with that in tow the B20 becomes a great option for streaming or Discord chats.

Sounds Like

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The immediate feedback you get from any microphone comes from the quality of the sound. Take your standard budget gaming headset, there’s a telephone-like filter where certain frequencies are cut-out and the overall sound is fine for chat but not much else. On the other end of the spectrum the EPOS B20 Streaming Microphone gives an immediate warm and deep sound, where the entire frequency range is given ample room to breathe. It definitely hits the studio broadcast quality of its design, with the easy plug-and-play setup resulting in the difference coming down to the room you’re using it in.

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The EPOS B20 is versatile to a fault, and this extends to full compatibility with PS4 consoles on top of PC.

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Tested across Discord, and even in game the EPOS B20 proved to be more than suitable for use across podcasting, video recording, and straight-up streaming. The sleek modern design features great build quality, instilling it with a premium look. Though as the first dedicated microphone from EPOS there is room for improvement. It would have been nice to have on-board visual feedback for all of the settings, and the microphone itself sits a little low when using it on the stand -- making getting the right balance difficult at times. In the end though the versatility here is impressive, and the portability too -- which when coupled with the sound quality makes for a great microphone.