JBL Quantum Stream Talk Stand Microphone: hands-on review

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One of the best things you can do to improve your overall video quality is to get a good microphone. High-quality audio can be the difference between your videos sounding professional, and sounding like you’re talking through a tin can. But with the wealth of choice out there when it comes to microphones it can be hard to pick. I recently got the chance to try out the new JBL Quantum Stream Talk stand microphone to see what it’s like and what it’s ideal use cases are. In this review I’ll test it out by voicing over my videos and then I’ll go over the pros and cons and let you know if I think this microphone is a good fit for you.
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What you get
This microphone is kind of an interesting character. It is extremely lightweight and that’s because it is built almost entirely of plastic. The construction consists of a coaster sized stand as a base, with a narrow post which the microphone sits on. The microphone itself is super slim and probably only the diameter of my baby finger.
Impractically for some, the microphone does not fold or collapse, meaning it is not as portable as it could be. I’d love to see a future version of this able to fold down completely flat for Transport. But since this is designed to be used on its stand on a desktop, perhaps that’s not a major concern. There is also no way to mount this to any kind of microphone stand or arm.
In the box you get a USB-A to USB-C cable to connect to your laptop. There’s an Aux jack for connecting wired headphones for monitoring, if you want to do that.
Set up & connection
Depending on whether you’re using this on a Mac, PC, or gaming device your set up will be a little different, but essentially you want to go into your audio or sound settings and choose the JBL quantum stream talk microphone for sound output.
How to place JBL Quantum Stream Talk
Multi-Function Control Knob
There’s one single button on the base that doubles as both a volume dial for your connected headphones, as a gain knob for adjusting mictrophone volume input, and as a mute button for the mic, if you push it. Think of it as the sensitivity setting for your mic. High gain means your mic is super sensitive and can pick up the faintest whispers. Low gain, on the other hand, makes it more about your voice and less about background noise.
The tap-to-mute function is also quite a useful feature. It's the panic button you never knew you needed, especially if you have family members who like to barge into your room while you're broadcasting, or you need to sneeze or cough.
One last neat little feature is that a tiny LED ring around the input of the microphone will glow green when you’re connected and ready to record, red when the mic is muted, and blue while you’re adjusting the mic volume.
USB-C Connectivity for multiple devices
Audio quality
As I hinted that earlier, the quality you’re going to get from this mic has something to do with where and how you place it and how you adjust the game. But I found when it was set up on my desk at about 8 inches from my mouth with the gain at a moderate level, the sound quality was extremely good. I was able to minimize any hiss or background noise and just get really good sound quality. Conversely if you’re not going to take care with your placement of this microphone your audio quality will suffer. Fortunately it’s easily remedied with some tweaks.
Overall review: JBL
Overall I think this is a pretty great microphone particularly for folks who might be starting out and don’t have the budget to splash out on fancy equipment. Let’s go over the pros and the cons to see if it might be right for you.
On the pro side it’s lightweight and easy to move around, ultra easy to use and configure, and it does come with a built-in stand. I found the LED light to be very helpful and the one touch volume, gain and mute button is actually pretty convenient and means I can avoid needing to tweak the settings inside my computer. The sound quality it produces is actually very impressive given the plastic build and budget price point.