QCF Hardware Review: Antlion Audio ModMic 4.0

here are very few things that I'm really picky about in life, but one thing that drives me mad is terrible audio quality. A great many headsets – with Turtle Beach headsets in specific - have atrocious sound reproduction, often with washed out mid tones, breathy, shrieking highs and not enough bottom end. The result is a nasty migraine if listened to for too long. Even then, the microphone quality can suffer even on higher-end headsets, no matter the cost. Without going to a $350.00+ solution with a very expensive cardioid or ribbon mic, a good set of headphones and a mixer to bring it all together via USB, could there actually be a way to marry an existing, great-sounding set of headphones that you already use with an excellent quality mic instead? Which now leads us to the big question; what if you could do it for just $50?

 

That's where the Antlion ModMic comes in. Currently in its fourth iteration, the ModMic is a great solution for a pretty big problem; I myself prefer to use a set of Audio-Technica ATH-M30 headphones when I'm doing audio work; their sound reproduction is extremely clear and completely balanced, all for just $70. So far, no other gaming headset I've used matches the audio clarity that these headphones produce. So what needed to be done was pretty clear: Attach the ModMic to the ATH-M30s and see how it fares!

 

Installation of the ModMic is pretty simple; the ModMic comes with a pair of magnets with an adhesive back. This 3M adhesive pretty much cements itself to the headphones you're using, provided they don’t have a rubberized finish. Any other plastic, metal and even aluminum mesh (like on the Audio-Technica Air ATH-AD700 set) will work with the magnet, allowing for a firm application that guarantees secure anchorage. The Modmic itself has an adjustable boom with a magnet on its end too—a four-peaked bracket on each piece fit together to secure the ModMic while the strong rare-earth magnets hold it in place.

And that's pretty much all there is to installation. Our Modmic came with a couple of accessories which are also available on the Antlion site: An analog adapter for both headphones and the ModMic (GDL-0427) allows players to interface the ModMic and headphones to a single analog, 3-band 3.5mm input; perfect for PS4 and Xbox One gaming. You could even interface it with a cellphone this way too, if you don't mind looking like a total dork taking a call on the bus.

We also received a USB interface adapter (GDL-0426), which uses C-Media drivers over USB 2.0. This makes the ModMic super easy to line into any PC or Mac. It also has a 3.5mm stereo headset port as well as a Microphone line-in. To use it, you'll need to switch the audio output of your PC and the Microphone to C-Media USB Audio, and it works in a fairly straight forward manner.

So all in all, the setup is a breeze. But how does it sound? The following demonstrates how the ModMic stacks up to a number of different, unfiltered and un-processed microphones.

I came away very impressed by the quality of the audio that the ModMic produced. It's an amazing little piece of tech, and could easily become a mainstay for anyone gaming either online, or even live-streaming. Mics like the M-Three are very good for capturing a lot of sound, but it's often a little too good, as it captures reverb and other noises with so much ease; I can't get away with scratching my face when someone else is recording across the whole room. The ModMic's capture, by comparison, does an excellent job of getting just your voice and not much else.

Its form factor is also second to none; the Modmic comes with a series of little clasps that hold it to the code of your existing headphones rather well. There is also a simple, inline mute switch you you can mute yourself at any time. Easy to find, easy to activate. Truly great stuff. It could even be great for podcasting, too... something that will likely be tested in future installments of the PPR Podcast.

There was a slight issue with our unit though; the magnets ended up pulling each other so hard that the one in the mic boom broke free of its casing. All it needed for repairs was a bit of hot glue and bam, problem solved, but it's still an issue that has an approximate 0.3% known occurrence rate (About 1 in 660 units, according to Antlion.) However, Antlion also replaces magnets if they are lost or fail – with free shipping - for the lifetime of the product.

Antlion Audio really did blow me away with the quality of the sound that was delivered through the ModMic. Barring any physical issues, since they are so easy to fix if it's needed, the ModMic performed in ways that make it an instant recommendation. The slogan seems like more of statement than a marketing ploy; Keep your headphones—Add a ModMic.