Modmic 5 Hardware Review

 

ast year, we took a look at Antlion Audio's Modmic 4, a super slick add-on that turns any existing pair of headphones that someone may have (and love) into a fantastic sounding gaming headset. The concept is super simple; You might have a great set of headphones that offer unparallelled sound clarity and you want that same output paired with an awesome mic for gaming.

A lot of gaming headsets have decent mics, but suffer in the sound department, especially for under $200.00... something that sounds implausible but happens more often that you'd think. That's where the Modmic comes in; simply stick the Modmic to your headphones with the included magnetic bracket and cord management clasps and you're good to go! We were impressed with the Modmic 4 given its low price-point and came away very satisfied with its sound quality, ease of use and flexibility.

 

There were issues though; the plastics used in the mounting assembly were a little brittle, leading to the magnets literally pulling themselves through the bracket. The overall flexibility of the cables left a little to be desired as well,especially many months on. Thankfully, Antlion Audio has been listening and have seen fit to create a better Modmic; a more flexible, more powerful modmic – a next generation Modmic!

The Antlion Audio Modmic 5 takes the greatness that the Modmic 4 delivered and cranks the knob up to 11. It's a little more expensive, especially now that the Modmic 4 hs been on the market for a while, but there are some interesting, new features that have made their way into this new version, and they really make the Modmic 5 feel like a much more robust piece of equipment - and rightly so.

 

Firstly, the Modmic 5 is, well, more modular. If a component failed on the Modmic 4, you were kind of dead in the water until you got a replacement. The Modmic 5, however, has three seperate pieces that make up the whole of the device; the modmic itself has a short cord that is inserted into the mute switch. The mute switch then connects to one of two lengths of wire that come bundled as part of the package, perfect for users that may need a shorter or longer cord (we definitely needed the long one!) From there, the wire it put into any 3.5mm microphone jack. 

Antlion Audio also produces a number of accessories that allow users to interface with a variety of different devices; both the Y-adaptor for PS4 or Xbox One controller or the USB adapter for interfacing with Mac computers or PCs lacking a mic jack work perfectly.

 

In addition to the highly modular design, another neat feature has also been added to the Modmic 5; another switch can be found at the end of the flexible boom that houses the actual microphone – or in this case, microphones. This switch changes the Modmic 5's magnetic capture pattern; both unidirectional and omnidirectional patterns can be selected at the flick of this switch, which is super handy, depending on the recording conditions users will find themselves in.

The Modmic 5 is constructed with what feels like a much more premium material which further increases its appeal; the mute switch is made of a shinier quality plastic with a larger toggle switch and red and green indicators as a subtle visual cue that the mic is either live or off. The Modmic 5's wiring, both on the modmic itself and the included 3.5mm interface cables also feel much more durable with rubberized material that feels much more durable and flexible than the previous model.

 

Finally, in addition to the standard ire clasps and extra magnetic anchors (also sold separately if more are needed) the Modmic 5 also comes with a great piece of kit; a braided, anti-tangle wrap that fits over your headphones' wire as well as the Modmic cord and included clasps. It really makes the the final modded headset feel super solid, especially if it's a higher end set.

Just like with the Modmic 4, the Modmic 5 is very powerful when it comes to capturing clear, warm audio for gaming and streaming, which is our primary use for these units; it easily outperforms most if not all microphones found on Turtle Beach or Tritton headsets. That's impressive enough, but the difference between the Modmic 5 and the Sony Gold headset is like night and day. Pretty great stuff, but for other applications, the Modmic 5 has drawbacks; there is a faint hiss that requires a lot of post-processing to get rid of. This makes the Modmic 5 less ideal for podcasting or clean narration; you'll want a more robust, Phantom-powered FET Condenser mic for that. One final thing to note: The Modmic 5 (and is predecessors) are best suited to headphones with only a single cord leading to one side of the unit. Split Headsets still work, but could interfere with the braided wrap.

All in all, we're super satisfied with the results that the Modmic 5 have given us. It's definitely a robust piece of kit that makes any set of epic studio monitors – like our Audio Technicas – an excellent gaming and streaming headset that doesn't sacrifice sound quality like so many others do in the end.