The Speedlink Capo is a £20 (or cheaper!) USB microphone that can be used with the included desk stand or as a handheld unit. As this is XSReviews, our primary use case will be for PC gaming. Let’s get started!
Features & Specifications
- Desktop and handheld mic for PC
- USB connector
- Integrated sound chip
- Lightweight and ergonomic
- On/off switch for quick muting
- Secure and adjustable stand with stable base
- Easy plug-and-play installation
- Weighs 75 grams
- 2 metre cable
Design
The Speedlink Capo USB has a simple design, with a small but traditionally arranged hand-held microphone, held in an adjustable stand.
The tip of the microphone is metal, but almost all other components are plastic. The in-hand feel is fine, but you get the feeling that this microphone is somewhat fragile. There’s a mute switch on one side.
The Capo connects via a non-braided USB cable which measures two metres. No 3.5mm connection is available, although you can get the Capo in a separate 3.5mm version if you’d prefer to use it with a video camera. It is also possible to connect it to an iPad using a Lightning to USB adapter. Another upside to the USB version is that you don’t need a working sound card in your PC; the Capo USB uses its own sound chip.
Testing
In order to test the Capo, we used it to record some samples from the text of this review, and communicate to our teammates in Counter-Strike and Overwatch.
In both games, we found no issues with teammates understanding our crisp clean callouts. Long-time teammates that sometimes complained of buzzing or quiet vocals had no such complaints this time around, which made for a nice change.
Having a desk mic also ensures you can use whatever headphones you prefer; having a integrated mic is no longer a requirement, so Sennheiser HD598s are just as viable as the Fnatic Duel.
You can be the judge of the spoken review sections, but we found them to be largely understandable, if not quite clean enough for podcasting or other professional uses.
Wrapping up
Thanks for checking out our review. Let us know what you think in the comments below, and feel free to share your own impressions if you end up buying this USB mic!
- Buy from Amazon.co.uk – £12.59
- Buy from Amazon.de – EUR 19,99
