The HyperX QuadCast S is a USB condenser microphone that sounds the best and looks great. Extremely stunning RGB lighting and dynamic effects will add flair and style to any stream or setup and are customizable via HyperX NGENUITY software. The QuadCast S is an all-inclusive microphone, with anti-vibration mount to dampen the rumble of everyday life and a built-in pop filter to dampen plosive sounds. The HyperX QuadCast S is a very nice USB microphone: rainbow LEDs color the microphone under the grille.
The microphone is long and cylindrical, and has a durable all-metal housing. The USB connection is not as durable as an XLR connection, nor does it give the same sound quality, but it is much easier to use and should not be a problem for all but the most extreme audiophile. A layer of foam acts as a pop filter behind the grille, which works just as well as on the original HyperX QuadCast.
The streaming microphone is bolted to a shock mount, which prevents handling noise and external vibration from affecting your recording. Unfortunately, you can’t remove it from the shock mount, so portability is limited. But that’s reasonable, since a gaming microphone is usually on your desk. It comes with a microphone stand adapter, so you can mount it on a boom microphone for more flexibility.
At the bottom of the QuadCast S is a frosted dial that lets you adjust the gain, and at the top is a tactile mute button. When you mute the microphone, the LED lights turn off, so you never have to worry about whether it’s actively recording or not. On the back of the microphone is a USB-C input to plug in the included 3-meter USB-C to USB cable.
Design
We had only been using the Quadcast S for an hour or two before we got the distinct thought that whoever designed it must have spent a lot of time with other USB microphones. Not that we were ever dissatisfied with our old Blue Yeti. But had we had this HyperX microphone first, we might have been. For starters, there is a touchpad on top of the microphone that can mute it. This is easily one of the most useful features, especially if you need to quickly pause your audio during a live stream. Muting the microphone also turns off the colored LEDs, giving you instant feedback that it is safe to speak.
On the other hand, there is an amplification button built into the bottom of the microphone. This makes it easy to adjust the input level on the fly. The only minor problem we have with this is that there is no input level meter on the microphone itself, or in the HyperX software, to help set the gain. Not a big problem, as apps like OBS usually already have those, but go with HyperX: the LEDs are there. Just turn the whole microphone into a level meter while the gain knob is in use. Or at least flash red when we climax.
It doesn’t matter, it’s fine. On the back of the microphone is a dial to switch between four polar patterns: stereo, omnidirectional, cardioid and bidirectional. These are pretty standard and you’ll probably never need to change the template if you use a consistent setup and record only yourself, but it’s always nice to have the flexibility. The microphone also connects via USB-C, a welcome upgrade over the mini-USB of the previous Quadcast microphone.
Features
The RGB lighting of the HyperX microphone is not the only interesting design feature of the QuadCast S. Both the QuadCast and Quadcast S have a tactile mute button at the top that turns the microphone input on and off. When the microphone is turned off, the backlight turns off. Because the power button is capacitive, you can activate it with your finger just above it without physically touching it, or accidentally turn it on by rubbing it with your bare arm.
The input level control for the microphone is also cleverly placed at the bottom of the microphone, and you rotate the entire bottom section to adjust the input sensitivity. A switch on the back selects from four available microphone patterns, internal settings that direct the microphone’s sound to specific areas in front, behind or around. These four patterns are: cardioid, which records only in front of the microphone; bidirectional, which records both in front of and behind the microphone for face-to-face situations; stereo, a three-way recording pattern often used for recording ancient musical instruments and vocals; and omnidirectional, which is sensitive to the entire environment around the microphone.
Performance
The QuadCast S is still built around the same internal components as the QuadCast, so it captures audio at 48kHz and 16-bit bitrate. Frequency response is 20Hz to 20kHz and the microphone is sensitive to -36dB. That’s impressive, but not best-in-class. The Elgato Wave:3, for example, achieves 96kHz at 24-bit. That said, do you really need this level of fidelity? The audio field is littered with products looking for specs, and for most applications it doesn’t matter once you get past a certain bar.
The QuadCast S covers the full range of human hearing and has so little background noise that we practically couldn’t find it. When recording alone, the microphone was remarkably quiet at any gain setting we’d reasonably use in the real world, and the QuadCast was never the limiting factor when recording our weekly podcast with our colleague. -host and his microphone janky by comparison. All four microphone models delivered excellent results, with clearly differentiated imaging in stereo mode and excellent room noise suppression in cardioid mode.
Sound quality
Despite its excellent design, it is the sound quality of the QuadCast S that justifies its price. It offers a 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response and 16-bit bit rate, also with three 14mm capacitors that allow it to operate in four different directional patterns. Compared to other microphones we have used, the HyperX QuadCast S has a significant improvement in sound quality over the $50 Razer Seiren Mini and many other PC gaming headsets such as the HyperX Cloud Mix and the Razer Kraken Ultimate.
During our extensive testing on business video calls, Discord chats and part-time Twitch streams, the QuadCast S did an excellent job of maintaining the clarity of every spoken word while filtering out unwanted background noise. As you can hear in this video comparison between the HyperX QuadCast S and the much more affordable Razer Seiren Mini, the difference in sound quality is extremely noticeable. The QuadCast S captures the warm tone of our voice, while the Seiren Mini struggles to do the same.
Pricing
The QuadCast S sells for $159.99, putting it on par with other favorite microphones of popular streamers and Let’s Players such as the Razer Seiren V2 Pro, Blue Yeti and Elgato Wave:3. As we mentioned earlier, the QuadCast S is only $20 more than the original version, with the higher cost attributed to the addition of customizable RGB lighting effects that you can tweak with the app.
HyperX Ngenuity; you can sync effects and colors with other HyperX devices you may have, or create custom effects to showcase your personal style in your videos and livestreams. The price is also justified by some top-notch quality of life features such as an integrated gain wheel, capacitive mute button, and built-in anti-vibration mount.
Final Words
We hope you understand and enjoy this article about HyperX QuadCast S Microphone. The bottom line is that with a price tag of $159, the HyperX QuadCast S is a great microphone for streamers and content creators who don’t want to upgrade to more expensive options available in the market. With its high sound quality, reliable build and customizable RGB lighting, this microphone can easily become a staple in any setup. The QuadCast S’s built-in shock mount and internal pop filter help it rival the legendary Blue Yeti in sound quality, while saving you the hassle of purchasing additional accessories.
