*The Sudotack ST-810 was reviewed using hardware provided and sent to us by Sudotack, but in no way influenced the review.
When it comes to purchasing a microphone, there's always a number of options to consider; sound quality, durability, usability and price.
Luckily, the people at Sudotack have these very things in mind when it comes to the ST-810.
Firstly, the price and overall value-for-money is the biggest heavy hitter, as for just under £50, you get the ST-810 Cardioid Condenser Mic, a desktop stand, shock mount, pop filter and anti-wind foam cap.
The microphone itself isn't the most eye-catching in terms of originality, sporting an all metal minimalist black look with a large three-piece grille and a side-address setup. Originality aside, however, the ST-810 is sleek, very well made, and feels like you could use it as a weapon against an intruder - that is to say there's a decent amount of heft to it - which is good, as it gives it more of a premium feel. There's no light indicator, no volume or gain control, just the mic, but even still, it looks and feels more premium than a lot of similar priced microphones.
The included accessories in the box mean you can be up and running straight away, and whilst I substituted the included desk stand to use the ST-810 with my scissor boom arm, the stand itself is very well made, and has an adjustable pole that elevates it a little more, albeit not vastly so. The base at the bottom of the stand is very heavy, and will ensure that an accidental knock doesn't fling the whole set-up off your desk.
The shock mount is again great quality, although it is a 'slide-the-mic-in' mount, rather than a squeeze and grip. Even still, it keeps the ST-810 nice and snug, and is of itself made of good quality materials.
There's a clamp-mounted pop filter and also an anti-wind foam cap, and they both do a serviceable job. The pop filter is a little too small compared to that of my usual InnoGear filter, but the ST-810 is also of smaller dimensions, so it still compliments well. You'll only be using either the pop-filter or the foam cap, and for the majority of the review I opted for the foam cap. It fits on nice and snug, and isn't of the over stretched variety you will usually find with 'cheap' caps. It also does the job it's intended for, which, is always the main focus.
The ST-810 comes with a USB-A to USB-B cable, and a decent length one at that, and once the ST-810 was plugged in, my Windows PC picked it up immediately. For the review, I tested two DAW programs, Cakewalk and the nations favourite Audacity. Both picked up the Microphone instantly, and I performed the following recording:
The audio above is with no editing whatsoever, and the recording below is after I've done a bit of editing in Cakewalk.
The ST-810 provides sample resolutions up to 24bit/96kHz, with a 16mm back-electret capsule with a frequency response of 30Hz-16kHz, and as such gives the mic a full, warm sound that provides presence without adding any harshness.
Don't get me wrong, the ST-810 isn't a Rode NT, but that's also more than double the price of the ST-810. What you do get, is a great value, and really great sounding microphone for under £50, that for podcasting, gameplay/vlogging videos and the like, will more than suffice. I only hope Sudotack decide to make more microphones with a bigger emphasis towards full studio work in the future, because this genuinely is a superb microphone.
*The Sudotack ST-810 was reviewed using hardware provided and sent to us by Sudotack, but in no way influenced the review.
Comments