The Shure MV6 gaming mic is pure streaming simplicity
You'll be heard loud and clear with this USB microphone on your desk
Streamers are spoiled for choice when it comes to gaming and podcast microphones, but some of ’em almost demand a sound engineering degree to get the best possible recording quality. There’s no need to sign up to night school with the Shure MV6 – this back-to-basics desktop mic does all the complicated stuff in the background.
This compact dynamic capsule mic has a cardioid pick-up pattern that should ignore irritating off-axis background chatter, like clicky mechanical keyboards, and onboard digital signal processing that strips out continuous noise from case fans or AC units. An auto level mode adjusts gain on the fly, based on volume levels and how close you are to the mic, while a digital popper stopper aims to prevent plosives without having to fit a physical pop shield.
The USB-C connection means you won’t need any hardcore sound mixing kit, like you would with an XLR microphone. A 3.5mm headphone output handles real-time level monitoring, and the handy tap-to-mute button is always in easy reach when you need a private moment.
Shure has carried over the subtle styling from its MV7 and SM7 microphones, with no distracting RGB lighting or garish colour schemes to distract you from what’s happening onscreen. The included 12cm desktop stand and base mount adapter won’t obscure your face when streaming, either.
The MV6 plays nicely with Shure’s MOTIV Mix app, which can mix up to five audio channels, record up to eight hours of audio output at a time, and let users tweak their sound. The latest beta version also adds activity presets, for quickly swapping between setups for streaming, podcasting or other recording, a background noise detecting Sound Check that suggests how to lower ambient noise, and a streamlined setup process. Everything is OBS certified, too. That guarantees it’ll play nicely with one of the world’s most popular bits of streaming software.
You can pick up the Shure MV6 right now, with prices starting at $149/£129/€149.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor 
