Fifine reached out to me not too long ago and requested a review of one of their newest microphones, the K052. Since this was the first time a company approached me for a review (shady Amazon sellers don’t count), I thought I would give it a shot.
The K052 is a bit different from the majority of the other mics that I’ll be reviewing for my Budget Tubing series, seeing as how it’s a gooseneck microphone. Of course, the physical design of the mic doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a condenser microphone. In fact, I’d say that the design of this mic actually makes it a bit more versatile since it won’t stand out in certain environments. It would look a bit odd to have an obvious “podcasting” style mic sitting on your office desk, but a gooseneck would look right at home.
As for the price of the K052, it will set you back around $28. The research I’ve done on gooseneck mics tells me that this is actually a great price, especially when you take into account a couple of the bonus features included with this mic. Not only does the K052 have a build similar to many more expensive goosneck mics (two flex segments and a metal tube vs. a full flex neck on the cheaper mics), it also includes both a mute button and a volume knob on the mic base. You’d actually have a hard time finding a mic in this price range that has those features. Heck, even the Blue Snowball is missing the mute button and volume control.
When it comes to the audio quality presented by the K052, I have to admit that I was pretty surprised. While it looks like the mic uses a relatively small electret capsule, it still delivers clear audio with a nice frequency pickup range. Looks like Fifine did a good job picking out the other bits and bobs they shoved into this small package.
All in all, I think $28 is a great price for what you get.
