Today I take a look at the Q9 USB carioid condenser microphone, this time brought to us by TONOR. Admittedly, there are several sellers out there for the Q9 mic, it’s the accessories included in the TONOR package that make this one a bit special.
First off, let’s talk price. Pretty much every seller is going to charge between $40 and $55 for this mic, and TONOR is no different. However, every other sell will only include a tripod, the USB cable (pretty important), and a hard mount. On the other hand, TONOR gives you a shock mount, boom arm, wind guard, pop filter, and the USB cable along with the Q9 mic. That whole package will cost you $54 on Amazon as of this write up, which is only slightly more than the average.
Now let’s talk features. The Q9 includes two of my top three features on a mic, and those are on device gain control and a mute function. The gain on the Q9 is controlled by a rocker switch on the front of the mic, and it has 15 different levels. Also, if you do a long press on the rocker switch (either up or down) you activate the mute function. Fortunately there is an LED on the front of the mic that will let you know if your mic is muted or not.
Next up, let’s talk about mounting your Q9 mic. Now, the TONOR package does come with a grip style shock mount, but I typically avoid those with mics that have on device gain control (though this one doesn’t block the controls). Fortunately the Q9 also sports a threaded base that is compatible with most mounts that are sized at M22X1. Also, the threads on the Q9 are actually a hybrid of external and recessed threads, which opens up even more mount variety. As an added bonus, the Q9 even has a rubberized gasket on its base so that your mount won’t slip or scratch up the base.
Lastly, let’s touch on quality. The video I linked above has a pretty in depth audio test, but I can at least give you the highlights. The mic is very responsive, properly calibrated as a cardioid mic, has a nice sound for the price, and the gain controls are very easy to use.
All in all I think the Q9 is a really nice mic for the price, and the TONOR package comes with a good number of extra goodies that will help you out on your quest to become a content creator.
You can find the TONOR Q9 here: https://amzn.to/2F48uRm
