Best Overall
HyperX QuadCast S
Key details
- Mute
- Tap-to-mute with LED status
- Mount
- Built-in shock mount, desk stand
- Connection
- USB-C to USB-A
- Polar Patterns
- Cardioid, bidirectional, omnidirectional, stereo
Tap the top of the QuadCast S and the mic cuts out, with the lighting changing so you can read the state from across the desk. That pad is why this is the microphone we put in front of most PS5 players: in party chat you mute constantly, and a hand that never has to find a menu is worth more than another polar pattern. The rest of the hardware is equally sensible, with one USB-C cable into the console, a gain dial at the base, and an elastic shock mount that swallows the thump of a controller landing beside it.
Cardioid is the setting you will live on. The other three patterns earn their keep only if you record music or a two-person show, and they are a genuine bonus rather than the reason to buy. The one thing to plan around is sensitivity: speak close, keep the gain down, and the capsule stays interested in your voice rather than the rest of the room.
It sits on a desk stand at roughly mouth height for someone in a chair, and the included adapter takes it onto a boom arm if you prefer. The Ngenuity software that controls lighting and EQ runs on a PC only, so on a console you get the mic as shipped, which is fine, because the shipped sound is the reason it is here. Nothing about this one asks you to become an audio engineer first.
Pros
- Tap-to-mute pad with a visible status light
- Elastic shock mount soaks up desk knocks
- Gain dial and four patterns on the body
- One USB-C cable into the console
Cons
- Hears fans and keyboards when gain runs high
For most PS5 players this is the mic to buy: it plugs straight in, mutes with a tap, and keeps desk knocks out of party chat.