Logitech Desktop Microphones: The Most Affordable and Best Microphones to Buy for Your Voice Recording or Internet Communication

If you’ve searched online for microphones to use on your computer to record your voice, music or for internet live chat communications–you’ve probably seen Logitech microphones at the top of most suggestion lists. Perhaps you’ve balked, too, at buying a Logitech desktop microphone when you’ve seen the price being at too-good-to-be-true levels–especially when lumped in with the other cheap microphones that look like they’d break just picking them up. Well, there really isn’t any need to go out and buy an upscale $100 microphone for your computer if you intend to use it for only basic tasks…and want a microphone that sounds close to digital quality. Surprisingly, Logitech provides all that for you without having to spend over $30. I’ll provide two options here, though, for those who are on a severe budget and don’t want to buy the first, slightly more expensive model. Nonetheless, the first Logitech microphone below is by far the best you can possibly buy in a basic, relatively inexpensive model–and for one simple reason: It uses a USB port with no annoyance of installing drivers.

Logitech’s USB desktop microphone (the 980186 model)…

Just the design alone on this model looks classy. The square, silver base makes it attractive–and the microphone itself (a vertical, arched shape as most computer mics are designed) is a sleek black color. Silver and black always look attractive and will match a lot of other things on your desk–unless you enjoy everything on your desk in shades of green or other offbeat color scheme. Maybe if people who come to visit at your house never see your work desk, it wouldn’t matter. But, believe me, someone will see it sooner or later–and a permanently-placed desktop microphone by your computer should try to blend in with classy colors so it doesn’t look annoying sitting there.

The good news is that, with this model, you get a USB cord enabling you to plug it in right away for instantaneous use…or unplug it right away if you want to store it somewhere else for a while. Installing drivers with a microphone that plugs into your regular computer mic jack isn’t always a fun experience (especially when the drivers aren’t accepted by your operating system)–so most people will tell you to buy anything with a USB cable to make life easier and quicker. I had my model of this microphone up and working within five minutes after plugging it into one of my computer’s USB ports. Of course, make sure your USB ports aren’t all being used by other periphery devices. Anything plugged in there can easily be re-plugged there later if you can’t do without something taking up every USB port in the back of your computer.

My first test with this microphone was the usual speaking voice test. Anybody who grew up with the old portable tape recorders of the 70’s and 80’s probably remember how awful the sound was and how awful our voices sounded. Some of the cheaper computer microphones out there still make you sound awful…and mimicking the same level of muffled, hissing sound you used to get on dreadful cassette tapes. The good news is that this Logitech model gives you outstanding clarity when recording your speaking voice. It also has a feature of drowning out background noise…as long as you’re speaking right into the microphone. If recording something off in the distance–it’ll pick that up considerably too. Remember to press the power button on the silver base to turn the microphone on before recording. A little green light surrounds the button to let you know it’s officially on.

If you want the best quality of sound on the microphone when recording yourself speaking or reciting something–I’ve noticed that having it fairly close to you helps considerably. That doesn’t mean so close to your mouth that you could take a bite out of it as some singers do. I mean maybe a foot away or slightly more will give you a perfect recording of you speaking. I just used Windows Media Recorder for the recording–even though you can buy plenty of other recording programs that will obviously enhance your voice even more.

When it comes to recording music (or singing)–many people are mixed on this model’s ability to give a recording studio sound. Well, you’re not going to get recording studio level on any microphone that doesn’t have a price tag of close to or over $100–so keep in mind that this microphone is really made (and it’s advertised as such) for strictly speaking voice purposes. However, I tried recording once off the piano (while setting the mic about six feet away)–and the sound was not bad at all. For recording song demos, it might work in some instances, but don’t depend on it.

Yes, as I said above, this has a cord attached that enables you to stretch the mic about eight feet away from your computer’s USB port. That means you can move it around to record multiple people in the room with you if recording a family get-together (or other event) for posterity. It’s best, however, to keep the mic stationary on a hard surface. When you pick it up, the hypersensitive pick-up of sound will record you handling the mic. If not sitting on a hard surface, I noticed that playbacks sometimes have a crackling sound.

When it comes to using it in live internet chats–this microphone truly shows its worth. Using a camera and mic to talk to friends and family on the net is still a growing trend–though this microphone will make you sound astoundingly clear to the receiver on the other end (or other end of the world). So many microphones in the cheaper price range don’t…and that makes this one the one to get at a reasonable price.

This Logitech model is retailed at $30–despite selling for approx. $23 on Amazon (buy something else to get the $25 free shipping there) and most other online outlets. I bought mine at Best Buy and still paid under $30. Nevertheless, Amazon provides the best price I’ve seen for a microphone that has near high-end performance level. The mic is compatible, too, with most to all operating systems. Here’s the link to the Amazon page for this model:

And then the other Logitech model that’s still just as good-but with drivers driving you insane…

The 980240 model retails for only $18 at full price–but Amazon sells it for only an incredible $14. It has all the same features as the USB one…with the only difference being you have to plug this one into your regular computer mic port. That means the downloading of drivers that may or may not be compatible with your operating system. Generally, this works fine with most current versions of Windows. Most problems I’ve heard about are very minor–so this may still be a great option for those who want to spend as little money as possible on something reasonable in quality.

Another difference is that the base on this one is coal black (matching the color of the arched mic itself) rather than the classier silver on the previous one. Of course, black colors around a computer center are what some people prefer in a lot of cases. I’ve seen some people with computer centers that had virtually all black colors–and this microphone would be a perfect choice.

This model also has the background noise suppression ability–plus having a mute feature the previous one also has (by pressing the power button located on the base).

Another good feature of both microphones is that the vertical mic pivots on the base so you can turn it to record someone sitting near you. This helps rather than picking it up and moving it around. The sound of moving a mic around on a mic that records sensitively will always give the audio illusion of you being the clumsiest person on the planet when you were actually more than careful.

Here’s the link to the $14 version of Logitech’s mic:

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Some say these microphones are easy to break–and their delicate design does seem to indicate that. Many cheaper models look exponentially more delicate than these do, but be careful not to knock these two over or set them in a precarious place. Overall, Logitech really does have the best computer accessories available for cheaper prices without sacrificing high quality. They’re one of the rare companies that don’t force you to say that high quality only comes if you pay for it.