A8 Gaming Microphone
The FIFINE A8 Gaming Microphone is a budget friendly, all-around good sounding microphone that would allow anyone get into gaming, communicate with friends, or even have a little leg up on their work meetings. The colorful RGB styles give off a warm vibe and plug-and-play design makes it a breeze to use.
-
Cost
-
Sound/Voice
-
Design
It’s been 23 years since Baldur’s Gate 2 came out and last week’s release of Baldur’s Gate 3 showcases how much gamers love story-driven team-based games and how more developers need to follow in the footprints of Larian Studios.
I picked up Baldur’s Gate 3 last week and instantly began a Discord call with a group of four. Before the game could even start, the commentary and banter was a fun moment. Once we got playing, the laughing ensued and will likely continue for hours after hours of upcoming gameplay.
As online gaming continues to explode in popularity, thousands of millions of people are also continuing to work from home with their employment in some capacity. With that, they also need to be able to chat with their coworkers. Why not use one solution for both?
Choosing the right microphone can be a tough challenge. There are thousands to choose from and tons of different types, connectors, and software. It’d be nice for a solid, well-liked microphone with a plug-and-play aspect.
Today we’re taking a look at the FIFINE A8 USB Gaming Microphone, a plug-and-play straight-forward microphone aimed for virtually any use case. FIFINE is an Amazon retailer specializing in the microphone space and is quickly becoming a popular brand. Even a friend of mine uses a FIFINE microphone in their setup.
Welcome to my overview of the FIFINE A8 USB Gaming Microphone.
Design
Finny, Fi-Fine or fine-fine (official), whichever way you pronounce their company name, has a unique little happy face logo. On the Amazon product page, you see this logo appear in their marketing material and directly on the product as well. For the A8 it’s screen-printed onto the metal spit shield.
At first, I was a little worried about the logo. To me, it seems a little childlike and it seems very noticeable when in pictures. In reality, though, it’s incredibly faint and unless you really look for it and the lighting is just right, you barely notice it.
Opening the box for the first time, the A8 comes completely assembled inside of its independent plastic desk stand.
The stand holds the A8 microphone using a press-fit sleeve that is attached through rubber isolating bands. These rubber bands help mitigate vibrations from the desk making their way up into the microphone and into your listeners’ ears.
FIFINE’s stand sits at a decent height on the desk and has an adjustable angle mechanism to help point the microphone more toward your mouth.
Included in the box is the aforementioned metal “pop filter”. While more of a spit shield, it’s a nice inclusion for an increased aesthetic to the microphone if one desires. I personally like using the A8 without the metal guard. There is also a lengthy USB-C to USB-A cable for connectivity.
FIFINE offers the A8 in three colorways solid black, white, or pink, with the one I have here in all matte black.
Made from entirely plastic, including the grill, the A8 is a lightweight unit with an impressive RGB color aesthetic.
With 15 selectable RGB styles, FIFINE included a color for everyone’s style. You can choose between a static color, fading, or gradients. Press and hold the touch sensor to turn off the LEDs.
I personally like the gradient colors the best, but they all offer a bright, pleasant look and mood.
On the top of the A8 is a touch button to quickly mute and unmute the microphone, followed by a status LED to indicate if muted or not. I immensely enjoy that the button is touch! It allows for quick action if something or someone were to make unexpected noise.
On the rear, you find another touch button for changing the LED colors. This button is easily actuated and a physical button might be better here.
Below the LED-changing touch sensor is a voice gain nob. This is rare for microphones in this price bracket and I’m glad it’s here. Allowing users to increase or decrease their own voice volume to listeners is a great feature.
Finally, on the bottom of the A8, there is a USB-C data/power connector alongside a 3.5mm headphone jack.
FIFINE’s A8 design is subtle, sleek, and minimalistic, which makes it perfect for any desk of any size or setup. With the added gain boost, I was able to place the stand in the back of my desk and everyone could hear me without any issues.
Functionality
I mentioned in the intro that the A8 is a plug-and-play microphone, making setting up the device a breeze.
When connected, Windows will automatically download the FIFINE drivers for both the Microphone and 3.5mm headphone jack. Be warned, however, that Windows may set your speaker output to the FIFINE headphone jack.
With its USB-C to USB-A connectivity, the A8 works with both PC and Mac as well as on a PS4/5. For testing purposes, I was able to use it immediately in Discord, OBS (Twitch), TeamSpeak, and Teams without any interruption, configurations, or headaches.
The output of the A8 is decent. It sounds like a general desktop microphone with clear audio for the listener and okay base of the voice. Initially, my voice was quiet for some users, leading me to max out the microphone’s gain. This is entirely dependent on where you position the microphone on your desk.
Without any noise suppression software, like Discord’s krisp, the microphone does pickup a lot of background noise, such as keyboards, air/fan movements, and mouse clicks. It’s best to use some sort of filter software to minimize those noises.
If you connect a 3.5mm headset to the microphone for audio, you will hear your own voice played back to you in a radio-style setup. Personally, I’m not too fond of this, but for testing, the driver on the microphone was fine for a general pair of earbuds and acts as a nice go-to for laptop users/gamers. It also allows you to monitor what others hear when you speak.
Over the course of a week, the FIFINE condenser cardioid microphone held up exactly as I expected it to and without any hiccups. It picks up my voice, my friends didn’t complain about any excess noise (in Discord), and you can even go further by attaching the microphone to an adjustable desktop arm instead of the standalone base.
All-in-all, anyone looking for a budget microphone whether it be for home or on-the-go would be happy with the results here and feel that it would last them quite a while before ever needing a replacement.
My Final Thoughts
For those seeking out a microphone for gaming, chatting, working, or a little bit of voice recording, FIFINE is a good brand to choose and their A8 makes for a great option.
Priced at $47 on Amazon, the A8 is well-rounded, well-built, and well-featured without breaking the bank. Its plug-and-play methods make it easy to move from one PC to another and its general pickup is more than acceptable.
The straightforward design and lightweight allow you to travel with the device too and setup in a coffee shop without catching too many eyes that you’re a “gamer”.
© 2023 Justin Vendette
