Sennheiser Profile Review: Impressive audio quality from an impressive audio company

Sennheiser Profile: Two Minute Review

I honestly wanted to give the Sennheiser Profile that coveted five-star rating. This USB mic may not look like much with its sober solid black styling, but it delivers where it counts most – in build quality and audio capture – while also being reasonably priced for hobbyist streamers and podcasters is accessible.

So, it’s really unfortunate that, for some reason, Sennheiser’s engineers have made strange design decisions, especially when it comes to its artifacts. These are, to be very fair, minor flaws that users can easily own up to. But I also think that if you’re paying over $100 / £100 for a USB mic, it should at least cover those basics.

Coming in two sets – one with just the desk stand and the other offering the boom arm with C-clamp – the Sennheiser Profile with the cost of the latter set setting you back a lot more than many of the best USB mics on the shelf Will give US customers $200. And, it’s hard to see past its design flaws, no matter how minor they may be.

The most glaring issue here is the boom arm. Its hinges are so tight it feels like you’re doing an arm workout to set it up. Granted, they should loosen over time, and most people will have them in a fixed position anyway, but there’s also the fact that the mic itself mounts awkwardly. It’s as if it’s a third-party budget boom you found on Amazon, rather than one actually made for Mike. The setup, in other words, is tricky, and you really need to spend some time to understand the at least awkward position the mic is in.

Now, this mic is less than $130 / £110 if you just get the basic set which comes with a standard desk stand. That means you’re paying around $70 / £70 extra for that boom arm if you’re getting a streaming set. And, although it feels very premium and sturdy, the price is hardly justified if you consider its flaws.

Go for the basic set, and you run into another hiccup. The yoke that the USB mic is attached to doesn’t offer much in terms of articulation. You can tilt it to more or less 15 degrees, and that’s it. So if you only get the desk stand you have even fewer physical adjustments available.

The good news is that the mic, like the boom arm, is built like a rock—or rather, a premium rock with a soft satin finish. And while the design is nothing to write home about, especially with that solid black (read: boring and overdue) color, it has all the physical controls you’ll ever need: a mic mute button, a mic gain dial, a mix control dial that allows you to balance the audio between the mic and your PC, and a headphone volume control.