From the start of the pandemic and the Work from home concept kicking in proved one thing, we all have crappy cameras and microphones for taking meetings and calls. To counter this more and more brands have been coming up with quality cameras and microphones since last year. Now we have yet microphone from the brand TONOR, the TC-777 Cardioid Condenser Mic to be precise.
TC-777 boasts of serious upgrades from your regular mic under $50. The Mic comes with a sleek design, has a wide variety of use cases and the cherry on top is the plug-and-play nature of it. We have been using the Mic for a little over a week and here’s our full review.
Key Specifications
- Sampling Rate – 44.1kHz
- Polar Pattern – Cardioid
- Frequency Response – 100Hz-16kHz
- Sensitivity – -38dB±3dB
- Output Impedance – 680Ω
- S/N ratio – 56dB
Box Contents
A complete list of items you get inside the box:
- Microphone with cord
- Foldable Mic Tripod
- Mini Shock Mount
- Pop Filter
- User instruction manual
Design
The TONOR TC-777 sports a clean design with a lean build. The mic feels solid and has quality materials used in the production. The Mesh up top is metal and hides the guts while the body feels like plastic. The microphone is available in just a single-color option that is the navy-blue shade. There is already a pop filter up on the mic and a separate filter in the box.
There is just a single button, and the power connector is placed on the bottom just like with other microphones. There are nifty design elements like a chrome strip running just above the logo that provides a regal touch to the unit.
Performance
Before starting off with the performance, let us look into how the mic is delivered. The packaging is fantastic, and the microphone comes 80% assembled. All you need to do is put up the pop filter, open the shock mount and plug in the mic. Yes, the microphone is a plug-and-play device, you just need to hook up the USB port into a PC, Laptop or PS4 and the mic should work. The only downside we felt is the limited device list like you can’t use this with a smartphone, iPad or the Xbox (while PS4 is supported).
This is a Cardioid mic and for it to work the best, make sure the logo on the mic is facing you. The TC-777 is sensitive enough and can pick up audio by up to a foot or two very easily. For people who are into ASMR stuff, this is the perfect mic on a budget. The noise cancellation is on point and the mini shock stand is a good accessory addition.
The stand can swivel up to 180-degree, but we noticed that the mic kept falling out of the mount at such a steep angle. If your use case demands such a harsh angle it’s better to get the arm mount. The cable included within the pack is 1.5m in length which should be enough for most users, but you could always opt for a bigger cable.
During our limited use, we put the mic through rigorous testing and tried out streaming, a bit of Zoom and recording podcasts. All through these cases, the sound quality was crisp and just needed a bit of tuning. Apart from this, we didn’t really notice a flaw with the mic.
Verdict – Should you buy it?
Looking purely at the price, the TONOR TC-777 is among the best microphones currently in the market for under $50. The sound quality is crisp, the mic is easy to operate, has a decent compatible device list. On top of this, you get a wide array of accessories right out of the box, so you save a bit on those.
