If you’re a creator like me, capturing great, stress-free audio is a big deal, and I’ve tried a few microphones over the years. The Sennheiser Profile Streaming Set is easily my new favourite.
The Sennheiser Profile Streaming Set is a plug-and-play USB-C cardioid condenser capsule microphone that retails for $269 in Canada and $199 in the U.S. With it, you get the microphone, a quality USB-C cable, and the boom arm, so it’s easy to position and have it ready to use.
For podcasters, streamers, and anyone recording audio at their desks, like I do for my travel videos, it’s a robust package that makes everything easy. Controls on the front of the microphone put everything you need at your fingertips, you just plug it into your computer to start using it, and the boom arm can be adjusted to a wide range of positions.
To sum up my review, I love the features, the quality of the design and build, and my only wish would be for it to come with different base options, for setting up on your desk.
Profile design and setup
Setting up the Profile microphone is really simple. The boom arm has a base with an adjustable clamp that closes onto the edge of your desk, and then the arm slots into the top of that base. The microphone simply screws onto the end of the arm, and can be adjusted so it’s hanging down in front of you, or upright.
The microphone is directional, so you need to have the buttons facing you to record, and it has a long 1.2 meter USB-C cable, so you can be a fair distance away from your computer to use it.
I was really impressed with the overall build quality. Like everything Sennheiser makes, the quality is professional and sturdy, with a premium finish. The boom arm is stiff enough that it stays put when you move it, but perfectly adjustable to fit your needs.
Since I’m not always recording, I often push the microphone out of the way and cover it with the cloth bag that the microphone came in, and then move it back into position when I need to record. It’s small enough that it doesn’t take up much space, and it’s vertical, so it’s not on my desk, either.
The microphone is a perfect design, with four controls on the front for mute, gain, mixing, and headphone output level, and the USB-C cable fits into the back of the device, just beneath the headphone jack.
I also appreciate the way the USB-C cable slots into a groove along the length of the boom arm, to keep it out of the way and from general wear and tear.
Sound quality and controls
The microphone worked instantly, once I plugged it into my computer. There were no drivers or software to install, and all the controls just worked out of the box.
From my system tray, I just opened the sound controls and picked my input and output devices, so I could decide if I wanted to attach my headphones to the microphone, or keep output through the system speakers.
In Adobe Premiere Pro, I double-checked the audio hardware settings, and everything worked instantly. My favourite part of this is the simple controls for volume and mute, right from the microphone, adjusting the mix, and headphone volume as well.
Listening to samples from the microphone, everything sounded great. It’s smooth and clear, with super-clean audio that doesn’t pick up much background noise at all.
And it’s worth noting that the microphone works with Windows, iPad, Mac, and Android, so you can plug it in and use it for any of your devices. I did a few basic tests, and it worked well on my phone, too. You can hear the quality of the audio in my recent YouTube video.
Final thoughts on the Sennheiser Profile Streaming Set
The Sennheiser Profile Streaming Set is a perfect option for creators who need great audio with a robust but easy-to-use microphone. It captures clear audio without any work, will last for a long time, and it looks great, too.
Compared to some other microphones I’ve used, the controls are very clear, it doesn’t pick up background noise, and the arm makes it easy to position how you need it. And the overall quality is very impressive.
As a fan of Sennheiser’s products for a number of years now, I really appreciate how easy they have made this microphone to use and get the most out of it.
For more on the microphone, visit the Sennheiser website, or order it from Amazon.
