Leave it to Samson to put together a budget recording package that confounds as much as it achieves. Introduced in late 2009, the Samson Q2U Recording Pack includes a dynamic cardioid microphone, miniature tripod, HP20 headphones and a copy of Cakewalk Music Creator, a non-linear audio creation and editing software package. The street price? $89. Confounding.
At first glance, the Q2U mic appears similar to a Shure Beta 58, but upon further inspection some serious differences become apparent. First the Q2U microphone's shaft and shape are a bit longer and straighter than a traditional wired vocal mic...much like a wireless handheld. But the extended base includes, not a wireless microphone transmitter, but an XLR jack, a mini USB jack for connecting directly to your computer, 1/8-inch (3.5mm) headphone jack and a headphone amplifier with volume control. Oh, and a mic on/off switch.
In terms of features and value for the price, the Q2U achieves stellar results. In terms of performance, the results were a little more down to earth. We were only able to test the mic using the XLR jack, but the results were surprising. There was no comparison to the air and sparkle of the medium-diaphram studio condenser mic we often use in our studio. However, the Q2U dynamic sounded almost identical a mid-level live sound mic --- a mic commonly used for instruments and vocals, and sells for more than the entire Q2U package. The Q2U's sound was warm and dark, a characteristic that is fine for tracking any demo, your pastor's podcast, a video voice-over or vocals on a driving rock track. You could even use the mic for backing vocals in a live sound environment. Studio quality it is not. Surprisingly good for the price? Yes.
The H20 headphones, on the other hand, could not hold their own against any of the phones found in our studio. They would be fine as monitors for a player or vocalist laying down tracks, but you would not want use them for mixing.
The Cakewalk Music Creator software is a full-featured audio editing program comparable to software in the $30-$50 price range.
However, you wouldn't buy this package for the software, or the headphones (use your iPod phones instead). The value in this package is centered on the features and quality of the microphone. It's worth the price of the package alone. The headphones, tripod and software are just added value to a package that confounds for the price.
