JLab Audio Talk Pro records all the right notes
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The JLab Audio Talk Pro is a USB only microphone designed for those who live-stream, podcast and music or voice, even ASMR recordings (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) using their PC or Mac. I don’t do any of these things so I tested the Talk Pro with voice recordings, live acoustic recordings and of course, video calls. In these Covid times, I have found new uses for a good microphone with one of the primary ones being video calls. Of course, for others, it may be game streaming or even recording live music. The possibilities are limitless once you have good hardware.
The JLab Talk Pro has an interesting design that features two physical dials on the back for volume and gain. Around the front is a mode button to change between the four different mic patterns — cardioid, omnidirectional, stereo, and bidirectional. Below the mode button is an external speaker.
Near the middle of the mic is a mic mute button that lights up green when it’s on and red when muted. Between the mic mute and mode buttons is a level display that lights up green when you turn the gain knob and blue when you turn the volume knob. This looks cool and is extremely handy when you can’t see the knobs around the back but the lights only stay on for 20 seconds after you turn the knob.
On the base of the mic are a USB-C port, 3.5mm AUX and a LED button. The latter toggles between seven different colours which light up a ring light around the base. However, unless you’re in almost complete darkness, you won’t really see this light.
The Talk Pro comes with a stand that connects to the mic in the middle. This allows the mic to pivot and can be locked at any angle. It also comes with a small tripod with rubber feet that screws into the base. Thanks to the universal thread on the base, you can screw the main mic or mic with its stand into an adjustable mic stand.
The all-black design does have some light blue accents including the rubber feet on the tripod as well as the inside cone of the mic which peaks out through small black fins that surround it.
The Talk Pro comes with some impressive specifications including 192kHz/24-bit audio recording. I’m not too sure this is an advantage for live streaming but certainly produces a much broader dynamic range of frequencies for editing afterwards in post. Unless your recordings will be heard on high-end audio equipment, all the extra range is unnecessary and way more than required for most people.
The four mic patterns are useful but which one you use will depend on what you’re recording. For live streaming, or podcasting with a single voice, the standard single mic cardioid mode is ideal. This does an excellent job of picking up your voice without capturing too much background noise. It goes without saying the better soundproofed your room is, the more natural and less echoey it will sound.
The mics are located on the sides of the unit and not the top and this is important for optimal sound recording. A little pattern icon on each mode indicates which mics are active for that particular mode.
The gain and volume controls are incredibly convenient and easy to use thanks to the levels display on the front — you just have to remember that green is for gain and blue is for the mic speaker or headphone volume if plugged into the AUX port.
Overall, the Talk Pro offers excellent features, pro-level audio specs and a two-year warranty. The sound recordings are excellent and the flexibility of the stand and tripod makes for a winning formula and you still have the option of using an adjustable mic stand. If you don’t need all of the recording modes, then take a look at the JLab Talk which lacks the Bidirectional and Stereo patterns and has a slightly lower sound resolution of 96kHz/24-bit for €60 less.
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