Can TONOR's budget best-seller beat off the competition and punch above its weight?
Key Specs:
Retail Price: £39.99 - Purchase Here!
Complete Kit - Microphone, 2 Pop Filters, Metal Tripod Stand.
USB Plug & Play - Works with Windows, Mac & Linux
Cardioid microphone - Ideal for voices.
What Is The TONOR TC-777?
As time has passed, the market for budget USB microphones has only grown and grown, and TONOR's best-selling TC-777 looks to take the mic world by storm with its low cost and great value set.
Priced at £39.99, it's right in the mix for budget microphones and from first impressions, looks to provide wannabe content creators with all the kit they need to get up & running in no time at all.
TONOR TC-777 - Design & Build Quality
There's no doubt that TONOR's TC-777 set is a well-built product, opting for sturdy plastics and a metal tripod stand that greatly aid in presenting a USB microphone that from looks alone would appear to be punching above its weight. The mix of sturdy plastics and metal stand help to reiterate the fact that TONOR aren't falling into typical budget microphone tropes, not least in terms of design anyway.
Standing at ten inches or so in height, the TC-777 does also offer a smaller form factor than other USB microphone which makes it great for portability, as does the collapsible metal stand and screw-on pop shield. It's certainly fair to say that its smaller form factor hasn't compromised build quality in the slightest. The TC-777 is a well-built product and does appear to give more expensive microphones a good run for their money when it comes to design - it doesn't look out of place when put next to stalwarts from Blue or RODE.
The cable attached the microphone is fixed, unlike others at both this price point and also ones that are a little more expensive, which could mean that stowing it away is a little harder than first envisaged, but you are at least getting a 1.5m cable that should be easy enough to manage and long enough for your microphone related antics.
The accessories offered are equally well-made, although do come with a couple of issues. First and foremost, the screw-on pop shield isn't the easiest thing in the world to manoeuvre and the hinged shock mount only moves vertically, which means if you're short of space, you can't necessarily move the TC-777 into an overly comfortable position without investing in a boom arm accessory.
One other issue is the TONOR logo that's present on the mic itself. As much as it may be a small issue, having your brand logo look a tad like it should be on the cover of the next Iron Maiden or Metallica record does cheapen the look of the TC-777 a tad. To continue the more professional look, it may have been worth placing a small gold dot to indicate where to speak, as opposed to a massive logo on one side of the mic.
TONOR TC-777 - Performance & Usability
The TC-777 makes use of a cardioid pickup pattern, meaning that it picks up more at the front than the back, and also makes it ideal for voices. Despite also only recording in mono in some software, the overall sound quality for TONOR's budget best-seller smashes any expectations and could be seen to stand up to microphones that are three or four times more expensive.
It's a fair bit crisper than other budget microphones with decent sound isolation that means no background noise could be heard in any voiceover work for YouTube videos or also when talking with friends over Discord. Even when typing away on a mechanical keyboard as a particularly loud typist, the TC-777 did a great job in reducing unwanted noise. With the additional pop filters and shock mount, there are plenty of measures to help in noise reduction too, which means you've got peace of mind when it comes to people hearing only your own dulcet tones.
When it comes to physical features than could aid with performance, this is unfortunately where the TC-777 falls down. There's no physical mute button on the mic itself, which does mean that can only be done through software, and nor is there any physical gain control on the microphone, which would have been a nice touch. It's particularly useful when creating YouTube videos or even when talking with friends over Discord or Skype as it means you don't have to use any software to turn the output volume up. Another thing that the TC-777 lacks is a headphone jack that can be used for zero-latency monitoring, which is really a personal thing of mine, but may still have been useful for some users.
Should I Buy The TONOR TC-777?
To be perfectly honest, this is rather easy sell. TONOR's TC-777 is sure to tick all the right boxes for a budget microphone and offers standout audio quality for a fraction of the price of more premium options. At just £39.99, it's hard to argue with the features and quality of the TC-777, not least aided by the plethora of accessories that you get.
Whilst it may look like another cheap microphone, it greatly outperforms its price range when it comes to sound quality, standing up to the likes of USB stalwarts from the likes of RODE and Blue, and the overall sturdy construction means that unlike some other cheap options, the TC-777 isn't instantly perishable.
That being said, the fact that the TC-777 lacks some staple features such as on-board gain control and a physical mute button can be seen to cheapen it a little, as can the overly plastic construction, but fundamentally, what you're getting for the money is a product that'll get any budding content creator up and running in a matter of moments.
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