HTG Wrapped 2025: 24 days of tech
24 days of our favorite hardware, gadgets, and tech
There are a ton of gaming-centric microphones on the market. However, you just don’t get the same level of recording quality that comes from a specialist audio brand that knows what it’s doing. And few brands in the world of microphones are as respected or as trusted as Shure.
One of the brand’s most famous microphones is the Shure SM7B, used by everyone from Metallica to virtually every podcast host on earth—including Joe Rogan. Shure mics are typically associated with professional settings, but the good news is that the brand’s audio recording magic has finally started to trickle down to more affordable units.
That’s certainly the case with the Shure MV6, which takes all the audio features from the higher-end MV7 and SM7 models and puts them into a user-friendly package designed specifically for gamers.
The first and most basic way the MV6 delivers on that promise is by being a dynamic USB microphone.
USB essentially means that the microphone has a built-in DAC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) that converts your voice into a digital signal your computer can read. It’s a plug-and-play mic that just works out of the box, with no need for any fancy audio gear.
You can take the microphone out of the box, mount it on the included stand (which is extremely heavy and robust, just like the mic), and start talking on Discord, in-game, or on your stream.
Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek
In contrast, most high-end microphones use an XLR output, which can provide better sound quality but also requires an audio interface, significantly increasing the overall cost.
The other important spec is that it’s dynamic. In contrast to condenser microphones that can sound subpar if not set up correctly, a dynamic mic sounds good in a wide range of scenarios. In other words, you don’t need a dedicated recording booth to get the most out of the Shure MV6.
Realistically, most people don’t need an XLR or condenser mic to achieve professional-level sound quality for gaming and streaming.
The Shure MV6 pushes the limits of the sound quality that you can get via USB, which is exactly what it was designed to do.
Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek
This isn’t to say the microphone doesn’t sound phenomenal; quite the opposite, in fact. Unless you’re an audio engineer, there’s a good chance you won’t notice the differences between the Shure MV6 and an XLR microphone that costs three times as much.
The MV6 has a 3.5mm headphone jack that allows for direct, latency-free audio monitoring. It’s perfect if you’re recording a clip and want to monitor your audio or for the occasional karaoke night.
And if you want to stop recording, the LED-backlit capacitive touch mute button at the top of the microphone makes it easy to do so.
The mic lacks a gain knob, boost switch, or other on-board adjustments like a pickup pattern switcher, but that’s all part of the set-it-and-forget-it appeal of the MV6. In the year I’ve been using this mic, I’ve never been told that I needed to adjust the microphone volume, as it automatically sets the gain.
Still, if you want to tinker, you can set the gain through the MOTIV Mix desktop app. There, you can also tweak the tone so your voice sounds slightly warmer or brighter, and you can enable the Real-time Denoiser and Popper Stopper to remove unwanted noise and plosives from your speech.
If you want a straightforward audio solution that will blow any built-in headset mic—and pretty much any similarly priced microphone—out of the water, the Shure MV6 is the one to get.
HTG Wrapped 2025: 24 days of tech
24 days of our favorite hardware, gadgets, and tech
