Samson CO1U USB Condenser Mic

---

---

Editorial reviews

Product Description
For the first time ever, musicians who record music on computers have a simple, affordable way to capture high-quality vocal and acoustic instrument performances. Seamless integration was the idea, and it was obtained by creating a studio condenser microphone that can be plugged into any computer with no in/out boxes, no expensive computer pre-amps, just a USB cable. It features a 19mm internal shock mounted diaphragm with a cardioid pick up pattern ensuring pristine studio quality recordings. The C01U works perfectly on any computer, Mac or PC, and with any DAW software program. It immediately solves a huge problem for users of many laptops, many of which have no other input method for audio devices. It's a must for any musician on the road or in the project studio, but the C01U is going to offer solutions to more than just musicians. The mic opens up possibilities for anyone who records audio?from Podcasters, journalists, students, and business people adding audio files to websites and multimedia presentations. Smooth, Flat Frequency Response USB connection cable included Perfect microphone for Podcasters as well as Musicians 16-bit sample resolution Supports 8 kHz, 11.025 kHz, 22.05 kHz, 44.1 kHz, and 48 kHz sampling rates USB low-power device - draws 26 mA =>130 mW. In suspend mode 0.3 mA =>1.5 mW. Frequency response - 40 Hz to 18 kHz

---

Amazon.com
The C01U USB Studio Condenser Mic is the first affordable studio condenser mic with a USB interface.

For the first time ever, musicians who record music on computers have a simple, affordable way to capture high-quality vocal and acoustic instrument performances.

Seamless integration was the idea, and it was obtained by creating a studio condenser microphone that can be plugged into any computer with no in/out boxes, no expensive computer pre-amps, just a USB cable.

The C01U condenser microphone is based on our wildly successful C01. It features a 19mm internal shock mounted diaphragm with a cardioid pick up pattern ensuring pristine studio quality recordings.

The C01U works perfectly on any computer, Mac or PC, and with any DAW software program. It immediately solves a huge problem for users of many laptops, many of which have no other input method for audio devices.

It’s a must for any musician on the road or in the project studio, but the C01U is going to offer solutions to more than just musicians. The mic opens up possibilities for anyone who records audio—from Podcasters, journalists, students, and business people adding audio files to websites and multimedia presentations.

Feature List

• Large Diaphragm, 19mm, Studio Condenser with USB Digital Output.
• Compatible with any computer based Digital Audio Workstation.
• The extremely detailed sound reproduction makes it ideal for recording vocals, acoustic instruments and just about any other sound source.
• High Quality AD converter with 16 Bit, 48K sampling rate.

---

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-11-19 rating:
Works as well as a cheap microphone
I purchased this so that I could use my own headphones and a good mic with Skype and MS Onenote (audio notes). Since I use Vista on my laptop, I could not use the software that came with the product. The Vista driver is dated to 2006 so its old. I tried recording audio in Onenote and the mic performed as well as my cheap microphone headset combo, which means that it performed badly. Yes, I did follow Samson's Vista instructions and it still worked poorly.

I also tried installing it on my XP desktop machine and got an error while installing SoftPre software. The error stated that MSVCP71.dll is missing. I did a search and apparently I'm not the only one that has had this problem. I uninstalled the software and tried testing with the basic XP drivers and it performed badly.

I returned this product for a refund and I would not recommend this product to anyone looking for a desktop microphone. Why Scott Hanselman recommends this mic is beyond me.

---

review by: date: 2008-11-11 rating:
Great mic - bad driver
First off don't use the included driver! It has been a while but I still remember the grief. Just plug it in and let XP set it up.

I record with an inexpensive Windows XP laptop and get fantastic sound quality. I have had this mic for over a year using it to record our church choir and related musicians, all have been impressed with the sound quality.

I also find the free Audacity software easier to work with than the provided Cakewalk software it came with.

---

review by: date: 2008-10-23 rating:
average
annoying upper mid frequency being emphasised for acoustic guitar. Not as transperant as I had hoped. Might be good for spoken word. I would not recommend it for acoustic instrument recording.

---

review by: date: 2008-10-06 rating:
Plug In and Go.
Great sound for the money. Perfect for my podcasts and even my audio cd reports. Simplest installation ever, just plugged it into USB and done.


review by: date: 2008-09-01 rating:
Better than we expected
We bought this even though the reviews were lukewarm, but the price was right and the performance was perfectly acceptable. While this may not make professional studio recordists happy, for the bulk of us recording church choirs and school groups, it works quite well. Buy the suspension shock mount, and you won't be sorry.

---

Similar products

Samson SP01 Shockmount
CAD EPF-15A 6-Inch Flexible Pop Filter
Music People DS7100 B On Stage DS7100 Desktop Microphone Stand (Black)
On-Stage Stands Tripod Mic Stand with Boom
On Stage DS7200B Adjustable Desk Microphone Stand, Black

---

Similar categories

---

Accessories

3-Year Extended Service Plan - Covers Electronic Items $0-$200 - Repair
Samson SP01 Shockmount
Toshiba Notebook Computer Bundle - A105-S4054

---