Endgame Gear XSTRM USB Microphone Review – Golden capsule or bitter pill?

1 - Einführung und Unboxing 2 - Technische Daten und Features 3 - Sprachaufnahmen und Noise Cancellation 4 - Galerie und Fazit

With the XSTRM, Endgame Gear brings a modern condenser microphone to the market, which is primarily aimed at streamers. Through a mix of sophisticated technology and contemporary lighting elements (yes, that’s supposed to be all the rage now), gamers or streamers are supposed to be provided with studio-grade voice and lighting quality. Whether this succeeds and where marketing and reality (perhaps) drift apart a bit, you can read in the test.

Endgame Gear? Another one of those Chinese firecrackers? Not at all! The relatively young company was founded in Berlin and immediately gained a good reputation with its first product, the XM1 mouse. This initial success brought international reinforcements to the team and also secured various competencies to develop high-quality peripherals in other areas as well. Through various evolutionary stages of the XM1 and a newly developed high-end fabric for mouse pads, the company now sees itself in a position to gain a foothold in the audio sector. Of course, this is not 100% made in Germany, but at least engineered in Germany. It’s not possible to do it completely without an external workbench.

Unboxing

Before we take a closer look at the device, we first have to free it from the packaging, of course. The microphone comes in an imposing cardboard box, which is kept in plain black.

When I opened the package, I immediately thought of such a small soundproof chamber, as it is often used for recording podcasts and audio books. Pyramid foam – a nice gimmick

The XSTRM comes to the customer completely pre-assembled.

Besides the microphone and the just photographed nubby foam, there is also a cable, some adhesive strips and an actually even helpful manual in the box.

The pop shield, which is intended to prevent overmodulation of plosive sounds, is magnetic and can be flexibly attached to the microphone.

The triangular device comes with a spider that can be mounted on the sturdy stand at a freely adjustable angle. Of course, you can also unscrew them and attach them to a microphone holder.  

On the back is the switch for AI Noise Cancellation, the USB-C port and a 3.5 mm jack for connecting headphones.

There is a multifunctional knob on the front that can be used to adjust the volume or sensitivity of the microphone. Press the button to cycle through different lighting modes. There is an indicator above the switch that goes off when sounds are detected, making it a good indicator of whether the set sensitivity matches the volume of the sound source. The display is even equipped with a G-sensor and is inverted when the microphone is mounted upside down.