With the right computer microphone, anyone can become a content creator. Having good audio is one of the most important aspects of content creation. This could be video, podcasting, and live streaming. People will forgive your video quality, but they won’t watch a video or listen to a podcast if the audio is bad. If you’re a content creator or thinking about being one, this BEACN review is for you.
I’m reviewing the BEACN Mic and the BEACN Mix. This is a new Canadian company based out of Victoria, BC. These two products were made specifically for content creators and not gear heads per se. They offer a host of customization features to craft the perfect sound, but are they worth it? Let’s find out.
Design of the BEACN Mic
Whenever I watch a podcast on Youtube, I always look at the microphone being used. The one I see the most is the Shure SM7B. The BEACN Mic resembles that microphone, which is probably a good thing. Just like the Shure SM7B, the BEACN Mic is a dynamic microphone. That means it doesn’t use 48V phantom power through its USB connection.
Half of the body is composed from a foam pop filter which hides the microphone capsule. A great addition is a RGB light ring. This can be programmed to any colour. LED lighting is popular among content creators who use them in their studio. Now they can customize the RGB ring light to match their colour combination.
The BEACN Mic sits inside a bracket that connects to any standard microphone arm. Once placed, the position of the microphone can be tilted and set in place. On the back of the BEACN Mic is a USB-C port and a headphone jack.
Design of the BEACN Mix
The BEACN Mix is a small desktop audio mixer with a large colour screen and four customizable knob. It works alongside the BEACN app to add multiple audio sources. This could be games, music, video calls, browsers etc. Furthermore, it works with any audio hardware that shows up in Windows. While the setup is done inside the BEACN app, users can control mixes on the fly with the knobs. This is great for live streams, gaming, or video calls.
Setting up the BEACN Mic
I have a lot of experience installing and using audio equipment. To ensure I didn’t run into issues, I first downloaded the BEACN app to my Windows computer. After the drivers and software were installed, I then plugged in the BEACN Mix via USB to my computer. The computer immediately recognized both devices and they were working with the app.
For people without an audio background, the BEACN app can look intimidating. However, for me, I felt right at home. The first thing I did was create a new profile. This allows you to start from scratch. Next, I went to the headphones tab and selected Normal Power for the output level for my headphones. I talked into the mic to check my output level. They were on the high end, but not clipping so I had a good level going in. It still could go up a little, so I increased the mic gain about 2dB. Now the fun part begins, playing around with all the audio settings and EQ.
Setting up the BEACN Mix
The setup process for the BEACN Mix stunned me. I cannot believe how easy and intuitive it is to set up. On the app, I setup a new BEACN Mix profile. From there, it gave me the option to select a listening device. I have studio monitors and headphones so I selected them both. In the app, I can toggle between them by pressing the button. Another option is holding down one of the knobs for about two seconds. It will then toggle between my monitors and headphones.
The next step is assigning audio sources to each of the knobs. Under Audio Sources, I selected the BEACN Mic. To assign it to Knob 1, I dragged it up. I love this drag and drop feature for audio sources. I also changed the colour for Knob 1 to Green. There is also a section for Application audio sources. Here I selected Spotify and dragged it to Knob 2. Seriously, this is the easiest audio mixing interface I’ve ever used. You can turn a YouTube video playing in Google Chrome as an audio source and mix it with the BEACN Mix.
Using the BEACN Mic and Mix together
By the time I had BEACN Mic and Mix setup, I was sold. I cannot believe how easy and intuitive it is to set up. I’ve never live streamed before so I didn’t want to try that during this review. However, I decided to play around with the app and tweak my mic audio. Here I could fine tune the EQ, Expander, and Compressor. There are also presets available for quick and easy setup. I love the visual EQ display of the audio in real-time.
The most impactful control was the Noise Suppression. The Adaptive style did a remarkable job of eliminating the computer fan noise. All you have to do is toggle it on and off to hear the difference. It’s night and day. This makes the BEACN Mic a perfect solution for people in noisy environments. Seriously, the noise suppression is amazing—I’m impressed.
As I was talking through the mic, I was able to control the audio coming from Spotify on the BEACN Mix. This is like live streaming meets deejaying on the fly. With a little creativity, I could put on a great live show together from my home studio. It wouldn’t be me just talking, I could have sound effects, music, and even YouTube videos as audio sources.
Audio quality of the BEACN Mic
I was surprised why BEACN chose a Dynamic mic over a condenser microphone. I now know why. Dynamic microphones are typically used in noisy environments. If someone is giving a speech at a wedding, they’re using a Dynamic mic. The secret sauce is the BEACN app used alongside the BEACN Mic. Here, users can fine tune their mic audio. It starts with the stellar noise suppression followed by tweaks to the Expander, Compressor and EQ. Basically, I could shape the mic audio to however I want it to sound. Once I find it, I can save it as a Profile to use next time.
Final thoughts on the BEACN Mic and Mix
I’m not a live streamer. With the BEACN Mic and BEACN Mix, I could be. In fact, as a content creator, I’m seriously considering it. With this BEACN combo, it’s super easy to set up and assign audio sources and control them on the fly with the BEACN Mix. Usually—or should I say historically—this was not easy. Getting multiple independent audio hardware to work together was complicated. The BEACN app makes it seamless and intuitive. I’m sold, I think I want this. It brought my audio mojo back.
If you’re a live streamer or content creator, I highly advise you to check out the BEACN Mic and BEACN Mix.
