HyperX SoloCast 2 Mic Review: Big Streamer Energy in a Tiny Budget

Editor’s note: HP India provided IGN India with a review unit of its HyperX SoloCast 2 USB Microphone.

If your audio quality is one of the most important aspects for you during online calls or streams, then opting for a dedicated microphone is essential. Such separate, single-purpose devices tend to offer much better audio output than what you would get from built-in mics in standard gaming headsets or earbuds.

Uses of better audio would be evident in your recordings, live streams, or just while talking with your friends while gaming or otherwise. For this, starting with budget-friendly microphones is always a good bet. To help you with your decision, we are looking at a new entrant into the Indian market: the HyperX SoloCast 2. This is a microphone that aims to deliver good-quality audio with plug-and-play functionality on a reasonable budget under INR (₹)5,000, without requiring you to do anything overly complicated.

As you can clearly see from the name, there is a “2” in it, which means there was a first model as well. While comparing the latest version with the outgoing model, HyperX has made several notable changes both in the design and the internal hardware. So, is the HyperX SoloCast 2 any good and how does it stack up against other cheaper microphones currently on the market? Find the answer to all these questions and more in this review.

HyperX SoloCast 2: Design, Build Quality, and Physical Features

The build quality of the HyperX SoloCast 2 screams high quality. SoloCast 2 features a sleek matte black plastic finish, and the plastic does not feel cheap in the slightest. It feels remarkably sturdy in the hand, and the colour looks undeniably good. Overall, the microphone has the look and feel of a premium product. In terms of dimensions, it weighs around 350 grams and stands about 6 inches high, so it does not take up too much space on your desk.

The SoloCast 2 also comes with a rubberised foot on the bottom of its stand, so when you put it down on a hard surface, it remains firmly in place without wobbling or sliding around. I really liked this design aspect because, although the microphone can easily be used with boom arms, you can still take it anywhere and use it by placing it on a flat surface. The highlight of this microphone’s design is that it can be tilted up to 45 degrees to aim it directly at the audio source, if needed.

If you do want to mount the mic for greater accessibility, it is fully compatible with microphone boom arms, as it features both the 3/8-inch and 5/8-inch threading integrated into the mic body. This dual-thread design makes the microphone instantly compatible with almost all of the mic arms currently on the market, meaning you won’t have to deal with the frustration of buying and attaching separate adapters.

There is also an LED indicator on the SoloCast 2 that glows red when the mic is in use and recording. Yes, it glows red when it is recording. One would naturally assume that the microphone is muted when it glows red, as is the standard with many other microphones on the market, but the operating case is completely different here. The SoloCast 2 turns off the LED light to indicate a mute state.

Speaking of muting, you can do this by tapping a dedicated touch-sensitive button on top of the microphone. While this tap-to-mute feature is convenient, I have also accidentally muted the mic multiple times by brushing my fingers or arm across the button while trying to reach something behind the mic on the desk. So, for a microphone designed like this, you really have to keep it angled or at a distance to avoid such accidents.

Connectivity and Out-of-the-Box Sound Performance

When it comes to connectivity, the HyperX SoloCast 2 is a USB microphone and includes a generous, 6-foot Type-C to Type-A cable. This means that, naturally, it will not work with a traditional 3.5mm microphone jack. Talking about the cable length, I don’t think it is bad or restrictive for the vast majority of normal uses. For context, this microphone is intended to be used directly with your PC or laptop, or plugged into your PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles. Additionally, the support for connecting it to smartphones via an OTG adapter is not officially stated, as it may work seamlessly with some phone models and fail completely with others.

What I like most about this microphone is its true plug-and-play nature. You can literally just connect the microphone to your chosen device with the cable, and it instantly shows up as a separate audio input source in your settings. From there, in my experience, recording vanilla audio without any software tweaks yielded impressive, satisfying results.

You really don’t need to spend any more money on additional gear, including physical audio filters, except for a dedicated microphone boom arm. While you can put the SoloCast 2 flat on your desk, which puts it farther from you, to get the best performance, you need to position it much closer to your mouth with a dedicated mic arm.

I found the raw audio from the mic to be quite crisp and clear. In fact, to most untrained ears, the audio quality from this reasonably priced mic may not feel much different from that of a much more expensive, pro-tier streaming setup. The SoloCast 2 does not pick up that much distracting background noise if you are sitting in a relatively quiet room. This also means that there is no annoying electronic hiss or any other persistent background noise muddying your voice recordings.

However, you can’t change any audio settings at the hardware level for the microphone. This means that you will inevitably have to use a dedicated software application for such tweaks. Ultimately, this lack of physical dials and settings is the cost you have to pay for getting such a high-quality microphone within such a strict budget.

You can hear the raw audio below of me reading the Wikipedia article on cats:

IGN India · Testing Mic With No Settings

The Ngenuity Software Experience and Advanced Tuning

While the raw audio from the HyperX Solocast 2 is great, you may still hear some background noise, such as the hum of a ceiling fan. If that happens, you have the companion Ngenuity application to fine-tune your microphone’s gain, along with options to adjust other settings. You will have to specifically download the Ngenuity Beta software, which will unlock a whole host of advanced settings that will make using the Solocast 2 a much more powerful experience.

The granular gain settings, as part of the Beta software, also helped me realise that the mic can pick up quite a bit of surrounding sounds when the slider is turned all the way up. This obviously introduces noise in the signal, degrading the quality of your recording. I have attached sound samples alongside this review, and you can clearly hear the difference for yourself as I physically test the various software features.

Beyond gain, the app allows Solocast 2 users to add a frequency filter with options including high-pass, low-pass, and presence boost. To break these down: a high-pass filter cuts out low-frequency rumbles, such as heavy desk thumps or distant traffic noise. A low-pass filter actively rolls off the extremely high-frequency sounds to reduce harshness or electronic whine, and a presence boost specifically enhances the upper-mid frequencies to make the human voice sound significantly more forward, articulate, and crisp.

IGN India · Testing Frequency Filter

High Pass: There’s a clear reduction in the low-end frequencies. The audio here sounds noticeably thinner, which is exactly what this filter is designed to do.

Low Pass: This rolls off the high frequencies, leaving the audio sounding significantly darker and a bit muffled, as it removes the “air” and crispness from the recording.

Presence Boost: This pushes the upper-midrange frequencies. The audio immediately sounds crisper, more forward, and cuts through better. Though, unfortunately, it introduces a slight bit of sharpness to my “S” and “T” sounds.

The digital effects in Ngenuity include AI noise reduction, a compressor, and a limiter. The compressor dynamically adjusts your overall volume levels, ensuring that your quiet whispers and loud, excited yells sound consistent to your listeners. The limiter acts as a hard ceiling, preventing your audio from clipping or distorting into a garbled mess when you suddenly get way too loud.

IGN India · Testing Effects

IGN India · Testing AI Noise Reduction Feature

Compressor: The dynamic range is noticeably balanced out. The quieter parts of my voice are brought up, and the louder parts are tamed, giving it a denser, more consistent “broadcast” quality.

Limiter: Because I was speaking at a relatively even volume, this sounds quite similar to my baseline test.

AI Noise Reduction: The AI noise reduction feature does a remarkable job of masking background sounds and giving my voice a “pop.” You can barely hear the keyboard taps, and the mouse clicks are simply silent. In some cases, the aggressive AI noise reduction does unfortunately mask up my natural voice a bit as the algorithm desperately tries to mask any loud sound while I am speaking, like the clacking taps of my mechanical keyboard.

Here is a test with AI noise reduction and the limiter on, which I think gives me the best “broadcast” quality sound:

IGN India · Settings I Use – AI Noise Reduction and Limiter

If all these effects are still not working perfectly for you, there is also an advanced input equaliser function in the app. This gives you the ability to precisely fine-tune specific frequency bands to your liking. You can adjust the heavy bass, the vocal mids, and the sharp highs. But overall, I feel that the stock sound profile provided out of the box is more than good enough for most people.

Worth the Money?

The HyperX Solocast 2 is currently priced at ₹4,199 on Amazon India. Considering that you are getting a no-hassle plug-and-play USB mic with access to a software suite packed with mostly useful features, this pricing is highly competitive, making the HyperX Solocast 2 an easy recommendation. Other competitor in this space from a major gaming brand is the Razer Seiren V3 Mini, and although it has better noise reduction due to the supercardioid pattern it has, it also costs around ₹6,600.