• Live Mic Test: Record a piece online in our mic checker. With a click.
• Check Any Mic: Compatible with all mics. From your built-in laptop or phone mics, headphones mic, to professional podcasting mic.
• Mic Setup Results: Whether you are far from your mic or have low gain. If your mic caught background noise or echo. No-nonsense feedback on what worked with your mic and what not.
• Playback Your Microphone Test: Hear how you sound and catch what improvements you need.
• 100% Free: No signup. Unlimited mic tests. For unlimited minutes.
• Secure Processing: Record and test your mic quality locally in your browser. We don't save it.

Get visual feedback on whether your microphone setup failed or worked right. What is the optimal range of mic distance, gain, background noise, and echo (dotted bar). And if your audio stands in that range or not.

What you can see in our mic tester's overview.

• Distance from Mic - Were you too close to the mic and huffing into it? Or far from it to sound too quiet?
• Gain - Did you set your microphone gain too high, distorting your audio? Or is it too low, making your audio noisy after the boost?
• Background Noise - Does your audio have background noise, ambient or white noise? Because your mic picked up every noise around you? Or you recorded in a chaotic place.
• Echo & Reverb - Is your audio sounding hollow? Did your mic catch the room reverb?

Check mic, improve your recording, and stop wasting hours in editing.

Here are a few quick checks:

• Grant mic permission: Make sure your browser has access to your microphone. You’ll see a prompt when you start the mic test. Click “Allow”.
• Mic connection: Double-check if your microphone is connected properly. Or the mic cable is not damaged or loose.
• Correct input device: Under the “Select Microphone” dropdown, ensure you have selected the right mic or input device.
• Mic in use elsewhere: Check if any other app is using your mic (E.g. Zoom, Discord, Teams, etc.). If yes, then it may block your mic access here. Close those apps and try again.

You recorded an hour-long podcast. But when you play it, all you hear is your distant voice. Your words are barely recognizable. Turns out, your mic placement was off.

Or you narrated an audiobook, lost in the story’s flow and modulating your voice. So, you did not realize that you blurted pops and sniffs into the mic. The results have harsh breaths and plosives.

You might have had a Zoom interview with your podcast guest. It was a great conversation. But when you heard it, it was boomy. Your mic picked up voices bouncing off from walls and other surfaces.

Or you recorded vocals, but the final audio has more noise than your voice. Or worse, your mic was not connected properly, and there is no voice now.

Would you rerecord all that? Dreadful, right?

For mic positioning, echo, noise, or volume levels. Testing if your mic is working, in a few seconds, can save you hours of editing or reshooting your content.

Did you check your mic online and find that many things went off with your current setup? Reverb, unwanted noise, inconsistent volume levels, or buzzing and crackly voice.

You can rearrange your mic positioning and room setup. And turn your muddy audio into a clean recording.

But is there an ultimate mic technique? No.

There is no “only true way” for your mic placement. A podcast mic placement differs from a voiceover’s setup. What works for a raw and natural audio doesn’t suit a professional recording.

So, keep adjusting and playing with your mic placement, until you hit the sweet spot of your voice.

Let’s see how mic techniques affect that spot.

Avoid Hard and Flat Surfaces*:

• Don't place the mic too close to a desk, wall, or ceiling. Hard surfaces reflect unwanted reverb and echo. If you’re recording in an untreated room, surround your mic with pillows or foam sheets.

Polar Patterns Affecting Your Mic Position:

• Each mic picks up the voice from different directions. And what you record also matters here.
• If your mic picks up sound from the front and back and you're recording in a noisy space, try to speak across your mic. Give it an angle. So that you can avoid reflections and background noise.
• Or going for a solo podcast and want your voice to be brighter and clearer? Speak directly into the mic, if it picks up sound from the front.

*Mic Distance (Based on Your Recording Space)**:

• When your guest is loud, don't place the mic too close. This will reduce distortion and harsh breath sounds.
• If you want more natural sound in a well-treated room, you can afford to have a bit more distance.
• But if you are recording in a large or empty space, record closer to the mic. It will avoid picking up room or ambient noise.

Less Sensitive vs. More Sensitive Mics:

• If you are recording in a noisy area or an empty room with nothing but walls, use a less sensitive mic (e.g. dynamic mic). It will pick up less echo and ignore most background noise.
• Want a studio-quality podcast or audiobook? Choose a more sensitive mic (like a condenser mic). It captures every vocal detail and emotion. From loud expressions to quiet hums, without distortion. But it also picks up everything else, so it works best in sound-treated spaces.

On-Axis vs. Off-Axis Mic Placement:

• If your voice sounds dull, try speaking on-axis(directly into the mic). It makes your vocals brighter, more focused.
• Too many plosives or harsh sounds? Go off-axis(speaking past the mic). Position your mic at an angle, but keep your mouth in the direction of it. This will give you clarity as well as natural voice.

Tested your mic setup multiple times, and everything seemed to be in a perfect place to you.

But still, your mic failed at some point, or it caught some room reverb or noise. Or maybe you couldn’t control your guest speaker’s recording.

And you aren’t an audio editor. Results? Watching tens of tutorials and manually cleaning up your audio wastes hours.

A better alternative, you think? Automate audio enhancement. Remove background noise, harsh breaths, plosives, fillers, and reverb. Or level your audio. Fix that distortion, too.

Upload your file to Cleanvoice’ AI audio enhancer and clean everything in minutes.

Sound studio-recorded. Even if your mic fails, or you've got no studio.