Review of the Genesis Radium 251 USB Gaming Microphone

Technical data

Company history

Founded in Poland in 2011, Genesis has been offering hardware for gamers from the very beginning. The product range includes mice, gaming keyboards, mouse pads, headphones, console accessories and, most recently, gaming chairs. Genesis wants to make a name for itself among gamers and also sponsors events and is currently building up its own e-sports team. In order to serve the entry-level market, Genesis is launching the Radium 251 and wants to convince you.

Packaging

The packaging is black and has a product picture on the front. The sides are red and provide a color contrast to the dark front. The back shows the product again and a graph shows the frequency response characteristics. The cardioid characteristic is also shown. Some of the microphone's specifications can also be found here.

Opening the cardboard slider reveals a compact cardboard box, and the fact that plastic has been avoided as far as possible is good for the environment. If you open the box, you'll find a dark insert made of EPS in which the microphone and arm are well bedded.

However, the praise from before has to be revised somewhat, as cardboard or honeycomb paper would have been more environmentally friendly here.

Scope of delivery and build quality

The scope of delivery includes the microphone boom, the microphone, a USB-A to USB-C cable, an adapter from USB-A to USB-C, instructions, three Velcro cable holders, two replacement rubber rings for the spider, microphone holder for 3/8 and 5/8 inch and the pop protection should not be underestimated.

Let's take a closer look at the whole thing. The cable is quite simple, but has an interference suppression filter. The adapter from USB-C to USB-A has silver accents so that it looks more upmarket than without. The Velcro cable ties have an eyelet through which the USB cable can be passed and can still be moved even when attached.

One advantage of this is that the cable still has play after it has been attached and is not kinked so quickly. Clever! The microphone arm itself is a typical representative of this price range, but the table clamp is more than solid and does not bend like some of the competition's holders.

Only the locking wheel on the base is not so confident as it is relatively small. However, once you have adjusted it, it looks neat and is quickly forgotten. The arm itself is a little sensitive to fingerprints but otherwise more than serviceable. The adapter piece from 3/8 to 5/8 is kept very simple and due to the lack of weight it seems a little loose when screwed on, but when it is attached it does its job and that is what matters.

We noticed a huge sprue point when recording the microphone, but thanks to its position, this is not a problem in everyday use. The plastic of the spider and the microphone look a little cheap, but are well made.

The connections for the USB-C cable and the jack output are well embedded, the volume control on the front is a little too close to the spider, making it a little fiddly to operate as your fingers come up against the holder when you turn it.

We recommend leaving it at 100% and then adjusting it using third-party software. The rotary knob is not 100% centered, but due to the color design this is only noticeable if you look very closely. The pop protection is kept simple, but helps the microphone to appear more professional.

All in all, you can say cheap materials but not saved to death. Instead, attention has been paid to details where necessary. Considering the price, we are very positive about this category.

Recording quality

Here we test the recording without any software improvements and then try to get the best out of the microphone. When recording without software, we notice a background noise, which we classify as quite low. When recording at a distance of less than 20 cm, hissing noises are exaggerated and the voice sounds the clearest, as the level is simply the highest here. If we increase the distance to 40 cm, the whole thing becomes rounder and is also the feel-good distance of the microphone, here the voice is best understood and sibilants are at a pleasant level. If you then move 60 cm away, the recording becomes thinner and it seems as if you are further away than you are. In general, the voice is easy to understand, the warmth of the voice decreases relatively sharply with distance from the microphone, reaching a maximum of neutral warmth when recording close up. Thanks to the decoupled microphone, impacts, e.g. on the table, are not transferred to the recording during our recordings. However, muting the microphone itself is also transferred to the recording.

When using our software with AI Noise Cancellation, the background noise can be eliminated from approx. 40% of the controller. If we then boost the bass slightly on the equalizer and reduce the treble, we can achieve the warm characteristic even at a distance of 40 cm. If we take the price into account, we are also very positive in this category.

RGB lighting

The RGB lighting changes in slowly changing rainbow colors. When muted, the microphone turns red to provide visual feedback.

There is no software setting option here. The lighting is quite discreet, especially when the pop guard is positioned in front of it. Both sides of the microphone are illuminated so that the illumination can also be seen from the rear when recording with the camera.

Conclusion on the Rodium 251

With the Rodium 251, Genesis has created an all-round successful starter set. The workmanship is generally quite good and the quality is there in the important places. The recordings work satisfactorily in their basic state, but can be easily pimped using third-party software. The background noise is pleasingly low and the voice can be presented as neutrally warm. However, if you get too close to the microphone, the hissing noises become somewhat unpleasant. The lighting is a nice gimmick and remains discreetly in the background. All in all, the price can be classified as inexpensive and is definitely worth recommending as a starter set.

Pro

• Good workmanship
• Low background noise: The noise is pleasingly low.
• Good sound
• Satisfactory recordings
• Discreet lighting
• Good price-performance ratio

Contra

• Hissing noise at close range