This post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
UPGRADE STORY
I bought my first proper microphone in a moment of weakness. It was pink, it was £45, and it was sitting on the desk before I had any real plan for what to do with it. The Razer Seiren V3 Mini in Quartz Pink was a brilliant starter microphone. It sounded dramatically better than my MacBook’s built-in mic. It looked great. It made calls and streaming feel like I had a real setup. For about a year, it was all I needed.
Then I started recording voiceovers. And demo vocals. And actually thinking about audio as a thing that needed to sound good rather than just better than nothing. So I upgraded to the Rode NT-USB+, and the difference made me wish I had upgraded sooner.
This is the honest comparison from someone who used the Razer for over a year and now uses the Rode every day. Both mics are still on my desk. Both are still useful. But they are very different products solving very different problems.
The Quick Answer
Buy the Razer Seiren V3 Mini if you need a microphone for calls, streaming, casual content or just want to look pretty on a desk. £45, no software needed, just plug in and use it.
Buy the Rode NT-USB+ if you record voiceovers, host a podcast, do any kind of audio work that other people will hear, or just want a proper studio condenser without the XLR / interface complexity. £179, includes everything you need, sounds genuinely studio quality.
If you are upgrading from the Razer, the Rode is the right next step.
Razer Seiren V3 Mini: What It Does Well
The Seiren V3 Mini is a supercardioid USB condenser the size of a hen’s egg. It comes in black, white, Quartz Pink and Mercury White. The colours matter, this thing is designed to look right on a desk, and it does. The capsule sits inside a steel mesh, the body is matte finish, the integrated tripod foot has just enough heft to keep it stable.
The Sound
For calls, streaming and casual content, the Seiren sounds great. The supercardioid pattern is its defining feature: it picks up your voice and rejects almost everything else. Background noise from a fan, keyboard clicks at a normal distance, household sounds from the next room — the Seiren ignores most of it. The audio is clean, present, and noticeably better than any built-in laptop mic or basic gaming headset.
For voice recordings that other people will hear at length (podcasts, voiceovers, audiobook samples), the limits start to show. The supercardioid pattern that rejects background noise also rejects some of the natural warmth and air that a wider cardioid pattern catches. The voice can sound slightly thin compared to a proper studio mic. There is no built-in pop filter, so plosives (“p” and “b” puffs) hit the capsule with no buffer. The fixed integrated stand puts the mic at desk level which is below ideal for vocal recording.
What’s Brilliant
- Genuinely good audio for a £45 microphone
- Tap-to-mute on top of the mic, dead useful for calls
- Plug-and-play USB-C, no software, no setup
- The pink one is a real mood
- Tiny footprint on the desk
What’s Limited
- No headphone output, you cannot hear yourself in real time
- No pop filter, plosives are exposed
- Fixed stand at desk level, hard to position correctly for voice
- Supercardioid means voice sounds slightly compressed compared to a wider pattern
- No software ecosystem for processing or fine-tuning
Rode NT-USB+: What Changes
The Rode NT-USB+ is a side-address USB condenser with a large capsule, a detachable pop filter, a built-in headphone amp with zero-latency monitoring, and the Rode Central software ecosystem with APHEX processing. It costs around four times what the Razer costs (£179 versus £45), and it is in a different league.
The Sound
This is what genuinely studio-quality voice recording sounds like. The capsule is large enough to capture warmth and detail, the cardioid pattern is wide enough to flatter most voices without picking up too much room. The Revolution Preamp is genuinely low-noise, which means you can record at a comfortable distance without amplifying hiss in post.
Recording the same voice on the Rode and the Razer back to back, the Rode sounds fuller, warmer, more present. The Razer sounds thinner by comparison. It is not subtle. The first time I recorded a voiceover on the NT-USB+ I genuinely sat there listening to the playback and grinning, because for the first time my voice sounded like the voice I hear in my head.
What’s Brilliant
- Studio-quality sound at a USB-mic price
- Detachable pop filter included, no plosive worries
- Zero-latency headphone monitoring built in
- Onboard mix balance, headphone volume, and mute controls
- Rode Central software with APHEX Aural Exciter and Big Bottom processors
- Comes with a desktop stand that gets the mic to the right height
- USB-C, works on Mac, Windows, iPad, iPhone, Android
What’s Less Brilliant
- Bigger and heavier than the Razer, less suitable for a tight setup
- Black only, no fun colours
- The price is four times the Razer, so the upgrade case has to actually exist for you
- Not USB-bus-powered to the same degree as the Razer, the build quality is heavier
Razer Seiren V3 Mini vs Rode NT-USB+: Side By Side
| Razer Seiren V3 Mini | Rode NT-USB+ | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 7.5 | 9.0 |
| Type | USB supercardioid condenser | USB cardioid condenser |
| Resolution | 24-bit / 48 kHz | 24-bit / 48 kHz |
| Connector | USB-C | USB-C |
| Headphone monitoring | No | Yes, zero-latency |
| Pop filter | None | Detachable, included |
| Stand | Fixed integrated | Adjustable desktop tripod |
| Software | None | Rode Central with APHEX |
| Onboard controls | Tap to mute | Mix, volume, mute |
| Best for | Calls, streaming, casual | Voiceover, podcast, demo vocals |
| Price | ~£45 | ~£179 |
Should You Upgrade?
If you can answer yes to any of these, the upgrade is worth it.
- You record voiceovers and need to hear yourself as you record
- You make podcasts and the audio quality is part of the product
- You record demo vocals, even just for fun
- You film video where the voice carries the content
- You have noticed plosives or thin audio on your Razer recordings
- You want the audio to sound like it was recorded in a studio rather than at a desk
If you are mostly using your mic for calls, streams, gaming chat or casual chat content, the Razer is doing its job and the upgrade will not change much for you. Spend the £130 difference on something else.
Should You Keep the Razer?
I did, and I am glad. The Razer still lives on the desk for calls and casual streaming. The Rode is the recording mic. Having both means I do not need to swap microphones for different tasks: the Razer is set up for calls with its tap-to-mute, the Rode is set up for recording with its monitoring and processing. They share a desk happily.
If you only have desk space for one, sell the Razer when you upgrade. If you have room for both, keep it. The pink one in particular still makes me smile every time I sit down at the desk.
The Honest Conclusion
The Razer Seiren V3 Mini is the best £45 starter microphone you can buy. It made me want to take audio seriously, which is the highest compliment a starter mic can earn.
The Rode NT-USB+ is the upgrade you make when you start needing your audio to actually be good. It is four times the price, and it is more than four times the microphone. If you have outgrown your Razer (and you will know because the audio is the part of your work that frustrates you), the NT-USB+ is the right next step.
For the full picture of my home studio (mics, headphones, the lot), read My Home Studio Mic Setup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Rode NT-USB+ better than the Razer Seiren V3 Mini?
Yes, in audio quality, build, monitoring and software it is meaningfully better. It is also four times the price. For voice recording where audio quality matters, the Rode wins clearly. For casual calls and streaming, the Razer is enough.
What is the main difference between a supercardioid and cardioid mic?
A supercardioid pattern (Razer) is tighter and rejects more sound from the sides and rear, which makes it excellent at ignoring background noise but less forgiving of off-axis voice. A cardioid pattern (Rode) is slightly wider and captures a more natural voice sound but lets in more of the room. For controlled recording environments, cardioid is generally preferred.
Can I use the Rode NT-USB+ with an iPhone?
Yes. With a USB-C cable directly on iPhone 15 onwards, or via a Lightning to USB-C adapter on older iPhones. iOS recognises it as a class-compliant USB audio device. Same applies to iPads and Android phones.
Do I need an audio interface to record with these mics?
No, both are USB microphones with built-in audio interfaces. You plug them into your computer or phone via USB-C and record directly. This is the entire reason USB mics exist: studio audio without the studio cabling.
Is there a Rode NT-USB+ alternative at a lower price?
The Razer Seiren V3 Mini at £45 is the obvious budget option. The Rode NT-USB (without the plus) is sometimes available cheaper second-hand, around £100, but the plus is the better current model. The Shure MV5 sits between the Razer and the NT-USB+ in both price and quality.
