oday I review one of the best budget microphones available, the samson Q2u. The microphone is a plug and play mic that sounds pretty great for the price. It does have it's faults being that it suffers from plosives, sibilance, and handling noise. If you can't deal with those issues I recommend looking elsewhere ,but if you are able to deal with those issues you can get some great recordings for a $50-$70 mic. 

Buy the Samson Q2u (Affiliate Link)
Amazon: https://geni.us/samq2u
Sweetwater: https://imp.i114863.net/q2u

Buy the Focusrite 2i2 (3rd Gen)- Same Performance as 18i20 (Affiliate Link)
Amazon: https://geni.us/2i32rd
Sweetwater: https://imp.i114863.net/k6g4d

NOTE (FULL DISCLOSURE): As an associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info check my FAQ page links below.

00:00 - Intro / Price / Disclaimer 
00:21 - Setup
00:40 - What’s in the Box
01:08 - Build Quality / Walkthrough
02:09 - Specifications
02:28 - Polar Pattern Test (Tone / Rotation)
02:47 - Plosive Test
03:03 - Distance Test / Proximity Effect Test
03:22 - Background Noise Test 
03:41 - Untreated Room Test
04:01 - Shock Rejection Test
04:45 - Mic Resonance Tap Test
05:01 - Handling Noise Test
05:17 - Cup the Mic Test
05:44 - Windscreen Test
06:17 - On / Off Switch Test
06:34 - XLR vs USB Output Test
07:32 - Noise Floor Measurement 
08:24 - Latency Measure
08:43 - Intro to Comparison
09:07 - Behringer XM8500 Comparison
09:37 - Samson Q2u Comparison
10:03 - Shure SM58 Comparison
10:33 - Audio Technica ATR2100X Comparison
11:04 - sE Electronics V7 Comparison
11:41 - Audio Technica AT2020 USB + Comparison
12:20 - Samson Q9U Comparison
13:06 - Shure SM7b Comparison
13:43 - Neumann U87 Ai Comparison
14:17 - Music Test
15:44 - Pros & Cons
18:00 - Overall Thoughts
20:39 - Recommendation
22:00 - Outro