AUNA MP32 MKII Microphone Shield - Mic Screen, Absorber, Diffuser, Adapter Included, Pratical Mounting Behind the Microphone, Minimises Reflexion Noise and Room Reverberation, Black

Many moons ago I shared a flat with a sound engineer who taught me the simplest way to get a better sound for voiceovers was to record them in bed with your head and the microphone under the duvet. So this auna Microphone Booth is really Duvet v2.0 for me!It’s quite an impressive unit when first unpacked with all that shiny perforated metal and it arrives almost fully assembled, you just have to attach the bracket which allows it to be fixed to a mic stand, holds the mic shaft and then allows the booth itself to be raised or lowered independently of your mic so you can find the best sweet spot. Thanks to the mostly metal construction it’s obviously quite a hefty thing to be mounting on the average mic-stand and I’ve yet to find one I feel is really stable enough long term - a wide-based stand should be better than a heavy-based one, being less likely to tip over. If you wanted to use it on a desktop then I would imagine most desktop mic stands will be neither heavy or wide enough to support it, so I haven’t even bothered trying that. It can’t sit absolutely flat on a surface because of the rail and bracket at the bottom but you could lay out a few  Acoustic Foam Tiles  and sit it on that - I discovered a pillow works too if you haven’t got any acoustic tiles on you at the time. Either of them will also help dampen any reflected sound from the desk surface - and prevent any of the exposed screw heads scratching your best tabletop! Note that in the photo’s above it shows the mic stand being screwed separately onto the bottom rail but there’s also a '” screw mount on the underside of the mic shaft that you can use. It depends on the overall balance of the unit but with the mic pushed right back into the booth it can all sit quite well balanced on that single mount.So does it work? Yes, depending on what you’re expecting of it. If you’re hoping it will completely isolate a mic in a noisy environment then you’ll be disappointed, it’s just not enough of a barrier for that. But if you need to improve the quality of a vocal performance or voiceover then it really does make a difference. It quietens ambient noise slightly and noticeably dampens the room acoustics, so there’s less natural reverb or echo, and that drier sound gives more presence to the voice, making the higher frequencies in particular sound more prominent and precise. I wouldn’t say it’s a total transformation but there’s a noticeable and worthwhile improvement and it does give a vocal sound with more intimacy. Of course you have to experiment a bit with your chosen mic to get the effect you want and you can move the mic in and out of the booth along the bottom rail as well as raising or lowering the booth behind it.The current price seems competitive with others available and as far as I can tell the construction and quality is at least as good as the competition too, so it’s certainly worthy of consideration. I just wanted one to improve the quality of simple voiceovers on videos and for that it’s proving to be a really useful addition - and even better than being under a duvet with a torch. Well, mostly…UPDATE: I've now solved the problem of finding a stable enough stand for this mic shield by using a  Walimex Light Stand  meant for photographic lights - these tend to have a wider footprint, keeping it stable, and they're built to handle heavier weights. I had to add a  ¼" to ⅜'" screw adaptor  because the world of music and the world of photography use different standards, but with that in place it works perfectly.Disclosure: item was received free for independent review