The CHERRY XTRFY Ngale X is one of the first pro microphones produced by the German keyboard giant and it has more than a passing resemblance to the Shure SM7B that’s been one of the best-selling dynamic microphones for 50 years and was used to record classic albums like Michael Jackson Thriller.
The new mic has a 25mm dynamic capsule with a cardioid polar pickup pattern. Like most dynamic mics, the CHERRY XTRFY Ngale X is good at rejecting off-axis sounds and that makes it ideal for use in spaces that may not be acoustically treated, such as a bedroom or office.Like the Shure SM7B, the CHERRY XTRFY Ngale X is quite a hard mic to drive and you need to ramp up the gain quite a bit if you are using it with an XLR connection. With USB it’s a different story.
In addition to controlling the volume of the headphones in USB mode, the rotary knob on the rear of the mic also doubles as a Mute button for turning off the audio feed easily. The knob can also be depressed or a few seconds toggle through a range of colors for the LED light that illuminates the end of the mic. This can be useful as the RGB LED turns red when the Mute button is pressed, but you can set the colors to what you want, maybe to match a live streaming or podcasting studio set.