Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware
The FIFINE K688 is a boom arm mounted style microphone in the typical cylindrical form you might see other podcasters use. We have the black version with a medium gray colored pop filter, but the body is also available in white or pink. The microphone body itself appears to be aluminum as well, as it is cool to touch. The K688 measures in at approximately 190mm long including rear knobs, 55mm in diameter without the shock mount, and 105mm with it included. The arm protruding from the shock mount including swivel is another 45mm. According to my coffee scale, the K688 weighs 331g. On the top of the mic, there is a touch-sensitive mute button that only works in USB mode. It has a little symbol with a microphone crossed out that glows green when the microphone is active, and red when muted. The front of the microphone is covered in a flocked, gray pop filter that is fuzzy and soft to the touch. It is a fairly dense foam at about 8mm thick and 88mm long.
Behind the pop filter, we see a black, metal, honeycomb patterned cage that protects the dynamic cardioid capsule. The capsule is situated about 15mm recessed in the cage. The cage appears removable with a few Philips head screws holding it at the base. The cardioid capsule has a frequency response of 70Hz to 15kHz, which is somewhat limited. Compared to the FIFINE AmpliGame AM8, the frequency response is 50Hz to 16 kHz. The recording resolution is the same over USB, with a bit depth of 16-bit and a maximum 48kHz sample rate. This means the K688 will be unable to record sub-bass frequencies, and lacks air frequencies up top. This is fine for typical vocals and should help the recordings sound cleaner, but it would not be good for recording instruments and vocals with deeper registers. If a higher recording resolution is desired, there is an XLR output. The bit depth and sampling rates would then depend on the connected audio interface. The K688 also has a sensitivity of -58dB and signal-to-noise ratio of 75dB.
On the rear of the mic, we find several inputs of the K688. There are two knobs for adjusting the microphone gain from 0 to +12 dB, and a volume knob for the 3.5mm audio jack. This is used for live monitoring and USB audio passthrough. Two outputs are also back here, with the USB Type-C port and XLR port. The live monitoring, microphone gain, and volume control can only be used through the USB interface.
One added bonus the K688 has even compared to some more expensive microphones is the included shock mount. The mounting swivel is made of a robust feeling plastic with a large metal axle that can be tightened down. This helps to angle the microphone towards the user. The outer ring is made of black anodized aluminum. Four thick rubber elastics hold an inner plastic ring that is screwed onto the body of the microphone and suspends it in midair. The shock mount helps to provide vibration isolation and dampening, minimizing noise from structures such as the boom arm, table, or vibrations from the floor of someone walking by.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Recording Performance Tests
4. Conclusion
