I never wanted to get a big microphone setup for my home office. They've always felt like a hassle, and a significant use of space. I always either used the mic and speakers on my display, or my AirPods Max.
With a recent move my home office changed and this one has a more open layout without a door, so I became interested in being more quiet in the house. Using headphones was a requirement, and with a microphone in front of me I would feel like I would not need to speak as loudly to be heard clearly.
I didn't need to look far as RØDE was a brand I was familiar with, this particular model had great reviews, and wasn't too pricey at $200. It ended up being a great purchase; my coworkers have complimented me on how much more clear I sound on Zoom calls, and I can tell how my audio feels less delayed.
But the best part is that I can plug my headphones directly into the microphone to hear my voice. Now I keep the noise-cancelling mode on my headphones enabled. I used to hate speaking with noise-cancelling mode on my AirPods Max as I didn't feel like I could hear myself—it felt unnatural. I also purchased the RØDE PSA1 swivel mount arm to go with it (though I strongly considered the DS2 stand instead).
