A good microphone is only useful if you can put it in the right position. That’s where a mic boom arm comes in.
Instead of leaving your microphone on a small desk stand, a boom arm lets you pull the microphone toward your mouth when you’re recording and move it out of the way when you’re finished. It also frees up desk space and can make a podcasting or streaming setup look much cleaner.
The problem is that boom arms vary enormously in quality.
A cheap arm may work perfectly with a lightweight microphone but slowly sag when you attach a heavy broadcast mic and shock mount. Some arms have noisy external springs. Others don’t provide enough reach for a large desk.
For most podcasters and streamers, the RØDE PSA1+ is my favorite overall choice. If you want a low-profile setup that stays underneath your monitor, the Elgato Wave Mic Arm LP is especially attractive.
What is the Best Mic Boom Arm Stands?
Here are eight of the best mic boom arm stands to consider.
1. RØDE PSA1+ – Best Mic Boom Arm Overall
The RØDE PSA1+ is one of the easiest boom arms to recommend for podcasting, streaming, and broadcasting.
It improves on the traditional spring-loaded boom arm design by using fully damped internal springs. This helps keep movement quiet while you’re recording. That’s more important than it sounds.
If you need to reposition your microphone during a podcast, you don’t want springs and mechanical noises appearing in the recording.
The PSA1+ also provides integrated cable management for both USB and XLR cables.
RØDE rates it for microphones and accessories weighing from 94 grams to 1.2 kilograms. Its fully extended length reaches 940 mm, and it offers full 360-degree rotation. The included desk clamp supports desks up to 70 mm thick.
That combination makes it suitable for many popular podcast and broadcast microphones.
It’s not the cheapest option, but if you want a boom arm you can keep using as your microphone setup changes, the PSA1+ is a great investment.
2. Elgato Wave Mic Arm LP – Best Low-Profile Boom Arm
Traditional boom arms rise above your desk. That isn’t always ideal. If you’re streaming on camera, the boom arm may appear prominently beside your face or block part of your monitor.
The Elgato Wave Mic Arm LP takes the opposite approach. LP stands for low profile.
Instead of extending upward like a traditional broadcast arm, it stays close to the surface of your desk and can extend underneath your monitor. That creates a much cleaner appearance on camera.
Elgato gives the arm 740 mm, or 29.1 inches, of horizontal reach. Both the base and elbow provide 360-degree horizontal rotation.
More importantly, Elgato rates the arm to support up to 2 kilograms, including the microphone and accessories. That’s a generous capacity for a low-profile design.
The desk clamp supports surfaces up to 60 mm thick, and Elgato includes adapters for common microphone thread sizes.
For streamers who care about how their setup looks on camera, the Wave Mic Arm LP is one of the best choices.
3. Elgato Wave Mic Arm – Best High-Rise Boom Arm
Elgato also makes a traditional high-rise Wave Mic Arm. This version is useful when you need your microphone to clear monitors or other equipment.
It provides 780 mm of horizontal reach and 750 mm of vertical reach without the included riser. The riser adds another 150 mm of height. That’s useful if you have a large monitor.
Instead of trying to squeeze the microphone arm around your display, you can bring it over the top and position the microphone exactly where you need it.
The arm also includes cable management channels, keeping USB or XLR cables from hanging loosely around your desk.
Elgato specifies a microphone weight range of 250 to 1,000 grams with accessories.
If you like Elgato’s design but don’t want the low-profile approach, the standard Wave Mic Arm is a better option.
4. RØDE PSA1 – Best Classic Podcast Boom Arm
Before the PSA1+, there was the original RØDE PSA1. It became an extremely popular choice for podcasters, streamers, radio broadcasters, and home studios.
The basic design is simple. Clamp it to your desk, attach your microphone, adjust the tension, and pull the microphone toward you when needed.
The original PSA1 offers approximately 32 inches of horizontal reach and around 33 inches of vertical reach. It can also rotate 360 degrees.
RØDE designed it for microphone and shock-mount combinations weighing roughly 700 grams to 1.1 kilograms. That minimum weight is worth noticing. Very lightweight microphones may not properly balance the original PSA1.
The newer PSA1+ has a much wider supported weight range, which makes it more flexible. Still, if you find the original PSA1 at a good price, it remains a strong choice for traditional podcasting setups.
5. Blue Compass – Best Boom Arm for Blue Microphones
Blue became famous for USB microphones such as the Yeti, and the Compass was designed as a premium desktop boom arm for broadcasting.
Its enclosed aluminum construction gives it a cleaner appearance than inexpensive scissor arms with exposed springs. That’s particularly useful if your microphone setup regularly appears on camera. The arm also includes internal springs and built-in cable management.
Although it’s an obvious companion for Blue microphones, you’re not limited to using it with Blue products. Compatibility depends on your microphone’s mounting arrangement and total weight.
The Compass makes the most sense for someone who wants a traditional high-rise broadcasting arm with a clean, minimalist appearance.
If you’re using a heavier microphone and shock mount, check the complete weight before buying.
6. Heil Sound PL-2T – Best Broadcast-Style Boom Arm
If you want something closer to the kind of microphone arm associated with radio studios, the Heil Sound PL-2T is worth considering. It’s designed around professional broadcast and amateur-radio applications.
The arm uses an internal spring system, helping maintain a cleaner appearance while reducing the number of exposed components. It can also support relatively substantial microphone setups.
That’s useful if you’re using a heavy broadcast microphone rather than a tiny condenser or lightweight USB mic.
The PL-2T isn’t necessarily the best choice for someone building a cheap gaming setup. Its appeal is durability and broadcast-style operation.
For radio, voiceover work, podcast studios, and permanent recording desks, that makes sense.
7. Gator Frameworks Desktop Boom Arm – Best Alternative for Podcasters
Gator Frameworks makes a variety of microphone stands and desktop broadcasting arms.
These can be excellent alternatives if you want something more substantial than a basic budget scissor arm.
Some Gator broadcast arms also include integrated XLR cabling. That can be extremely convenient.
Instead of attaching a separate XLR cable along the outside of your boom arm, the cable is already routed through the stand.
This creates a cleaner installation. However, built-in cabling has a downside. If the cable fails or you want to use a different cable, replacement may be more complicated than simply unplugging an external cable.
For a permanent podcast studio using XLR microphones, though, integrated cabling can be very attractive.
8. Budget Scissor Boom Arm – Best Cheap Mic Boom Arm
You don’t necessarily need to spend more than $100 on a microphone arm. Basic scissor-style boom arms can be surprisingly useful. They’re particularly suitable for lightweight microphones.
A budget arm usually clamps onto the edge of your desk and uses springs to hold the microphone in position.
The biggest problem is weight capacity. An inexpensive arm may work beautifully with a lightweight microphone and then sag as soon as you attach a heavy microphone, shock mount, and pop filter.
Build quality also varies. Cheap clamps can flex, tension knobs can loosen, and exposed springs may create mechanical noise.
If you’re using an inexpensive lightweight microphone, a budget arm may be perfectly adequate.
If you’re hanging several hundred dollars of microphone equipment over your desk, I’d spend more on the arm.
Final Thoughts
For most people, the RØDE PSA1+ is the best all-around choice. It offers quiet damped springs, integrated cable management, a broad 94-gram to 1.2-kilogram supported load range, 360-degree rotation, and up to 940 mm of reach.
For streamers, I’d choose the Elgato Wave Mic Arm LP.
Its low-profile design keeps the arm below your monitor, while its 2-kilogram maximum load gives you plenty of flexibility for microphones and accessories.
For a traditional high-rise Elgato setup, the regular Wave Mic Arm provides 780 mm of horizontal reach and 750 mm of vertical reach before adding its 150 mm riser.
Budget buyers can start with a basic scissor arm, but make sure it can safely support the complete microphone setup.