What else you need to use it
Worked out from Samson’s own specifications and box contents for this model. The setup builder checks the same parts against your computer and the rest of your gear.
You need
- A microphone stand or boom arm. No stand comes in the box.
Check first
- For USB: a USB-A port on your computer. The cable in the box is USB-C to USB-A. If your computer only has USB-C ports, use a USB-C to USB-C cable instead.
Optional
- For XLR: an audio interface or mixer with an XLR microphone input. A computer has no XLR input. The interface’s preamp raises the microphone’s signal and sends it to the computer over USB. Compare audio interfaces
- For XLR: an XLR cable. None comes in the box.
- Wired headphones with a 3.5 mm plug. Its headphone socket lets you hear yourself straight from the microphone, before the computer adds delay. Headphone test
When this model makes sense
- Record one voice over USB now, or through an XLR interface later; get the placement right before adding effects.
- Use its headphone socket to hear yourself while you set distance and gain.
- Use it with an XLR cable and an interface that has enough gain. Its USB voice effects don’t apply on XLR.
The USB versus XLR guide weighs it against the other ways to fill the same role.
Connections and specs
- Full name
- Samson Q9U
- Still sold
- Yes, a current model
- Type
- Microphones
- Connection
- Connector shape
- USB-C; 3-pin XLR; 3.5 mm headphoneA plug’s shape doesn’t tell you its speed →
- Data connection
- USB, no driver installationWhat this means for speed →
- Audio outputs
- USB; XLR
- Microphone type
- Dynamic (humbucking coil)
- Pickup pattern
- Cardioid
- Direct monitoring
- YesWhat direct monitoring does →
- Power input
- USB bus power, 170 mA
- Connects by
- USB/XLR
- Frequency response
- 50 Hz – 20 kHz
- Sensitivity
- XLR -57 dBV/Pa; USB -16 dBFS/Pa
- Max SPL
- More than 140 dB SPL
- Impedance
- 250 Ω
- Audio resolution
- Up to 24-bit/96 kHz
- Switches
- Low cut; Mid-presence boost
- Controls on the device
- Mute button for USB and XLR
- Size and mounting
- Mounts
- Integrated yoke mount for a boom arm or mic stand
- Dimensions
- 79.5 mm diameter x 178.5 mm
- Weight
- 0.97 kg
- In the box
- Included parts
- Q9U microphone with integrated yoke; 2 m USB-C to USB-C cable; USB-C to USB-A cable; Foam windscreen
- Not in the box
- XLR cable; Microphone stand or boom arm
Check these conditions first
Not yet confirmed from Samson’s documents: operating systems, needs 48 V phantom power. The builder treats them as unknown, never as a yes.
For a microphone, set your distance and input gain before adding any processing. Speak as loudly as you will on stream, listen back to a recording and leave some headroom. Judge a USB/XLR microphone in the mode you will use: its USB voice processing does not carry over to XLR.
What is included, and what may be missing
- Q9U microphone with integrated yoke
- 2 m USB-C to USB-C cable
- USB-C to USB-A cable
- Foam windscreen
Both cable ends and the data rating matter more than the plug shape: streaming cables and ports explains how to match them.
Place it in the complete setup
Every connection
- Webcam USB outUSB cable → A USB port on your computer
- Microphone USB outUSB cable → A USB port on your computer
- Microphone / interface headphone out3.5 mm or 6.3 mm headphone connection → Headphones (what you hear)
- Computer Ethernet portEthernet cable → router; your upload → Platform (check the stream preview)
- Wall socketThe maker’s power supply, or USB power → Computer and devices that need their own power
The diagram shows a simple USB setup. Find where the Samson Q9U goes, then follow each input back to what feeds it and each output on to where it goes. HDMI and XLR gear needs a capture card or audio interface between it and your computer; it doesn’t plug straight in the way this USB example does.
The setup builder turns this into a connection list for your own computer and gear, and the pre-stream checklist covers the rehearsal once it is wired.