This solid metal boom arm mounts your microphone and more [Review]

The Kuxiu X36 Boom Mic Arm is a solid metal piece of gear for mounting a microphone to your desk. It has a clean, logo-free design that blends in with any setup.

Unlike other boom arms, the Kuxiu X36 isn’t free-floating and adjustable with a single finger — it’s a firm stand that will hold its position. It’s split into three segments, not just two, so it’s nonetheless highly adjustable.

After some months of testing, I was surprised to find a much better use for it than mounting my microphone. Read on to see what it’s best for.

Kuxiu X36 Boom Mic Arm review

When I moved from my old studio and built my new one, I switched from the RØDE PSA1+ to the Kuxiu X36 as my microphone arm. I will be drawing comparisons between the two throughout since they represent two popular, but different, styles of boom arm.

Between the base and the accessory mount, the Kuxiu X36 has four joints; the arm is split into three segments that are about a foot long each. The base joint is pretty stiff and only tilts 20° from vertical; the other joints articulate up to 270°.

It’s compatible with ⅜-inch and ⅝-inch threaded accessories, an industry standard for microphones, tripods, lights and other mountable audio/video gear.

I really like the clean design, but I wish it had better built-in cable management. It comes with five Velcro cable ties that you can strap to it; I wish it had built-in clips for routing cables in a cleaner design.

Kuxiu says it can support a weight of 3.3 pounds; the microphone I tested it with weighs 1.6 pounds. It held steady in the compact position shown above, but when I extended the arm in its farthest stretched position, it started to sag.

Secures to your desk by a clamp

It has a clamp-style mount that screws onto the edge of a table or desk. The clamp is rubber-padded, so it won’t leave a mark. It has a very long corkscrew and will surely accommodate even the thickest desktops. But you do need a substantial lip, as it intrudes several inches deep.

If your desk doesn’t have a convenient spot along its edge for a clamp, a common alternative is to fit the arm in the middle of the surface through a drilled hole. Other microphones such as the RØDE PSA1+ come with an alternative base you can accomplish this with; the Kuxiu X36 unfortunately does not.

A much stiffer arm, for better or worse

The Kuxiu X36 doesn’t have fancy mechanical spring-loaded joints that are light as a feather to adjust with one finger — it stays in place because the joints are very stiff. That’s not strictly a downside; some equipment you want or need to be held still.

But to be clear, this is not an arm that you can freely adjust in the middle of a livestream. It’s stiff.

Recording The CultCast, I frequently move my microphone arm out of the way so listeners don’t hear me drinking water. Our host, Erfon, adjusts his microphone arm several times throughout an episode to keep it centered while he moves around in his chair. The Kuxiu X36 isn’t good for such on-the-fly adjustments.

Because of that, I switched back to the RØDE PSA1+ for my microphone, and now use the Kuxiu X36 as a camera mount. I want my camera held in the exact same position week after week, but my microphone I want to easily move around or put away.

I’ve been very happy with this arrangement since. I honestly think Kuxiu should market this as a more general-purpose arm for lights and cameras, not just microphones. After all, they all use the same standard threading.

It now has found its home permanently set up behind my display with the Moment Filmmaker Cage attached. I can simply plop my iPhone in the MagSafe mount, confident it’s always at the same camera angle.

Pricing

Kuxiu states the full price is $99.99, but it’s easy to find for less. At the time of writing, it’s available on Amazon for $79.99 and the company’s own store for $75.99.

It’s priced above the bottom-tier garbage that litters Amazon. It’s comparable in price and quality to the other top brands like RØDE and Logitech G, although it undercuts both.

Buy from: Amazon
Buy from: Kuxiu

★★★☆☆