This is a USB based studio mic that's mounted on a desktop stand. The mic can be swiveled in the stand to tilt forward or back as needed. The mic itself is solidly constructed... it feels very well made. The stand is similarly constructed and should sit firmly in place. Theres a headphone volume control on the front of the body, along with a mute button, and similarly positioned on the rear of the body is a polar pattern selector switch and a gain control for adjusting the mic's recording output. The pickup patterns available are:stereo, omni, cardioid and figure 8.I have some typical studio mice, but this is my first USB based mic, so I ran it through some typical trials to see how it fared. First of all, I found the sound to be accurate and with just the slightest "edge" - which seems to give it a slight touch of presence, especially in cardioid mode. Playing with tv he polar patterns, I could tell a bit of change in tone as I moved in close or away from the mic when in cardioid or figure 8 pattern - the effect is expected for these patterns and, though slight, were definitely there. Omni mode (picks up sound from all directions) did not show this effect (you would not expect it to). As for off axis rejection, I tried singing off to one side and then the other. Again, it performed as expected with no rejection whatsoever in omni mode. Rejection was minimal in cardiod and figure eight mode, though. (I would have preferred more). Also, in cardioid mode (signal is picked up directly in front of the mic only), I found the directional pattern a little wide. I like to use this mode specifically to isolate what's directly in front of the mic from the rest of the room. It works as it should, but I would have preferred it to be slightly more "directional". Finally, for stereo mode... this probably had the most impressive sound. It truly delivered a stereo sound... evenly balanced, with no dropout in the center. I even snapped my fingers on either side to see if it would pick up properly... it performed exactly as it should. As for sensitivity, it picked up the central heating unit fans in the background (just like a studio mic should), so some form of noise reduction would be called for (or turn off the hvac). Self noise did not appear to be evident - another specification that would have been nice for them to share (I dont even know if self noise is an issue with USB mics- this one didnt seem to have a problem with it).Most people that I know would be interested in things like diaphragm size... that kind of detailed technical information is lacking from any of the paperwork that comes with this mic. It makes reference to a three capsule head, which makes me assume theres 3 diaphragms in there with the pickup pattern selector turning them on and off as needed, but no other info is provided.All in all, I was impressed with this mic... it sounds good and has great versatility. It simply plugs into your computer's USB port and you're good to go (you may have to select the mic through your systems settings page). I think it would be ideal for any desk top application, podcasts, etc. It even has a screw in stand mount on the bottom. The only thing missing is some kind of a shock mount system, like a spider mount, or something), to shield it from noises that may vibrate through the desk to the mic. I suppose, sitting it on some foam would serve to isolate it.