Kaotica Eyeball Review 

The cheap one sounded just as good if not even slightly better...

Dude, you just saved me $200 -- Thanks! I guess I'll be working on noise reduction panels to fix my room.

I use the Kaotica Eyeball in my small music studio since i don't have space for a booth and so far its been great. The vocals do come out with more bass than without it but i just tweak that up in post.

Gosh darn Luka trying to ruin the video. And as expected (due to your alctron review), it doesn't create a dead space. You can still hear plenty of reverb.

I absolutely love this channel. Some of these voice acting tips channels just seem so negative and discouraging. This channel and one other has been my main source of information not just because they know what they are doing, the other channels are that as well, but they are encouraging always wanting their viewers to if i may, "go out there and record something amazing" for someone who has issues with self esteem and fear of getting out there simple things like that mean a lot to me. So thank you so much for being you.

My 2 cents is that these things work for vocalists doing more contemporary music styles such as hip hop or pop where the vocal recording is heavily processed. The Eyeball will definitely remove some of the top end but with post eq, compression and saturation these frequencies are restored. The eyeball is perfect for producers with no space for a vocal booth but I still think they're over priced.

It must cost them like less than a dollar to manufacture. For $200... lol

3 years later and im still trying to convince myself to buy this..

I use the Alctron in my studio and it is awesome! I’m a singer and I do voice overs. It takes away the reflection in my room and it’s just $50.

In fact, I liked more the "imitator" than the Kaotica

lmao the knockoff did better I can hear reverb on both, don't get me wrong, but when it comes to having lesser reverb, the knock off was far better in doing that.

If I was to use either I think the "knockoff" sounds a little better to my ears. I agree that they're both better suited to vocal capture rather than voiceover recording. Nothing can replace a properly treated small room for comfort of recording and overall sound capture. I do however use an isolating foam unit to protect the rear and sides of the microphone with packing blankets hung from three IKEA clothes racks to further isolate the microphone from room bounce and this works very well for voiceover and narration applications.

To be honest, in this instance, the knockoff did a better job. The kaotica sounded like a boxy comb filter. The knockoff still sounds like you’re in a room, however it doesn’t have the boxier comb filter noise of the kaotica so the knockoff actually made the room sound somewhat treated because the mic audio still had richness to it. They’re both still not a replacement for a booth though, and if you were going to buy one of these to HELP treat a room with moving blankets, the knockoff wins, cuz for $200 you can just buy a lot of Owens Corning.

Also I just realized that tests like these should really be done in a small room, like the one you have your booth set up in. The reverberations are a lot more prominent there and it's much easier to hear the difference between the effeciency of different insulation methods.

I'll just say: That's a total waste of $200. Doesn't work at all for VO. Don't bother, don't buy it.

Dude I swear, people who do asmr need to watch this channel because you give such good audio advice.

As a audio engineer I was surprised that the knock off was equal to the name brand. I'd spend the money on the knock off and ad the treatment. In post you can eq out some of that reverb and use a denoiser so the vocal is dry. Good video.

I have the Alctron and it works really well. If you already have a few things going for you in your room it will get you over the hump to great sound And actually in the video it sounded the best, and made a little difference. Great enough for most people to do what they need to do

Mike, You nailed it, as always! The problem is that the reflections enter the mic from the same direction as your voice. This is why we build a "vocal booth" behind the artist. These balls and even the reflection filters just don't address the problem at all.

Yup, still the most honest audio equipment review guy I was able to find on youtube.

16:00 close your eyes and picture Jerry from Rick and morty "where did I put my copy?" and that little laugh he just did. Sounds e Exactly like him! Wtf lol

The best thing I ever got was from a company called realtraps owned by an audio engineer I believe, that makes bass traps, acoustic gobos, etc, and they have this bracket that goes on any mic stand with this fairly large two panel "door" on a hinge that can open/close as far as needed. It is surrounded by a frame containing rigid fiberglass. It actually works, unlike mass produced "vocal booths" which are too tiny and not dense. All I need to do is put some dense foam over the v shaped opening the booth creates on top, make sure I'm standing on a rug, and make sure I have dense material behind me. It works amazingly. It's not a solution necessarily for mixing in an untreated room, but the recording part works perfectly.

You literally saved me some money! I could tell the difference between the pop filter and the eyeball but not a $200 difference.

Not gone lie yo dog scaring u just lit my whole experience of his video up 😂😂

I'm only listening on computer speakers so I'm sure others commenting will have a better idea than me, but from what I heard. I thought the knockoff was better. Particularly in terms of cost. Is the knock off $40 better than without it? Probably. Is the Kaotica $200 better? Didn't sound like it. In fact I preferred the knock offs sound. I actually felt like your voice lost a touch of clarity with the Kaotica. I enjoyed your dogs cameo also.

Really fun video! I think if you can't create a dedicated space for recording VO for RU-vid content it could be handy to add to a portable setup. That said, for 1/3 the price, I'd get the cheap knockoff and just set up in a closet to get close enough. For $200, you can get a decent amount of acoustic foam to treat a small room that can be dedicated space for RU-vid content.

200 Bucks for some foam worth 20 cents 😂

I swear your reviews are the best of the best. You helped me more than once when it comes to purchasing voice over products.

Saved me a lot of money , thanks man 🙏🏽. This channel is a gem

The trouble is that while it tames *some* high frequency reflections, it can’t deal with bass frequencies. Therefore it makes your recordings sound “boxier”. Many people would be best off beginning with bass trapping, and then tackling a few first reflections. As you said, this doesn’t handle even those first reflections on the most sensitive side of the mic.

You're one of the most compelling and interesting dudes in VO. I'm a huge fan of your work! Keep it up brother!

The BEST thing to do is place a large piece of foam both behind the microphone and behind the voice artist. That way no ambient sound can directly enter the mic.

Not the best for voice overs but it PERFECT for rap vocals. I have the cheap version in a non treated area and it sounds great

Thank you for this honest review! Exactly what I was looking for! You seem like a great guy! I love how you let Luna run shit! lol! The way you jumped when you heard the bark was priceless! This reminded me of myself with my dog! Subscribed with the bell!

no deal.

I pretty much agree with many of the others... The Altron did a nice job BUT NOT FOR THE MIDDLE OF A LIVING ROOM!!! I'm in a walk in closet that I have converted - but it's not perfect. A good amount of deadening added , but I'm in a fairly noisy area - motorcycles, ambulances, fire engines, loud cars, etc. In the South, unfortunately, we have few basements!!! The Altron could add a bit of deadening for the side of my basically (sensitive) omni-directional mike for a fairly low price. I'm with the other commenters... $200 can get you some other equipment that will make one' s booth even quieter still!!! I think I saw a video by you on the expander (noise gate to some) on compressors and that helps me a lot! COMBINATIONS of all these things (and more) can help a great deal. Thanks for this test!!!!

Mike you wanted our feed back....here's mine. The knock of sounds just as good and I think this would help in those situations when you have to setup a makeshift sound booth from a hotel room as you've done in your previous video's, or for someone just getting started without a sound room at home. Good job comparing the two. You've proved you don't have to throw your money away on the one that's most expensive!

I can imagine for sombody who travels a lot and obviously can’t carry several dozen acoustic foam panels on the road with them OR one of those portable booth boxes, this (or the cheaper one) would be a good temporary fix. But obviously it’s not a replacement for a home studio sound treatment.

I had one and we used it for a while in, we figured that it's better than nothing, and used it in addition to a home-made treated room as well for ages. Then one day, took it off and was blown away by how much better VOs sounded without it. It does a great job of badly muffling your direct sound. The cheaper one on this video demonstrated less damage than the Kaotica. In terms of reflections, the system is flawed - granted it takes away some of the side, top and bottom intrusions (but not at all at lower frequencies) - but there's still an awful lot hitting the front of the mic. If you could get an eyeball helmet that was big enough to go over your head as well, then job done lol!

How does it sound when you have the mic in a better place in the room? I’m no expert, but I’ve heard that mic placement will do most of your sound treatment.

I couldn't even tell that there was any reverb when the mic was right out in the open.

The Eyeball took a lot of your high-end frequency and made it warmer. The alternate did the same but to a lesser degree.

That dog is the star of the video. Lol

I think the knockoff sounds better. But I can still hear reverb. But as for as tone, I like how the cheap one sounds.

Thanks man, I started recording just to mess around with Mixing and Mastering music, after a while I got interested in voice over as well, this setup seems preferable for anyone looking to start recording vocals for music, the “knock off” brand sounded better in my opinion as well, cuts the large majority of reverb while leaving just enough to sound natural, and have beautiful quality,

The eye ball for sure made the sound better quality. When you put the eyeball on the room somewhat became silent but you could still hear some of the room.

just bought the alctron after watching this review. i was so determined to get the eyeball but after watching this. i saved so much money. thank you #boothjunkie

I hear the room. Thanks for saving me $US200 :-)

Works great in a home studio For recording Hip Hop Vocals with no treatment.Voice over is diff im sure.

11:26 It reduces the echo a ton though. So much better than the sound at the beginning of the video.

Thanks for the review man! From your video I really cannot here a difference between the Kaotica and and the Alctron. I’ve used the Kaotica at a friends with a Rode NT1 and the results are great (for rap music). Not wanting to spend $200 however I ordered myself a Alctron PF8 and I’m truly glad I did. It saved me a bunch of money for the same quality of sound even taking into account that I’m using a cheap knock off cardioid mic.

The concept is brilliant. It is light, portable, not fragile, you can easily travel with it. But we are talking a ball of foam with 2 holes drilled in it. For 2 hundred USD. I know companies need to make a profit, but, no, a $200 ball of foam won't work for me and the price puts it out of reach for many artists. Say hi to Luca (woof).

You're a good dog owner hehe. Didn't even scold him for doing his job & protecc haha

The Eye does sound less roomy, with a tiny bit of the reverberance retained, it sounds very "tight" acoustically but not 100% isolated. You have some of the nicest sounding audio in your videos that I've seen and respect because you talk the talk of experience from an Audio perspective. If I'm picking up what your laying down you're talking about basically an anechoic and completely dead sounding room, and that isn't any where near that at all - but I also agree that a couple of blankets around that area and it would deaden it dramatically. If you have a walk in closet with some clothes hanging in it that could also be a pretty good option as an impromptu "booth" depending on it's acoustics / RT60. If you have one, I would be curious to hear it in there. Great Vid. - MM

Got mine like 5yrs ago.. WORKS LIKE A CHARM FOR ME... WORTH THE $200!!! I record daily with it(singing)

I have a Kaotica Eyeball. Its not a voice booth, how could it be? Then again its not thousands of dollars. I use the Eyeball to supplement the existing acoustic treatment in my small home studio. I have found that when its used in conjunction with semi-decent acoustic treatment (such as acoustic foam tiles, or bunched up thick curtains) which cover the 180 degrees area behind the speaker, then the Eyeball definitely offers a noticeable difference. It also had an interesting effect on my microphone's sound. I use a RODE-NT1A and find that the lower frequency response sounds are more pleasing to my ear when its on.

Well ill be making my own because this material is like free..

0:07 😂 you got me watching after that

I would love to hear an A/B comparison of the 2. But your dog barking gave me a little idea of how it doesn’t really block outside noise too much. Thanks

Yup. Used it once when recording while on vacation. Thought it might be great for my traveling setup. Was a joke. Sent it back immediately. Not really sure in what application it might be beneficial. Maybe something that doesn't require broadcast quality? Dunno.

The link to the alternative no longer works. You can find it on ebay buy searching: Alctron PF8 Studio. Hope this helps! :)

I saw DR. DRE using the Eyeball, from Kaotica, for voice-overs - BUT, of course, in his perfectly treated studio mixing room...

Skip to 8:08 for sound test

My honest opinion? The cheap makes your voice sound much better, and you can't hear the reverb caused by the room. But I can hear it with the expensive ones.

Cheaper sounds even better! WOW!

Luka keeps startling you, he is adorable!

The dog scaring u was funny AF

00:07 when you jumped from the barking noise lmao

Lmaooo when he took that breathe and said “ 200 hundred....dollars” I lost it 😂

Actually I didn't watched the comparison..but just your voice sir...it's so awesome bass voice of yours I'm in love with your voice sir😍😍

This COULD get you studio quality if you already have acoustic treatment in your room, you just have to treat the walls behind you so it doesn't reflect back into the only place that reflections can enter the microphone.

Glad you’re back!

Most mics come with a foam ball for the top that does the same thing. I'm treating my room for sound right now! Cool, stuff and great review!

the puppy's startling bark was worth the watch :D

I have the Alctron PF8. It greatly improved the sound quality. Just put a little treatment on the wall behind you & you will get a clearer sound.

I note that in the Koatica marketing video, the singer was closer to the mic with the Koatica on than the one without. Just be virtue of the increased direct sound volume, the noise floor will be significantly lower.

I have an eyeball. The product works, but doesn't justify the cost. Eyeball Reflexion reduction is better, but not good enough. Passable for singing; not for voiceover without the addition of software decreasing room reverb. Software can do a phenomenal job of decreasing remaining reflections unable to be tamed at the source. But, the caveat is in doing so they slightly alter vocal quality. Waves ns1, spl deverb , and izotope elements are all wonderful ways to significantly reduce remaining room reflections in post. But the more reflections are killed at the source, the more effective the software- it has to work less- and vocals are able to retain their naturally sound. I actually have been blown away at how good the resuts can be 😀

Dog barks while streaming is exactly what I was hoping to use this for....

I was searching for sound proof. Kaotica eyeball showed up. Then took me to your page. I just want to have a room where I can scream and sing at the same time. That no one will call police on me. I stay in a condo. I dont like to move out of it because it’s close to everything.The house brings good luck in my life too.

I’m just getting into voice over work, so I’m a beginner at all things recording but I just want to make sure my setup is professional and affordable.

Thanks for this review! For what it is worth, I think there’s a few things you could have done to make this a much better review. (1) Edit it to place sound samples with the plain mic and with the two devices back-to-back. Most of us have a hard time comparing sounds unless they are immediately back-to-back. (2) Adding examples with a blanket or other treatment behind you, as these things are meant to be used, would be much better. (3) Listen back and actually give us your impressions rather than just saying that you couldn’t tell while recording. (4) Examples from the shower could have made the effect clearer…although admittedly the living room is probably more like the space most people will be using. And perhaps most of all: (5) Edit it down into a much tighter format with less of the reconfiguring and rambling.

It'd be cheaper to buy some OC Fiberglass panels!

“Cord always goes on the left” changed my life

🤣 dog scarred the 💩 out of him. Good info

Btw for those of you who tried to click the link but didn’t work, the name of the cheaper alternative foam piece is called “Alctron PF8”. Like so others can see

So it does a decent step in the right direction. I asked for one for Christmas recently and from what I’m seeing and getting, this is a great step in the right direction. Still need to treat my space.

$200 for a piece of foam with a hole in it is like buying diamonds 😂 Same difference with both products. The overall room needs treatment.

198 bucks for that piece of foam, damn.

What would be a good test is an impulse response of the three situations using a Movie Slate Clapboard or similar, and I could provide a visual aid for each that would show the decay time of each situation. Just would need the clapboard or 'clap' (Assuming you could replicate each pretty closely), and each file per example and I could provide the visual for each.

I already own this product but it seems to add a little midrange and maybe bass to my vocals it seems. It was not designed to create a dead space, it was designed for a budget studio. A 200 dollar product that work far better than those crescent shields. The shields are why I was hesitant. I got one as a gift for my birthday and I love it. The price it would cost you to create a truly dead space in a room that's functional is FAAAAARRRR more than 200. Also I'm not sure you are supposed to get that close to it. Which may be what I was doing wrong. When you get close the bass and midrange frequencies are boosted. I think I will experiment with the distance but I think it is definitely worth the SMALL investment.

Buy the cheap one and put a new material bed sheet inside of it to soak up the bass frequency and viola you got a studio reflection sound.

I must have missed math, never knew 40 was 1/3rd of 200...

No Deal! I saw a couple guys buy this and I was a little intimidated because I thought that they had the real deal. I see that it looked the part, but not actually "play" the part. Thanks for the video.

I've just ordered a different knock off version, called the Sub Zero. Excited to test it out, want to use it for voiceover but also had an idea to try it as a shotgun mic cover... as a super-budget boom mic alternative for RU-vidrs

0:07 is my favorite part 🤣🤣🤣

Luka needs a bully stick to chew on. My dogs LOVE those things! Keeps them quiet and off my feet. Bully stick, FTW!

I have the knock-off and my uncle swears by the original. In your example, I think the knock-off actually sounds less muffled. I think it is worth having for music production because you can’t always be in a suitably treated space. I agree that it isn’t sufficient for voiceover. I don’t think I would spring for the original (even though I hear they come from Calgary like me) but the instant mic isolation can be handy. Thank you for the comparison.

Good video. It saved some a lot of money. I can say that I have been involved with productions that have taken less care with vocals than that and yielded great results. I was happy you said what you did at the end. Because I was starting to get a "full upmarket pro or nothing" vibe. Sometimes the ROI just isn't there for certain productions.

I think the real deal isolated the mic slightly better but its pop filter is abysmal, while the imitator sounded less isolated with a better plosives filter accompanying it.

When the dog made him jump. LOL