It's an ok condensor for podcasting with integrated preamp through usb port. One of my colleagues use it for teleconferencing and it works just fine. But don't expect to use it for serious recording. I can see the issues here, cheap preamp through usb port. The voltage supplies of usb ports are not regulated and can cause various degrees of noise. Having said that, you might have gotten a faulty one from ebay. Another interesting thing is that Samson seems to have had some custom support/PR issu