Skype is great for communicating with friends and colleagues in other places, but let’s face it: that spacey, hollow sound you get from your Mac’s built-in mic could use some improvement. Blue Mics aims to fix that with Tiki, a USB microphone designed to improve your Skype calls. There’s no software required--Tiki uses onboard electronics to process the sound and enhance call quality.

By default, Tiki runs in Intelligent Speech Mode. The dual-capsule mic listens to your conversation and quickly mutes itself when you stop talking. It’s effortless and automatic, and the end result is dramatically less background noise on your end of the call. Tiki also processes your signal, minimizing background noise, like typing, or the TV running in the other room.

Start speaking again, and Tiki instantly switches back on, and your chat buddy is none the wiser. And for peace of mind, Tiki’s LED changes color to let you know what’s going on. The light changes from blue to orange when you’re muted. Using Tiki, friends noticed an immediate difference in sound quality, and there were no clicks or pops as Tiki automatically muted and unmuted during conversations.

Tiki also features a Natural Recording Mode that stops the muting and turns off noise cancellation. It’s great for recording meetings, podcasting, and even works for capturing live instruments on your Mac. All it takes to switch into Natural Mode is a quick tap on the button at the end of Tiki.

The bottom line. Tiki’s plug-and-play design just works. The Tiki gods may not be able to fix a flaky Skype connection, but at least they can clean up your audio.