Blue Microphones Snowball iCE Plug ‘n Play USB Microphone for Recording, Podcasting, Broadcasting, Twitch Game Streaming, Voiceovers, YouTube Videos on PC and Mac
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Custom Condenser Capsule
Powered by Blue’s custom condenser capsule, Snowball iCE delivers crystal-clear audio quality that’s light-years ahead of your built-in computer microphone.
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Cardioid Pickup Pattern
Captures your voice with clear, focused sound for streaming, podcasting and Skype calls.
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Adjustable Desktop Stand
Position the microphone in relation to the sound source with Snowball iCE’s adjustable metal tripod stand, improving sound quality while saving space on your desktop.
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Skype and Discord Certified
Whether you’re conducting interviews over Skype, streaming live gameplay on Twitch, or communicating across the globe, you’ll be heard loud and clear.
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Stylish, Retro Design
Record or stream in style with a retro design inspired by classic recording equipment that looks great on your desktop and on camera.
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Plug ‘n Play on Mac and PC
Start recording quickly and easily with driver-free operation on Mac and PC.
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Accessorize Your Creative Space
Transform your desktop into a broadcast studio with the Compass broadcast boom arm and Ringer shockmount.
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Compass Premium Broadcast Boom Arm
Compass features a broadcast studio-grade design with enclosed aluminum construction, internal springs and hidden-channel cable management.
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Ringer Custom Shockmount
Ringer is a vintage-style suspension designed to isolate microphones from noise, shock and ambient vibration.
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Stunning Design
Snowball iCE features a visual design inspired by classic audio gear—a stylish, retro vibe that will complement any desktop system.
Comparison Table
 Snowball iCE |  Snowball |  Yeti Nano |  Yeti |  Yeti Pro | |
| Capsules | 1 Condenser | 2 Condensers | 2 Condensers | 3 Condensers | 3 Condensers |
| Patterns | Cardioid | Cardioid, Omni | Cardioid, Omni | Cardioid,Omni+Bidirectional | Cardioid, Omni, Bi-directional |
| Bit Depth/Sample Rate | 16-bit/44kHz | 16-bit/44kHz | 24-bit/48kHz | 16-bit/48kHz | 24-bit/192kHz |
| Gain Control | – | -10dB PAD | Via desktop app | Yes | Yes |
| Mute | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Headphone Output | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Headphone Volume | ✘ | ✘ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Output | USB | USB | USB | USB | USB, XLR |
| Weight: | 454 g |
| Size: | Black |
| Dimensions: | 26.92 x 13.97 x 23.11 cm; 453.59 Grams |
| Model: | 988-000067 |
| Colour: | Black |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium ion batteries required. |
| Colour: | Black |
| Size: | Black |
The sound quality is good for discord calls and in-game communication, I can’t really speak on topics such as recording vocals as I haven’t tried, but I would imagine the quality is good enough for voice acting but maybe not singing/recording music. Nice aesthetic as the black fits with the rest of my PC peripherals, and the stand it comes with is of half decent quality which is nice. No real gripes other than the fact it is quite bulky on my desk (and just for those wondering, this is a monodirectional pickup, so the description may be incorrect).
Sounds pretty good. Definitely an upgrade over my built in headphone mic. I’d recommend getting a pop filter as well, they’re quite cheap. But yeah it’s just a nice cheap mic for someone who doesn’t need exceptional quality, but something that just sounds good.
For a budget mic for talking in games, discord and other apps. The BLUE Snowball ICE is pretty good except this is the one with no extra switches on the back to give the smaller decibels to reduce background noise or use omnidirectional. The package comes in box with the mic stand (tripod style) and the mic itself wrapped in a smaller rectangle box to protect it’s exterior. The mic is pretty heavy for it’s weight but that doesn’t really matter because it gives a good quality feel to it. The voice is pretty good when you just plug it in and work just like that if you use a audio interference or equalizers, it even produces a better sound quality. (If you’re into a budget mic with some fine tuning) this is a recommended mic I would suggest for mainly for the average user. The cable is long enough for you to put anywhere on your desk, and the size is pretty big. The comparison size would be your two hands where your fist are aimed at each other if you did not know how big it was.
Overall, the item is pretty good and I would recommended it as help it’s cheap and give really decent to good quality with fine tuning or even on it’s own.
You have to get this product judged by other people or recordings of yourselves. I can’t pick up much difference on recordings but on Skype and Zoom the reception of my voice is clear and louder with the Blue Snowball. I use it all the time when talking to other people on line and for making my videos.
It requires lots of audio editing to make it sound premium. You can’t just hit record and expect the sound that you get to be usable before noise reduction filters have been applied. At this price point, I’m disappointed.
I think the cheaper unbranded alternative would have produced better sound and saved me some money.
Oh well!
When I had major problems with the sound on a web cam ( great service on refunding by Amazon) I decided to buy this microphone. It’s quirky looking but people I talk with on line say the sound is crystal clear. IT guys have spoken to say they would recommend this. The big issue is making sure the settings are correct so there is not a conflict with any web cam microphone.
I have not given any stars for gaming use as I do not use the microphone with games, but I do not doubt that it would work very well with games also.
Good sterdy build. Would have liked if it had a mute button. Good crisp sound quality. Bit quiet right out of the box so I recommend changing it in your settings. Very easy to use and good for beginners.
Great for recording youtube videos (that what i use it for) aswell as having Discord calls with your friends and family.
The audio is crystal clear it is the perfect lightweight microphone to purchase especially if you are taking it around with you (holidays, trips ect.)
Bad Points
none I have enountered
It is generally accepted it seems, that blue is a reliable range of products. I choose the snowball without any experience of external mics, just relying on some of the general reviews I could glean. The mic was simple to install by plug and play, setting itself automatically as the default. After a reboot of the laptop I tested it locally recording using audacity and comparing it with playing the same music using the internal mics. The difference was obvious and pleasing for the snowball. I then tested it over zoom and webex with multiple connections for both voice and music with the same results.
The music transmission envelope was maintained for recording and streaming and those listening remotely commented very favourably.
I would therefore rate this mic as a 5 in all the areas I required, price, setup, sound reproduction and I would be happy to recommend it to anyone with other than a professional requirement that would require spending much more.
It’s okay, nothing outstanding about it. People say the quality is okay.
If I’m being honest I’d just go for something smaller as this one is quite big for just a standard microphone.
I wanted a microphine that could sit on my desk, 20 to 40 cm from my face and provide me excellent audio quality and this is it.
It works fine with no extra drivers on my windows 10 machine and connects through USB.
Perfect microphone if you don’t want to wear a headset.
Amazon… Why do you keep asking me to rate the camera quality of computer equipment that wouldn’t reasonably have a camera… cables, microphones…are ypu including cameras in alm of these?
This mic is great, I’ve been described twice on calls that I have a radio voice. While on calls (teams/ zoom) you can watch YouTube with sound on and it doesn’t pick up the sound (no one can tell). A little warning if you leave it on while you pop to the toilet in a different room, on a different floor it can pick up the sound of you weeing
At first I had to close the window to stop outside sounds being recorded, then I had to take the batteries out the clock as the tick was being recorded! Very sensitive but not very loud recordings. For voice overs / podcasts I find it works best if i hold it about a foot from my mouth. Suspect it would be even better for loud shouting / music.
It really needs to come with a camera tripod thread adapter because the one it comes with has the larger microphone thread and I want to use it on a large Gorillapod tripod really. tripod is very basic but sturdy. Like others have said, internal thread is plastic so you have to take care not to cross thread when putting it on a tripod or stand. It tilts up and down a little bit for adjustment, Could not do without it now having spent ages with cheaper mics getting poor results. Now im saving up for a sturdy case because you dont even get a bag for it in the box!
The mic works perfectly – it’s such a professional device and a cute design.
The only downside to this was that the microphone box was sent in a clear, plastic bag. It doesn’t add much protection for the product and it’s unsafe for expensive equipment to be on display during the shipping process.
I got this having heard it was it good quality and value for money. I can’t argue with that, but I wanted something that I could use for gaming but my girlfriend could also use for singing. It wasn’t quite up to the task for the latter, but that is not what it’s designed for..
I would recommend this for a gamer. Ultimately I bought a Blue Yeti X.
Bought some new headphones to replace my deteriorating headset and needed a mic to go with it. Heard a lot about this brand but never used it before so I gave it a try and zero regrets! Great product at a great price. Doesn’t take up much desk space. I will probably buy a mic arm to go with it soon to have the extra flexibility.
Probably best in this low end price range. Anything cheaper usually is in the “barely usable” category. Comes with a small tripod and can be adjusted a bit in all directions. If you want your voice to be actually recorded and not sound like over the phone, it’s probably good choice. If you want to record semi professionally, there are better choices, but at a higher price point.
This microphone is really versatile.
I got it to improve my voice quality in game; it worked. The recording quality is great. I have given now this microphone to my sister who sings. She is more than happy with this microphone and I will probably buy another one later this year.
The installation does not take more than 2 minutes. In case it does not work for you. Go Windows key > Control panel > Hardware and sound > Sound > Upper tab “Recording” > Right click on “Snowball Microphone”> Enable/Set as Default device
The microphone quality is amazing, and better than I had hoped. This microphone is worth more than what I paid I would say so it is quite a bargain. Although it is quite sensitive for use with things such as discord and things relating to gaming, meaning if you have a loud keyboard or mouse, it will pick these up even with settings adjusted. However this isn’t a downside as its just a sign of how good the microphone is at picking up everything which is great if you want this microphone for music purposes or skype calls.
I really like the Blue microphone snowball. I feel the sound quality is good but not amazing. There are other mics that are better but for the price this is good. The setup is good and you’re given a little stand to place your microphone on. you simple screw the microphone into the stand and rotate. The microphone isn’t too big either so it can easily be put under a monitor for example if you wanted to hide it away. I currently have mine on an arm though above the monitor.
I bought this to talk to my friend’s on Discord or record my voice when recording YouTube videos and was farely happy, for a bit, I realised that you can hear almost any sound in my flat/apartment within a 3 metre radius, even through my walls, sometimes. This is because of the omnidirectional pickup pattern and it’s extremely sensitive microphone, I don’t reccomend this if you have a noisy house hold or use a loud keyboard or mouse as the noises are very prominant but if you live in a quiet area, use a controller/membrane keyboard, or are just using this for pod casts or recording voice only with no gaming then it’s perfect.
I’m a gamer and video editor and playing PC games with others online and talking to them with this microphone is so much better than my older one, the sound quality is so good that people I regularly play with immediately noticed the difference and asked if I’m using a new microphone.
The Blue Snowball is a great device overall and I recommend it if you’re looking for something that’s reasonably priced and want a decent microphone. Its very simple to use, its a USB plug & play device so just stick it into your PC and its done and works within seconds. The sound quality is much better than a typical headset microphone, it also has a 3 leg stand so it holds up by itself on any flat surface.
The big benefit for me about the Snowball is that it seems to pick up sound so pristinely even when placed quite far away. I often have it slightly away from me on my desk and have never been told I am hard to hear. Another great point is that whenever I’m clicking my mouse or typing on my keyboard you can’t seem to hear the noise this makes, that’s so useful for a video editor such as myself
Its odd that such an amazing priced microphone with great quality that it doesn’t come with any kind of mute button, if you want to quickly mute the microphone you have to manually unplug it on go into the settings on your PC and mute there, its a minor convenience for me as I don’t mind that at all but for others it might be a central issue. Other than that this is a top-notch microphone and recommend it to anyone who doesn’t want to spend 100 on a professional microphone.
I am currently having the same mic and I have been using it for almost a year. It is recording perfectly, the sound is very clear and good. An additional software to adjust advanced settings may be required since the sound may not be as loud as desired, but even without the softwares, the mic is doing a perfect job. I can promise you people will hear you if you team speak together, or if you record for music/video/gaming. The only reason I bought this one is to have a second one to my home country, so I won’t have to bring it with me in my luggage every time I decide to travel home.
I bought this microphone along with separate headphones as I was getting frustrated at buying headsets with built in microphones that compromise on either sound quality or microphone quality.
This microphone is brilliant. Audio comes through crisp and clear at all times and no more compromise. Build quality is fantastic and I expect it to last for years to come. As other reviewers have said it was larger than I expected, but it doesnt look out of place on my desk. The included stand is stable and I have no problems with it.
I started a YouTube gaming channel and I found that I couldn’t use my headset to record my communtary. Due to the fact I needed to plug it into my Elgato capture card using the chat link in order to record the game audio.
Therefore I needed another mic in order to record myself. I’ve known about the Blue Snowball for a while but never thought of getting it until now. I’ve used it a couple times and the audio quality is fantastic. It’s very crisp and clear. One thing to note is that if you have a soft voice (like myself) the audio maybe a little quiet. However, you can combat this by simply increasing the volume whilst editing or sit closer to the microphone. I really like that this is a plug and play mic. So you don’t need any specific software to use this.
Overall, a very good microphone. The sound and build quality is excellent and is great for voice-overs and voice/video calls (if a little overkill for that sort of thing). It would be nice if the stand it came with could be adjusted, be it the angle or height, as you tend to have to move yourself to position it correctly rather than the other way around.
Also, a small complaint, but the red “on” light is kind of annoying if you leave the microphone plugged in when you use it, and as others have said, it would be nice to have a physical mute button on the microphone itself.
I’ve been using it on windows 10 and I had no problems at all setting it up – it was literally just plug and play.
Would recommend
I’ve been a guest on a few podcasts over the last few years and was recently invited to be a regular co-host on one. But I didn’t really have a good mic for it, having just used cheap mic headsets before. But the sound quality on this mic is so good, I now sound better than the actual host of the show. It came highly recommended from other podcasters and I am not disappointed. Initially, I worried the USB cable might be a little short, but it’s actually just the right length for me, plugged into the back of my computer. I’ve got it all set up on a mic stand clamped to my desk with a pop filter on it and I really don’t have any complaints. It’s simple to set up, easy to use, and it didn’t cost an arm and a leg. If you’re looking for a mic to podcast with, I would recommend it.
It’s basicaally a plug and play set up, though I did have to play around to get a decent level, mainly because you have to be quite close to the mic to get decent volume, which if anything, is the only real let down with this mic,
If your desk set set up is anything like mine, it’s difficult to get really close and as a result, I’m probably not getting the results that this mic is capable of,
For these reasons, I have took a star off the rating, for its overall design, build quality and sound. . .its certainly a 5,
As an addition, I bought a basic 6.99 pop filter, as you may very find you need this, especially if you plan to do vocals or record voice overs etc – it makes a huge difference,
So to conclude – a great mic at the price bracket, but the fact you have to get so close, is a bit of a let dow
I bought one of these bad boys and the difference is night and day. My voice is super clear now and no more noise and distortion.
I did need to buy a cheap 2 pop filter to put it on top of it but besides that it’s really great. Works out of the box with Windows 10 and no drivers were required.
Worth every penny, good sound, durable and useful for recording and vocals, I strongly recommend using a pop filter easily purchasable for about 5 pounds and a mic stand for removing clutter off your desk, if that is where you intend to use it, if not, do not worry as the microphone also comes with its own quality trip-pod, built exactly to keep it in place safely and securely. Worth the money and an overall great quality product, 5/5 stars
Bought it last month and been using it for few weeks now, mostly to talk with my friends on Discord and to stream on Twitch.tv. Overall I find it pretty good, especially while using OBS to stream, where I can adjust filters. It’s much much better sound quality than my previous Logitech headset microphone. On discord, where I’m not able to adjust filters, it’s still almost as good, barely picking up any annoying background noise and the quality of my voice is very reasonable. I did notice from time to time it doesn’t always pick up everything I say on discord, but I think that’s more of a software fault, than microphone. Anyway, I’m very happy with it and would recommend.
The sound quality is excellent and for the price, it is a must. If you’re looking to record, or even just use it for casual talking and gaming like I do it’s a wonderful buy. The sound quality is clear and although it does pick up little things in the background, buying a filter as well as changing around the settings should fix this quite easily. The stand ends up taking up more space than I originally thought as well as the microphone itself being a lot larger than I thought it was. However I use an arm stand and therefore this isn’t an issue anymore. For the price you won’t find better.
There are a few reasons I bought this, one of these being that I needed a new microphone to record me documenting my software development for college and another being so that I can talk with others while gaming. This microphone sounds incredible and is great at reducing background ambience such as case fan sounds. It does still pick up my mouse however it is not obnoxious.
My one gripe would be that the black version costs 5 more (Which I got as my desk is black too) but that is a small niggle.
Hi, firstly i would like to mention how amazing this microphone was for me within the first 2 and a bit years of owning it. I always sounded better than all of my friends in games and on Teamspeak/Discord. This, unfortunetly, was untill i upgraded my pc and transfered my mic from the old to the new. I was so excited to go back onto discord with the best mic, best pc, best quality everything. Untill… i set it all up ready to impress my friends and instead of the usual “Hi Adam” I received “Adam pleassssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeee turn offfffffff your miccccccccccc” They went on to describe what it sounded like and after testing it myself i knew where the were coming from. It was almost like i was talking into a tube leading to another tube straight into the microphone.
I went on to research what the problem was and i found it could have been i broke the wire or just hit the mic off something too hard and broken it. And again unfortunetly not the problem as i went on to buy the same mic a second time which sadly had the same issues. I done a little more digging and researching and found that it may be something to do with windows 10 however i am not too sure so dont quote me on that.
Overall a good product but i dont recommend buying with windows 10 incase you get the same issue as me :/
As a Twitch streamer (muirdragonne), this mic is almost perfect! The sound quality is excellent and it doesn’t have to be right next to your mouth in order to pick up sounds.
The downsides are that it’s quite big, it picks up people in the same room, and the light can’t be turned off. I’ve “fixed” the latter problem by covering the mic with a beanie cap when it’s not in use. 🙂
This microphone is amazing. It grants brilliant quality for a very affordable price. There are a few issues but these issues can easily be solved.
Firstly the microphone does not have any buttons. If you wish to mute your microphone it will not be possible on the microphone itself.
Secondly the microphone stand is absolutely horrible. It takes up way too much space, has zero shock absorption and breaks upon touch.
Finally the cable literally has to lay on top of your keyboard (assuming you are using it for PC gaming) so it gets in the way a lot.
The way to solve most of these problems involve buying a separate microphone stand which is pretty much essential for any microphone. I personally have a separate stand and I have no issues at all besides the fact that I cannot change the Decibel Volume as you can with the Blue Yeti but for the price of this microphone how can I complain.
The Microphone is what you would expect from it’s price. It’s a slight upgrade from the high end all-in-one camera microphones(which is what I’ve been using before to make calls). What makes this a competition for the other similarly priced microphones is that it doesn’t suffer as much from the background noise if your room isn’t perfectly quiet. You can safely use it in your living room to call your friends while kids play in an adjacent room without worrying about giving your friends a headache.
If you don’t feel like spending 100+ pounds for a microphone but still want a decent quality for discord/mumble/conference calls I would recommend this mic. Also note it is a fairly sized ball of plastic and metal 🙂
That said if you expect this to be your go-to microphone to record audio for professional use and aren’t prepared to spend some time editing it, you might want to check out other options before resorting to buying this.
After a month(30 days of use so far) I’ve had no hardware issues with it and I feel pretty safe about how robust it feels. However I wouldn’t recommend dropping it!
This microphone is a great choice for a beginner, who doesn’t want any complicated setup. You simply plug in the microphone, and it works.
In terms of audio quality, it’s extremely good. I’ve not tested it in comparison to the Blue Yeti, but the difference is very small; the Blue Snowball iCE sounds slightly less like a normal sounding person than the Blue Yeti does, but in its own way, it actually has a deeper, more bassy, richer quality. Most people will not hear the difference unless explicitly comparing the two.
There are only two parts which did sadden me. The first was the lack of a mute button. This can be extremely useful in some cases; without this, one must resort to muting via software. The second problem is that the stand they provide is pretty small. It will work if you’re talking via Skype, and to some extent, via gaming; but it definitely won’t come near to your mouth at all. It is probably smaller than what the image looks like. If these two aspects needed, then I’d suggest getting a Blue Snowball (not iCE), which has both a mute button and a taller stand (as well as some other qualities).
Overall, for 45, this was a good deal, as it is simply a good microphone that requires no setup. Anything more than 45, then I would instead consider buying a Blue Snowball (not iCE), or maybe even a Blue Nessie, as they both have a mute button. For me, I’ll continue using the Blue Snowball iCE, and, if I upgrade, I’ll probably get a Blue Yeti, seeing as that has better quality and has more features (such as a mixer). But for 45, the Blue Snowball iCE is arguably the best choice.
I also found out you can be within 6″ from mic to get best sound anything far away up to feet onward its not so good, i even got a little 10″ clamp and stuck it to table and it holds it very tigh
however there are a few little things that are not so good. it doesn’t have a mute button or slider, the LED light is a bit too bright and can be distracting and the cable isn’t very appealing to the eye (but its not too bad)
overall i would highly recommend this product if you are looking for a professional microphone that is affordable. i would say the quality is more than good enough for voice overs, YouTube/streams, music/vocals and even talking to your friends on discord or team-speak
personally i dont see any point getting a more expensive mic such as the yeti, i cant think of a single situation this mic wouldn’t be brilliant at.
Had this item on my Wish List for a while now and finally took the plunge and went ahead and bought it.
I have previously been using a Microsoft Headset for recording audio on my computer, as I create videos about my hobby that I feature on Video Channels so it has always been important for me to have good audio for my videos.
While the Microsoft Headset has been great for me it finally started playing up and sound kept cutting in and out while I was recording so I knew it was time for something new. After much deliberation, rather than buy another Microsoft Headset I went ahead and bought the Blue Ice and…
Oh Yeah, What A Great Idea! This little microphone is incredible. It picks up sound from close up or even across the room with great sound quality and of course, having this stand-alone Microphone on its fantastic tripod, gives me the freedom to move around a bit if I want to, without having the restrictions of a Headset.
It’s plug and play and worked straight away on my HP Laptop and this is definitely, a Cracking little piece of kit and will serve my audio recording sessions very well. Massive thanks to the Blue Microphones Team for a Fantastic Product!
The Blue Snowball is an excellent device. Its unbelievably simple to use (literally plug and play) and the sound quality has been described as better than the headset I was using prior to purchasing (which was a 350 Sennheiser headset mic). It also has the option to use on something like a suspension boom arm which is very handy.
The main selling point for me about the Snowball is that it seems to pick up sound perfectly even when placed quite far away. I often have it a foot or so away from me (to the left or right) and have never been told I am hard to hear. Additionally, it seems to be excellent at filtering out background noise (people I was speaking to were unable to hear keyboard typing or mouse clicks, or louder sounds like doors opening and closing).
The only down side to the Snowball is that it does not come with a hard mute button. You can obviously mute it with software, or just unplug it, but a mute button would warrant a 5 star review for me.
The Blue Snowball works great as a mic for doing voiceovers for Youtube videos (my primary use). The only thing to bear in mind about it is that you need to be really close for it to pick up your voice well. By getting close, it also means you’ll need a pop-shield – not much of an expense, but a necessary one. It’s a shame that you can’t raise the mic up higher – on a table, I need to stand the whole thing on a box to get it near my mouth so I don’t have to stoop down. Plug and play on a mac, I can record the voiceovers straight into FCPX
If you can afford to go up one more step and get the Blue Yeti I would, but this is still good for the price and will do the job for people less picky!
The best quality is being within 6 inches of the mic, but i don’t like it that close. I moved it 2 foot away and it still pics up my voice fine with good quality. I just needed to boost the gain a little which will pick up more back ground noise but it’s barely noticeable for streaming.
I bought a cheap boom arm and pop filter with mine so I can’t speak for the stand but it seems well built. It doesn’t extend to tall though and it still rests on the desk on a solid metal frame so i can imagine it will pick up table knocks and hammering on keys but i have no experience of this either.
It’s the easiest mic to plug and play ever and the cable is really nice quality and a decent length too.
I’ve heard many great things about Blue’s snowball ICE, snowball and Yeti and so far I’m not dissappointed
The Yeti has a reputation as the go-to USB mic for non-broadcast or budget broadcast com records and the reason for that is it’s a high quality mic.
As I bought this Snowball for personal use, couldn’t quite warrant the over doubled price tag of the Yeti but I have to say, in terms of quality, there’s very little difference in it. This is a superb microphone for spoken word and unless you specialise in sound, I’d be surprised if you could really tell the difference between the two.
I also got it in Black and it looks fantastic. The one thing I would say is it is a lot larger than I had expected when ordering (A little smaller than a hand wrapped around a fist) but you soon get used to it, and as it looks so good anyway, this isn’t such a problem.
The tripod it comes with is great and doesn’t seem to pick up much vibrations from the table.
I personally have only used this for spoken word but have seen videos of people using it for music and it seems to stand up well.
If you’re after a microphone for YouTube channels, voice overs or anything spoken word, but can’t warrant the >100 price tag, this is the one to go for!
I purchased this Mic because I was sick of budget mics and headsets with bad mics.
I am so happy I paid top money for a good mic because this snowball is perfect.
I use it primarily for MMORPG gaming, primiarly for raids and voice chat and people hear me clear as day in great quality. I have no issues being heard, even my whispers from far away get picked up 🙂
To my fellow MMO gamers, this is the Mic for you!
that I can type on the keyboard behind it and it’s not picked up. That was the main reason that I got this
since I had another excellent mic, the samson G-Track, though it picks up sound from all directions.
Have a look on youtube since there are many reviews there.
I really like having my pop filter attached to the little stand it comes with so I can hold it easily in my hand.
I am getting familiar with it still though and so getting the distance that I want it to be for it to sound like I
want so perhaps in another month it would have been 5 star since I’ve had the Samson for many years
and so perhaps used to it and how it sounds (which is great).
I use it for my youtube channel and creating video lessons and it is fantastic value!
When I connected the Snowball, an LED light glows red on the front to indicate that it’s powered, next you have to select it in System Preferences’ Sound Input pane (Though my computer configured it automatically and set it to default).
The audio quality from the Snowball is excellent. Speech is crisp and clear, even playing acoustic guitar the mic reproduced every string pick and fret buzz, and background hum was non-existent. Even with music playing at a reasonable volume in the immediate background, the Snowball minimised it and reproduced recorded speech brilliantly.
The Snowball is perfect for podcasts, streaming, and recording vocals or acoustic instruments. It may be a little larger than other USB mics but its quality. Overall 10/10
So to the mic. It’s the Ice version so doesn’t have the selectable polar patterns, and only has the cardioid pattern which is fine for my needs. Just remember to double check which version your are ordering as it’s easy to make the mistake.
The mic sounds with a really nice crisp tone and is great for my purpose of streaming on twitch and making youtubbe videos. It’s very easy to connect to your pc or mac and it’s really easy to fit on a mic stand like I have in my pic. Doesn’t pic up much background noise either, you may see YouTube vids where people say you need to be close to the mic it’s self to get a good level, in my set up I’m about 1 and half feet away and it picks up my voice with ease and I can be sat very comfitabley in my chair and game and not worry about it.
I streamed for about 90 mins last night and played back the stream and I’m very impressed with the audio quality it just makes the stream sound more professional.
My wife (who is a sound engineer) was sceptical at me using a USB mic as she says I should use an interface and an XLR mic. But I did a quick sound test as soon as I got home and called her in to listen. And she was pleasantly surprised and thought the quality of the audio is very good.
So if you are looking for a good USB mic, for streaming YouTube or just to improve your Skype audio, then go and order this mic, it’s great and most defiantly worth it.
Well after the easy fast setup, it.. it just works!
Excellent sound quality that beats all the microphones i have ever used before, and fantastic for recording! Heres a list below of ways i have tried the product to test clarity, and background noise:
Current setup on a crane next to a mechanical keyboard and loud clicky mouse. Never detects either and only my voice.
On top of a piano (the piano speakers were underneath) whilst playing.. incredible quality and it wasnt even facing the same direction!
I then tested it for clarity with various recording styles: singing, rapping, beatboxing and finally playing flamenco guitar. It excelled in all of them (i unfortunately did not excell in most of them)
Overall if like me you are looking for a budget microphone that delivers and is reliable, i think this is the choice for you 🙂
Picks up voice from a good distance and is crisp and clear. The microphone doesn’t buzz or hum on playback.
It’s really easy to mount to a swing arm and can be tilted slightly to adjust to your needs.
There are only two downsides for me.
The first is the red LED light, it is so bright for such a small LED which catches the corner of your eye. I’ve fixed this by placing some electrical tape over the top.
The second is, this is supposed to be a Cardioid pattern, but it does very well in picking up background noises behind the microphone, such as keyboard keys being pressed, and cars driving past the house.
Well It arrived in a lovely box, and I quickly screwed the sphere type microphone to the stand, and plugged it in, and within a few seconds I was recording in Audacity (Images shown)
On the stand (it was included), the microphone is very sturdy, but cannot be rotated (except off the stand), or tilted in anyway, but that was OK by me.
I think the microphone looks better than in the stock photo, I’ve included a few piccies if that helps.
If you have any questions, just comment below, and I will try to answer.
Very crisp and clear mic! Mic came within the delivery time which was perfect and it was boxed perfectly no damage on the box. Mic is very crisp and clear and for this price it is amazing. Only issue is that the mic does have to be quite close in order for it to pick up perfect audio so i recommend a swivel arm shock mount to allow audio to be perfect with no issues. Overall the mic is perfect and has no issues but i would recommend a shock mount as their only 10ish and your audio will sound a lot better.
Planning on starting up a VLOGGING channel? A gaming channel? Or just need a nice mic in general for your evening calls with family and friends? But, dont want to spend a fortune on a high end Mic? Well, this Mic is for you. A crisp sound is the end result when using this very well made, yet, somewhat cheap microphone. I, was honestly slightly doubtful this mic would even reach the quality of “High end” devices but frankly, I was proven wrong.
The mic does hold up with the best of them, for half the price of the “Top” range of input devices.
The microphone picks up your voice perfectly, and sounds absolutely clear. Along with the ease of use by just plugging it in via usb and you are ready to go, I could not say anything physically wrong with this device.
If you are looking for a cheap mic for whatever reason, I would strongly suggest this one, on sale, or not. It is worth every penny.
This mic sounds astounding, especially for the price it’s a bargain.
However I would suggest buying a “boom arm” to get it closer to your mouth, otherwise it sounds a little quite on it’s tripod.
This is hands down one of my best purchases, the quality is amazing and the voice sounds so smooth and crisp.
It’s a hit with my viewers both on YouTube and Twitch, so if you’re looking for a microphone that sounds amazing then this is the one for you.
TL;DR
Best microphone for it’s price, quality is amazing, great for Twitch, YouTube or podcasting if you do that.
(If this review was helpful click “Yes” I’d really appreciate it!)
I was looking for a microphone to use with my Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 15 Professional dictation software. I’d tried the headset that came with the software and another, very expensive one I already had that I’d used with X Box.
The one that came with the software was incredibly uncomfortable, and you’re limited to movement as it’s a wired headset. The more expensive one felt more comfortable on my ears, but pressed on the arms of my glasses. Again, my movement was limited as it was wired.
I read a book about Dragon software and it recommended the Blue Snowball Ice.
It was expensive at 50 but I felt it was worth the layout as I use the software daily.
I wasn’t disappointed. It works perfectly.
This microphone is great. I was considering to buy the blue snowball at first just cause it had 3 modes instead of the one but when i looked into it i realised i didnt actually need it. Therefore i opted for the blue snowball ice and i am delighted with my choice. Not only did it save me some extra money but it does exactly what is said on the box and it records audio crisply. The unboxing experience was pleasant as it was not difficult to open the packaging. I use this mic for basic audio recording such as when im in teamspeak or skype with my friends and the sound quality is simply amazing. Many headset microphones arent very good these days and since a headset was the same price as the mic, i went for the mic as i already had a pair of ath-m40x’s so its a great combo. No complaints here. Great mic overall and pairs nicely with a boom arm.
Excellent quality microphone that performs very well, especially with a little bit of tweaking/EQing. If you want a great USB microphone for between 40 and 80, I’d highly recommend this one. Of course better microphones exist, but the value of this is difficult to beat.
For those who want to know about the frequency response, the microphone has a slightly unwanted peak at 1.5kHz which results in a slightly ‘thin’ and ‘weak’ sound but I used a piece of software called APO Equaliser to boost 190Hz and 10kHz a bit and cut 1.5kHz by 8dB and it sounds perfect now.
Excellent Microphone for gaming, recording and voice calls!
Perfect for people who want a long lasting and extremely high-quality microphone at a cheap price.
I bought this microphone predominantly for online games and voice calls in which speaking clearly is very important. I was more than impressed with this mic! The quality is amazing, no static, wind, unwanted noises just the sound of your voice as clearly as possible.
If you’re looking for the perfect microphone for online activity then stop here and order this one. No regrets.
I tried to make a review about this but Amazon decided to delete it so thanks Amazon. Bottom line for recording instruments, making Youtube videos and making gaming videos with audio commentary this microphone offers crystal clear audio. My last attempt at making a Youtube video with this gained over six thousand views. I owe that to this microphone. It’s one of the best that you can get at an affordable price, and if you are interested in this sort of thing you definitely want your sound quality to be the best that it can be, especially when trying to communicate with your fans. 😉
The audio is crystal clear, I listened to myself through it and my friends have also said that it sounds amazing, no static or anything. I was sick of people on skype and teamspeak saying they could hear static and other annoying audible background noise. So i thought it was time to get a standalone mic and it was the best decision i ever made, I didn’t want to spend so much money for a good mic, so i gave this a try, Some reviews and youtube etc have said some negatives but i have yet to find one. The only problem i have is not really a negative it’s just that the stand that comes with it gets in the way of my keyboard so i just bought a mic stand that clamps on the desk.
I would like to start this review by stating the following: I am in no way a professional when it comes to audio or recording equipment.
What took me here to purchase this microphone is the fact that it seemed to already have fairly good reception by people and reviews, I then went ahead and ordered it to try it for myself as I decided to upgrade from my old “gaming” headset to a nice pair of AT headphones and a desk microphone.
The microphone arrived in a nice box which is around a third bigger than the actual microphone, it was packaged very well inside and had a little manual as well as a tripod. The tripod feels solid and mounted itself to the microphone by screwing into the bottom, took maybe 10 seconds in total to install it. The microphone itself is plug and play, I just connected it to my PC and set it as the new default microphone in Windows. All of my software seemed to detect it and it worked great in Teamspeak. It is however very sensitive and will pick up everything and anything so it took a while to tweak it so that my keyboard is not picked up by it when I’m typing.
Overall fantastic product and I would recommend it highly.
This mic quality is surprisingly good for the price. I watched a few reviews and this was the recommended mic for under 50. i haven’t personally tested other mic’s but this seems to the best one the market for price.It’s very easy to use too just plug and play for me on windows 10. The quality is very impressive and it seems to block out background noise very well. I would highly recommend this product if you are looking for a high quality mic but not looking to spend too much money. One slight problem i have had is the tripod legs struggle to stay in a fixed position on a glass table.
Getting a great recording into your computer requires a great microphone. Unfortunately, the amount of effort it takes to adapt a professional microphone for use with your computer can be a daunting task, often involving outboard sound cards, bulky pro-audio cables, and cumbersome microphone mounts.
To bridge the gap between professional microphones and the cheap mics that come with some computers or Webcams, Blue Microphones offers a plug-and-play USB microphone called the Snowball. Best known for its boutique line of high-end studio mics, Blue Microphones first released the Snowball in 2005, as its first consumer-level microphone The Snowball has become a ubiquitous staple of podcasters and home recording enthusiasts, recognized as much for its unique retro design as its dependable and clean audio quality. As of August 2009, the Snowball can be found in multiple colors (black, silver, and white) and a new cheaper price!
The Good/ The Snowball is an extremely sturdy and stylish multipattern microphone that plugs directly into your computer’s USB port with a minimum of fuss.
The Bad/ Beyond USB, the Snowball offers no other audio outputs or inputs, the recording mode switch isn’t intuitively labeled, and no recording software is included.
The Bottom Line/ At this price, you’ll have a hard time finding a better-sounding, better-looking, or more easy-to-use microphone for your computer. Just don’t expect the Blue Microphones Snowball to replace a studio’s worth of recording gear.
I had to knock off one star because I have been having a few problems with this microphone. It can sometimes be hard to stand up, the cable is very fiddly and my friend thinks that it is ugly. It is probably no where near as good as the Blue Yeti which is what I really wanted but costs twice as much. This microphone allows you to record professional sounding instruments and vocals and there have even been videos on Youtube with people demonstrating this handy little microphone. I personally feel though that the product design could be better. But hey for fifty pounds or so, it’s well worth it.
I looked up this product before i purchased it and saw loads of people raving about it and i thought i’d give this a go myself, I am very pleased i found it. The sound is crystal clear and plugs straight into your laptop or PC with a USB cable. The mic doesn’t need mains power as it take all it needs from the USB socket so you can take it with your out and about if you wish.
Overall i’d recommend this item to anyone wanting to provide quality sound for their website, blogs or studio recording. It’s mis range so don’t be expecting absolutely perfect sound, but i love it and think it’s worth every penny!
If you think i’ve helped you in your purchase decision feel free to vote YES below!
I have been wanting to upgrade the quality of my audio for my work and hobbies and I had been eyeballing this little number for a good while. Receiving it today I can say it was worth the wait, whilst before I used to have to rigorously run my audio through audacity, now my audio comes up clear as crystal with non-existent background noise.
It was easy to set up and ran perfectly on my windows 10 despite what I initially read in the manual. I suggest plugging this in via the back ports of your PC or laptop, this seems to help a fair few people and its what I did when I first connected it.
I highly recommend this mic as a high quality entry level microphone for professionals and hobbyists.
Nice mic as sound quality goes, it is a very clear sounding mic and proved to be hassle free when installing as Win10 x64 just installed the sound drive no problem and off it went the only problem is that build quality is a bit shabby, the silver strip that goes all the way around the join was poorly applied ans was off to one side and the tripod is also a bit naff as the legs don’t sit on the desk properly until a lot of fiddling has been done to get it just right so it doesn’t look wonky on the surface its sat on, but for the price I suppose they are small gripes that can be overlooked.
Oh my new pride and joy that is the Snowball Ice. I’ve recently started getting into voice acting and needed a cheap alternative so that I could begin my reign to fame and fortune. The sound quality is pretty good, although it could be better. Takes alot of self preperation to determine the best quality. In future will be buying a higher quality studio microphone but still this has worked very well for me!
My main gripe with the microphone is that it’s bulky, granted I have a small workspace though so I can’t really complain. Would recommend.
Fantastic microphone, definitely worth the money for very clear and crisp audio in videos. I am currently using it for voice over work for animations for YouTube as well as beginning to start using the microphone for video recordings as well.
I like the tripod which allows the microphone to sit at a fixed height which can then be easily spoken into without having to buy other stands or setups. As mentioned in the title, it is USB and I haven’t had an issue recording the audio in any application (Adobe Premiere Pro to Voice Recorder on Windows) and setup on different Windows machines was very easy. As mentioned by other reviewers, the further away from the microphone, the more ambient noise is picked up and I have found that the best results you have to be close, not within 1 inch but within 1 foot/half a meter and to speak as though addressing a small room of people, amplifying your voice.
I highly recommend this product for beginners; professionals you may want to look at higher specification microphones dedicated to your application to pick up a wider band of frequencies as well as not needing to position the microphone so close but I have not had an issue and recommend this as a cheaper alternative.
The quality of this product is great. As an entry level microphone, it is both very high value and very high quality.
The cable is sufficiently lengthy and should reach most distances provided that the microphone is situated near the computer.
The tripod comes in two parts, so that the middle section can be removed to allow for lower placement. It is also rotatable so it can be faced in whatever direction you desire.
There are, however, two minor flaws. There is no mute button on the physical device, paired with a light that indicates when the microphone is enabled – this results in the little red light being on, essentially, forever.
The second flaw is that the tripod was of a very low quality – it was made from a very cheap plastic that feels like it can barely sustain the weight of the microphone – I had removed the tripod to later re-attach it and upon second attachment caused the plastic to become cross threaded. The plastic was weak enough that I did not even notice this until I had screwed it on half way and it had become rapidly lopsided. After a few very careful attempts I had managed to get it on correctly (I’m never removing the tripod ever again).
I’m not saying that this is the best Blue Snowball Microphone ever, but it’s up there! Ever since my Ethernet cable left me after the controller port fiasco, Mayflash went on to realize that it deserved someone better and dumped me. Which left me alone, and yearning for companionship. True companionship – Luckily I came across this supermodel of a microphone. She’s short and a bit top-heavy, but I kinda like that. Its our flaws that make us unique. Anyway, first night home I was just testing her out – her hearing is really good. She can pick up sounds that are whisper quiet. I’ve since had to soundproof my room due to the stuff we get up to in there. Really easy to turn her on as well, just plug in the included USB cable and away she goes. It’s wild! So long CAT5e and Mayflash, there’s a new iCE cold lady in my life, and her name is Blue Snowball!
Firstly the mic is like superman, it picks up everything and I mean everything. And this caused problems, many problems. I now go to a counsellor twice a week due to the images planted in my head because of this mic picking up my next door neighbours adult conversations and doings. Not only that when I’m using the mic to talk to friends etc. It picks up the sound of my keyboard and mouse, which are not that loud to be honest, even when I tried software to eliminate the sound it still is there. I do guess that this will go away when we’re both in game due to the sound being so faint when using software.
I do like the microphone, it looks very cool and is nice and clean, I bought a pop filter with the mic and in fairness it was a wait of money, they mic isn’t to bad when breathing near it etc. I do think that it could have a bit more bass to it but what it has got will do for the use of it. I don’t think that the stand is really useful as it means that the mic is closer to the keyboard and mouse so a mic arm would be beneficial. It also is very, very short and unless you’re 4 foot 5 then this mic might be to low down. I kinder wished I bought the Bluesnowball standard instead of the Ice as I believe the buttons on the back might be beneficial for me.
On the good side the mic is rather strong, since I’ve dropped it 3 times on my wooden desk. It looks very, very nice and that’s mainly the reason I bought it, that and I wanted to be able to detect things from miles away like superman…
All in all I would recommend this mic as it is reasonably priced and looks awesome, and it reminds me of a pokeball.
Hello . I bought this mic to chat in game and use discord and teamspeak.
I’m no professional at audio . I’m a normal human with standard ears and so is everyone else I know what’s using seperate mics had enough of headphone audio get picked up through the built in mic .
A fair few of us have blue mics snowballs/ yeties / snowflakes / samson go mics and meteors and even one with a razer mic costing 150 and to be honest we all sound around the same ish quality.
Given the difference in setup and placement as that counts just as much I have a mic boom and pop filter In a heavily wallpapered room 16×14 foot in size
this mic is all I could get in black at the time and is the only reason for buying it.
I get excellent audio clarity talking to my buddies it picks up my voice and projects it out there rather well
If I wanted better quality than this only an 80 AT2020 and a beringer usb mixer costing 40 and a 20 beringer phantom psu is the way to go . Not a yeti or a razer . My sources are common sense and youtube I would like to recommend all mics mentioned as good mics.
the blue snowball the samson go and meteor mics as I listen to them daily and the price is right for any of the 3 . The yeti and razer is hard to recommend when better can be had for the same price
Must be honest, I was baffled by the choice of microphones, so bought this one partly based on good reviews, partly based on the fact that I think it looks great! It is very easy to install — just plug and play — so easy to use on multiple devices without any hassle of installation set ups.
It was initially to be add voice-overs/commentary to videos and it was perfect for that, with clear, crisp audio, although I only used it for that purpose once or twice. It has since been used as a gaming mic and for Skype after my husband’s headset broke and it is surprisingly good for that too. Others have been surprised when told that we are talking on a desktop mic rather than a headset and have commented on the good sound quality.
Only negative, is that weirdly it had a really strong smell initially (sort of chemical/plastic type smell) which literally took over the whole room and took nearly a month to dissipate!
I have a love/hate relationship with this Mic.
I have used this product for a couple of weeks now every day for various jobs such as gaming, calls and to use for commentary.
Here i have listed both positives and negatives regarding the Blue Snowball.
Positives: Clarity.
Appearance
Quality.
Negatives. Sensitivity
Lack of Software
Loose USB Connection.
So this Mic has great Quality however the sensitivity seems to pick every single background noise up and there is no software for it, So what i will say is if you are using this mic for general gaming and calls it is perfect but if you are looking for more of a professional mic for commentary or streaming your best off with something else.
Very happy with this. I got it to improve the audio quality of the youtube video tutorials I was making for my software products. Previously I was using some dreadful old headset to record them. The difference is quite simple astonishing. The audio it records has vastly better definition and quality and puts it firmly into the “best mic I’ve owned” category. Very simple to setup on a Windows PC. It comes with a USB cable long enough to run behind a desk and you don’t need to install any drivers. The mic is adjustable on the top of the stand. The only slight problem is the red light that never goes out, but this is easy enough to deal with my unplugging the USB cable from the back of the mic.
This Was Awesome, BUT Be Aware People That When This Is Plugged In All Night (On Imacs) It Often Tends To Go Into Some Form Of Sleep Mode And I Have To Take It Out Of The USB Port And Plug It In Again AND Talk Into It So The Imac Picks Up The Mic. Was Dissapointed Because Of This.
Also, The Microphone Picks Up The Sounds Of My Dog Walking On The Floor, The Imac Whirring As Its On And Me Typing On The Keyboard.
I Would Advise To Get A Pop Filter Too, If You Buy This As It Makes The Quality Better.
I was initially disappointed with the quality, but once I looked through the manual and realised I hadn’t changed the sound settings over to record audio from the Snowball, I did a 180. Haha.
Absolutely incredible. The audio is so crystal clear; all I hear is my voice, nothing else — no cackling, no background noise, but my voice. I would recommend you to get a filter with the microphone, just because it makes the audio more clearer when you are recording it, but other than that, you cannot fault this microphone.
I was fortunate to pick this up during Black Friday sales for 30 pounds, and wow, this is an absolutely amazing microphone. Podcasts, YouTube, narration — whatever you are wanting to do with this, this is the right choice for you. Trust me. Just keep in mind what I said in the beginning of the review, make sure you check your sound settings before giving this a bad review or returning it to Amazon. I was so excited to use it, I didn’t even consider the idea of checking the settings.
Kind Regards. 😉
It is definatly an improvement to using a headset mic. It picks up ranges nicely is is exactly what I was looking for.
The tripod stand is a bit of a pain, and isn’t so adjustable, but the mic is the most important thing, and so I just put up with it. After all, I would rather have a great mic with a crap stand than a crap mic with a great stand.
I have used its older brother, the Blue Yeti, which is twice the price, but a noticabllly better quality. If your budget can stretch to 80, then I would consider that one, if not though, this does a great job.
It is perfect for starting out with auido recording for game commentaries or similar.
Important note for some: this is a cardoid mic, so is only good at comentaries. It focuses its recording one one spot, so doesn’t record bands or interviews well. For this, you probably will need the Yeti.
Although I do love the Blue Snowball iCE, it does come with a couple of problems. The first being that unlike its counterpart, the regular Blue Snowball, it doesn’t have an option to change the type of mode you can set. On the iCE you are only stuck on Cardoid mode, and that can’t be changed. The second problem isn’t necessarily a problem for all, but the fact is, the Snowball likes to pick up background noise, and that’s to do with the way the microphone is designed. It’s designed to pick up everything! Unlike some other microphones, where they will only pick up the sound that is directly in front of them, the Snowball will pick up sound from outside your home providing it’s loud enough and your volume levels are too high. If you plan on doing Let’s Plays, or whatnot with the Snowball, then expect your mouse and keyboard to be picked up as some background noise.
Personally, I really like the Blue Snowball iCE. It’s a slightly cheaper alternative to the regular Snowball, minus a few features, but keeps the high audio quality. If the background noise isn’t too big of a deal, then it’s hard to go wrong with a microphone like this. I’ve had it for over 2 years now, and have had no problems with it whatsoever. All in all, the Blue Snowball is a very resilient microphone, that doesn’t tote all that many issues.
Bought this Microphone with the idea of using it to record voice over on YouTube videos. I compared many others, and for the price, this is absolutely the best. It is perfect for the job. Arrived days before I expected and setting it up to use is very simple. It’s a bit weak at picking up sound a few meters away so you must be sat right in front of it for best results which isn’t really an issue. Sits on the desk solidly with the plastic legs but it’s a lot larger than I expected – especially as it has to sit infront of my monitor. All in all an excellent choice for its price.
I use a free program called Audacity (Win/Mac) to make my audio recordings and I also bought the Tiger pop shield. The pop shield helps to protect the microphone from plosive sounds which record as a deep popping sound.
Recording within 8inches of the microphone creates a rich deep full sound, but you’re more likely to suffer from the plosive sounds. To reduce this back slightly further back from the mic 8-12inches.
A Great Microphone!
The design of the microphone is a little plastic in parts and can feel a tad bit cheap in parts but not overly cheap. Bare in mind the price and the that fact that it is made of plastic and not trying to be metal or any other material. It looks modern and classy and looks awesome next to apple products (apple have been selling these microphones for years and they were happy with them). The small but stable stand is cool with an aluminium look finish and over all I’m really happy with what I got for the price.
Hmmm. It’s a good mic. It will record my dulcet tones for a vid I want to make.
BUT
Take it out of the box. Screw it into the stand. Plug in the USB cord. Couldn’t be simpler
EXCEPT
Windows 8.1 would not recognize it at all at first. After multiple fiddling and surfing, this is not just my problem, application of ‘fixes’, 8.1 recognized it but still wouldn’t go so far as to actually use it.
Fortunately I had an old Dell netbook running XP in a drawer somewhere. No problems whatever.
Making it work with 8.1 is probably resolvable but right now I don’t have another 4 hours to mess with software in.
Another fantastic item found on Amazon and with a cheap price to match…this item cannot be faulted.
I use this on my game recordings and use either Sony Vegas or Microsofts own video editing software, both work wonders along with this microphone.
It records voices so well, I cannot explain actually how well it records. If I was to just rate this out of 10 then it would get the whole 10. It’s USB and it is plug and play, which once you have plugged it in and your PC detects it, then that is it and there is nothing else to it.
I would highly recommend buying the official “Blue” pop filter to go with it, which is around 15 on Amazon…trust me you won’t regret it.
Anyone who mentions the quality is poor or it is hard to use then I cannot deny enough and I don’t understand why they would be writing that; overall it has fantastic quality, easy to use and does the job with an A1 outcome…what else would you want from a microphone?!
I am not a technophile so I will be brief. I purchased this for my Mac as the built in mike on my Thunderbolt display is not good enough for doing movie narration. This mike is good though unfortunately it was NOT compatible with Adobe PREMIERE ELEMENTS. Nevertheless it worked perfectly with GARAGEBAND from which I then simply imported the finished sound files to PE for the movie. It does work with SKYPE ok.
I also love the design/looks of it (you can get various colours). It has presence being big, 10cm diameter and around 24cm high on its tripod stand with a slightly retro look. There are plenty of thorough technical reviews on YouTube and I have not seen a bad review yet. Its simple to use, USB plug and play (it is also powered thro’ the USB) and give a nice deep clear professional quality recording of narrative and live music. I am very pleased with it and it is a reasonable price for a good quality product.
This microphone is leagues above other desktop microphones. I can be sat at any distance from my desk and my voice is picked up with crystal clear definition. Additionally the microphone is robust and well built and I know I won’t have to go through the hassle of buying another microphone any time soon – it is worth the price given you won’t ever need another microphone again.
Being on Skype and Teamspeak a lot and wanting to make YouTube videos I decided I needed a new microphone. I found this on Amazon and started reading the reviews on here and on YouTube, people stated you have to be really close to be able to record your voice or for anyone to hear you, this is incorrect, I can hear myself from the other side of my room and the quality is amazing, I can hear my self very clearly! Also, some people complained they could hear keyboard presses and mouse clicks, I can hear it very slightly, but in Teamspeak or Skype people say they cannot hear it at all!
The product is very well made and is a mixture of metal and hard plastic, I am really happy with the design and I have no problem with the tiny red light which is located on the front of the microphone. I would like to point out the stand is like a tripod with three legs and should be spread out evenly so the microphone is stable and won’t fall over.
Dont hesitate to get this microphone it is very good and is the best microphone I have ever used.
Firstly please double check this is the mic you want. I got it thinking it was the non-iCE version that has the switchable patterns. This does not.
Also absolutely do not get this if you only have access to USB 3.0 ports. It simply refuses to work with that setup. At first I thought it was a driver issue with Windows 8 however it worked perfectly well on another computer running 8, only difference was that it was a USB 2.0 port I’d plugged it into.
Hopefully this is resolved in future batches as this microphone is absolutely excellent for the price. As with other condenser mics it will pick up background noise very well (computer fans, etc) but they can easily be cleaned up in Audacity using the noise removal function.
If it works, it’s amazing. It’s just unfortunate that it doesn’t want to play with USB 3.0 ports. Only thing I can fault it o
I did think it would be smaller but its not huge and fits perfectly on my, already cramped, desk.
The sound quality is great especially for the price.
I use this to Livestream and make calls on skype, the improved quality is amazing, the clarity is just want I wanted.
I also sing a lot too, its taking a bit of getting used to but it picks up my voice so well.
Also unlike other mics it can pic up your voice clearly from the other side of the room too. When I can however I will be picking up the shock ring for it too as its good at picking up the vibrations for the next room.
Its also plug and play which is brilliant, so if I take it to another room or with me to my friends, I don’t have to hunt around for a disk that I tucked away in a box and put in a safe place.
The sound quality is excellent and will pick up every little sound in the room. It’s a stylish piece to have sitting on the desk (though it can be a little large if you have a small desk), gives off a sense of the old time-y radio shows.
There was one issue that we had where the drivers would not install, however this was a fault with his PC rather than anything else. I only mention it here in case others have the same issue. To fix this, unplug the mic and restart Windows, then plug it back in. There is no software otherwise to be installed, Windows will find the drivers.
Pros: excellent quality and feel, very well made, sturdy.
Cons: none to be found.
tl;dr Build quality -9
Audio quality -8
Price -10
Extra features -7
Ease of use -10
Overall Score: 8.8