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Macworld 2009: Blue Microphones

by Michael Rose Jan 9th 2009 at 1:00PM

Good audio starts with a good microphone, and plenty of Mac podcasters depend on the effective and economical offerings from Blue. There are devices to fit most needs and most budgets in the Blue Microphones product line, and the company is beginning its string of three consecutive trade show appearances (Macworld, CES and NAMM in three weeks -- that's a lot of microphones) by showing off three new products. The Icicle XLR to USB converter is great for users with investments in legacy XLR gear who want a simple way to direct that audio to their computers; it's shipping now for $60 street price. (Update: we in no way meant to imply XLR is being phased out or is outdated by using the term "legacy" -- of course, it is standard in professional audio gear).

The Mikey iPod microphone adds audio capture to most iPod models (not the iPhone or touch, unfortunately) with a swivel head and multiple gain settings to allow for recording over a variety of distances. Mikey retails for $80.

Lastly, the EyeBall takes the popular Blue Snowflake mini-microphone and adds in a retractable, "Super HD" webcam that pops out of the side of the microphone when needed. The EyeBall is available for a street price of $100, a $30 premium over the conventional Snowflake model.

You can see more details of all three products in the gallery below and the video in the 2nd half of the post.

Macworld 2009: Blue Microphones



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Good audio starts with a good microphone, and plenty of Mac podcasters depend on the effective and economical offerings from Blue. There...
 

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GBann

I've been using Blue products on several projects, with xcellent result... had a glitch, but we resolved it and they were very responsive -- I intend to use them for future projects as well.

They do have an issue with the their support forums - the moderation is the least of it -- you really have to weed through it to find good info, tons of spam, people posting questions about products that aren't even compatible with their systems, etc.

January 10 2009 at 5:20 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jason Campbell

The price points are great but with that you get seriously bad customer service.

January 09 2009 at 7:21 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
grifmusic

It's not the mic, it's what you do with it.

any two engineers will argue for days about what is the best mic for the best recording (if you don't believe me, Google best mic for recording ___ )

A friend started using the Snowball USB Blue Mic for voiceovers and I was quite surprised how good it sounded - so much so I intend to borrow it and compare it to my studio mics.

no, it may not compare to a $2,000 mic and $3500 preamp, but you may be surprised how close it can get.

I've also heard good engineers make crap sound amazing, and bad engineers make the most costly equipment sound like crap.

January 09 2009 at 5:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
tk

Post the dang transcript. at work and can't use sound/audio.

January 09 2009 at 5:36 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jack Sheehan

Blue's products are nicely designed but lack the quality I'm looking for as a professional. I also like the CEntrance MicPort Pro because it works with the recording mics I already have and offers a headphone out with zero latency monitoring - there is no way I could record properly without that, whether it's a voiceover or my acoustic guitar. MicPort is also a 24/96 device and is, rather remarkably, truly plug & play with my PC.

January 09 2009 at 3:58 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Big John

"Legacy XLR"? Shouldn't that be "professional XLR" or just remove the qualifier altogether?

January 09 2009 at 1:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to Big John's comment
M. Kozaqii

When you were at their booth, did you find anything out about the specs on the camera in the Eyeball? No details at all on their website. Nothing in the product's downloadable quickstart guide, except a url for a full manual which doesn't resolve.

I was already thinking about the Snowflake and a retractable camera is a nice touch. Won't buy it without some more information though.

January 09 2009 at 1:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Doug

the icicle seems a little late to the game on this. another usb/xlr solution I have used is MicPort Pro from Centrance. works quite well. you can see it here: http://www.centrance.com/products/mp/

January 09 2009 at 1:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Christopher Allen

What is the resolution of the video camera? Every web site calls it "Super HD" but there is no such thing.

January 09 2009 at 1:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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