Filed under: Macworld, Accessories, Audio
Macworld 2009: Blue Microphones
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 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.
Gallery: Macworld 2009: Blue Microphones
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Christopher Allen said 2:46PM on 1-09-2009
What is the resolution of the video camera? Every web site calls it "Super HD" but there is no such thing.
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doug said 1:34PM on 1-09-2009
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/
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Mo said 1:38PM on 1-09-2009
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.
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Big John said 1:40PM on 1-09-2009
"Legacy XLR"? Shouldn't that be "professional XLR" or just remove the qualifier altogether?
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Joe said 3:28PM on 1-09-2009
I'm going to agree here. USB mics are convenient for home computing, but the pros still use XLR. If you're upgrading to USB, you're coming from a built-in mic or something that uses 3.5mm connectors.
bw said 3:53PM on 1-09-2009
I third this. XLR is not a "Legacy" standard by any means. It's in use every day in professional studios everywhere. In fact, a large part of Blue's business is in making professional microphones, all of which use XLR connectors.
G said 4:30PM on 1-09-2009
+1.
No one is switching to USB microphones for serious recording, at least until we get past cheap in-line preamps and 16-bit ADC with no gain control or dynamics. Calling XLR "legacy" is ridiculous.
And Blue has serious issues matching promises to product. Ask them where the "Joe" mic is. Hint: I asked them at the last Macworld. Try to find something on their web site or post a topic on their forum o' paranoia without it being moderated for days or weeks. Or never.
Jack Sheehan said 4:10PM on 1-09-2009
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.
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transcript said 5:37PM on 1-09-2009
Post the dang transcript. at work and can't use sound/audio.
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grifmx said 5:45PM on 1-09-2009
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.
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Jason Campbell said 11:05PM on 1-09-2009
The price points are great but with that you get seriously bad customer service.
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GBann said 5:21AM on 1-10-2009
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.
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