Blue’s legendary Snowball Ice USB mic is a popular way to get started with streaming, VO and YouTube video production, and now it’s 30% off at Amazon UK. That brings it to just £38.99, the lowest price we’ve seen in months and a good value for the level of quality provided.
The Snowball Ice is a great USB mic for the money, offering one pickup pattern compared to the three on the more expensive (£68) Snowball – fine for streaming, less good for recording instruments or events. The short stand is annoying and its stability isn’t great, but you can mount it onto an arm without too many problems. This is a good choice if you want something that captures a good amount of vocal detail, works straight out of the box and ultimately gets the job done without spending a lot.
It looks like other Blue microphones are also discounted at the present, so let’s quickly round them up too. The Yeti Nano is the next up the totem pole, with a streamlined design w/ multi-function button that takes cues from the Yeti X and has the same high-quality 24-bit recording, yet it costs significantly less at £82 (was £100). It has two pickup patterns, cardioid and omnidirectional, so you don’t have the flexibility of the other Yetis or the full-fat Snowball which have two other modes.
The (£101, was £120) regular Yeti is an older design, having debuted in 2009, that has stood the test of time. It’s flexible, with four pickup patterns to suit all kinds of recording scenarios, and offers reliably good, detailed audio with live monitoring via its 3.5mm headphone jack.
The (£130, was £160) Yeti X is the most expensive option, especially for a USB mic, but it comes with that more modern design, an extra condenser to aid clarity, LEDs built into its button to show current volume levels, and generally excellent audio quality.
Generally, I’d say that you should invest some time into reading reviews and great gaming microphone recommendations for each option, but I’d give the nod to the Snowball Ice if you just want something basic that will nonetheless do a good job, while the Yeti X is my personal choice and a microphone I’ve used professionally for a few years now without issues.
Will Judd
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