Blue Snowball

Great entry level microphone – Picked this up right as the Pandemic hit in 2020. My role moved to 100% remote and required clear communication over the various platforms used. The Blue Snowball hit just the right spot at around $100 AUD. While the 'head' or mic area is quite large to most other mics I had looked on the market most had either a XLT requirement which needed other hardware to function OR were just plain rubbish. I continued to use this mic until late 2022 where the sound began to degrade and interference entered the sound it captured. After playing around with cords, inputs and cable management it was deemed the mic had breathed it's last breathe. All things considered I have used the mic 5-6 days a week ( useful for gaming on the weekend :) ) for two years straight so that would be 260+ days a year over two years. That's $100AUD divided by 520 approximately so 0.19 or 19 cents a day. Not bad.

The microphone I have used across various conferencing platforms and use it with Audacity to record voiceovers, videos and other audio content for professional distribution. While it has no software control on the voice input and settings. It does the job well straight out of the box. I added an boom arm from Amazon with the right 3/4" thread (most products will advertise compatibility) and an extended USB cable. My only advice is to keep the main cable away from any other cable with power running through it as it may add a 50hz hum to your audio. Not a big deal for a conference but for recording it is not ideal.

I have replaced the Blue Snowball with another as I contemplate what my next steps will be in terms of microphones. Highly recommended for entry level setup.

Great quality and as easy as can be – The Microphone is a good 'entry' level microphone that will do what most consumer level customers need. For me it's a lot of conferencing, chatting during games, recording myself talk for various reasons and letting my daughter sing into it. The build quality is great and it's given me no troubles during some pretty manual handling and 3 house moves, one interstate. The stand is rock solid, the ball itself is pretty neat and looks nice. (I have a fluffy cover on it)

The included cable is long and sturdy.

The sound quality is without flaw, I am sure there are better microphones with studio quality audio pick up. But as a generic consumer it has not let me down in the past few years.

I have never had a complaint from other or myself after hundreds and hundreds of uses.

I really cant fault it. If you're thinking of an entry level microphone for your streaming, conferencing, or to record yourself to listen to then I can comfortably recommend the Snowball.

Pros: - Build quality - Price - Sound quality - Out of the box functionality - Looks nice

Cons: - Can be tricky to get accessories for it as it's not a traditional microphone

If mine broke I'd buy another one.

All I need – I've had this microphone for about 4 years now. It is compact and durable, all I need for some simple audio recording for music with garageband. I wish there was an on and off button on it so the red light can be turned off without unplugging the mic though.

Great Microphone – Quality: 9/10 Design: 8/10 This microphone is a good start-up microphone that performs wonderfully. This microphone is ideal as it's affordable, has excellent microphone quality and is a USB device. It works wonderfully with most microphone stands, and has a stand of it's own.

What on earth is that??? – Any one who visited me and saw the Snowball on the desk went what on earth is that?? Yes, it looks like something that does not conform to any standard shape or object that an unsuspecting mind could immediately relate to. Now, besides its eye catchy looks, how does it perform.. Well, its really sensitive that is for sure. For example, from inside my office room, it picks up sound of a lawn mower about 5 doors down. No literally, 5 houses is a fair distance away if you think about it, and the recording does pick it up. And as such it can pick up birds and dogs as background noise.

Though there is just about no hiss what so ever, that I am very pleased with.

True problem is that it does not pick up my own voice from 2 ft away.. Wot!!! yes.. I have to lean forward down to like 6 inches and then talk to get proper levels. Can not blame my sound card as it does not use my sound card for sensitivity. Think about it, you have a extremely sensitive mic, but can not sit back and talk, and having to lean into the mic to record voice. I am having to post amplify my recordings.

But once its recorded and amplified, the sound is crystal. Can not fault the quality of the recorded sound really, no hiss, no system noise, high notes are clear and mid is great too.

It does make me wonder if I should have spent a bit extra and got a Rode VIDMIC Pro, or should have gone for Zoom H1 V2 which is about the same price.

As at this time I am not 100% satisfied about the low levels, crystal clear or not.

But now that I have bought it, I am not inclined to change it, given the mic works for the things I do. Could not use for live situations, but I rarely do that. For video editing, and post processing involved work its still a good mic to go with. Clear sound, almost no BG Hiss. Can record musical instruments, excellent sound quality. Recording levels are far too low for a mic of this caliber. Requires post processing.