The Snowball Ice (not to be confused with Snowball) is an entry-level USB microphone with decent sound quality. It supports cardioid mode only (i.e. picks up all sound from the front of the microphone).
It's on sale for $68 at HN - not the cheapest price ever on OzBargain but it is the cheapest price ever for Amazon according to camelcamelcamel. Amazon has it listed at the same price at the moment but it's out of stock in stock 20 Aug - credit to FrontBottom
Apparently the sound quality is best if you are talking above it anyway:
In fact, as has been discovered by several YouTubers who use the mic, placing the Snowball Ice at a jaunty 45 degree angle to your mouth and talking just above it from about 6-8 inches away provides the best results.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/blue-snowball-ice-micro…
The sound quality is excellent for the price. I also have a Yeti Nano, and there is no noticeable difference in recording quality. The Yeti Nano is smaller, but I've had many quality control issues, such as the microusb port literally falling off.
How would it perform when you've got a mechanical sitting only a couple of inches away?
I take notes during my meetings, and am worried that if I got a high quality mic that sits on my desk, people won't hear anything over my typing.
I think it comes down to software. I also have a mechanical right in front of the mic with the worst possible switches for noise (blues). It really depends on what application you are using. Microsoft teams seems to cut out a decent amount of the noise, and discord will cut out all.
a cardioid mic has decent rejection directly behind it, but if you're hammering away on Cherry Blues you might still get a bit coming through.
I think you'd be alright with a slightly more agressive setting on your voice activation levels, but can't say for sure.
Will definitely come through with this mic. They're a condensor mic so it will here everything unless you elevate the mic on a stand closer to your face and reduce the overall mic volume.
Silly question, where do you put the mic when doing the presentations? On the side out of view of the webcam?
I have my webcam mounted to the top of my monitor, so I usually have the mic situated 20cm in front of me, so it isn't blocking my face nor blocking the monitor.
What mount do you use for that?
@kapone: Webcam is clipped to the monitor and I use the original snowball stand with a book placed under.
I have this and just sit it between monitor and keyboard! Seems to work well :)
My daughter is very much into singing at the moment and wants to record he voice.
Would this be suitable to record her singing onto her ipad? (I guess i'll need some form of convertor for lightning to USB?)
Great as an entry level mic. If you're getting serious you should consider a dynamic microphone such as the Samson Q2U for $100. This deal is for a condenser mic which loses a bit of richness in the voice and picks up absolutely everything in the environment.
More specifically this behaves somewhat like an omindirectional condenser mic, so it basically records the whole room.
Samson Q2U is a cruddy old recommendation, especially when you've got the AKG D5 sitting near to that price on Amazon, the Lewitt MTP 250 DM at $90 locally, and the Sennheiser E835 for $100-$120 locally. Even via a $15 USB-to-XLR cable, they're still all much better prospects, but you'd ideally want to spend $100 on a decent interface. There's also the Audix OM2 and sE Electronics V7 sitting at $150, but that's starting to get miles away from a $70-$100 budget without much of an improvement.
Studio condenser wise, there's the option of the Takstar TAK55 for around $120 with cashbacks and coupons via AliE, and I think another sale is starting in a couple of days. Again, XLR, and that will definitely require an interface due to phantom power, but it punches way above its price bracket.
Thank you!
@31mop: No problem! Keep in mind you'll probably need a powered USB hub to connect an interface up with an iPad, as the iPad may not power the interface while it's connected.
I have always had good experience with AKG products. Just wanted to ask, is it worth buying the AKG D5 or something similar for voip on pc?
I can just get a simple webcam and use the better mic. What else would I need? You mentioned a interface? I cant plug them directly into pc?
@StarvingOat: XLR is a connection type intended for protecting against EMF interference with significant amounts of electrical equipment and long cable lengths (ie. stage or studio production).
There are XLR-to-USB cables, but they do drop audio quality noticeably and should only be seen as a temporary solution.
Keep in mind you need to account for mic arm/stand costs in such a setup also.
If it's purely for voice comms, take a look at the Behringer XM8500 for $20-$30 as a starting point. It's a dynamic XLR mic and pairs decently with an XLR-to-USB cable. The Samson Meteor may also be a solid option.
The AKG D5 is a microphone tuned for live vocals on stage.
The Samson Meteor on sale at JB is arguably the better mic in my reviews and is $10 cheaper. Something to consider.
Agree go with the Samson.
Bought the Samson on the recommendations; good build material, form factor, and built in tripod supporting tilt
Can I please ask why you think the Samson Meteor is the better Mic please? Have you used both of them side by side?
Genuinely interested in hearing your thoughts as I am in the market for one.
Look around and most reviewers say the Blues are on the goodish side for the price, but the Samson is the real stand out for value and sound. Look up a YouTube channel called Podcastage, he is extremely knowledgeable and his reviews will show you the difference. He recommends the samson.
I have this - excellent mic. I use it with a mic boom arm and it works very well
Is the microphone better than my Logitech brio and annoyance of desk clutter? Bearing in mind that I use for team and discord mainly. Thoughts? Thanks
no idea, i dont have the logitech brio. Id imagine it would be.. the boom arm take a bit of space, not ideal for minimalistic setups.
it will work very well for teams and discord, id imagine. I use it for google meets meetings and slack calls all day almost everyday.
i use the same type of arm, nothing fancy. but remember the ice doesnt come with a shock mount, neither does the arm, so any bump on the desk, it will transmitted into the mic.
I have both a Blue Snowball iCE and a logitech BRIO. The Blue Snowball iCE audio quality is much better.
I've used mine for a few years and like it a lot, but it's really worth picking up a cheap microphone arm for these - they pick up lots of room noise if you have them more than ~25cm away from your gob. Also then has the bonus of being away from your keyboard, off the desk surface etc.
Its huge
use this every day for zoom calls it's perfect for anyone working from home who has a lot of meetings over the web.
used mine for 2 years , awesome mic for the price, paired with voicemeteer freeware, and a bit tuning, you are good to go!.
Does anyone use it with an alternative desk stand (not a mount)?
Can someone please tell me if these mic's are for use with a headset, or is there no echo/interference from speakers?
I own one of these and they are fine even at almost a metre away.
I mainly use it for voip in gaming, discord and zoom etc.
Just an update, it appears the Officeworks have now pricematched old mate Gerry for the Snowball microphones, including the Snowball Professional. Gerry is still selling it for $129.95.
As far as I can tell, the main difference is that on the Pro model you can set various pickup patterns.
Looks like it's limited stock in most stores so doesn't meet criteria to be its own deal.
Great price. Great Mic. Had mine for 5 years. Its survived being knocked off the desk a handful of times, which knocked out the plastic blue logo and it looks even better. It's big and chunky, not petite like the Samson Meteor. It's unidirectional, so I can talk to mates on discord and not have it pick up sound from the speakers.
Only downside is the USB B cable in the back. I had trouble with cables falling out slightly and losing connection. Fixed it by wrapping the connector with some plumbers tape.
Thanks OP, tossed and turned on it but bought one with a voucher I've been sitting on.
Back in stock at Amazon by the looks
Thanks, description updated
Thanks OP just picked one up from OW after a price match :)
I use this almost every day and would highly recommend if you are doing video calls/presentations. Sound quality is much better than headset mic. Only drawback is the tilt, as it doesn't angle high enough to be used on lower height desks.
edit: Height of stand is approx 10.5cm fully extended and max tilt is ~30 degrees to those who are wondering