I set up the mic as part of an Aggregate Device under Mac OS X, so that I could use the computer's built-in audio to monitor the output. In the case of the Snowball, you only have the choice of pad or no pad. When using a conventional mic preamp, you have an analogue gain control that comes prior to the converters on your audio interface or soundcard, so you can optimise your recording levels. The quality that can be obtained from 16-bit is excellent, provided you can run at or near maximum level, to make use of all the available dynamic range, but where you use only a small part of that dynamic range, the resolution can suffer.
As all the USB mics I've seen so far have been 16-bit, I can only assume that as yet there are no suitable USB-powered chips that produce a 24-bit output. Inside the host software, the mic shows up as two identical input sources rather than as a single mono source.Īccording to Blue, the Snowball makes a good general-purpose vocal or instrument mic for project studio recording, but it's also clear that they - like all the other USB mic manufacturers - have their eye on the growing Podcasting market.
The converters built into the microphone, which has a capacitor capsule, are fixed at 16-bit/44.1kHz and the mic can be used with computers running Windows XP or Mac OS X without the need to install additional drivers. A red light on the mic shows that it is active all necessary power comes from the computer's USB buss. Overall, the frequency response extends from 40Hz to 18kHz (at -6dB, judging from the response curves given on the Blue web site), with a presence peak at 3kHz in cardioid mode and at around 10kHz in omni mode.
(The Ringer shockmount pictured here is an optional accessory.) Besides a USB port, the mic's only means of connection, there's a three-position switch at the rear which is used to switch between two cardioid-pattern modes (one with a -10dB pad and one without) and an omnidirectional mode. A threaded stand-adaptor is set into the base and a neat table-top tripod stand comes with the microphone, along with a USB cable for connection to a computer. Blue's USB offering comes in their now-familiar Ball format - blue, red and black varieties (the Ball, Kickball and 8-ball respectively) are already available - and because the newcomer is white, the name Snowball seems totally appropriate.Īs with the other ball mics in the range, the Snowball has a resin casing with wire-mesh grilles at front and rear. One notable feature of this year's Winter NAMM show was the number of different companies introducing the world's 'first serious USB microphone'. A multi-pattern mic that plugs straight into a computer.
0 kommentar(er)
