Have you heard of the Blue Yeti or the Blue Snowball? If you're into content creation or podcasting or something, chances are good you have. It's a famous, easy-to-use, USB-powered condenser mic that has been very popular the last few years. Well, did you know Blue also makes an XLR mic? It's called the Blue Ember, and it has dropped in price for the first time ever. Get the Ember for just $85 at Amazon today.
The XLR connection makes the Ember great for people who want to use audio mixers, interfaces, and generally just want to improve the quality of their audio. Uses a precise cardioid pattern that helps focus sounds and has a wide frequency response.
So what's the difference between XLR and USB? Well, in the simplest of terms USB is generally easier. When a mic like the Blue Yeti is USB powered, you can just plug it into your USB port and get talking. There's usually a few controls, a few sound patterns, some gain adjustment, and that's about it. You get an XLR-powered mic when you want to step up your game a bit. These are the mics that work with audio interfaces like the Focusrite Scarlett Solo and other mixers and pieces of hardware. You get to adjust everything down to the tiniest detail and get the best possible sound quality.
The Ember does still use a condenser capsule, which means it will capture your voice and other sounds with a lot of depth and a lot of clarity. It's very accurate and works well whether you're recording music, gaming, or streaming live video.
The cardioid pattern it uses is designed to pick up noise in front while not picking up noise behind, giving your voice priority and making other sounds like your keyboard or ambient noise in your room less prominent. The design of the mic provides consistent phantom power to your capsule, which means you get a wide frequency response.
