That's not the Yeti Pro you're looking for. It's USB-only.

A Yeti Pro looks like this:
http://www.sweetwater.com/images/closeup/xl/1600-YetiPro_detail5.jpg

joetvwoot wrote:That's not the Yeti Pro you're looking for. It's USB-only.

A Yeti Pro looks like this:
http://www.sweetwater.com/images/closeup/xl/1600-YetiPro_detail5.jpg

Took me a bit to figure out what you meant, but it looks like you're right: that picture doesn't have any XLR interface on the back. Too bad. I was thinking about getting one but I'd rather use XLR than USB.

So this is actually just a Yeti, not a Yeti Pro? Edit: If it is, Amazon has it for ten bucks less.

Umm, snowball considerably cheaper on both Amazon and Buy.com...

The photo is a yeti the description is for a pro? Which is it?

Specs (e.g. USB/XLR, 24 bit/192 kHz) match the Pro, confounding the matter further.

Though it's USB only, the Yeti (non-pro) is a seriously awesome mic. I have both a Blue Snowball and a M-Audio Producer USB mic. Both are good, and lately I've been using the M-Audio in cardioid most often and bringing out the Snowball only as a backup device. My main use is recording voiceover audio for a company webcast. Last year, my office bought a Yeti for Skype purposes, mainly for media interviews, and last month I got a chance to use the Yeti myself to record the intro for a podcast. Absolutely blew both the Snowball and the M-Audio Producer mics away in terms of quality and ease of use. I've also seen the Yeti in action for Skype and videoconferencing purposes, and both the directional and omni patterns work better than I'd expect for a USB mic at its price point. For one event, we set it up in the middle of a large conference room with 15-plus people ranging from 7 to 18 feet from the Yeti, speaking in multiple languages, and the sound quality was on par with a standard radio remote interview.

Since the M-Audio and Snowball mics I already have are adequate, if not quite as good as the Yeti, I've held off on paying the $120-$130 going price for a Yeti, but at $99 I think I probably have to jump on this. Not just for recording podcast voiceover, which the M-Audio mic does perfectly well (and the Snowball does almost as well), but for recording acoustic ukulele now that I'm learning an instrument.

The only caveat is that the Yeti's stand makes it neatly impossible to mount a decent pop filter without drilling into the stand. If your particular kind of recording requires the use of a pop filter, then there are probably better USB mics on the market for you. If you can do without a pop filter, then the Yeti is probably the best value on the market at this price.

Agnew wrote:This offer is for the non-pro version of the Yeti. The specs have been updated with the correct information.

As of Nov 23, 2:44 am, the specs have _NOT_ been updated properly. The Pro version's specs are still shown, not this mic's specs.

"The Yeti has a sample rate of 48 kHz, whereas the Yeti Pro has a 192 kHz sample rate. The bit rates are 16 bits for the Yeti and 24 bits for the Yeti Pro." [Source: http://podcast-software-review.toptenreviews.com/yeti-microphone.html]

The two are not the same. This is false advertising!

If I want to record a speaker (with their permission) could I just plug any one of these mics into the usb port on my laptop and record the lecture directly to the hard drive of the laptop with no other equipment, software, etc?

queenangelfish wrote:If I want to record a speaker (with their permission) could I just plug any one of these mics into the usb port on my laptop and record the lecture directly to the hard drive of the laptop with no other equipment, software, etc?

You'd have to be James Bond to use this to secretly record someone. It's a large microphone.

That said, I use these for presentation recording at work and the sound quality is excellent.

arrScott wrote:
I've held off on paying the $120-$130 going price for a Yeti, but at $99 I think I probably have to jump on this.

You may jump, but Amazon has this for $82.10 and "free" shipping with Prime. That is for the silver edition - like the one here. The newer, platinum edition is $13 more. (Same specs)

ghyo1 wrote:You may jump, but Amazon has this for $82.10 and "free" shipping with Prime. That is for the silver edition - like the one here. The newer, platinum edition is $13 more. (Same specs)

Aw, geez: It was just a few weeks ago that I checked this mic out on Amazon and saw it above $120. That's what I get for not re-checking before ordering!

Yeti USB -$82.10 on Amazon, $99.00 on woot
Tiki -$42.25 on Amazon, $49.00 on woot
Snowball iCE - $69.99 on Amazon, $55.00 on woot(though there's no difference between the regular snowballs from what I can see...)
Snowball Black - $43.00 on Amazon, $69.00 on woot
Icicle - $40.78 on Amazon, $39.00 on woot

And you don't have to pay shipping if you've got Prime on Amazon. Try again woot.

need4mospd wrote:
Snowball iCE - $69.99 on Amazon, $55.00 on woot(though there's no difference between the regular snowballs from what I can see...)

Appears that Snowball iCE has only one cardioid condenser, whereas the regular Snowball (such as the black one here) has both cardioid and omni condensers. Note the 3-position switch on the back of the black Snowball, which appears to be absent on the iCE.

arrScott wrote:Aw, geez: It was just a few weeks ago that I checked this mic out on Amazon and saw it above $120. That's what I get for not re-checking before ordering!

This was a Daily Deal on Amazon two weeks ago. I bought the Platinum Edition (new as of Oct. 1) for $79.99, shipped "free" with Prime, but taxed in Texas-for a total of $86.59.

queenangelfish wrote:If I want to record a speaker (with their permission) could I just plug any one of these mics into the usb port on my laptop and record the lecture directly to the hard drive of the laptop with no other equipment, software, etc?

You need recording software (there are both free and for-pay ones) and you need to make sure your laptop can handle it. Most today can, but you might want to defragment your hard drive to make it easier.

Try recording in mono to save space and you may not need "CD quality" to save even more space. Try a test session of something not critical first to make sure that part of your recordings are not dropped.

Hint: there are some very nice, small Sony recorders (some taking microSD cards) that will do the job real well and cost (on sale) about 40 bucks.

Years ago, I did an audio tutorial book (cassette!) called "Exploring Music & Sound On Your PC!"

While it was (just) before MP3 got big, a lot of info on sampling rates, good and bad mics and MIDI and MOD was useful. I'm thinking of releasing it as a creative commons audio file. Not sure where to place it to get it out there.

Although one of the posts mentioned "CD quality" and/or "podcast quality" in terms of this mic, I'm looking for something that is truly "broadcast quality." i.e., a mic that can plug into my computer and I record voice tracks that are good enough quality to play over a radio station on the air.

Does anyone have experience using this mic for that purpose?

Thanks!

stegyfrany wrote:Although one of the posts mentioned "CD quality" and/or "podcast quality" in terms of this mic, I'm looking for something that is truly "broadcast quality." i.e., a mic that can plug into my computer and I record voice tracks that are good enough quality to play over a radio station on the air.

Does anyone have experience using this mic for that purpose?

Thanks!

I used the Snowball to record some product demonstrations for work (via Adobe CS6) and was impressed enough to buy the Yeti for future projects. I found it to be as warm and cuddly as some of the cardioid microphones I used back in my radio days.

stegyfrany wrote:Although one of the posts mentioned "CD quality" and/or "podcast quality" in terms of this mic, I'm looking for something that is truly "broadcast quality." i.e., a mic that can plug into my computer and I record voice tracks that are good enough quality to play over a radio station on the air.

Does anyone have experience using this mic for that purpose?

Thanks!

My dad was a broadcaster and general audio geek, and I inherited some of his standards from growing up around a radio station. To my mind, a podcast is a broadcast, and the quality should be as high. (Though for file size purposes I'm willing to step spoken-word podcasts down to 64kbps, which reduces quality from modern FM to transistor AM, but that's postproduction, not a mic quality issue.)

Anyway, point is that the Yeti meets what I would regard as a broadcast-quality standard, and in fact the Yeti my office has is used mainly for remote media interviews with national TV networks.

What I can't vouch for is the Yeti's quality with music, not just spoken-word. I know a couple of people who use the Snowball (original, equivalent to the black model here, not the iCE) to record ukulele playing with good results. A couple of Yeti reviews on YouTube that match my own experience with it:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=oMeJUlKm8Os

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=ua6FQhI4uCs

arrScott wrote:I have both a Blue Snowball and a M-Audio Producer USB mic. Both are good, and lately I've been using the M-Audio in cardioid most often and bringing out the Snowball only as a backup device....

Not just for recording podcast voiceover, which the M-Audio mic does perfectly well (and the Snowball does almost as well)

How do you have your M-Audio Producer configured? I have one, and borrow a Snowball from work, and have consistently gotten superior results from the Snowball. I know the M-Audio should be much closer in quality. It seems to be extremely quiet, even when boosted. Any tips (I am using Windows)?

I use them for training video voiceovers, and have been eyeing the Yeti for a while. But, I'm loath to spend money if not needed.

I see the Blue Icicles are sold out. Smart, very smart. I have two and use them professionally with a variety of XLR mics.

General comment: I've been broadcasting since the early 80's and have a somewhat deep, warm voice that has been described as "reassuring." So I do a lot of institutional work as opposed to car dealerships, stores, etc.

Not every mic works the same for every one. For example, the classic Electro-Voice used all over does not work for me as well as some hand-held mics. A cheap (under $100) Chinese Neumann rip-off makes me sound great!

You would be advised to try to test your voice with any mic before buying.

This is my introduction to woot.com. Google Play recommends the app, I come to the site to check it out. I am immediately bothered by how visually cluttered the front page first seems. (trust me this isn't a hate-on-woot post) I see the 'tech!' section an decent to at least look there before leaving the site. That's when it happened. Right there on the page was the microphone I bought a short 1-2 weeks ago and now love! Wait, for HOW MUCH? $50 less than I spent.

So, I signed up for an account! :-)

axehandle wrote:How do you have your M-Audio Producer configured? I have one, and borrow a Snowball from work, and have consistently gotten superior results from the Snowball. I know the M-Audio should be much closer in quality. It seems to be extremely quiet, even when boosted. Any tips (I am using Windows)?

I use them for training video voiceovers, and have been eyeing the Yeti for a while. But, I'm loath to spend money if not needed.

The M-Audio gives me a naturally warmer sound, though (A) My office has pretty harsh echoes and (B) The M-Audio is much softer on pickup and needs the gain boosted a bit. I think B is why th M-Audio gives me better results - the Snowball picks up more of the room noise than the M-Audio.

But to answer your question, I used to use Audio Hijack Pro on a Mac for all recording, and had a nice set of filters set up to make recording nearly perfect on either mic with little to no need for postproduction other than cutting segments together. Since my office switched to PCs, I'm recording straight to Audacity with no on-input filters other an adjusting gain, and then usually passing the audio through both hi-pass and lo-pass filters, noise reduction, and equalization.

I would not be surprised if the Snowball actually performed better in a less harsh sound environment, and the omni setting is certainly better from trying to capture multi-voice sound such as conversations than the M-Audio's single cardioid pattern.

Anyway, the Yeti on cardioid in an almost identical echoey office produced even better sound quality than the M-Audio for me. Very forgiving despite feeling more sensitive. Not sure how that works, but that's why I went in for the Yeti.

I have a very low, like Garrison Keillor low, voice, for what it's worth.

These mikes are awesome...I am a music producer/studio owner and love all their products...but they are CHEAPER on Amazon !!!

Great deal for an amazing microphone. I host two podcasts and already use two of these mic and the audio is nothing short of professional. $50 off is a good deal and anyone on the fence for this deal needs to pull the trigger.

I record everything from music - both studio and live... analog and digital to straight forward speech/ vocals and have used the Snowball Black for open-air recordings in every environment I can think of. Each time I've consistently captured nothing short of professional quality audio. The ability to customize the Polarity to the situation all in the same mic is phenomenal. Plus being able to carry a single mic and a laptop makes it ideal for recording audio on the fly, spur of the moment jam sessions or snagging the random audio sample of (if I'm lie'n I'm die'n) a bum on his soapbox touting how runt puppies are bringing about the end times. IMHO: Your money would be well spent.

I got the Yeti on here when it was $79 and it was well worth the money. To be honest It is worth $99 (but I'd be too poor to indulge at that price). The sound quality is fantastic.