Logitech has boldly entered into a professional microphone class dominated by well-known manufacturers and comes out smelling like a rose: its Blue Sona hits each observe.
Contemplating what number of skilled content material creators there are, you’d count on the class {of professional} studio microphones can be an extremely crowded area. Flick thru a catalog of audio tools, and your suspicions would appear confirmed, because of a seemingly infinite record of dynamic XLR microphones for voice recording with costs starting from under $100 to across the $10,000 vary.
Oddly although, from the hundreds of accessible microphones, only some are thought-about so well-designed as to be ubiquitous. Peek into recording cubicles, soundstages, radio stations, and, extra lately, the units of YouTubers, and only a few mics stand out.
One of the vital venerable microphones is the Shure SM7B. This unassuming microphone was legendarily used to create Michael Jackson’s Thriller and lots of extra Grammy-winning albums. A stratospheric value may be anticipated from a mic that’s the favourite of audio professionals and has gained so many accolades, but it surely as an alternative prices an inexpensive $350.
Till now, Logitech has targeted its audio efforts on the identical streaming gaming section the place its mice and keyboards dominate. The corporate is wanting upstream, and the brand new Logitech Blue Sona may be seen as both an homage to the Shure SM7B or a conspicuously comparable product.
Both by way of inspiration or conspicuous replication, what Logitech has carried out with the Blue Sona is create a mic with properties almost equivalent to the Shure SM7B however noticeably simpler to get arrange. It succeeds, as in my exams of the Blue Sona proved to be an exceptionally easy-to-use and excellent-sounding microphone.
An XLR Dynamic Tremendous-Cardioid Microphone
The Blue Sona is an XLR dynamic super-cardioid microphone. A brilliant-cardioid microphone has a minimal space of sensitivity, making it very best for sounds coming from a particular course whereas equally excellent for rejecting sounds from different areas.
This restricted pickup space makes it an ideal selection for conditions the place a single individual or instrument must be recorded, with any off-axis (not in entrance of the mic) noise rejected.
In follow, any such microphone is right for conditions the place audio coming from something aside from the topic is undesirable. One such atmosphere is the everyday soundstage or YouTube recording studio, the place the mic can faithfully reproduce sounds from the first consumer however reject echoes, background noise, lawnmowers, and so on.
In audio phrases, this capabilities like a polarizer, a filter that permits solely gentle from a particular course to hit the sensor.
The Blue Sona is an XLR mic (the connector most popular by audio engineers) with a frequency response of 40 Herz to 18 KiloHerz, that works with both +24V or +48V phantom energy. (For the audio wonks, the mic has a sensitivity of 20.97 mV/Pa @ 1KHz, a THD+N of 0.06% at 1Khz, 94 dBSPL, a S/N ratio of 69.9 dB a-wt, and Max Spl of 129 dB SPL @ 1% THD and 138 dB SPL @ 5%
Design and Construct High quality
Whereas most microphones function with out ever being seen or observed by their viewers, YouTube and video podcasters have their mic entrance and middle within the body.
Logitech should have had this in thoughts when it designed the Blue Sona, because the microphone is a extra sculpted and barely extra buff mic than the Shure SM7B. Edges on the Blue Sona are rounded and clean on the whole thing of the all-metal mic and mic arm. Solely the adjustment knob is plastic.
Even the Logitech Blue Compass, the companion increase arm each the Blue Sona and for Logitech’s different gamer-and-lifestyle-centric creators, is clean, sculpted, and appears like a robotic arm in a complicated manufacturing plant of the long run.
Not like any rivals, Logitech gives the mic in a black or white end, with the white mannequin being significantly eye-catching. The corporate has acknowledged that many YouTubers make their mics part of the set, centering consideration round them almost as a lot as across the expertise.
Whereas I reviewed the black mannequin, I a lot most popular the look of the white Blue Sona, as there’s nothing prefer it on anybody’s channel. The black and white fashions include a black or a purple wind cowl, and I paired my black mic with the purple sock, and it seemed good however inferior to I feel the white would have seemed.
Sadly the Blue Compass arm comes solely in black, and whereas it’s not an enormous situation, I feel a microphone with a pronounced white shade design deserves an equally distinctive mic stand.
Logitech additionally opted for utilizing magnets, whereas different firms use friction or latches to carry issues in place. The microphone’s wind cowl has a small magnetic connector at its base, holding the cap firmly on the mic, and there’s a rear door utilizing magnets to carry a plate over a pair of switches.
These switches are the one bodily controls for the audio on the Blue Sona, with one being a high-pass filter management and the opposite being a toggle for Presence. Though these don’t want frequent entry, it’s good to have a quick and visibly clear solution to entry these controls.
In Use
The Shure SM7B has issues about its use which can be notable. The primary is that getting the sound dialed in is a bit finicky, and the second is that after it’s arrange appropriately, it gives the most effective audio in its class.
There are YouTube movies on organising the SM7B which can be dozens of minutes lengthy, and a number of other movies exist explaining why different movies have their setup procedures unsuitable. Even Shure’s supplies have content material debunking “myths” concerning the SM7B.
Logitech got down to make a microphone for the creator who has no need to indicate off a level in audio engineering. The Blue Sona works admirably when plugged in and fed acceptable phantom energy, and the 2 on-body switches are sufficient to tailor the sound to the wants of the vast majority of customers.
Essentially the most cumbersome a part of the setup was choosing which XLR to USB-C audio interface I needed to make use of to manage the Blue Sona enter. I went with a deck from M-Audio, although a brand new management from Elgato referred to as the Wave XLR might be a greater possibility for anybody seeking to do streaming or reside broadcasting. The Wave XLR makes use of the corporate’s proprietary software program to combine computer-generated appears like system and recreation audio into the identical stream because the microphone, balancing all of them out for excellent-sounding recreation streaming.
Sound
The Logitech Blue Sona sounds wonderful, even with out an EQ or soundboard. The Shure SM7B has a deeper tonality, however the Blue Sona out of the field sounds adequate to go straight into manufacturing.
Akin to RAW recordsdata from cameras, it’s doable to take any high quality mic and tweak it to sound precisely as you’d like, and the Blue Sona is adaptable to a variety of EQ adjustments and audio results; I spent a day messing round with audio presets in Remaining Reduce Professional and GarageBand and might even now make a really correct Basic Grevious impression.
There isn’t a noise flooring on the Blue Sona that I can detect, and in any respect however the highest enter acquire, there’s no audible noise within the audio stream. I normally hold the mic inside six inches or so of my mouth. Nonetheless, with my exams for the video evaluate above, I discovered I might hold the Blue Sona as much as three toes away and, with out adjusting acquire, improve the degrees sufficient for useable audio with out clipping or introducing harsh background noise.
This may enable me to make use of the Blue Sona on a extra prolonged increase arm in pictures the place I don’t desire a microphone within the body however desire a backup or probably a main audio supply.
My main studio mic is a RODE Wi-fi Go II lav microphone, which I take advantage of for numerous causes, however primarily as a result of it’s rather more versatile than a corded mic — I can transfer round throughout my recordings and never fear if I’ve strayed too removed from the candy spot on a increase mic. I additionally just like the Wi-fi Go II because it gives a superb impartial audio supply, which doesn’t want a whole lot of post-production work to get dialed in.
My studio continues to be primarily not sound-treated, so there’s a very good quantity of echo, and the Wi-fi Go II, being mounted near my physique, does a very good job rejecting most space echo. Nonetheless, the Blue Sona does an excellent higher job, regardless of being open to the room.
One factor the Wi-fi Go II does that the Blue Sona doesn’t do is deal with plosives effectively. The Blue Sona suffers from some points with plosive sounds, though primarily when the mic is shut. Including an additional inch to the mic distance and choosing up the degrees in software program on an EQ board can resolve this. Nonetheless, it’s arduous to know if one is way sufficient from the mic to be experiencing popping with out having the ability to put on headphones throughout recording, one thing most YouTubers can’t do.
A plosive display screen — in any other case generally known as a pop filter — eliminates this situation, as does transferring the mic again a bit, however you should definitely get the acquire low sufficient that no hiss or noise is launched to get better that distance.
Hitting Each Observe
For those who’re a creator — particularly a YouTube creator, streamer, or podcaster — the Logitech Blue Sona is almost unimaginable to beat when you think about its value, design, and efficiency. It has the advantage of being barely higher wanting on-camera than the extraordinarily common Shure SM7B, with nearly equivalent efficiency. It’s a terrific mic.
Are There Options
As talked about beforehand, the Shure SM7B is the closest, and for some would be the better option in comparison with the Blue Sona. You would additionally think about the extremely-popular RODE NT1, a large-diaphragm condenser mic with a much less comparable design to the Blue Sona than the SM7B. The NT1 does get pleasure from being inexpensive than the Shure or the Logitech, but it surely requires a distinct setup as effectively. Another choice, if you happen to don’t wish to take care of XLR, is the RODE NT-USB+.
Ought to You Purchase It?
Sure, so long as you don’t already personal a Shure SM7B. The Logitech Blue Sona is nearly as good because the Shure, not higher, and the 2 units are so comparable sounding as to make it a poor selection to interchange a functioning Shure mic.
Disclaimer: David Schloss was previously answerable for media relations for Sony’s Alpha Public Relations company. Whereas this makes him extra conversant in the system, his opinions are his personal, are backed by PetaPixel’s editorial crew, and should not swayed both for or in opposition to the corporate. Earlier to his time with Sony, Schloss racked up extra 20 years of journalistic expertise and he takes his integrity critically.
