Let's discuss the Blue Microphone's Yeti

[PierreL]

I should have maybe called it "USB Microphones VS Analogue microphones" Just purchased a Blue Yeti USB Mic(on the way). Plugs right in a USB port and is supposed to directly transfer/convert with amazing sound accuracy/quality/reproduction. There is even an earphone jack on the mike which eliminates latency. I am recording in a totally digital environment. I think this may be the answer to better digital recording quality. Most direct route, least noise interference, by-passing analog to digital gear altogether. Am I on the right track here or out to lunch? Does anybody have any experience with this or similar microphones? Any comments on sound quality difference between this method and a top end analogue microphone with top end pre-amp/converter? I just dont understand why I should stay with any analogue gear at all. I'ts all getting crunched into numbers at some point anyway right?
Pierre

 

[Richard Monroe]

The big issue is not whether we convert analog to digital. Of course we do. The question is where, how well, and what does it cost? When the signal comes off the diaphragm of that mic, or any other, it is an analog signal. Then somewhere, it is preamplified, and converted into a digital format, at some bit depth and resolution. Now I've got a TC Electronics M300, a $200 FX box, and it has an analog to digital converter in it, which works just fine. How would it compare to A-D converters by Lucid, Apogee, etc., costing several thousand dollars? It would be blown out of the water. The question is- is inside the microphone the best place to put the preamp and the A-D converter? I think not. Why? Because first, that means it has to be very small. This is good for portability, but we know that the smaller you make electronic devices, the more they cost for equivalent performance. With identical capabilities, a laptop costs more than a desktop.

OK, so what's the end of the line? What if we built a *really* good mic, with a *serious* miniaturized preamp and A-D converter in it? So here it is:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SolutionDM/

Oh, that's too expensive, we say. I can't take that on the road with my laptop. What if I drop it? So we make it more affordable:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TLM103Dig/

But it's still an $1800 mic! So we need to get cheaper...

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41780&Category=Microphones

That's about $20 cheaper than the Yeti.

But- what is the magic AD converter in these cheap puppies, anyway? Here it is:

http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=44712&Category=Audio_Interfaces

If I was considering the same route as you, I'd go that way. Why? Because then I would have a mic that I can plug into *anything*, *and* a cheap preamp/A-D converter. It allows you to pick from a much wider variety of mics, and provides you with a system that is much more flexible and versatile. In the end, building a preamp and an AD converter into a mic doesn't make sense, because you have to pay more to get less, while losing versatility for no good reason. It's not a new idea, and it's not a good one, either. -Richie