I don't necessarily agree that USB mics have to be horrible although maybe many of them are. Acoustic noise from the computer would be my major concern (fans, hard drives) with a USB mic tethered by a 6' or shorter cable.
But I don't think the converter would be a realistic limitation; most of the observed variation in converter performance is probably down to implementation of the analog circuit surrounding it, and in the case of a USB mic, the mic itself. I think the reality of the marketplace in the future is going to prefer USB solutions to the traditional phantom-powered XLR mics of the past. The latter works great for live sound but doesn't have much to do with the way people want to record now, which is on location with very portable gear. In 10 years all of the rack gear, PCs, workstation desks surrounded by dual LCDs, control surfaces, etc. will seem as archaic as a 3-track reel to reel deck.
Ask yourself this: which will make a better recording: a pair of KM84s into whatever sexy preamp you like into maybe a Lavry Gold, but all in an 8' x 11' bedroom; or the Yeti into a MacBook in a proper concert hall?
The truth is most of us would have killed to have technology like the Yeti 15 years ago, unless we were rich enough to afford what a comparable condenser mic would have cost at the time (
the Shure VP88 was what, $6-700 back then? And it still is, and I bet the Yeti might be as good)
My quibbles with the Yeti, not having tried it as I glean nobody else here has yet either:
- they don't have a proper specification, importantly they have not stated a noise spec.
- I'm a bit unclear on how the mic gain control works. They talk in the manual about using the Volume Control app to adjust mic volume, but that only works digitally as far as I am aware (the IC they are likely using does not provide an output for digital control of an analog circuit). The trouble with that is the mic's dynamic range might be greater than the resolution of the ADC--89dB for the ADC vs 96dB? more? for the mic. Therefore it is necessary to either provide an analog gain control or compromise noise performance on quiet sources.
- by their pictures, the stereo is realized as two cardioid capsules opposed 180 degrees. This is a suboptimal stereo mic technique; 90 degrees to 110 degrees would be preferred. The trouble is the high frequency response of a cardioid capsule at 90 degrees isn't spectacular, so that tends to create a hole in the center image (and will exaggerate room problems).
Anyway, someday USB systems will have fully arrived for professional recording, and even now may be adequate for hobbyist use and budgets. So we need to lose our bias against them . . .
