Blue Icicle XLR to USB Mic Converter
November 7, 2008
I recently talked about the Blue Snowball USB desktop microphone I use for my eLearning narration work. Despite the explosion of consumer desktop PC audio recording and podcasting in recent years, the selection of good USB microphones is still inexplicably limited. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just plug an XLR mic into some kind of magic dongle to give it USB connectivity without needing a breakout box or mixer cluttering up your desktop? Yes it would. And Blue agrees. Hence their new Icicle inline USB converter and preamp for XLR mics. Hooray!
The Icicle is scheduled to debut next month for around $60. Now maybe I can check out some pro-level headset mics as I haven’t been thrilled with the USB headset mics I’ve tried thus far (which seem geared mainly for casual gaming and Skype/VOIP and not studio-quality audio recording).
Also of interest: a brief how-to video on Blue’s website demonstrating the use of the Blue Snowball for podcasting (thus, eLearning narration recording). They’re using GarageBand, which is what I use for my narration work (I hope to post a brief tutorial on my GarageBand workflow in the near future). Worth a watch.
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November 11th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Chris,
The Icicle looks promising. Another device along the same lines is the CEntrance Micport Pro. A lot of narrators, including myself, are using it. It’s great for use on the road. On the other hand, it more than twice the price. But quality wise, both in build and sound output, it is excellent.
Steve
November 11th, 2008 at 7:18 am
Let me correct the link; CEntrance Micport Pro.
Steve
November 11th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Thanks for the info, Steve, I’ll have to check that one out too. Which XLR-based mic would you recommend for narration recording? And do you know of any really good headset XLR mics?
November 12th, 2008 at 7:56 am
In the under $100 category, the CAD GXL2400 is a decent mic. Another popular mic is the AKG Perception 100. It really depends on budget and use. I use a Neumann TLM103. All of those are condenser mics and extremely sensitiive. They need an external power source call Phantom Power (48 volts), usually available through the mic preamp, such as the Micport Pro.
Then there are dynamic mics. They don’t need a power source, but require more gain or volume. They are less sensitive and will usually pick up less background noise. Shure makes a couple of good ones. They are the SM57 and SM58, both around $100. The big three dynamic mics in commercial broadcasting are the Sennheiser MD421, the Shure SM7b, and the Electro Voice RE20. They run between $300-$400.
As for headsets, no suggestions, there.
December 25th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
The Icicle looks very interesting, I wonder how its performance will compare to something like the Edirol UA25EX which performs the same function but with 2 inputs, and has verious other controls. I have been investigating for using with camera mics for location sound to avoid DAT recorders and even more mics!! . I already have the Macbook Pro for downloading video on location, so using the same system for location sound, ambient, wildlife or VO would be a great advantage. What I don’t know is the quality. If I am going to overaly onto video for screening, its gotta be crash hot.
Has anyone seen any reviews or comparisons yet???