Audio review
Blue Yeti Review: The Stand Is the Problem
Two reviewers independently found it picking up the desk it sits on. The microphone is good, the included stand is what stops it sounding professional.
By Paulo GerchonPublished 2 min read
Illustration, not a photo — we don’t have a licensed image of this product yet.
Blue
Blue Yeti
Good · researched from 3 sources
As a first proper microphone this is still the easy recommendation, and the four patterns cover situations most USB microphones cannot. Budget for a boom arm on day one, because the stand it comes with is the single biggest thing holding the sound back.
- Buy if
- Podcasting, streaming and voiceover on a desk · Two-person interviews, using the figure-of-eight pattern · Anyone who wants a microphone with no interface and no phantom power
- Skip if
- Untreated noisy rooms, where it will capture all of it · Anyone who wants a warm rather than clinical sound · Use on the supplied stand without something under it
We don’t list prices, because Amazon’s change hourly.
The thing in the box that ruins it
The Tech Reviewer found the supplied weighted stand transmitting desk vibration directly into the microphone. Typing, a mug going down, a knee against the desk: all of it arrives in the recording.
Home Studio Basics, from the other direction, reports the microphone picking up quite a bit of background noise and sounding less professional than a true studio condenser as a result.
Between the two, the diagnosis is the same. This is a sensitive microphone bolted rigidly to the noisiest object in the room.
There is a threaded socket on the bottom. The Tech Reviewer's fix is a separate stand or boom arm for around $25, and it is the single largest improvement available to a Yeti owner.
Four patterns, four different microphones
Most USB microphones offer one pickup pattern. This has four, and Podcastage's measurements show they are not just filtered versions of each other. Each has its own frequency range: cardioid 150 Hz to 15 kHz, omnidirectional 180 Hz to 20 kHz, bidirectional 100 Hz to 15 kHz, stereo 80 Hz to 15 kHz.
Cardioid for one person. Figure-of-eight for two across a table. Omnidirectional for a room. Stereo for space.
Podcastage reports each behaving exactly as expected, which is the important part. Pattern switches on cheap microphones frequently do not.
The sound, described honestly
Home Studio Basics: incredibly clear, clean, and somewhat sterile or cold, with plenty of air. Professional-sounding and detached.
The Tech Reviewer: crisp in cardioid, and vastly better than a laptop or webcam microphone.
Podcastage: sounds great, suits interviews, music and voiceover alike.
Nobody uses the word warm. If you want a voice that sounds rich and close, this is not the microphone that gives it to you; it is the one that captures exactly what arrives.
Specifications worth knowing
48 kHz, 16-bit, per The Tech Reviewer. That is a step below the 24-bit depth newer USB microphones offer, and it matters less than the number suggests for spoken word, where careful gain staging does the job that extra bit depth otherwise would.
Home Studio Basics' practical advice is to keep the gain around half and err quieter, because level can be raised afterwards and clipping cannot be undone.
The build, and the two things everyone complains about
An all-metal body that Home Studio Basics calls rock solid, with serious weight to it at 1.2 pounds, or 2.2 with the stand.
The knobs are the exception. Podcastage finds the gain and volume controls wobbly and loose; The Tech Reviewer calls them cheap plastic lacking smooth operation. Both agree the mute button and the pattern selector feel solid.
And Home Studio Basics raises the stand again, this time as an assembly problem: around ten washers and bushings hold it together, which they describe as a real chore to put back once taken apart.
How it scored
The overall 8.1 is the weighted average of these five criteria — we never adjust it by hand.
Sound quality
Home Studio Basics describes an incredibly clear, clean presentation with plenty of air, while calling it sterile and cold. The Tech Reviewer found voiceover recordings crisp in cardioid.
Value
Podcastage calls it one of the best options at around a hundred dollars for anyone without outboard gear. Home Studio Basics scored it 4.92 out of 5.
Build quality
An all-metal body that Home Studio Basics calls rock solid. Both Podcastage and The Tech Reviewer criticise the knobs as loose or cheap plastic.
Ease of use
Genuinely plug and play over USB, with a gain knob and a mute button on the body and four polar patterns selectable from a dial.
Noise rejection
Home Studio Basics says it picks up a good deal of background noise, and The Tech Reviewer reports the supplied stand transmitting desk vibration into recordings.
Pros and cons
What we liked
- Four polar patterns covering solo, two-person, room and stereo recording
- Plug and play over USB with no interface or phantom power needed
- An all-metal body that Home Studio Basics calls rock solid
- A gain knob and a physical mute button on the microphone itself
- Home Studio Basics scored it 4.92 out of 5 and cites a proven track record for longevity
- A threaded mount underneath, so it can go on a proper boom arm
What we didn’t
- The Tech Reviewer found the supplied stand transmitting desk vibration into recordings
- Home Studio Basics says it picks up quite a bit of background noise
- Home Studio Basics describes the sound as cold and somewhat hollow
- Podcastage and The Tech Reviewer both criticise the knobs, loose or cheap plastic
- Maximum resolution is 48 kHz and 16-bit
- Home Studio Basics calls the stand reassembly, with around ten washers, a real chore
Specifications
| Connection | USB, no interface or phantom power needed |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 48 kHz, 16-bit per The Tech Reviewer |
| Patterns | Cardioid, omnidirectional, bidirectional and stereo |
| Pattern response | Cardioid 150 Hz to 15 kHz, omni 180 Hz to 20 kHz, bidirectional 100 Hz to 15 kHz, stereo 80 Hz to 15 kHz per Podcastage |
| Controls | Gain knob, mute button, headphone volume and pattern selector |
| Body | All metal |
| Weight | 1.2 lb, or 2.2 lb with the stand, per Home Studio Basics |
| Mounting | Threaded socket underneath for a boom arm |
| Monitoring | Headphone output with zero latency |
How we researched this
We have not had this unit on the bench. This review synthesises the manufacturer’s published specifications, independent measurements and owner reports listed below. Every figure on this page comes from one of those sources rather than our own measurement.
3
sources reviewed
Podcastage supplies the per-pattern frequency response figures, the build assessment and the criticism of the knobs. Home Studio Basics supplies the sound characterisation, the weight, the background noise finding, the positioning advice and the stand assembly complaint, and scored it 4.92 out of 5. The Tech Reviewer supplies the recording resolution, the desk vibration finding and the boom arm recommendation. This review covers the standard Blue Yeti rather than the Nano or the Yeti X, which differ in controls and resolution. None of the three published measured self-noise figures, so none are claimed here.
What we read
Common questions
Why does my Blue Yeti pick up so much background noise?
What are the four patterns actually for?
How does it sound?
What resolution does it record at?
What is annoying about it day to day?
The bottom line on the Blue Yeti
As a first proper microphone this is still the easy recommendation, and the four patterns cover situations most USB microphones cannot. Budget for a boom arm on day one, because the stand it comes with is the single biggest thing holding the sound back.
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