O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: Accessory

  • REVIEW: Blue Microphone’s Snowball mic

    bluemic-snowball.gif

    The Snowball microphone (US$159) from Blue Microphones is a nice USB condenser microphone for recording podcasts or anything else, for that matter.
    Blue bills the Snowball as “the world’s first professional USB mic” and the sound quality bears that out. It’s dead simple to use, literally plug and play. There’s no software to install and it’s recognized immediately by Mac OS X. The Snowball also works out of the box with Windows.

    With its dual capsule design and unique three-pattern switch (cardioid, cardioid with -10dB pad and omni), the Snowball can handle everything from soft vocals to the loudest garage band — and it’s ideal for podcasting.

    I’ve been using the Snowball microphone to record the last six PowerPage podcasts (usually over Skype) and I’ve been suitably impressed with the sound quality. I don’t usually take the Snowball with me on the road because I prefer a more compact headset-based mic like the Plantronics DSP-400 (which I reviewed in 2005). The sound quality of the Snowball is far superior than the DSP-400.
    One tip: if you buy a Snowball, immediately download and install the firmware update from BlueMic.com for the best sound quality. To find out more check out Blue Microphone’s Snowball product page and FAQ. Although the Snowball lists for US$159 it’s available online from Guitar Center for US$99. Which is an excellent deal.

    (more…)

  • XtremeMac Tango: iPod Speaker System

    xtrememac-tango.jpg

    I’ve been using the XtremeMac Tango speaker system for the iPod (US$199) for about a week and it’s fantastic. Over the holiday it was really nice to be able to plug in my iPod and crank the Christmas tunes (Trans-Siberian Orchestra rocks, btw.) Then when it’s time to get down with some, you know boogie music, you can switch playlists and rock out.
    Tango is technically 2.1 speaker system featuring two forward facing 1-inch tweeters, two 2.5-inch mid-range speakers and a 4-inch downward-firing subwoofer. All of the five speakers have high quality neodymium-magnet drivers. Tango’s sound quality is excellent, vocals are clear and crisp and the subwoofer provides enough bass to rock most house parties. Stabilizer feet grip on most surfaces so that bass vibrations do not cause the unit to shift.
    My favorite feature, not found in other iPod speakers I have tested, is the wireless remote control. The remote allows you to adjust track, volume, bass and treble controls. The other nice feature in the Tango are the 3.5mm audio/video line in and out jacks. Many iPod speaker systems have an audio input, but not many have an output.
    Tango works with all dock connector iPod models and charges iPod while docked. It comes with three universal dock well inserts to accommodate the various iPod footprints and five international plug adapters (US, UK, EU, AUS, KOR/PPK).
    Speakers are a subjective thing and vary a lot depending on the type of music that you listen to. I recommend bringing your iPod into an Apple retail store and trying the Tango out for yourself. I think that you’ll be impressed.

    (more…)