Description
What The Blue Snowflake Is
The Blue Snowflake is a small USB condenser microphone built around portability. Blue describes it as a portable high quality condenser microphone that captures audio at any location, using a precision tuned capsule with a digital converter and a custom onboard preamp. It is a single channel mono microphone, USB bus powered, and class compliant, which is the technical reason it works on Mac and PC without installing a driver.
The design is the interesting part. The microphone folds into a single compact case that also houses the USB cable, so the whole thing travels in a laptop bag or a pocket. Unfolded, the case works as a desktop stand or as a clip that hangs the microphone on a laptop screen. That makes it a different proposition from a desk mounted studio microphone such as the Rode NT2000, which needs a stand, an interface and phantom power.
What The Specification Says
The published audio figures are limited but useful. Audio sensitivity is listed at 30 dB, signal to noise ratio at 78 dB, and noise level at 15 dB. Number of channels is one, confirming mono capture. Power source is listed as USB, and the microphone form factor is described as microphone only, meaning no shock mount, no pop filter and no boom arm are included beyond the folding case.
What the listing does not state is just as relevant. There is no polar pattern named, so whether the capsule is cardioid or omni directional is not documented on this page. There is no frequency response range, no maximum sound pressure level and no sample rate or bit depth for the onboard converter. Anyone choosing a microphone on measured performance will not find enough here to do so, and should look at manufacturer documentation for the Snowflake specifically.
Intended Uses
Blue names the use cases directly: podcasting, calling over the web, narrating a home video, and sketching out a song idea while traveling. That is an honest framing. A single small diaphragm USB condenser with an onboard preamp is a step up from a laptop’s built in microphone and a step below a studio chain. For spoken word work at a desk it is well matched, and for a video call it is considerably better than a webcam microphone such as the one built into the Logitech C310.
Where It Sits Now
Context matters with this product. The listing gives a date first available of October 2001, which makes the Snowflake one of the oldest items in this catalog. USB microphones have moved a long way since then: current models in the same size and price bracket routinely publish polar patterns and frequency response, and many add a headphone jack for zero latency monitoring, a gain dial and a mute button. The Snowflake has none of those according to this listing.
Buyers comparing against current options should look at a modern USB condenser such as the ZealSound K66, which is aimed at the same desk and streaming use, or at a headset microphone if voice calls are the main task. Anyone building a desk audio setup around the microphone may also want speakers, and something compact like the Creative Pebble V3 keeps the footprint small. The full computer microphones category covers desk, boom and headset options side by side.
One practical note about USB condenser microphones in general applies here. Because the analog to digital conversion happens inside the microphone body, the sound card and preamp in the computer play no part, which removes a common source of noise on desktop machines. It also means the microphone cannot be improved later by adding a better interface, since the converter is fixed in the unit.
Highlights
- USB condenser microphone that folds into its own case.
- Case doubles as a desktop stand or a laptop screen clip.
- USB cable stores inside the case for travel.
- Plug and play on Mac and PC with no drivers.
- USB bus powered, so no external supply or phantom power.
- Onboard digital converter and custom preamp.
- Signal to noise ratio listed at 78 dB.
- Mono single channel capture.
Things To Consider
The specification table on this listing contains several fields that cannot be right for this product. It lists a RAM size of 64 MB and a voltage of 240 volts on a USB bus powered microphone, and it states that one lithium ion battery is required even though the same table lists the power source as USB and Blue describes the microphone as USB bus powered. Product dimensions of 6.5 by 4.4 by 2.5 inches and a weight of 8.8 ounces are far larger and heavier than an ultra compact folding microphone, so those figures almost certainly describe the retail package.
- No polar pattern is stated, so off axis rejection cannot be assessed from this page.
- No frequency response, maximum sound pressure level or converter specification is published.
- No headphone jack for monitoring, no gain control and no mute button are described.
- Mono only, so it cannot record stereo.
- The folding case is the only mounting option. There is no shock mount or pop filter.
- This is a long standing product first listed in 2001, so availability and support are worth checking.
- The battery, RAM and voltage fields in the specification table are not applicable.
Who Should Buy It And Who Should Not
The Snowflake suits someone who travels and wants better voice capture than a laptop microphone without carrying a stand, an arm or an interface. It is a reasonable choice for interviews on the road, for voice notes, for web calls from a hotel desk, and for rough recording of musical ideas. The folding case is the feature that earns its place, because it removes the two things that usually stop a microphone from traveling: fragility and bulk.
It is not the right microphone for a fixed streaming or podcasting setup, where a larger diaphragm, a documented polar pattern, a monitoring jack and a proper boom arm all matter. It is also the wrong choice for music recording beyond sketching ideas, and for anyone who needs stereo capture. Gaming and streaming buyers in particular should compare against a current desk microphone such as the Astro A40 TR microphone before deciding.
