Already a well-known brand for high-quality audio, Blue Microphone has announced the new Yeti X – a mid-range powerhouse in their line-up. Sitting between the $130 Yeti and the $250 Yeti Pro, the Yeti X is priced at $170. With Blue’s legendary audio quality, the Yeti X adds some great features like a four-capsule condenser array, an LED ring for monitoring input levels and adjusting inputs and output levels and Blue VOICE support to dial in a professional sound quickly. Check out the video below.
Differences from Yeti
Featuring a similar design as the other Yeti microphones, the Yeti X is a stylish USB microphone that will sit on a desk with the included substantial duty base or can be mounted on a stand. One significant difference that isn’t apparent on the outside of the microphone is the use of a four-capsule condenser array instead of the triple capsule array found in the Yeti.
Physical Controls/Design
Blue is known for a simple – elegant design as much as its sound quality. On the front of the Yeti X, we find the multi-purpose button/dial as well as LED indicators. The dial can be depressed to mute/unmute and rotated to adjust a variety of settings – gain, headphone volume, and microphone audio vs. computer audio. With the 3.5mm output, if you want to monitor the sound coming through the microphone, you can use the dial to adjust exactly how much you want to hear.
Blue Yeti X: Video
Around the dial is a ring of LED lights that changes colors based on the function being adjusted. The primary adjustment is input gain. Then, if the button is depressed for two seconds, the LEDs change color, and the headphone volume is adjusted. Once again, if the button is depressed for two more seconds, this brings up the adjustment for microphone audio vs. computer audio. Every setting has different colors built-in and icons underneath to signify what is being adjusted.
Within the Blue Voice app, these colors can be adjusted to fit any color scheme. On the back of the microphone, we have a button selector for the four different polar patterns which are cardioid, omni, stereo and bidirectional
Blue Voice
Geared at gamers, streamers or casters who want professional audio, Blue is building support for the Yeti X within the Blue VOICE app – found inside of the Logitech G Hub. Blue has created quite a few presets into the Voice app and makes it easy to hear how they affect your voice. The first step is to set your input gain and then record a voice sample. Once the sample is recorded, you can enable the Blue Voice, which opens up a large selection of effects. With filters like noise reduction, expander/gate, and compressor, it’s quick and easy to get a professional sound out of your microphone. As you play the sample and adjust settings, you get real-time playback of what the sample sounds like with those settings.
To make things faster, Blue Voice features some presets for different types of sounds. Sure, you may not need the AM Radio or Classic Radio Voice, but settings like Broadcaster 1 and 2 and High Voice – Loud / Soft provide an excellent starting point for dialing in an even more professional sound.
Within Blue Voice, you can also adjust color settings across the entire Yeti X. Custom colors can be set for the Button, LED lights around the button in all different adjustment modes, and the four polar pattern buttons on the back. If you have a color scheme for your stream – you can easily match it.
Blue Voice support for the Yeti X is currently in Beta, but should be released when the Yeti X is available to the public. Likewise, it is now only available on Windows but should be available for macOS upon release.
How does it sound?
Blue has built a name for itself with sound quality, and the Yeti X continues that tradition. It gives a very natural, professional sound, but beyond that, the inclusion of Blue Voice support makes it easy to dial in a different tone. If you’re setting up a stream or podcast and need something that can quickly and efficiently deliver a professional sound – the Yeti X will be a great addition to your setup. It feels a little more universal than something aimed more directly at streamers like the HyperX Quadcast we reviewed earlier this year. There is a good chance you’ll be seeing and hearing a lot more of the Yeti X in upcoming video reviews.
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