Blue Snowball vs Blue Snowball Ice – Pros & Cons

Blue Microphones , AKA Blue , is a company owned by  Logitech that specializes in making microphones of different sizes and at different prices. Many of these microphone models give out excellent sound quality and are inexpensive for the features they offer.

Two such mic models that fit the above description are Snowball and Blue Snowball Ice. Since the name suggests, those two models are subsequent versions in the same series. Yet, they come with many differences.

In this article, we will go through the top features of both these mics in depth. In addition, we will compare those two models to understand which is better, so you may make the proper buying choice.

Snowball vs Blue  Snowball Ice – Pros & Cons

Comparing two mic models across different attributes is very important to get an understanding of which model scores better by which area. Generally, each of us has our own preferences in regards to style, features, and performance.

A few of us want the best-looking mics, even though they don’t really have all of the available features, while for others, sound quality will undoubtedly be a significant attribute.

This is why we’ve compared these mic models against different parameters, so you can pick the model that best fits your preferences.

1. Design and Build Quality

Snowball and Blue  Snowball Ice look similar in lots of ways.

Both these mics appear to be a snowball , especially the white ones, and this really is probably why Blue thought of this name. They’re round and are attached to a stand that appears like a tiny tripod. They have a huge logo of “Blue” on the front. In lots of ways, they have an old-school vintage look that takes you in time to the 1960s.

Whenever you look at these mics for the first time, they appear to be they are made of metal. But a deeper look will show which they are made of plastic and not metal. The plastic seems to be of top quality though, so you can expect the build to be of decent quality.

The tripod why these mics sit on is certainly not the very best in the world. They have a tendency to fall over a whole lot because the center of gravity is always pushed out generally in most positions.

In order to avoid your mic from falling over, you’ve to push the legs of the tripod entirely down, and you need to make certain that you never touch it. Even small movements can knock down the mic.

One good aspect though is that tripods have rubber grips at the bottom of every leg to provide them a good measure of stability. So, in the event that you leave the mic since it is, it will undoubtedly be safe and won’t fall over. But if something brushes it even by mistake, it’ll topple over.

The stability of the mic is not good at all. Until you really pull the legs of the tripod, these mics topple over. And that’s because the center of gravity for this shape is low only when the legs are actually pulled down low. Otherwise, it is sure to fall over.

Also read: Blue Snowball Microphone Drivers

As a consumer, this is a big disadvantage because you’ve to either support the mic in your hand or another option is always to bend down small while talking into the mic as the legs are low to ensure that the mic does not fall over.

Both these options are not necessarily comfortable and may cause many inconveniences for you, particularly if you want to use them for extended periods of time.

So, from a simplicity viewpoint, the design does have no positive impact on you.

But if you look at the design by itself, it’s sleek and nice. The entire size is all about the size of a softball, meaning it’s neither too large nor too small. The leading of the device features a nice finish to it.

Particularly, the retro grill is a superb idea. This grill resembles what you would find in a sports car. The LED light adds a touch of style to it. When this light glow, you know you’re mic is up and running.

The presence of the logo right at the front of the mic causes it to be look great too. The font and the size are perfect.

Another cool aspect is picking a colors. Snowball is available in six different colors, namely, white, bright orange, brushed aluminum, electric blue , gloss black, and neon green.

Each one of these colors looks nice and bright, so you’ve some choices on what colors to choose for your mic. Snowball Ice , though comes only in two standard colors, namely, black and white.

Overall, we’ve a mixed opinion as it pertains to design. Just from the look’s perspective, these microphones look good with their retro design and even their multitude of colors.

The build is of decent quality, though Blue might have considered using higher quality materials to offer a more sturdy turn to these mics. But from a functionality perspective, these mics are not even close to comfortable. The tripod design, particularly makes these mics unstable.

While there is no difference at all in the style of both these mics, you are able to choose either of both, and nothing will change. But if you prefer to have a colorful mic in your desk, select Snowball , as you have more options here when comparing to Snowball Ice.

There is also no question of which of these mics is better with regards to design because they are almost identical with little to no difference.

2. Performance

Blue comprises for the possible lack of good design with excellent performance. The sound quality in both these mics is truly amazing and is one of the finest in comparison to other mics in exactly the same price range.

Snowball and Snowball Ice sound great across a complete array of frequencies. What this means is you don’t necessarily have to be very near the microphone until you speak very softly. The average distance of three to seven inches is sufficient to have good sound quality.

What this means is you don’t really have to bend down so much to talk in to the mic. Just ensure that your input is significantly less than seven inches distance from your mic.

These mics are well suited for many areas, ranging from Skype calls to creating your own personal podcast. In reality, the sound quality of these two mics is indeed amazing that they’re ideal to make use of for YouTube videos too.

So, which of both mics is good with regards to performance. Both. We really like the sound quality and performance, and there is almost nothing to complain about.

You can make either of these two mics and rest assured that you’ll get excellent sound quality. Because the difference between these two mics with regards to sound quality is not that great, we’ve two winners here.

3. Features

So far we’ve seen that there are made changes in the style and sound performance of both Snowball and Snowball Ice.

Moving forward to features, this is where we’ll see some differences.

To begin with, if you look at your mic from the front, you’ll know that they’re the same. But when you reverse, you’ll see a difference.

The standard Snowball version posseses an additional switch that is not present in Snowball Ice. This switch is used to improve polar patterns.

To inform you briefly, polar patterns describe the sensitivity of a microphone to the sounds via different directions. It may also be described because the inherent directionality of a microphone.

Some experts prefer to describe it as an attribute that determines how well a microphone hears sounds via different directions.

Broadly speaking, there are three types of polar patterns – omnidirectional, cardioid and supercardioid. Out of these three, cardioid is the most used because it is ideal for recording that is directly in front of the microphone.

What this means is, a cardioid is ideal for recording podcasts, vocals, instruments, voice-overs and more. Since this is the most used of the three, Snowball Ice supports only this pattern and for this reason you do not see any switch at the rear of this microphone.

Snowball , on another hand, supports three forms of polar patterns and for this reason you are able to move the switch across three numbers (1,2 and 3). The first number represent cardioid polar pattern which is the same as that of Snowball Ice.

The 2nd one is cardioid mode with -10dB pad. As the name suggests, this mode includes a -10dB attenuation that makes it simple for you really to capture loud sounds with higher fidelity.

This essentially means, the mic can capture sounds, but this mode will certainly reduce its sensitivity.

The next mode is omnidirectional. This polar pattern is less used when comparing to another two. This pattern captures sound from all directions at exactly the same rate.

This mode is most well suited for recording live performance, conference calls, Skype and even multi-person podcast.

Since Snowball provides you with the option to select from some of these three modes, it is more versatile and gives a better recording experience when comparing to Blue Snowball Ice.

In reality, the decision is simple if you’re a musician. The omnidirectional setting can be utilized to record room ambiance and possibly even to recapture the sounds of all instruments with a bit of creativity.

For this reason Snowball is the best option if you’re a podcaster who is seeking to record your own personal audio due to this omnidirectional capability.

So, it is good to have this flexibility even though you don’t use it most of the time.

This discussion will get you thinking why Blue shaved off some features in its subsequent versions. The general trend is to incorporate more features to subsequent versions to really make the next version more versatile. But Blue has done the exact opposite.

Why?

It is really because Blue realized that few home studio professionals utilize the features obtainable in Snowball. So, they decided to reduce the features, so it might bring down the buying price of Blue Snowball Ice and allow it to be more attractive for users.

Unfortunately, we do not think this process is right. It is definitely good to provide options to users to allow them to produce creative ways to use a feature as opposed to the company removing it.

That is partly why we think Snowball scores over Snowball Ice , not just with regards to the additional quantity of features it has, but also due to the versatility why these features bring to a product.

Overall, which of both of these mics may be the winner in regards to features. The clear answer is the conventional Snowball model hands down.

It is simple and versatile and the features certainly are a nice addition. It is certainly only a little disappointing to see that some of these features have been stripped down in Blue Snowball Ice.

4. Cost

Cost is an important factor while creating a purchase and many of us have a tendency to base our decisions on the price more compared to value. As an example, one product may cost $50 but its features might be worth the price in comparison with another one that’s $30.

So, instead of considering the price alone, it is better to consider the value that the product offers for the money you pay.

Nevertheless, Snowball Ice is priced lower while Snowball retails for somewhat more. Both these mics can be found on Amazon and they tend to be on some deal or the other all of the time. So, there is a top chance that you’ll manage to buy these products at a discount in the event that you keep looking on Amazon.

Now the big question is should you get Snowball or Snowball Ice based on the price? Well, the answer depends for you and your expectations from the mic that you buy.

If you are buying a basic entry level mic that is ideal for maybe a few recordings here and there, Blue Snowball Ice would suffice. It is surely a whole lot at that price, as the sound quality is top notch.

The build is decent and the look is pretty good too. In fact, it is a good value for your hard earned money because it’s seldom you’ll find a microphone of the quality for this type of low price.

On the other hand, if you should be searching for some versatility, Snowball is the choice. The polar patterns of the model is surely a great addition. Whether you’re a podcaster, singer or a musician, Snowball is sure to be considered a great piece of instrument for you.

Although it is priced a lot more than Snowball Ice , this single additional feature alone may be worth the price you spend for it. Besides, in addition you great sound quality, decent build and good performance. Again, like Snowball Ice , you will not manage to get a better product for this type of low price.

In most, both the merchandise are worth your money. it just is dependent upon whether you’ll need the additional features that come in Snowball. If you think they do, do it because the excess money may be worth every cent.

5. Advantages and Disadvantages

In this section, we shall list out the pros and cons of all these mics to help you get a fast idea on how they score and moreover, the areas where they are able to do better.

Snowball and Blue Snowball Ice Advantages

The advantages and disadvantages you get from using Snowball are plenty, and some of them are:

These are the pros of those microphones. Snowball and Ice are generally reliable models and may be trusted.

Snowball and Blue Snowball Ice Disadvantages

It’s important to discuss the disadvantages of both, Snowball and Snowball Ice to understand the capabilities of those microphones.

We hope these pros and cons provide you with a quick feel of those mics, and enable you to explore them in detail.

The Bottom Line

We are the end of this review and it is time to decide which of both mics from Blue is better.

Well, to start, you will find few differences between both mics and this is both good and bad. it is good because each one you select will give you great sound quality and good value for the money.

Bad because Blue has reversed the trend in regards to versioning. Generally speaking, subsequent version should be more advanced compared to the previous one, but in this case, the previous version appears to have more features.

Though we recognize that Blue took this route to cut into competition and to price Blue Snowball Ice at a lower rate, it is still debatable regarding whether this is the right choice.

So far as the differences are worried, one major aspect is the polar pattern and the versatility that accompany it. Though Snowball Ice‘s performance is good, Snowball’s performance is much better and offers you more choices for the creativity.

Also, in regards to price, both are competitive taking into consideration the features they offer.

So, which of both should you purchase?

If you think, you’re going to get involved with some creative stuff or podcast often, then Snowball is your best choice. Though it is $40 significantly more than Snowball Ice , this feature alone may be worth the price.

But if you believe, you’re going to use your mic for recording some tracks, then Blue Snowball Ice is a good choice. You can’t beat this price for the sound quality it offers.

So, either choice is good, just depends about what features you need.

So far as the entire winner, our choice is Blue Snowball mainly because it has more features than Blue Snowball Ice.