Blue Microphones Snowball USB Microphone (Brushed Aluminum)

Blue Microphones Snowball USB Microphone (Brushed Aluminum)..

Grab Now Blue Microphones Snowball USB Microphone (Brushed Aluminum) By Blue Microphones

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340 of 343 people found the following review helpful.
VERY nice mic
By Bob Tobias
I've been using this Mic a little over a month and am very impressed with it. What I want to do is add some value to the many reviews that have already been posted. But first, let's get past the obvious good points:

This thing looks way cool. It's a nice techno-retro mix that I really like. It sounds great (with one caveat mentioned below. The price is very reasonable. The build quality is solid. They evey provide a heavy duty USB cable. If you need a mic and are looking for tremendous value this will fit the bill.

The audio issue I had, and I'm not alone, is that while the quality is outstanding the output level is a tad low. I contacted Blue support and learned that a fix will be released soon. Until then it's a matter of speaking up a bit or turning up the gain on whatever audio processing software you're using.

Now, to address some issues raised by other reviewers... My mic was new stock, serial number 092xxx. I plugged it into my Windows 7 (64 bit) system and it "played" right away. The stand is fine. (If you want to replace it then the On Stage DS7200B Adjustable Desk Microphone Stand, Black seems like a nice option. However, I like being able to keep a pad of post-its on my desk below the stand :)

Finally, some suggestions. I've been using audacity, a free, feature rich audio editor. Windows recorder is fine and I can't see any reason not to use audacity instead. Also, while a replacement stand is a possible add-on to consider, you should first look into a pop filter. I use the Nady MPF-6 6-Inch Clamp On Microphone Pop Filter If you check out my audio/video review which accompanies the product listing (it's somewhere near the top) you can hear a comparison of the Snowball with and without the filter. You even get a chance to guess which is which before I tell you.

Another small issue besides the slightly attenuated output is the selector switch. There's a three position switch that allows you to select cardioid (directional), -10db cardioid, or omni-directional. Unfortunately it's labeled 1, 2, and 3. I wish the manufacture had done a better job of labeling that switch.

One final comment is it would have been nice to have an analog output available. I'm no engineer (actually, I am but not that kind) and don't know if it's possible. However, if it was it would be nice to have.

Those minor issues and my hallucination about the analog output aside, this is one fine mic and you would have to spend lots more to get something even approaching this level of quality.

UPDATE: I've been using this mic for several months and continue to be impressed. One "enhancement" I've used and suggest you consider is to replace the really nice looking stand with one that I've found works a bit better: On Stage DS7200B Adjustable Desk Microphone Stand, Black. It allows the mic to be raised a bit higher and also locks in place much more firmly.

UPDATE 2: I've also started using a Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone. My review for it, a few down from the top, provides a comparison between the Snowball and the more-expensive Yeti.

BTW, I feel that honest, effective reviews can take the place of first-hand experiences that are lacking in online shopping. I've always appreciated the help I've received from other reviewers and work hard to return the favor as best as I can. I hope you found this review helpful and if there was anything you thought was lacking or unclear leave a comment and I'll do what I can to fix it.

870 of 902 people found the following review helpful.
Impressive
By Robert Taylor
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3A3NPEGALRHJK Always hold it close to your mouth to eliminate echo and get that deep, rich satin voice you're looking for!

441 of 464 people found the following review helpful.
Blue Snowball USB Microphone Review
By Michael D. Normington
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3CV80WS11R2Q8 Blue Microphones Snowball USB Microphone Bundle

This video demonstrates how the Blue Snowball microphone sounds and its different modes.

I have read some reviews that stated that the microphone had problems working with Vista. I did this review on a Vista PC. There is a product FAQ for this mic on [...] that states that after a certain serial number (starting in 2007) the mic was updated and now supports Vista. I can attest to that as I had no problems setting it up. I just plugged it in and it worked.

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Cuisinart DGB-900BC Grind & Brew Thermal 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker, Brushed Stainless/Black

Cuisinart DGB-900BC Grind & Brew Thermal 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker, Brushed Stainless/Black..

Buy Cuisinart DGB-900BC Grind & Brew Thermal 12-Cup Automatic Coffeemaker, Brushed Stainless/Black By Cuisinart

Most helpful customer reviews

276 of 282 people found the following review helpful.
Great Coffee for a Reasonable Price
By Debra Chong
I chose this grind and brew after reading all of the reviews for this and similar machines. Frankly, I am surprised by the negative comments. This is an easy to use machine once it is set up properly (the bean hopper takes a little of effort to snap in). The coffee tastes great and the parts are very easy to clean quickly. While the instruction book is not clear, Cuisinart was very helpful on the phone. The machine does not know how much water you put in, so if you set it to grind coffee for 6 cups and you have 8 cups of water in it, it will process all 8 cups of water. Other than this small quirk, the machine is a small wonder and I do not feel compelled to go out for coffee in the morning. The thermos carafe will keep the coffee quite warm for a few hours, even when the carafe is not warmed up with hot water. Wondering why it took me so long to go ahead and buy this machine. This is the best model; my neighbor has the first generation/second generation machine which is hard to clean and has a large footprint. Save your money and buy this model!

Now that I have had the machine for a month and a half: It requires some cleaning to get the fine grounds that compress and stop the grinder and ground coffee to get into the filter for brewing. I use a bamboo chopstick and a skewer to break up the compressed fine grounds that impede the machine from working properly. (Unplug the machine and put it over the sink area). I also use compressed air to blow out the fine ground particles. Still, this is a small maintenance to allow for great coffee in the AM.

197 of 204 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent coffee, convenience, and design; grind is a little coarse
By Kevin W
I bought this coffeemaker after returning my Krups KM7000. Overall, I have been pleased with this model, save for a few quirks. The bottom line is that it makes OUTSTANDING, HOT coffee with great convenience in a design that appears very durable. I have NOT had any problems with getting the pieces together and I do not find it complicated on a day-to-day basis whatsoever.

PROS:
-Coffee is full-bodied and flavorful. I use the 4-cup setting with about 3 cups of water and the strength set to strong. This uses the aroma feature, and the coffee is perfect.
-Temperature is perfect, the hottest I've tasted from a model like this. The base WARMS THE THERMAL CARAFE when the machine goes on, then goes off when the brew is complete. This may theoretically be eliminating the effect of the cooling of hot coffee by a stone-cold carafe. On the other hand, the carafe is highly insulated and it may be doing nothing. The bottom line is that the temperature is perfect, the coffee is still hot even after adding cold milk. The coffee remains hot for quite a while in the thermal carafe.
-Design is quite nice- it is self contained as opposed to other mill & brew models that have parts that swing around. The design feels very robust, there are no wimpy plastic bits. There is a piece that fits over the grind basket that has a gear which appears to rotate, likely to keep steam out of the grinder.
-It could not be easier to use on a daily basis - all I do is put in THE RIGHT amount of water, put the cover on top of the brew basket, and press program (I have it programmed for the same time every day). After it brews and I pour the coffee, I swing out the basket, pour out the grinds & rinse the basket, rinse the carafe, and I'm ready to go.
-cleaning is simple; I notice others complain but I haven't had any problems. See above for my daily routine; I've been using the brush weekly on the grind spout, it takes two minutes and is not messy.
-The brushed chrome looks great on the counter.
-3 year warranty is reassuring

CONS:
-The grind appears to be too coarse. Other models have a grind control to change the coarseness of the coffee, this one does not. This has improved a little after a few weeks of use, but not completely. Also, I've noticed that (through laws of physics) the coarsest part of the grind stays on top, then the finer grounds work their way to the bottom. This is probably wasting a bit of coffee, but once I worked out how much water to use it doesn't affect the strength. Overall I have not noticed that I am going through coffee faster than before, so I think some of the "coffee wasting" reviews may be somewhat overstated. On first glance it does appear to use a lot of coffee when you are pouring out the grounds, but looking at how many bags I'm going through it doesn't appear much different.
-The mechanism to pour coffee from the carafe is not perfect; it works ok when pouring out from a mostly full carafe, but to get the last cup or two from the bottom I have to take the top off. If I don't it drips all over the counter. Taking the top off I can pour it without any mess.
-The water indicator level is on the right side near the back. If you are putting it against a wall on the left it will be fine, but on my counter it needs to be against a wall on the right, so if I need to look at the water level I need to pull the coffeemaker away from the wall. To get around this I have figured exactly how much water to put in from a measuring cup.

THE BOTTOM LINE (again):
The coffee is excellent, and HOT. The design is marvelous. On a day-to-day basis it is extremely easy to use and convenient. The grind is a bit too coarse, but I don't seem to be going through coffee much faster than before, so this may be a little bit of an illusion. YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ADJUST THE STRENGTH OF YOUR COFFEE USING THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF WATER. I can strongly recommend this coffeemaker if you want hot, convenient, fresh-ground coffee every day. Enjoy!

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful.
Do not agree with negative reviews!
By Ricks picks
This is a GREAT coffee maker. The primary objections in other reviews I saw were 1) Weak coffee - I do not understand this as you can adjust both the strength of the brew as well as the quantity of beans ground (e.g. grind enough beans for 10 cups but only put in 8 cups of water). We have actually had to reduce the strength settings as the strong setting was too rich for my wife ; 2) hard to pour - this is somewhat true as the opening on the carafe is very small (to preserve heat), but twisting the top open just slightly solves that problem; 3) coffee not hot enough - it is not as hot as what you would get at a specialty coffee shop - but it is still hot enough to make very good coffee. We always rinse the carafe and our cups with hot water before we start and that seems to help a lot; We do find that we need to microwave the coffee in the cup if it has been in the carafe for about an hour or more 4) difficult to program or set up - it does require being put together properly and it is somewhat more complex than the traditional drip coffee maker, but the setup requires about 20 seconds to master. We leave the settings alone and just pour in water and add beans daily - so once it is set up, it is a "no brainer". We have never had problems with grinds being spilled and I suspect that whoever did either had a defective unit, or did not put the basket into the unit properly. My wife forgot to put the filter basket into the unit one time -- and it would not grind the beans until she did -- great feature.

The combination of a burr grinder, 12-cup capacity, insulated pot (no hot plate to burn the coffee), adjustable coffee strength, and large bean reservoir with ability to specify the number of cups being brewed (no need to measure beans every time you brew) make this a really great coffeemaker.

If your expectations are for a super-hot cup of coffee then you will be disappointed. If you just want an easy-to-use coffee maker that allows you to adjust the coffee strength to your preference (including very strong), then this is a great unit.

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