Today we have two of the most favored USB microphones – the CAD U37 and the Blue Snowball.
[amazon box="B001AIQGUO,B014PYGTUQ" grid="2" button_text="Buy from Amazon"]USB condenser microphones are highly recommended for those who are new into dealing with voice-overs or podcasts or gaming sessions.
Refer the specifications in the table below:
Specifications:
| Parameters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Operating Principle | Condenser Studio Capsule | Pressure Gradient |
| Frequency range | 20 hz to 20 khz | 40 hz to 18 khz |
| Bit Depth | 16 bit | 16 bit |
| Sample Rate | 48 khz | 44 khz |
| Pad | -10 dB | -10 dB |
| Recording Patterns | Cardioid | Cardioid and Omnidirectional |
| Recording Sample Rates | 16 Bit, 48 kHz | 16 Bit, 44.1/48 kHz |
| Weight | 1.52 lbs | 1.01 lbs |
| Amazon product page | User reviews | User reviews |
There is always an air of confusion circling around these two regarding which is the better one. And that's exactly what we are going to end today.
So let's find out which one is the true winner among the two!
CAD U37 vs Blue Snowball: The winner is obvious!
Design and build quality
Look wise, the CAD U37 and the Blue Snowball are fairly distinctive.
The CAD U37 follows the conventional condenser microphone design with its vertical-postured cylindrical design mounted on an adjustable tripod-like stand.
As with the Blue Snowball, you get more of a flashy round design, almost like a ball, centrally-adhered to a three-legged structure.
The one thing that's common with the CAD U37 and the Blue Snowball is their plastic body. That's one of the main reasons for their affordable price range.
The grilles with a double-layer design are the only exceptions in the CAD U37 which are made of metal and it is responsible for the protection of the capsule.
You can find two switches on the front panel – pad and low-cut filter.
As for the stand, though they can handle the weight of the microphone, it looks quite weak and prone to damage.
The plastic body of the Blue Snowball is quite sturdy. It comes with a pad button as well and features an omnidirectional capsule, so you can switch between the two polar patterns – cardioid and omnidirectional.
The USB port is on the back of the body unlike the conventional bottom-end connectivity, so it doesn't fall to the ground due to the lack of grip of the crystal oscillators.
Furthermore, the inclusion of a replaceable cable is an added advantage. The stand needs to be remodeled as it is quite flimsy and it can't be tilted vertically.
Dimension-wise, the CAD U37 is quite heavier and larger than the Blue Snowball.
Features
Both the CAD U37 and the Blue Snowball are USB microphones, so all you need to do is plug them in and start working immediately without any driver installation.
The CAD U37 has a singular cardioid polar pattern whereas with the Blue Snowball you have the option of selecting between a cardioid pattern and an omnidirectional pattern.
In terms of directionality, the CAD U37 isolates the sound coming from the back better than the Blue Snowball.
Both the CAD U37 and the Blue Snowball feature two buttons on their body-frame – a -10 dB pad attenuation button being the common one.
The second button in the CAD U37 acts as a low cut filter whereas the second button in the Blue Snowball is used to switch between the polar patterns.
Sound quality
As both the CAD U37 and the Blue Snowball are USB built-in microphones, we have to keep in mind that the sound quality of these microphones can't be compared to those high-end phantom powered condenser microphones.
The sound quality of the CAD U37 is quite decent although it's not extraordinary. But as far as built-in USB microphones is concerned, it impresses up to a great extent.
And, given its affordable price, it doesn't undergo any major problem like the other standalone microphones that come as computer accessories.
In addition to that, the CAD U37 blends in perfectly with the trend of gaming microphones and is a favorable choice.
To be honest, the CAD U37 also has some minor drawbacks in terms of audio quality.Firstly, the frequency response isn't as crisp and balanced and its mainly of the capsule.
These flaws can be cured by compressing the sound in the tracks before releasing it out to the public, after which it becomes hardly noticeable by the layman's ears.
Secondly, the CAD U37 is very sensitive to plosives as it's a directional microphone and the use of a decent pop filter becomes mandatory.
Also, the positioning of the microphone can also be a major factor towards reducing the amplification of the plosive sounds. For best results, avoid being too close to the microphone and being parallel to the diaphragm.
Want to know the best part?, we have the Blue Snowball which has a wide polar response although it fails to isolate the sound coming from the background even though it has an optional cardioid polar pattern.
However, on the brighter side, the sound that gets through the back gets dampened and hence isn't effectively prominent.
The capsule inside the Blue Snowball is well designed and it receives the sound signal through the six openings on the fine mesh.
The produced sound is fairly smooth and it doesn't get distorted or doesn't have any hard resonances. There isn't any sibilance or harshness either.
What does bother about the Blue Snowball is its extreme frequency roll-off at the low and high ends, practically leaving out only the midrange to deal with.
The only way to fix this problem is by adjusting the EQ by applying filters in the DAWs where the microphone is connected. Even so, the sound tends to remain very thin as the low end is rolled off to quite some extent.
Ideally, both the CAD U37 and Blue Snowball are designed for voice-over purposes but when its comes to recording instruments, or lets say, towards a more all-round performance, the Blue Snowball excels pretty well in this regard.
On the other hand, the gain of the Blue Snowball is considerably less than that of the CAD U37 which can be a boon and bane for either one of the microphones.
You might need to get a lot close to the Blue Snowball in order to record properly whereas the enhanced gain of the CAD U37 can make it sound very shrill and painful to the ears.
Pros and cons
CAD U37
Pros
Cons
Blue Snowball
Pros
Cons
Bottomline
It's now time to announce the winner in this CAD U37 vs Blue Snowball battle!
To sum it up, Quite a clash it was, isn't it? We do have a winner though. And it is the Blue Snowball
There are a number of reasons to it.
Firstly, the price range. The Blue Snowball is cheaper than the CAD U37 and yet it offers features like two polar patterns, a lighter weight for greater portability and can be used for recording instruments as well.
The sound of the CAD U37 is slightly better than the Blue Snowball, but if you are paying the extra bucks, you can't just consider that.
So our final word is inclined towards the Blue Snowball – the perfect allrounder!