This is a review comparison between two microphones of the same and well-known brand i.e. Blue. Both Blue Ember and Blue Spark SL have different features with different colors and designs. The price gap between both the microphone is huge. Both are mainly used for podcasters and streamers. This comparison between both the microphones will make it easy for you to decide which one is worth and better for you.

Blue Ember	Blue Spark SL
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Ideal for podcasters and streamers. Effective off-axis rejection. Provides protection from pops. Portable for XLR mic. Versatile usage. Built-in damping provides excellent clarity.	Sounds Great. Great mic response. Amazing clarity. XLR connection for pro users. Natural and smooth sound on vocal. Applications are Flexible. Well priced. 100Hz high pass filter. -29 dB output signal.
CONS	CONS
The pop filter is missing. Requires external interface with +48V phantom power. Multiple accessories aren’t included.	Expensive. Bulky Stand. Picks up the Ambient noise.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

Blue Ember

Blue Ember is a brand new microphone in the studio just released. The blue ember microphone will run you about $100. This is a condenser microphone so you need to use a pop filter. You can also use the Stedman pro pop filter. Blue Ember’s side-address and compact design keeps a low profile on camera and fits anywhere. This microphone is mainly for live streaming, podcasting, studio recording, and more. Its cardioid polar pattern provides and delivers excellent off-axis rejection.

Blue Spark SL

The blue spark SL is an XLR condenser microphone. It’s worth $199.99. This is a condenser microphone that requires a full 48 volts of phantom power to work. This microphone is for podcasters and streamers who are very much dedicated and serious about their audio. This is specially aimed for YouTubers who like to stream would like to game or who like to do podcasts, for example, custom large diaphragm, 100-hertz low-cut filter. It does offer a choice in colors. With the professional XLR connection and versatile switches, this microphone gives a broadcast studio voice. 

DESIGN:

Blue Ember

The first good impression of this microphone is that it is built extremely well. The build quality is incredible on this thing, it is really nice. It has a compact and side-address design fits really well that too anywhere. The grill on the top is super strong and honestly, just the whole thing is built really incredible, this isn’t the most important thing but you got to mention that it looks really awesome. The one thing you will love is the color scheme of it which looks really attractive.

Blue Spark SL

The microphone itself feels very good. The center is kind of all matt black and classy silver. Its pure black design with a matte finish on the mic body and the more reflective surfaces on accents makes this mic just look amazing and stunning. It is also available in more colors. On the top and the bottom is a very nice chrome finish. On the front of the mic it has a blue logo and 2 switches, the one on the left is a cut-off switch and the right switch is a toggle between a zero decibel default gain. The shock mount is made out of very high-quality aluminum and the elastics that hold it together are very strong and sturdy. 

FEATURES:

Blue Ember

When you purchase the Blue Ember, you will get the microphone stand mount which is built really well, it actually has an insanely nice thumb screw that sticks out a little bit more, it doesn’t cut your finger up like a lot of other ones do. You will get a microphone stand adapter. You will get the super attractive Blue Ember microphone.

The Blue Ember is a condenser microphone with a cardioid polar pattern. This microphone does require 48 volts of phantom power. It has a frequency response of 38 Hertz to 20 kilohertz and an output impedance of 40 ohms. This microphone has a Max SPL of 132 decibels. The sensitivity is 12mV/PA. One other thing to have to do with the build and kind of specs and everything is the actual form factor which will make you surprised at how skinny it is.

Blue Spark SL

When you will open the box you get some paperwork like information about the microphone put, a blue sticker a blue stick, stock mount to put the microphone but there is no XLR cable. The blue spark condenser microphone came in a very beautiful red wooden box which can also be used as a case. The box is also premium and quality control is really good. And then you will find the microphone itself which is really nice. There is the low pass low cut filter on the microphone, which you can turn on the -20dB. So the Icicle has analog level control built-in studio-quality microphone preamp 48 volts phantom powered, it needs power so it is great for that. Fully balanced low noise front and driverless operation USB cable included. You actually don’t even need an XLR cable for this because you can just plug it directly, but can use an XLR cable if you already have it.

 It came with its own shock mount which attaches to the microphone itself. It has a cardioid polar pattern with a frequency response 20Hz-20kHz and a sensitivity of 34.9 mV/pa. The output impedance is 50 Ohms, Maximum SPL is 136dB. S/N ratio is 73 dB-A, the noise level is 16.4 dB-A, the Dynamic range is 119.6dB, and, the power requirement is +48V phantom power. So, keep that in mind when you’re looking at it. You can use Behringer UM2 which provides a full 48 volts of phantom power and it’s a relatively cheap USB interface.

PERFORMANCE:

Blue Ember

There is nothing much that you won’t like about this microphone but yes there are some plosives issues, if you look directly at the capsule and push out a P like really hardcore but other than that if you just speak a little to the side just on an angle it kind of takes care of it. The base is slightly boosted in this but it sounds good. The build quality is incredible. One thing you will notice while testing this out is as you will move a little bit, it will still do a really good job of capturing your voice, obviously, once you get really to the side you will hear a drop-off, but overall the main thing is you can put this thing down a little bit further or get it out of your face if you’re shooting a video or anything and it’ll still sound really awesome. There’s definitely a little bit of a bass boost when you get really close to it that does actually sound good and when you’re speaking off of it getting rid of some of those plosives this can sound really awesome for voiceover or podcast-style stuff, it’s a little bit more intimate.

The background noise rejection is solid, especially for a condenser microphone. One thing that will kind of bug you, is that they didn’t include a couple of specs that is necessary, is not there in the manual and even you will not able to find it online, also a frequency response chart in which many people are really interested to see what frequencies are boosted in this because anyone can tell that there are a couple boosted but they do sound good. A DBA spec is also missing it kind of bugs me that I don’t know the exact perceived noise level of this microphone. The $100 price tag for this microphone is really good, some other accessories would have been nice but once again it’s $100 and it sounds this good so can’t fault it for not having other accessories.

If you talk from the front, side, back, or if you’re a Youtube gamer or even if you try with your super clicky keyboard or anything the sound this microphone will give will always be different. And if, you’re just one of those regular Joe schmo’s that uses an Apple keyboard or a PC keyboard for music production or podcasting stuff, while you’re looking it up then also it will sound different and on the background noise of rejection. If you’re a YouTuber that doesn’t like the microphone in the camera shot or you just want a little distance in between you and your microphone about three feet away then also it will give a different sound. If you intend on using the blue ember for podcasting or voiceover or anything where you want a little post-processing on it microphone will again sound different with a little bit of EQ compression.

Blue Spark SL

This microphone gives the audio which is free from bumps and vibration. Its shockmount gives clean audio. There’s a low-cut filter switch and -20 dB pad switch for when there’s a lot of loud noise you can put it on -20 dB and the 100-hertz low-cut filter is for the white noise and for all that stuff. It upgrades your home to a great setup to full broadcast your level. Blackout Spark SL brings blues legendary studio sound to your space studio. It also has the blue Icicle, it is a converter to convert the XLR to USB, so you could connect XLR to your computer.

For installing this microphone you will need a compass armpit, for that you will need a microphone, mic stand, and, the Icicle to convert the XLR to USB and the arm. you can keep the mic 50centimeters away. Installation is not easy at all with the arm because the arm flexed back automatically which caused the arm to go back up instead of going down but when you will mount the microphone it will get a bit of weight on at the end of the arm and then it will work perfectly.

You will definitely see that this microphone is very professional and it has those clips on the arm to get the cable wrapped around the arm, or in the arm itself which looks very nice. If you will buy an XLR cable for this microphone, it works perfectly fine. For recording audacity on a mono track, you need to put the Icicle on halfway to the volume or something and the low-pass filter should be turned on and -20dB should be on.

The sound quality is very nice, it’s very clean, and it’s very fresh. It has a lot of bass to it as well and in my opinion and it’s just full HD. It’s a really good quality microphone in my opinion. Also, the combination with the arm and with the Icicle thing to put it via USB on your computer, that’s really a nice idea, but you can also use it via an XLR input but for that, you need phantom power on the XLR device where you are putting it in.

WHICH TO BUY?

Blue Ember and Blue Spark SL, both microphones are for streamers, podcasters, YouTubers. Both are condenser microphones. Both have kind of same features with different designs and colors. There are day and night price gaps between both the microphones, the Blue Ember will costs you around $100 and the Blue Spark will cost you around $199.99. Both the microphones are professional. Both have cardioid polar patterns.

If you are looking for a cheap and reasonable microphone with good features, go for Blue Ember, and if your budget is high and you can afford an expensive microphone, go for Blue Spark SL.

Expert Reviews of Blue Ember:

By soundguys
Yes, for $99, the Blue Ember is an excellent value, and worth configuring in your studio. The understated design is gorgeous in its modesty, and I found myself wanting to include it in the frame of a video. Although it may…

By pcmag
What at first seemed like pure marketing we can now confirm as truth—the Blue Ember is a solid non-USB microphone for home studios and streamers. If all of the required gear sounds like a headache, don’t fear—there are…

By prosondnetwork
The latest offering from acclaimed manufacturer Blue Microphones is Ember, an XLR condenser studio microphone for recording and live streaming. Though it comes in at just under $100 ($99.99), the Ember is an exceptional microphone irrespective of cost…

By reviewgeek
The Ember is Blue’s most affordable XLR mic for home recording, podcasters, and live streaming. The company has the equally-affordable Encore 100…

By IGN
t $99, the Blue Ember is matched in value only by certain colors of the Blue Yeti. You’ll need a few extras to get up and running, but while you’d replace any of the mics here the minute you decided to buy a mixer, the Ember be ready regardless of how you upgrade your setup. I’m disappointed Blue…

Expert Reviews of Blue Spark SL:

By geardiary
That microphone I’m speaking about is Blue’s Blackout Spark SL. A tried and true condenser microphone, my use of this particular microphone does come with a disclaimer: While it’s not a DYNAMIC microphone (which is more ideal for recording podcasts both solo and with groups), the Blue Spark SL is…

By musicconnection
Blue Microphones Blackout Spark SL is a cardioid (only) condenser microphone designed for professional recording, podcasts, drum recording–really just about any application you can think of as I found out myself in the…

By performermag
Housed on top of the satin red housing is a well-guarded condenser capsule that functions in a cardioid pattern. The only variables are a 100Hz Hi-pass filter, as well as a -20Db Pad. It’s fairly universal, working well with pretty much any acoustic…

By GADGETYNEWS
I have no qualms in saying that, if you are serious about podcasting, gamecasting, radio presenting or want to up your home music recording game, then the Blue Blackout Spark SL will not disappoint. Yes, I do like the black finish, but my love for this mic is more than…

By techguysmartbuy
The original Spark SL came out earlier this year and more recently the Blackout version has arrived. The Blackout Spark SL being more on the pro-side than the entry-level side, it doesn’t feel like it. This is a super-lightweight mic…