This is the review of the comparison between two microphones from two different brands such as the Blue and the Samson. The comparison here is between the Blue Snowball iCE and the Samson Go USB. There is no difference in their price range but there is a difference in their features and performances. To know which one is better for the price, go to the detailed review.

Blue Snowball iCE	Samson Go USB
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Delivers crisp audio in a cardioid recording pattern. Small enough to toss in a backpack. A significant improvement on a computer microphone.	Lightweight, portable. It works excellently as a podcast/voice-over/dictation software mic. Cardioid and omnidirectional patterns.
CONS	CONS
Lacks low and top-end, and is mainly mid-frequencies. Just one polar pattern. Mic stand doesn’t angle high enough for proper mouth alignment.	Picks up ambient noise. This mic is sensitive to wind noise and popping sounds. Ball-joint seems fragile.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

Blue Snowball iCE

The Blue Snowball iCE is just like another version of the regular Blue Snowball. This Blue Snowball iCE is retailing for a lower price than the regular Snowball as this has only one condenser microphone while the regular Snowball has two condenser capsules. This microphone is retailing for around fifty dollars currently on Amazon.

Samson Go USB

The Samson Go USB microphone is one of the popular microphones in the market for its portability and its small size. This microphone is also retailing for around fifty dollars currently on Amazon. This microphone performs two polar patterns within itself such as the cardioid pattern and the omnidirectional pattern.

DESIGN:

Blue Snowball iCE

It just looks absolutely beautiful, the encasing on the mic itself is plastic, the stand itself is made out of metal, and also the insides of the mic are also all metal. It does seem really sturdy but I am not sure how strong the plastic encasing on the outside is, so I would not recommend dropping it. As far as the looks go, it just looks absolutely stunning, and I must say it looks like an absolute baller or should I say snow baller. As for the color itself, I can say that I absolutely love the matte black color.

Samson Go USB

This microphone is really small, and so I don’t see many alternatives that are much more portable than this thing. This is all plastic, we’d get little rubber feet here looks, we can see a little hole through there. Everything seems like plastic except in some parts there. This microphone case swivels out, so there is a little hinge right there. There is a piece there in this microphone that’s kind of clamps down like a clip. It’s really heavy spring-loaded, that’s what holds this microphone in there. When you swing it out, you can see you have a little rubber pad right there and that’ll prevent it from sliding out but also not being scratched.

There’s a rubber pad right under the clip too, the same type of material so that kind of clamps it down for travel. Then when you pivot it out, you can pivot up and just speak into it. It looks like a little microphone, and I like the metal grate over this microphone and it does come in black as well. We do have a headphone jack there, so you can monitor your audio, and then you have a mini USB plug right there. There is a switch on the side of this microphone to switch between the cardioid and omnidirectional mode.

FEATURES:

Blue Snowball iCE

The Blue Snowball iCE is slightly different from the Blue Snowball. So, the Blue Snowball is like a higher variant of this. The Snowball comes with two microphone capsules whereas the Snowball iCE only has one which means that these Snowball iCE only has one recording pattern that is the cardioid pattern. The cardioid pattern only picks up the audio directly in front of it.

The Snowball has three recording patterns the cardioid pattern, the cardioid with the ten-decibel pad which means that you can record louder sounds without losing the audio quality, and it has an omnidirectional recording pattern which means it can pick up sounds from all around the mic. Also, the stand that comes with the Blue Snowball is adjustable. These are those features that I can absolutely live without because honestly, I don’t need an omnidirectional mic, secondly, as for the stand, I think since this stand is kind of adjustable it gets the job done for me.

Samson Go USB

Having a USB mini in this is not a big problem but you just gonna always have micro USB cables with you wherever you go, and so it’s kind of nice to have micro USB in this microphone. This USB microphone will fit any USB Type-A port and the Samson is really inexpensive and actually, Amazon makes one that looks like a slightly different version but actually might be even the same manufacturer for a little cheaper.

It’s kind of the drawback of having a portable microphone but this one is really small, and taking a microphone with you on the road especially, when you’re taking a bunch of other luggage and stuff is can be kind of a pain and so having something really small like this one can be super nice. Inside the box, you get the instruction booklet right there, and then we do have the mini USB, a carrying case, and your microphone itself.

PERFORMANCE:

Blue Snowball iCE

There is some white noise where all the sound comes from, but it falls off around the microphone with the cardio pattern. You can stay far away from the mic while recording but you need to raise the gain using any software like Audacity that’s what I have used to record the microphone audio. But I strongly recommend against that because I feel that when you’re close up to the mic, it helps to reduce disturbances and distortions, and you can also get the gain much lower.

Samson Go USB

As I talk into it I can actually see the little green light flashes red sometimes which I think is kind of showing me the gain and I don’t think so, if I really need to kind of be really into it, the closer I’m into it, it’s flashing green and red. I won’t want to be sitting that close to it generally because then it will pick up the breath more. Hopefully, it sounds pretty good because this is really the microphone that I’m expecting to take with me if I’m doing podcasts or videos from the road.

WHICH ONE IS BETTER FOR THE PRICE?

In my opinion, the Samson Go USB mic is better for the price than the Blue Snowball iCE because this one is going to be the one that can easily slip into the pocket of the backpack as it is very small in size and it’s very portable in nature. Also, for the same price range, the Samson Go USB has two polar patterns while the Blue Snowball has only one.

Expert Reviews of Blue Snowball iCE:

By OldTimemusic
Blue announced this mic as being better than your computer mic. It would be very difficult to be worse, wouldn’t it? Yes, it has Blue’s reliability. Yes, it has…

By PCMag
Is the Snowball Ice the best-sounding mic on the market? No. Only being 44.1kHz/16 bit does limit its sonic capabilities somewhat. And some users might miss the more or less standard (for USB mics) gain knob and headphone jack. But for $50 we’re willing to let a lot slide, and for most vocal applications, it’s more than suitable. It’s simple, and the lack of DSP means a leaner, more pure signal than you’ll get from some gaming-oriented USB mics.

By Tom’s Hardware
The Blue Snowball iCE is an excellent way to get into vocal recording or streaming if you can get used to its quirks.

By microphonegeeks.com
Blue Snowball iCE is a stylish, entry USB mic with an attractive price tag. Unlike the similar-shaped Samson Meteorite, it is not as blatantly hot and it has a detachable USB cable with…

By Forbes
Loyal readers may know that I’m a big fan of USB Microphones. For two-way video chats and podcasting, they’re absolutely brilliant. USB Mics…

Expert Reviews of Samson Go USB:

By Sound Guys
If you’re looking to up your YouTube channel or podcasting game and don’t want to invest a heart-stopping expensive amount of money in a microphone, this is a great starter option. It’s sure to be an improvement…

By PCMag
For the price, it’s hard to complain about the Samson Go Mic—it’s a tool of convenience, and it does what it needs to do well enough and is easy to use. If you’re looking for something a little more accurate or music-focused, there are plenty of solid USB mics…

By music repo
Even if you plan to go on and set up a complete, professional home recording studio, the Go Mic is one of those items that you can always find a use for, especially on the road.

By gearank
Portability and great sound quality is a hard combination to achieve, but the Samson Go Mic goes a step further and adds affordability to the equation. You can see it on our recommended list for The Best Cheap Microphones Under $50.

By Sound On Sound
USB mics are nothing new, but the Samson Go Mic is probably the smallest and cutest I’ve seen to date. This metal-bodied mic, which measures just 70.5 x 43.5 x 23mm, employs a pair of back-to-back, cardioid, 10mm, back-electret…