The included all-metal stand-mount simply screws onto the threaded outer part of the XLR socket extension, and a second captive knurled ring is used to lock it in place. Outwardly, the mic looks to be well engineered, and a prominent Blue logo denotes the 'hot' side of the mic - the side you should point at the source you're recording. I'm sure the team at Blue have their own methods of entry, but short of reaching for my angle grinder, which would have done the mic no favours, I couldn't think of anything! The lining of the basket also makes it impossible to see the capsule, but a response to my enquiry revealed that it is 14mm in diameter. I'd have liked to look inside the Ember to check its internal build quality, but the oval section body doesn't facilitate the usual 'grab it and unscrew' approach to removing the basket or body retaining ring that usually gets me inside. The Ember's off-axis rejection is also very good once you get past 90 degrees off-axis, at which point there's already 12.8dB of rejection.
An output impedance of 40Ω is specified, which is ideally suited to typical mic preamp input impedances. We're told that its sensitivity is 12mV/Pa and that the maximum SPL before significant distortion sets in is 132dB. The self-noise figure is 19dB (A‑weighted), which is more than quiet enough for its intended close-miking applications.
#Blue ember condenser microphone manual#
We're told that the frequency response is 38Hz to 20kHz (☓dB) but the manual has no frequency response graph to show whether or not the mic has any presence peak. There are no pad or low-frequency roll-off switches - while they're desirable features, their omission isn't critical and obviously helps keep the cost down. Still, for vocals or close speech a pop shield is recommended, and if floor vibrations are an issue you might want to look at a shockmount (such as the Blue S3) rather than the included rigid stand adaptor. I prefer this arrangement, but mention it here for clarity since I've seen some forum posts criticising the Ember for being a proper 'grown-up' studio microphone rather than a USB mic!Īlthough the Ember is inexpensive, it exudes a clean sound quality and offers excellent off-axis rejection. While most recording enthusiasts will be familiar with the analogue XLR connection, podcasters will want to note that there isn't a USB connection - you will need an audio interface with an XLR mic input that can provide standard 48V phantom power, and to provide your own XLR mic cable. Housed in a very modern-looking metal enclosure, it measures just 219 x 38.26 x 31.91mm, feels reassuringly solid, weighing in at 0.38kg, and ships in a foam-lined cardboard box (there's no storage pouch included). Designed with both podcasters and home-studio owners on tighter budgets in mind, Blue's Ember is a transformerless, fixed‑cardioid‑response, side-address, back-electret capacitor microphone.
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