Customer Ratings & Reviews

This is quite possible the best microphone that money can buy. $199 at it's highest and now it's around $160. This microphone literally blows away the competition in it's price range and above. I'd say the only microphones that can really compare to this one are the Blue mics that are above it like the Blue Babybottle and Blue Bluebird.

[Employee of bestbuy] Great mic at reduced price! ~70 is amazing. Have had no issues with this mic.

And WOW! I mean WOW! What sound quality on this thing. Be advised that you will need to buy a phantom power source for this thing but it is well worth the money!

If you're reading this in the store: It does NOT come with an XLR cable in the box! You will need to purchase one. To me this is a bit absurd at the price point and audience this is targeted at, but at least the cords aren't expensive. Overall, this mic is solid. I run mine through a USB Audio Interface that has an XLR input for mic and an input for my guitar for playing through computer. Its clear, with no pops or issues, though I'd still recommend software noise-filtering. I also own a blue yeti blackout, and the spark is a bit better quality but not super dramatic; if you aren't recording professionally you are unlikely to notice the difference.

Great MIC!!! Pairing it with the GoXLR and quality is definitely an upgrade from the YETI. Easy to setup

I love the sound of this microphone. I was using a Yeti Blue to start and I thought the sound was less than acceptable and I’m not an audiophile. I then upgraded to a Presonus microphone that was definitely acceptable, however once I used this microphone I’ll never go to anything that doesn’t meet this performance. I immediately bought another one too.

I Bought The Blue Microphones - Blackout Spark SL XLR Wired Cardioid Condenser Microphone With The Logitech - Compass Microphone Stand They Are A great Combination Together - The Both Look & Work Great.

Amazing sound quality at a good price point. Compact and fits perfectly with my set up. Had to change a few settings to get the sound to where I like, but all in all a great microphone!

Excellent sound and great connection. I would choose it again.

This microphone really helps me to keep my podcast at 100 percent awesome

This item was sent to me for the purpose o this review. The opinions expressed are my own. Right out of the box Blue has done a great job with the professional esthetic. The mic comes in a beautiful foam lined wood box to protect it while storing it and for transporting it. Included is a shock mount designed specifically for the microphone that will mount to a standard 5/8” mic stand and includes a 5/8” to 3/8” threaded adapter. The Blackout Spark SL is a XLR microphone that will need an audio interface to connect to a PC. It uses 48v phantom power to power the circuit inside the mic. It also has two switches on the front. One is a low cut/high pass filter to reduce unwanted low frequency rumble from passing trucks or other low frequency vibrations. The other switch is a -20dB pad switch to attenuate the input level for recording guitar amplifiers or other loud signal sources with out distortion associated with trying to record amplifiers. The microphone is a side address cardioid polar pattern style which has the highest level of sensitivity at the front (where the Blue logo is) and drops off slightly on the left and right sides, with the most rejection at the rear of the capsule. It will not eliminate sound entering from the less sensitive sides but reduce the volume of those sounds being picked up. Build quality is solid with an all metal body and capsule screen. The blackout edition is to me a lot nicer than those with the shiny chrome. The body is a matte black finish with a smoked chrome accent at the top and bottom where would normally be a shiny distracting chrome finish. The switches feel solid with a light tactile feel when switched. The shock mount is also metal with a strong elastic cord to hold everything together and keep the mic floating. Ideally this mic shines in a well sound treated room. Moving blankets are a less expensive alternative to help stop echo in a room. This is what I use and have fairly good results. The use of a pop filter in front of the mic is also highly recommended to stop unwanted plosives from making their way into the capsule of the mic. These are hard breath sound caused by P’s and B’s and can ruin an otherwise good recording. As far as the sound quality of the mic I recorded a bit of spoken word and liked how my voice was captured. It seems natural enough for me. I would recommend that if you are using this mic to produce podcasts or are live streaming where you want a polished sound then using a recorder that does not have any fans would be ideal and make sure the room is treated with some type of sound damping material. You can get away with a laptop PC and a good audio interface to connect the mic. The mic is extremely sensitive and does not require a lot of gain to capture a good signal. However, with that kind of sensitivity also comes a lot of room noise. Fans in the background will be heard either a room fan, A/C fan or computer fan. The most ideal for a noise free environment would be a sound booth or even a coat closet. Anything that will absorb noises that are not wanted in a recording if this will be used for voice-over work. For singing you would be loud enough that the gain could be turned down enough to only pick up the vocals unless you are also a loud talker. My overall impression is that it captured what I wanted it to remarkably well with some background noise that can be masked out in editing software. If I set this up with sound treatment that I normally use it may be less of an issue. I would consider this a surprisingly good offering from Blue if you are wanting to step up from their Yeti or Snowball USB microphones. The price is on the lower end of this style microphone and is considered an entry level price in the realm of studio condenser mics. With that being said, it is not a cheap sounding mic, and you can get professional results.

I’ll start by admitting that I only use this for recording guitar amplifiers by running it directly into my input device, then into my DAW. The first thing that interested me in this microphone was the ability to cut -20dB on demand with the flick of a switch. This comes in VERY handy if you are recording extremely loud sources such as guitar amplifiers. I also like the fact that you can leave it at the zero setting if you are recording acoustic guitars, or even lower wattage amps with less volume. This alone makes it very versatile for my needs and for that, I give it a big thumbs up. Now how about that ever important sound quality? Well since sound is completely subjective, I can only leave my personal opinion. Having several mics at my disposal, I have found that the Blue Spark SL is a welcome fit into my recording setup and produces a clean crisp recording. While there are certainly darker and brighter sounding microphones available, I find the Blue edging a tad on the brighter side of the spectrum. If I want “chimey” clean tones and mid-cutting aggressive metal tones, I can achieve both with the Blue. Since guitar is technically a “mid range” instrument, this is exactly what I prefer, therefore, the Blue is a solid performer. I will also admit that I use several mics at a time when recording amps. Sometimes three on a single speaker (edge of cap/cone, mid cone, and room). I have found that I personally like the Blue mid cone area. Again, being subjective, you may prefer it on the edge of the cap/cone, or even room. That’s the fun and beauty of finding your sound. Does the final recording need an EQ in post? Well… maybe? I find myself adding EQ to any mic I own. That’s not to say any of them sound bad straight into my DAW, but since EQ is at my fingertips, I just can’t help myself. Sometimes it is minor, sometimes none at all. Again, subjective. There is also a high pass filter “switchable” option that will reduce low end rumble if you are placing your mic stand on a desk or somewhere that may have some vibration. This is a handy feature to have if you are a podcaster or use it for voice. I must also mention the packaging and the styling. Blue simply knocks it out of the park with both. From the box graphics, to the wooden box that houses your microphone, to the metal shock mount, to the retro looking mic itself, Blue goes out of the way to give the user a great experience with their products and even goes a little further than most in this regard. All of their microphones have a distinct retro feel that I personally dig. The Spark SL is no exception. It is a chunky and solid feeling microphone that simply looks awesome. That said, the actual top portion of the mic is connected to the main lower body by a “thinner” metal pole. How strong this is is beyond me. I don’t plan on dropping it any time soon, but if I do, I hope it lands on the lower base and not the top mic portion because I’m not sure if it would survive. I’m guessing a standard 3 to 4 foot drop would be okay, but again, I’m not going to test it. If I do ever drop it, I’ll update the review! If you want reviews focusing on the podcasting and voice abilities of the microphone, I am certain that they are available with a quick search. Lastly, this is a modestly priced microphone with great styling that does its job well. If you are new to recording, or even have some experience, you owe it to yourself to check out the cool offerings from Blue!

The Blue Blackout Spark SL is a terrific condenser microphone for recording and streaming voice and instruments. The sound is very transparent with plenty of air in the high frequency range. The $199 price tag makes it an affordable, yet professional alternative to the usual suspects. The microphone itself rests in a wooden box. A shock mount is included, but is not meant to be in the same box as the microphone. The shock mount is high quality and it was particularly easy to screw it unto the mic. I’m a musician and record a lot at home, and I was interested in this mic because I had heard great things about Blue microphones from other music industry professionals. The Baby Bottle and Bluebird are quite popular mics, particularly for singers. I primarily record vocals and guitars, and have plenty of dynamic, condenser and ribbon mics to choose from. I started out by trying this mic out on my ENGL amp and cabinet. The first thing I discovered was that this microphone is very loud so I had to turn my pre-amp down a bit lower than normal. With the mic aimed dead-on at the cone of the speaker, there was plenty of high-end. My first thought was that it had that bright sound that Joe Satriani and Steve Vai loves so much. Another bright and popular mic is the SM57 but this one has a more unique sound, if you ask me. Moving it slightly to the side helped taming the brightness down to where I personally like it. Blending it with a ribbon mic made it particularly special which is often the case when micing guitar amp cabinets. Recording vocals was a blast. I can see why many singers and engineers swear by this company. The microphone has a balanced proximity effect, and my voice sounded full and clear. The brightness added an airiness that really brought out the sibilance of my voice without any EQ. I genuinely enjoyed the sound of my own voice, which isn’t the case with any microphone. If you’re considering this microphone for streaming, keep these things in mind. This is a condenser microphone, which means that it may pick up more than just your voice (room ambience, keyboard, AC.) If that’s a concern, look for a dynamic mic. The benefit of a condenser mic is that you can move around more in your brand new leather gaming chair without losing a ton of volume. I will also mention that this is an XLR condenser microphone, so you will need an audio interface plugged into your computer, in case you’re comparing it to a USB-microphone. The microphone offers a -20dB pad and a 100Hz high-pass filter on the mic itself. No polar pattern selector (only cardioid), which is very common with condenser microphones, but apparently not with Blue microphones. This is not a big deal, but I thought I would mention it for you figure-eight fanatics! Overall, this is a great microphone for streamers, singers and musicians who are looking for a professional, yet budget-friendly option. Just don’t forget the audio interface and pop filter!

This microphone is a beauty. Black, sleek, and substantial. It feels like it is quality made with the easy to move switches. I love the wooden box it comes in. I just wish that it also fit the shockmount. It really does have superb detail in recordings. I think it is great for any spoken word recordings like streams or podcasts. It captures all breaths and mouth movements. Surprisingly with all the detail I didn't have any issues with pops so I didn't need a filter. On the other side of that, it made recording lyrics a little tricky. I had to work on dialing in position and settings to minimize extraneous distracting sounds. I used the -20dB pad to cut down on room noise like computer fan, mouse clicks, fabric movement, and chair squeaks. The recording details worked good for recording acoustic guitar. It captured all the nuances of the performance. I was able sing and play as well and I didn't have any issue with one drowning out the other. With electric guitar I put the mic in front of the amp. I recorded with and without the -20dB pad and both sounded good. I think as designed I'd stick with the -20dB pad just incase the volume ends up getting higher than expected. Surprisingly without the -20dB pad it picked up the click track in my headphones across the room. I tried out an acoustic bass guitar and was a little disappointed. It recorded all the details but the low end was a little muddy. I haven't had a lot of time to return to that and maybe I just need to work on placement again to get a cleaner bottom. The shockmount didn't seem to do much for me. I felt like I was hearing the slightest bump on the mic. I switched the high-pass filter and the -20dB pad and still was getting rumbles and bumps. Granted they were reduced some so I know that the switches were working but they were still present. With all that I do like the microphone. I just think it's not an easy plug and play setup. But with a little tinkering I think it will be a great asset to a home studio.

First off, it is packaged beautifully. Got several compliments on it. The box is great, the finish of the microphone, everything was top notch. Set up is real easy, one thing to note is there's an adapter in the mount, so if you have a traditional floor mic stand you'll likely need to remove the piece inside. It seemed a bit flimsy, perhaps because i kept trying to have it upright. If you're on a desk and have it sideways, you may not notice/care. Make sure your mixer has phantom power available Vocals sounded pretty good, but personally felt better suited for speaking. I think this would be more ideal for those that are into streaming/commentary/podcasting/etc I'd rather stick with my dynamic mics for instruments and singing live. Onboard high pass filter and dB boost are a nice touch to have on it. Though the Bass freq response left a bit to be desired. Again though, if you're streaming/casting likely won't be an issue.

So I will list a few quick pros and cons of the Blue Spark: PROS Solid user friendly mic Easy EQ Simple setup CONS Doesn't really have good depth Not dynamic To be clear, this is definitely a decent, dependable mic, especially for up and coming recording artists, and I would highly recommend it as such. That being said, it is marketed as a good mic for speaking, Twitch, and podcasters, yet when I tested it out alongside several recording artist friends of mine, it seemed to be a better match for music and vocal recordings rather than basic podcasting. Also, for beginning podcasters, they should be aware that this is NOT a USB mic. You WILL need an XLR cable and an interface(usually around $100-150 for the basic) to use this mic. This all being said, I would still recommend it primarily for vocal recording and stick with a decent usb mic for my podcasting.

I'll start out by saying that I'm no recording professional - all of my audio work is either recording my own music, or recording the occasional voice-over work. I have used one of two of the standard-fare USB microphones in the past and unless you have some really quality to compare them against , you'd be forgiven for thinking that there's probably not much difference to pay for an upgrade. Wow - how wrong can you be. First impressions of this microphone are that its built to a very high standard - from the beautifully presented wooden box, to the detail switching and building of the microphone itself. It does require both 48v phantom power and an XLR interface so you may also need to check your audio interface / mixer before you buy - in my case I had recently upgrade to a MOTU M2 to connect to my M1 MacBook Air, so it didn't need anything else to get up and recording. There are a couple of nice additional features that should make it easier to optimize for your environment - the microphone has a dedicated switch for a high-pass filter (useful to reduce vibrations/boom) bu also a -20db switch if you have a powerful source (guitar amp etc) that you still what to capture the dynamics from, but not all the volume. Beyond that, it functions as you would expect a micrphone to - based on my experience with previous microphones, the Blue did appear (to my ears anyway) to have a greater pickup , and attention for detail. Depending on your setup this can be a blessing and a curse - you can hear everything - so make sure you have suitable soundproofing to avoid picking up unwanted background noise. In terms of recording examples, I used it to mic up my piano and ran some test with the feature. The hi-pass filter certainly helps get a 'cleaner' sound , but I can't decide if I like it on or off - it might just be that it depends entirely on your sound source, environment and the dat of the week, so my advice is try them both when you soundcheck. The -20 db certainly does its job - I'm recording directly from the M2 into Logic Pro X , so to give you an example I've attached a picture of my playing the same piece with and without the -20db switch on. As with the high pass filter, I think this will be entirely up to your situation - I will probably use it to deliberately push audio into the background to avoid having to mix-it down later, for those tracks I know will not be the main focus, but I suggest you try it an see for yourself (I got some cool ethereal effects running the mic at -20db and adding a lot of reverb and delay in Logic) In summary - if you are looking for a microphone upgrade, can provide phantom power and XLR then this is the mic for you. For instrument or vocal recordings , whether music tracks or podcasts/streaming, you'll get an noticeable improvement in sound quality that fits into the most compact of setups. I received this item as part of a technology evaluation program, but all the opinions, testing and images show here are all my own.

The packaging is nice. The microphone itself comes in a nice wooden box that has a foam cutout of the mic in it. It also comes with a shock mount. You’ll have to provide the XLR cable and Audio Interface with 48 phantom power. Moving onto the shock mount. It is really large. Which is a bit strange as the microphone itself is tiny. A lot smaller than it looks in pictures. But it is made out of metal and the mic screws into the base. So the quality is there. But I just wish it were a bit more compact to fit in with the rest of the microphone. It does come with the adapter needed to attach to any mic stand and that is made from metal so kuddos for that. The mic itself is attractive. On the top and bottom you have a glossy reflective material that you would think would pick up fingerprints like crazy but it actually does a pretty good job at not doing that. The rest of the mic is made from a metal design. It does not come with a pop filter but I didn’t have issues with plosives. The -20 db pad for instruments and 100 has low pass filter switches feel above average and work well. It also has a nice click when it gets into place but feels ever so slightly loose which takes away a few points. The entire thing is also lightweight so no issues with it weighing something down. Next up comes performance. I found that this does a good job with vocals of any kind. Whether that be spoken word, singing, twitch streams, or YouTube videos. However, it isn’t going to color your voice much. Which can be a good or a bad thing. So if you are wanting a mic that is closer to flat sounding (meaning only mildly colored) this is a good choice and then you can adjust in post if you so please. But if you are wanting something that immediately sounds podcast/radio then you may want to keep looking. Overall, I think this is a good microphone for the cost. But nothing in particular blew me away either.

The Blue Blackout Spark SL is a terrific studio microphone for serious-minded streamers, content creators, and musicians. The microphone comes well packaged in a protective wooden box along with the shock mount. Build quality of the microphone and shock mount are excellent with all-metal construction. Microphone feels solid and substantial. Setup was quick and simple with an easy connection to the shock mount. The shock mount connects to any standard boom thread and comes with an adapter for smaller thread. Take note that this microphone requires an XLR cable and a computer interface capable of supplying 48v phantom power. Sound quality of the microphone is impressive with both vocals and electric guitar. Precise cardioid pattern focuses on audio directly in front of it and ensures accurate recording. It is best to speak close to the microphone as it is volume and fidelity drops quickly the farther away you are. Class-A JFET Electronics and Blue’s custom condenser capsule produces a richer and wider sound than my previous Blue Yeti microphone. Two switches on the Spark SL are the –20db pad and the 100hz high pass filter. The –20db pad reduces the gain of the microphone by 20 decibels for recording loud noises. The high pass filter works to reduce background noises and rumbles from your room and keyboard. With my experience the high pass filter blocks out noise only when you are not talking so I recommend using it with a software noise suppression solution. Key specs: Frequency Response: 20Hz = 20kHx Output Impedance: 50 ohm Signal/Noise Ratio: 73 dB-A Dynamic Range: 119.6 dB The Blue Blackout Spark SL will take your recordings and streams to the next level.

[Employee of bestbuy] Pretty good mic out of the gate. Gets a lot better if you have software to tune eq/use plug ins. Only issues I have are the switches not working most of the time.