Blue Raspberry, quality compatible with Mac, iPhone and iPad

Blue is well known for its excellent microphones, easy to use and with USB connectivity, which greatly facilitates content creation for those of us who do not seek the complexity that other "professional" products offer, and all this without giving up high-quality audio.

After a long time using your Blue Snowball microphone I have had the opportunity to test your latest release, the Blue Raspberry, a portable microphone that has the enormous advantage of being able to be used with your computer connected to a USB, and your iPhone or iPad connected to its Lightning port. 

Design and features

Snow gives his products a different look that is a house brand, and with this little microphone it was no different. A "retro" and modern look at the same time that everyone likes, but achieving a folding and compact set ideal to be transported anywhere. The microphone is very solid in the hand, with its metal body and its perfectly designed stand to be folded in on itself. It is very stable on the desk, something essential in a product like this.

The base is not telescopic, but if you happen to need something like this, you won't have any problem, since it can be attached to any conventional mic stand thanks to the adapter included in the box. Do you have a tripod for a camera? You can use it too with the microphone without the need for the adapter.

Two symmetrically placed volume controls on the sides complete the design of this mic. On the left the volume control of the headphones to monitor the audio, on the right the microphone gain control that also allows you to mute it when you press it. On the front an LED indicates that it is on (green) and when the sound is too loud (red), and on the back we find the microUSB connector and the headphone jack.

Something important for many users: the headphone output will carry not only your sound but the full sound that is in your equipment (music, other speakers, ...) so you can use that output to record all the audio from your podcast without any latency. In addition to the aforementioned stand adapter, the microUSB to USB and microUSB to Lightning cables are included. Too bad they didn't go for a USB-C cable.

Operation

Using the Blue Raspberry microphone is as simple as plug and play. Some applications will automatically detect the audio input, in others you will have to do it manually, but it will be the only thing you will have to do for this mic to capture your voice. This is a cardioid condenser microphone, if you know what this means perfect, if not ... basically serves to capture your voice in front of you, but does not capture what is coming from around. This is ideal for most occasions, but not for capturing the voice of multiple parties.

It really does its job very well and rejects all unwanted sound such as the noise from the air conditioner while recording the audio from the accompanying video of this article. Of course, it is not a microphone to keep away from your mouth, but rather close to it, something that for my use is perfect. Sound gain reaches 40dB using the microphone side wheel, without you having to touch anything in your recording application. The end result is very good audio recorded in the bedroom of a house, without the ideal conditions of a recording studio.

For your iPhone and iPad

But the most remarkable thing about this microphone and that makes the difference with the rest is its compatibility with iOS devices. If you are one of those who use their mobile devices to make audio recordings, the need to use the EarPods for it is over. The Blue Raspberry works just as well and easy on your iPhone and iPad as it does on your Mac, and thanks to the microUSB to Lightning cable included in the box, you can connect the micro to your Apple smartphone or tablet.

In this case it is necessary that the application be compatible with external devices, but there are already a good handful of them that are, such as Garageband, BandLab or iOS Voice Notes itself. Also like the microphone has its own gain and monitoring controls no matter that the application does not have advanced settings. And all the virtues that I talked about earlier for Mac are kept for iOS, obviously.

Editor's opinion

With all the guarantee that a brand like Blue offers us, with years of experience in the world of sound and with products that are a reference in their sector, when you put your hands on the Blue Raspberry you had little doubt that it was going to be a "top" product despite its size and portability. Reality confirms expectations, and this microphone model brings all the virtues of high-quality microphones to your portable devices. Ideal for anyone who wants an all-terrain microphone that performs perfectly on the desktop and on the move, this Blue Raspberry proves that portability is not at odds with quality. The microphone with all the accessories it includes is available on Amazon for about € 215 from this link.