I’m not going to mince words: Logitech’s latest microphone aims to shake up the existing meta for end-game, aspirational audio gear for streamers and content creators. With a design and features reminiscent of Shure’s SM7b, it is no small swing that Logitech is making. Afterall, the SM7b is such a universally recognizable piece of gear in both look and sound. To go up against such a juggernaut would take some real hubris or an extreme amount of confidence that the product can contend.
That product is the sleek and stylish Blue Sona by Logitech. We are going to be taking a look at it and listening to it today.
Specifications
- Current Price: $349.99 (Sweetwater Sound)
- Microphone Capsule: Dynamic
- Polar Pattern: Supercardioid
- Output: XLR and USB-C
- Frequency Response: 40Hz - 18kHz
- Impedance: 250 Ohms
- Sensitivity: 20.97 mV/Pa @ 1Khz
- Signal-to-Noise: 69.9 dB A-wt.
- Max SPL: 129 dBSPL @ 1% THD, 138 dBSPL @ 5%
- Power Requirement: +24V or +48V phantom power
- Included Accessories: ?” Mic Stand Adapter, additional windscreen
If you have been around the PC peripheral space at all, you are familiar with Logitech for their keyboards, mice, and web cams, but you are also likely familiar with Blue Designs as well. The Blue Yeti, after all, has had a long history of being the first microphone early content creators and their XLR-base microphones have always had a very distinctive, iconic look. The Logitech Blue Sona brings them together.
Back in 2018, Logitech announced that it was going to purchase Blue, joining in a partnership to bring Blue’s expertise with high quality, studio grade microphones into the fold. While we have seen releases like the Yeti X and Pro X Gaming Headset with Blue VO!CE technology, the Blue Sona is the first XLR-based of the Logitech partnership. Let’s just say that the wait was worth it.
On the physical side of things, the Blue Sona looks and feels like a high quality mic. Coming in either a graphite gray or off-white finish, the mic feels sturdy without weighing as much as a boat anchor. This is great news if you’re using a boom arm like the Blue Compass. The Blue Sona does have a windscreen that is easily removable and Logitech does include a second one in the box alongside a mic mount adapter. Not bad.
When we start looking at features, the Blue Sona’s dynamic capsule can capture a pretty broad frequency range that takes an interesting step. Rather than going for complete parody with the SM7b, Logitech made the choice to tailor the frequency range to a slightly lower spectrum. I mean that in two ways – first, the Blue Sona’s range reaches down to 40 Hz but, secondly, trades off for slightly less range at the higher end of the frequency spectrum.
Continuing with this trend of differentiation, the Blue Sona diverts from the SM7b in its power requirement. While both mics require phantom power, the Blue Sona can operate at either 24V or 48V of phantom power. This is amazing for situations where you need to use an audio interface with lower power delivery.
Where there is a bit of feature parody is with a bass cut and presence boost. Like the SM7b, the Blue Sona has two switches to shape its sound. This isn’t marketing jiggery-pokery, these features make a tangible difference in the sound. To get a clearer picture, we recorded a series of sound samples in each switch combination. Once we had those samples, we passed them through a frequency analyzer. What we saw was this:
That’s a lot of purple, yes, but here is what it means. When enabled, the Bass Cut seems to scoop a lower range of frequencies (~100 Hz - 300 HZ) with the 200 Hz area being the most reduced frequency. When the Presence switch is enabled, we see a lift in frequency between 1000 Hz and 3000 MHz. To the ear, the Bass Cut tames down some of the boomier tones while the Presence switch elevates some of the warmer midrange frequencies.
Let’s take a listen:
To record our sound samples, we plugged the Blue Sona directly into a PreSonus Studio 26c USB audio interface – no extra features, filters, or adjustments were made other than activating and deactivating the on-board Bass Cut and Presence boost.
This is the place where user mileage may vary. For me, the spectrum shows what I know to be true about myself: my voice sits in the low-mid to lower registers. With the Bass Cut, my voice still retained much of its lower end presence while mellowing out a range that tends to be overpowering in recordings. Activating the Presence switch gave it a pleasant lift, making it sound far more natural. However, with both the Bass Cut and Presence switches my voice sounded a bit hollow.
Each user will have to take into account if these settings are right for them. It is nice, however, that the features are there if needed.
Final Thoughts:
Built with content creators in mind, the Blue Sona is a high-end microphone that fits comfortably within the category it is situated in. The dynamic capsule captures a broad frequency range while the built-in presets help to elevate midrange presence or tame low end boom. While the combination of the two together were too much for my voice, it might just be the perfect combo for someone else’s.
So, should you go out and buy this mic? And, if not you, who should buy the Blue Sona?
The answer to these questions all depend on what you are looking to do and what your needs are.
The Blue Sona is postured as a professional broadcaster microphone. If you are someone who has a career in podcasting, streaming, or voice over content creation, Logitech makes a stunning case for itself to be considered for the job. This is a tempting offer, especially if your current microphone is not quite giving you the quality that you need. However, this is still a $349.99 microphone that requires an audio interface to go along with it. In other words, this is not a starting point. There are a number of other microphones that do a fine job for far less.
If this is you – the content creator looking to up their audio quality, there is another question: are you chasing a specific sound?
Throughout this review, I kept comparing the Logitech Blue Sona to the Shure SM7b. Both share a similar look, feature sets, and price point that I felt comfortable drawing the comparison between the two. Both are exceptional microphones, but they are different mics. Does your voice need more high end response? Do you want a familiar sounding mic? This might be a place where you want to go with what you already know.
However, if you are looking to stand out and you don’t want to mess with additional gear like a Cloudlifter CL-1, the Blue Sona may just be that microphone you’re looking for. The sound and build quality are both amazing and the built-in features help sculpt the sound in meaningful ways.
At the end of the day, the Blue Sona is a darn good mic that was made to capture authentic voices well. It also serves as a promising indication on the direction Logitech is taking the Blue Microphones brand and pedigree. And, I, for one, am here for it.
Full Disclosure: The product discussed in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
