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Hands on with the Yeti microphone (photos)

Take a closer look at the Yeti, a USB microphone made by Blue Microphones.

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Donald Bell
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1 of 14 Donald Bell/CNET

Here's the Yeti USB microphone in all its packaged, preunboxing glory.

Learn more about the Yeti from Blue Microphones.

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2 of 14 Donald Bell/CNET

With a name like Yeti, we should have known this microphone would be huge. Still, the imposing size of the Yeti was a bit of a shock, measuring a full 12 inches in height. It's like the SUV of USB microphones.

Learn more about the Yeti from Blue Microphones.

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3 of 14 Donald Bell/CNET

The Yeti microphone is meant to be used in the upright position, but we couldn't resist angling it forward like some kind of crazy alien raygun.

Learn more about the Yeti from Blue Microphones.

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4 of 14 Donald Bell/CNET

To give a better sense of the stupefying size of the Yeti, we photographed it with two of the more common USB mics on the market: the Snowball (right); and the Samson G-Track (left). The Yeti towers over them both.

Learn more about the Yeti from Blue Microphones.

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5 of 14 Donald Bell/CNET

The bottom of the Yeti includes a headphone jack for direct monitoring, and a mini USB port for transmitting audio to your computer. There's also a place to screw a standard mic stand if the whole integrated desk stand thing isn't working for you.

Learn more about the Yeti from Blue Microphones.

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6 of 14 Donald Bell/CNET

The front of the Yeti includes a large plastic (somewhat wobbly) headphone volume knob and a mute button, which is perfect for dropping out audio for coughs or sneezes.

Learn more about the Yeti from Blue Microphones.

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7 of 14 Donald Bell/CNET

Knobs for gain and pattern adjustment are found on the back of the Yeti. Patterns include omni, cardioid, stereo, and bidirectional.

Learn more about the Yeti from Blue Microphones.

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The Yeti microphone folds down into its integrated stand for storage. Of course, it's still larger than most microphones, even while folded.

Learn more about the Yeti from Blue Microphones.

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What makes the Yeti so special (and uniquely large) are the three microphone capsules it uses for recording audio. The capsules are arranged in such a way that both mono and stereo recordings can be made.

Learn more about the Yeti from Blue Microphones.

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Did we mention how cool the box is? You'd think there would be an adorable Yeti action figure in here.

Learn more about the Yeti from Blue Microphones.

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Creating our test recordings for the Yeti, Snowball, and Samson G-Track.

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