Blue’s original Snowball: A multi-capsule sonic catch-all

Two capsules. Two consequent pickup-pattern options. Three pickup-setting options. What’s not to like (aside, maybe, from the cosmetics)?

In November 2022, EDN published my introductory treatise on standalone microphones. At the time, I mentioned that two examples of the USB-interface Blue (now Logitech) Snowball microphone were (and had for some time been…since late 2007, my email archive informs me!) in my possession, one of them destined for teardown.

I subsequently also acquired two Snowball iCE mics, one of which I took apart, wrote about and EDN published back in May. The Snowball iCE, released a decade (2015) after its original Snowball sibling (2005), is a lower-cost (and -priced) single-capsule condenser variant of the original design, therefore supporting only a cardioid pickup pattern.

I’ve finally gotten around to actualizing the several-year-back initial aspiration to disassemble the original Snowball, with the fruits of my labors detailed today. As usual, I’ll start out with a set of outer box shots, in each case (along with other photos to follow) accompanied by a 0.75″ (19.1 mm) diameter U.S. penny for size comparison purposes.

Brace yourselves: here come the most existing ones of the lot (not).

Build quality upgrades

With that riveting visual intro out of the way, let’s see what’s within. Accessories include a USB-A to USB-B cable, akin to those commonly used with printers, this time microphone-destined.

And a three-legged stand, conceptually similar to—albeit this time more sturdily constructed than—the one included with its more economical Snowball iCE cohort.

Of course, there’s also our stand-disconnected dissection victim. Front.

Left side.

Back: visible is the USB-B male connector, handling both power (input) and digital audio data (output), and the three-position switch alluded to in the subhead. The switch settings reference the following functional options and other implementation nuances:

1. Position 1
   •    Setting: Cardioid (capsule)
   •    Applications: speech, vocals, and podcasting
   •    Picks up sound from the front, ideal for podcasting, game streaming, or recording vocals and instruments
2. Position 2
   •    Setting: Cardioid (capsule) with -10dB pad
   •    Applications: live music and loud sound sources
   •    Reduces mic sensitivity, so loud instruments or vocalists come in crystal clear and distortion free
3. Position 3
   •    Setting: Omnidirectional (capsule)
   •    Applications: conferences, interviews, and environmental recordings
   •    Picks up sound all around the mic, perfect for conference calls or recording a group of musicians

Onward. Right side.

Top, showcasing the pointed-forward power LED.

And bottom, with the vertical-swivel (45° tilt up and down) screw-hole connection to the earlier-seen stand.

Capsule counting

Now to get inside the mic itself. The procedure is exactly the same as for the Snowball iCE, which I’ve already textually and photographically documented in exhaustive detail back in May. So, I’ll back-reference you for the specifics versus doing a repeat performance. The only variance is that the shiny silver ring around the circumference is metal (with an adhesive backing) this time, versus just a sticker (another cost-reduction move that Blue-then-Logitech apparently made with the Snowball iCE).

Remove the black foam sheet from the front half.

And as before, you’ll see the connection to the power LED.

Now for the much more interesting (at least to me) back half.

Completely remove the four screws that originally held the two halves together:

And the guts detach from the back-half housing straightaway.

There’s a hefty metal plate in-between the multi-capsule assembly and the PCB.

See those three screw heads? You know what comes next.

Back in May, I mentioned a competitor-sourced controversy regarding just how many condenser pickup capsules the Snowball contained. But in revisiting the referenced October 2023 prior-coverage source, I realized that I hadn’t yet provided the associated visual evidence. The competitor was another USB-interface dual-pattern mic I’d disassembled, JLab’s Talk GO. And here’s the belated comparative graphic, presumably JLab-sourced, although published at the product page of a retail channel partner, Woot (where I’d bought mine).

I don’t know about you, but this sure looks like two condenser capsules inside the Snowball to me. Agree?

Now for the PCB, beginning with the comparatively boring front side that normally nestles up against the metal plate (but doesn’t actually touch it, which would short out those solder points, thanks to thin white plastic spacers that keep them apart).

Here’s the more intriguing, or at minimum, more populated backside:

You’ll see in a minute where the two grey multi-wire harnesses at top and left end up. You’ve already seen where the yellow-and-white one also at the top goes (the front/top power LED), as well as the two red-and-black ones (the two condenser pickup capsules). But what about the ICs in the middle? I thought you’d never ask.

The Snowball iCE’s dominant audio ADC-plus-USB interface device was C-Media Electronics’ CM6327A. This time it’s Micronas’ UAC 3556B, first publicly discussed more than a quarter century ago (!!!) and curiously positioned as “enabling Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) functionality, integrating an additional audio channel directly into existing USB keyboard architectures” (???).

It includes a two-channel ADC, although per the datasheet (PDF), only one of the two channels can optionally act as either an (electret) microphone or line input, with the other only supporting line levels. Presumably, the UAC 3556B also implements back panel switch position #2’s input attenuation function. The IC’s integrated DAC is seemingly unused.

Speaking of the back panel switch, and in closing, there’s this last shot.

Showing, as previously promised and after more black foam removal, where those two grey multi-wire harnesses end up at their other ends. And with that, I’ll wrap up for today. Share your thoughts in the comments, please!

—Brian Dipert is the associate editor, as well as a contributing editor, at EDN.

Related Content

• Microphones: An abundance of options for capturing tones
• The Blue (now Logitech) Snowball iCE: This mic sounds nice
• Checking out a USB microphone
• Microphones: On-PCB options for catching tones
• Disassembling an in-line microphone preamp

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