This is the cheapest microphone with Blue VO!CE technology on Black Friday. It looks and sounds great

As part of Black Friday, Alza is dropping the price of the Logitech G Yeti GX from its original 4,299 CZK (at launch in March 2024) to 2,699 CZK. It’s a compact dynamic streaming microphone with RGB lighting and Blue VO!CE technology for sound enhancement. For this price, you get a decent plug-and-play USB microphone, but with one major compromise – it lacks a 3.5mm jack for monitoring.

Compact design with RGB, but a plastic stand

After acquiring Blue Microphones, Logitech gradually began moving products under the Logitech G brand. The Yeti GX is one of the first microphones where the Blue name has completely disappeared (except for the Blue VO!CE technology in the software). The design is typically Logitech G – a matte black (or white) metal body with RGB lighting in two zones (bottom ring + Logitech G logo). It looks solid, and according to reviews, the metal body is indeed high quality.

The microphone is compact – 170mm height, 616g weight. This is significantly smaller than the classic Blue Yeti or Yeti X. The problem is the plastic stand. While the microphone body is metal, the stand is entirely plastic. However, you can also use the microphone on a boom arm (it has a standard thread).

Sound quality: decent, but requires Blue VO!CE

The Logitech G Blue Yeti GX features a dynamic capsule with a supercardioid polar pattern. This means it picks up sound directly in front of the microphone and ignores ambient noise. According to reviews, this works well – mechanical keyboard suppression is decent, but you need to aim the microphone correctly. If you speak off-axis, the quality quickly drops.

GamesRadar+ writes: “Without the Blue VO!CE software, the sound is completely average – clean, but flat and without character. Like soft serve ice cream with nothing extra.” XDA adds: “Plug-and-play works, but the result is average. Only with Blue VO!CE in the G Hub software does the microphone become interesting.”

Blue VO!CE offers various presets (Natural, Warm, Broadcast, etc.) and according to tests, they make a noticeable difference. GamesRadar+ preferred the “Natural” preset, which added depth and polish without excessive processing.

Technical parameters: 60Hz – 18.5kHz frequency response, 24bit/96kHz sampling, 78dB signal-to-noise ratio. This is average in this category – not top-tier, but decent.

What’s missing: 3.5mm jack and other polar patterns

Here comes the main problem. The Logitech G Blue Yeti GX lacks a 3.5mm jack for real-time monitoring. This means you cannot listen to what the microphone is picking up in real-time. For streamers and podcasters, this is a crucial feature – how else can you tell if you have incorrect gain settings or if noise is getting into your recording?

GamesRadar+ calls it a “glaring omission” and writes: “The absence of a 3.5mm jack is even more problematic due to the controls. The gain dial can be locked with a click, but scrolling unlocks it – meaning the gain can easily be accidentally changed, and you won’t know because you can’t monitor the output.”

XDA adds: “The lack of monitoring is my main issue. I understand it simplifies the user experience, but at a $150 price point, I expect it.” Best Buy Canada agrees: “It doesn’t have a 3.5mm aux for headphones, if you need that feature.”

Another drawback: it lacks the ability to change polar patterns. The older Blue Yeti X offers cardioid, bidirectional, omnidirectional, and stereo modes. The Yeti GX only has supercardioid – it picks up sound only directly in front of it. For solo streaming, this is sufficient, but for a podcast with multiple people, it’s not ideal.

Conclusion: a decent microphone with a major compromise

The Logitech G Blue Yeti GX for 2,699 CZK is a decent price for a compact streaming microphone with Blue VO!CE technology. The original 4,299 CZK was high, but after the discount, we’re in a more reasonable range. Recording quality is good (especially with Blue VO!CE), the design is elegant, and the RGB lighting looks good.

But there’s a major problem – the absence of a 3.5mm jack for monitoring. According to international media (GamesRadar+, XDA, Best Buy Canada), this is a deal breaker for streamers and podcasters. In combination with the gain dial, which can easily be accidentally changed, this creates a risk that you’ll discover incorrect settings too late – because you cannot monitor the output in real-time.

Competitors in a similar price range offer more: the Razer Seiren V3 Chroma has a 3.5mm jack and costs similarly. The RODE PodMic USB is slightly more expensive but has better sound. The older Blue Yeti X has various polar patterns and also a 3.5mm jack – and can be found for a similar price.

If monitoring isn’t an issue for you (or you use OBS/Discord for checking), the Yeti GX for 2,699 CZK is a reasonable choice. But if you’re serious about streaming and need full control over your audio, it might be worth investing a little more in a microphone that gives you all the features a streamer needs.

What do you think of this discount?