Blue Yeti X vs Shure MV7 (2022): Should You Save Or Splurge?

Whether you’re a YouTuber, podcaster, streamer, or ASMRtist, you can’t push audio quality aside. Because no matter how good you look on camera, your audience will definitely notice if you scrimped on your mic. That said, two mics that can take your audio to the next level are the Blue Yeti X and the Shure MV7, both of which are popular among content creators. To help you decide which model’s better for you and your craft, here’s an in-depth comparison of the two, taking their design, performance, and additional features into consideration.

Blue Yeti X vs Shure MV7 Comparison Chart

Design

The Blue Yeti X comes with its own mic stand while the Shure MV7 ships with a foam pop filter.

The Blue Yeti X is sleek and discreet, sporting an all-black look with silver detailing. Its top-most part is taken up by a metallic mesh grille, underneath which are the mic’s four 14mm capsules. Below the grille, you’ll find the multipurpose knob which you turn to adjust the mic’s gain and your headphone’s volume. You can also use it to blend the mic and computer audio as well as mute and unmute the mic. This knob is encircled by tiny LED lights which act as a meter for the mic’s levels, a feature that prevents you from overloading the mic while you’re recording.

Turn the Blue Yeti X around and you’ll see the mic pattern button which allows you to switch between omnidirectional, stereo, cardioid, and figure-8 patterns. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to accidentally push this button so it’s best to be careful while you’re streaming. As for the ports, they’re found on the lower part of the mic. There’s a USB port for the included USB cable as well as a standard 3.5mm headphone jack. The Blue Yeti X comes with its own stand which you can swivel up and down. Alternately, you can use the Blue Yeti X with a standard mic stand if that’s what you prefer.

While the Blue Yeti X is a side-address mic, the Shure MV7 is a front-address one. Also, there’s no grille on the Shure MV7. Right underneath the screw-on foam pop filter is the dynamic capsule, uncovered by any sort of metal meshing. This means that you can’t really use the Shure MV7 without the filter as it serves as the capsule’s protection. You can only swap it out for other colors. Speaking of the capsule, it has a cardioid pattern and a 50Hz to 16kHz frequency range. As for controls, there’s a touch-sensitive panel below the filter that you slide your finger on to adjust levels. Fortunately, there’s a lock function on this control strip to prevent any mishaps.

The back portion of the Shure MV7 houses an XLR connection for pro-studio cables, a Micro USB port, and a 3.5mm jack so you can monitor your audio with your headphones. The mic also ships with two USB cables, namely a USB-A type and a USB-C. It’s quite disappointing, however, that the Shure MV7 doesn’t come with its own stand like the Blue Yeti X does. Because you won’t be able to use the mic without a proper stand, you have to fork over at least an additional $10 for Shure’s mic stand, boom arm stand, or desktop tripod stand.

Performance

Both the Blue Yeti X and Shure MV7 are versatile mics that deliver excellent audio quality.

When it’s in cardioid mode, the Blue Yeti X produces crisp and clear vocal recordings with a higher low-frequency response. Because it’s a DSP-free mic that doesn’t have any compression or EQ, it has a fuller sound compared to its DSP competitors. This means more lows and mids, plus you can expect the high-mids to really come through as well. Another great thing about the Blue Yeti X is its versatility, thanks to its wide selection of mic patterns. The figure-8 pattern, for example, allows you to record with another person as you face each other. As for the omnidirectional pattern, it’s great for recording the ambient sounds around you. It’s impressive that this mic has stereo mode too.

As for the Shure MV7, it’s not lacking in the versatility department either. You can use it with pro-gear in an analog XLR setup or you can go digital and use a USB connection. This flexibility is great because you can record in the studio or at home and you get excellent audio quality even if you’re switching between XLR and USB. Although these two modes don’t match up a hundred percent, the signals do sound similar enough and the convenience you get more than makes up for this. If you are planning to alternate between these two connections, it might pay off to use as little DSP as possible when you’re in USB mode to create the same recording environment.

Additional Features

You get to enjoy more possibilities with the Blue Yeti X and the Shure MV7 through their respective softwares.

While the Blue Yeti X is DSP-free and works as a plug-and-play device with most recording platforms, it does come with a software called BlueVoice. With it, you get access to vocal effects and presets that should come in handy for your podcasts, streams, and video and music recordings. You can apply these presets to your recordings and see which one you like best and you can also adjust and save them as new ones. The software is a neat bonus because it gives users DSP features without betraying Blue’s DSP-free trademark. Do note that you need to have either Logitech’s G Hub or the Sherpa software from Blue to operate BlueVoice.

Similarly, you can use the Shure MV7 with a software called the Shure Motiv app. It lets you do so much more with the MV7, including fine-tuning the monitor mix as you play your recordings back and even making real-time adjustments as you’re recording via another app. You can, for example, be recording in GarageBand and tweaking the compression on the Motiv app at the same time. To boot, there’s a wide selection of tone and EQ presets to tinker with on the app. You can run this software either on your PC or mobile device.

Verdict

The Blue Yeti X wins for delivering strong audio performance for a fraction of the price.

Both the Blue Yeti X and the Shure MV7 are popular in the industry for one obvious reason–they’re powerful mics that deliver strong audio performance. However, price is a huge deciding factor for many and in that aspect, the Blue Yeti X is the definite winner for offering better value for money. In case you’re wondering, the Shure MV7 retails for $311 on Amazon while you can get the Blue Yeti X for just $170. Also, the Blue Yeti X would be the wiser pick if you’re after pure signal as it’s a DSP-free mic. The only reason you should really splurge on the Shure MV7 is if you want the flexibility of switching between analog and digital connections.

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