Back in January when Blue Microphones made
the announcement at CES that the Spark Digital would first be released with two
other mobile recording devices. Our interest was immediately aroused by the
mic's iOS and USB 2.0 connectivity, which allows it to support the iPad, iPhone
and iPod touch via the 30-pin jack. After a long and tiring time of waiting that
lasted until a few weeks ago, Blue’s latest product finally arrived. Was the
long wait worth it? Does the Spark Digital do a good part to strengthen Blue
Microphones’ reputation of its excellent recording products? Please join us as
we bring accessories to the test and give you the answers to these questions.
Blue
Microphone Spark Digital
Hardware
In Vegas when we tried to make a good quick
test on the Spark Digital, we noticed the stable build quaity, which has become
a mainstay throughout Blue’s microphone series. This unit is a product of other
metals with blue and silver color scheme is quite luxurious. Despite its claims
to a studio-quality experience, the device remains comparable in size to a SM57
or SM58, measuring a hair less than 7.5 inches tall and an inch and a half in
both width and depth. Of course, its size increases quite a bit once you attach
the accessories to the metal stand that's included in the box. Don't let those
figures fool you; however, the Spark Digital has much weight. Let's understand
it this way: you will know when you've added it to your daily luggage.
Its
accessories
On our tour around the device, a
combination volume and gain control stays on the front with four LED lights
above it that serve as a level indicator. Turning the knob left or right while
pushing it mutes the mic. There is also another larger LED on the dial itself
that lets you know when you are on mute mode and when the microphone is hot.
All of those controls are great, but the plastic button/dial comes off just too
easily. It is not attached to any pin to help hold it firmly and it sometimes came
off while we were movig. Another built-in switch is an on/off toggle for the
Focus Control around the back. Last but not least, a jack lies on the bottom of
the unit that accepts both the 30-pin cable for iOS devices and a USB option
for connecting to a laptop or desktop.
As we mentioned briefly earlier, the Spark
Digital is accompanied by several essential accessories in the box. First, there
is a metal desktop stand – which is similar to the Yeti’s hold included for
handling accessories throughout the recording time. The base rotates 180
degrees and can be pinned into a position once it is positioned like that. Our
only complaint with the microphone stand is that the pedestal on which it is mounted
is held firmly by a small bungee cord/rubber band-type rope, acting as a
shockmount to keep the microphone safe from vibration. This makes a stand not firm
enough when placed in a corner due to the weight of the microphone regardless
of the purpose of the holder, even if you will not move it between the recording
time. However, if you keep everything vertical, you will not have any problems.
In addition to the stand, other necessary
cables are included as well. Again, you can connect via a 30-pin connector or a
USB port. The Spark Digital doesn't have a built-in headphone jack like its
bigger brother, the Yeti, but it offers said connection along with the cable
that connects to your laptop or mobile devices – a pretty nice detail. A soft
bag for carrying the mobile recording unit also comes as a standard, along with
a second compartment on the inside to keep both of the cables tidy. You may be
asking: "a 30-pin connector?" Yes, unfortunately you have read that
correctly. In order to use this beast with the latest iPhone, iPad and iPad
mini, you'll have to grab an extra adapter to make all the things operate.
Perhaps a third cable will soon be introduced for the Lightning connection, but
for now, it must be made sure you have picked up that $30 adapter before you intend
to record anything.
Software and setup
Blue
Microphones made the Spark Digital's setup process extremely simple.
Continuing its pattern of the plug-and-play
devices, Blue Microphones made the Spark Digital's setup process extremely
simple. If you've already installed a couple of recording software for example,
GarageBand, StudioMini and others – you are just a plug-in and some clicks in
the Settings menu away. The entire process takes you less than a minute, which
keeps the focus on actually recording, and not getting the equipment set up and
connected. During our time with it, we didn't face any trouble going through
the process every time we moved in and out and the fact that GarageBand
automatically detected the accessory made the job become even easier.
Let's talk a bit about that Focus Control, is
it all right? On the outside, the feature is supposed to enhance recordings for
greater clarity and detail when used in the the "Normal" mode, but
there is more to it than what has been mentioned. Toggling the Focus Control on
will alter the voltage of the microphone's internals (specifically the capsule)
and, therefore, alter also the dynamic frequency response. This provides a much
deeper change than a filter would do, which does not adjust the unit's signal
output. Instead, the input driver takes all of the changes. All of that can be
summarized like this: the Focus Control offers two unique options for recording
with the same sound quality for each. It's not really a matter of whether
either of them works better than the other, but rather of selecting which of
the two works best in a given scenario.
