This is the comparison between two popular and successful brands microphone i.e. Blue Ember and Audio-Technica AT2020. Both the microphones have their own features with different designs. The price gap between both the microphones is huge. This review comparison will give you clear idea and make it easy for you to decide that which one better foryou.

Blue Ember	Audio-Technica AT2020
BUY NOW	BUY NOW
PROS	PROS
Ideal for podcasters and streamers. Effective off-axis rejection. Provides protection from pops. Portable for XLR mic. Versatile usage. Built-in damping provides excellent clarity.	Good sound on vocals and instruments. Extremely versatile and can be used for just about anything. The authentic dynamic response captures the nuances of a recording.
CONS	CONS
The pop filter is missing. Requires external interface with +48V phantom power. Multiple accessories aren’t included.	Noise level slightly higher than average. Only features a cardioid polar pattern.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Detail Review:

INTRODUCTION:

Blue Ember

This microphone is specifically made for streamers, musicians, podcasters, and, Youtubers. It has a low-profile and side-address design. The blue ember is an XLR studio condenser microphone for recording and streaming. It has a high-quality microphone and perfect for a range of applications. It records both vocals and instruments with peace of mind. If you do want to pick this microphone up it will set you back around $100.

Audio-Technica AT2020

The Audio Technica AT2020 is a cardioid condenser microphone. It’s a side addressed microphone meaning that it’s gonna be able to pick up the sound from the size of the microphone. As this is a true condenser microphone,  it does require a full 48 volts of phantom power to work and it is an XLR microphone and you can set it up using the Behringer UM2 to provide the power and the interface to the computer. This microphone will not work with an XLR to USB cable, an XLR to 3.5-millimeter cable and it won’t work with a USB soundcard it needs full phantom power to work.

DESIGN: 

Blue Ember

The build quality for $100 is pretty awesome. It has an all-metal body which feels very sturdy to the touch. It has a sleek and compact design combined with the side-address makes it perfect for use on a video or in studios. It also has an all-metal mesh pop filter which doesn’t have any give to it. It is a little bit heavy weighing and at 0.38 kilograms. As you will move around the microphone you won’t find a damn thing on it but on the bottom, you will find an XLR port.

Audio-Technica AT2020

The microphone itself is kind of small which is great. It feels very solid. The build quality of this microphone feels pretty great. The material is a type of metal finish and it feels substantial. On top of that, the microphone mount is actually metal as well and it feels like it’s built to last and like it’s not going to fail. It has a black sleek design, it kind of blends in with your desk very easily. As it is smaller and a little bit compact it will fit nicely on your desk. If you’re gonna have it on some type of swingarm anything like that it’s not gonna be that heavy at all.

Everything will be able to work fine with this microphone. Also, it comes with the little old tripod stand there. The tripod stand that comes with the microphone, works very well.  You can set it on your desk easily and it gest perfectly fit on the desk and work very well. The good thing about this microphone is that there’s clearly labeled that which is the back, so you’re not going to end up speaking into the wrong side of the microphone.

FEATURES:

Blue Ember

In the box, you are going to get the microphone, you’ll get the microphone mount as well as a 5/8 to 3/8 inch microphone stand adaptor, and, you’ll get some documentation. Blue Ember has a cardioid polar pattern. Frequency response is of 38 Hertz to 20 kilohertz, a sensitivity of around negative 38 and 1/2 decibels, a max SPL of 132 DB, an impedance of 40 ohms, and, a phantom power requirement of plus 48 volts.

In terms of pros, the microphone does seem to have a somewhat tight polar pattern which means it will mainly pick up your voice when you will speak into it and it doesn’t pick up too much room ambiance. Another thing is the off-axis coloration on this thing is pretty damn insane given the price, as you will move around to 90 degrees there really isn’t much coloration to it, all you start to hear is a little bit more of their room as well as a little bit of attenuation to the volume and decrease in the lower frequencies.

The build quality of this microphone does feel really nice, but then in terms of cons, this microphone just doesn’t do a very good job at rejecting plosives. So you definitely will need to have a very good microphone technique or you’ll have to pick up a pop filter and the proximity effect can get out of hand very quickly. Also, it sounds a bit sibilant due to the treble boost.

Audio-Technica AT2020

In the box with the microphone, you also get a microphone mount, it also comes with a 5/8 to 3/8 inch microphone stand adapter that allows you to hook up the mic mount to a stand properly. It also comes with a really nice padded pouch to store the microphone and lastly, it comes with some documentation. Note that it does not come with a microphone cable, so you will need to purchase that separately if you plan on getting this microphone.

The frequency response of this microphone is 20 Hertz to 20 kilohertz which is everything that you could want out of a microphone. That means it picks up pretty much every single audible frequency that the human ear can hear. It also matches that it is a cardioid polar pattern. So it will only pick you up when you will speak into the front, it will not pick up much audio when you will speak into the back or speak into the top or into the bottom. Also, the impedance of this microphone is 100 ohms, Maximum input sound level is 144 dB SPL, 1 kHz at 1% T.H.D, Noise is 20dB SPL, Dynamic range is 1254 dB, 1 kHz at Max SPL, Phantom power requirements is 48V DC, 2 mA typical and so on there is a list of the other specifications.

PERFORMANCE:

Blue Ember

On the acoustic guitar, it sounded pretty good, the low end got a little bit boomy even though miking the guitar near the 12th fret and angling it towards the soundhole which should eliminate the majority of the base of the guitar but it still sounded a little bit boomy. Although in the top end there still is a lot of attacks so the articulation doesn’t get completely lost or overpowered by the base of this mic. For singing, it sounded alright. It may have been a little bit too clear or had a little bit too much detail but, it still sounded relatively smooth and pretty usable. It may not be my very first choice for a singing vote microphone but if this is all that you got it’s still gonna work pretty well.

For spoken word, that is where this microphone really starts to shine the bass is rather prominent and the proximity effect can get a little bit out of hand if you get too close to the microphone, but there is plenty of detail and clarity in the top-end to offset that so it doesn’t get completely lost. As far as the mids on this microphone it sounds pretty transparent where there’s nothing really popping out and sounding like a troubling frequency.

It simply has a very finished sounding tone with a little bit of boost to the bass and a little bit of boost to the treble and air to give you a little bit of added clarity. So, you would not need to do much EQ work and post short of maybe adding a high-pass filter. For streaming which is one of the labels they use, they actually turned the microphone the way they did with a little bit of boost to the low end and a little bit of boost to the high end as they found the majority of streamers doing in terms of EQ when they’re putting their microphone into OBS or their streaming software. On the note of background noise rejection for streamers this microphone does an okay job, it’s nothing amazing but it’s fine it did still pick up quite a bit of clickety-clack from the keyboard.

Audio-Technica AT2020

The AT2020 is definitely a good upgrade for people coming out of the built-in microphones and then laptop or desktop and just want a better audio experience. One downfall about the microphone is that it doesn’t have any buttons or knobs on the device itself. So, you can’t really customize the microphones to fit different audio situations, change the patterns nothing like that. It’s really what you see is what you get with the microphone unless you go into some audio software. In a way, this microphone is good for a lot of people because of this price point. So, it’s a great price point for people looking to get their first upgrade the first step to better audio quality.

The sound effects changes as you go one foot away or two feet away or about four-five feet away from the microphone. And if you will test it with a keyboard, you will come to know that how much this microphone picks up your voice versus how much of the keyboard in the background will. It will sound different if you play music on the microphone. Overall this microphone is a pretty great-sounding microphone and the build quality is also really impressive.

WHICH ONE IS BETTER FOR THE PRICE?

The sound of Blue Ember is better than AT2020. The sound quality of AT2020 is a little bit thin and harsh. AT2020 has a high bit frequency which is kind of annoying. On the note of background noise rejection for streamers the Blue Ember does an okay job, it’s nothing amazing but it’s fine it did still pick up quite a bit of clickety-clack from a keyboard. I don’t think AT2020 is going to be a microphone that you’re going to want if you’re just doing voiceovers on YouTube and you’re not professional. This is going to be for people who are a little bit more serious about getting high-quality audio the kind of people who will be investing in an actual USB audio interface as well as a pop filter because that will really help you get the best out of this microphone.

Blue Ember is more reasonable than AT2020, AT2020 is expensive. If your budget is low, go for Blue Ember and if Your budget is high, go for AT2020.

Expert Reviews of Blue Ember:

By soundguys
Yes, for $99, the Blue Ember is an excellent value, and worth configuring in your studio. The understated design is gorgeous in its modesty, and I found myself wanting to include it in the frame of a video. Although it may…

By pcmag
What at first seemed like pure marketing we can now confirm as truth—the Blue Ember is a solid non-USB microphone for home studios and streamers. If all of the required gear sounds like a headache, don’t fear—there are…

By prosondnetwork
The latest offering from acclaimed manufacturer Blue Microphones is Ember, an XLR condenser studio microphone for recording and live streaming. Though it comes in at just under $100 ($99.99), the Ember is an exceptional microphone irrespective of cost…

By reviewgeek
The Ember is Blue’s most affordable XLR mic for home recording, podcasters, and live streaming. The company has the equally-affordable Encore 100…

By IGN
t $99, the Blue Ember is matched in value only by certain colors of the Blue Yeti. You’ll need a few extras to get up and running, but while you’d replace any of the mics here the minute you decided to buy a mixer, the Ember be ready regardless of how you upgrade your setup. I’m disappointed Blue…

Expert Reviews of Audio-Technica AT2020:

By Sound On Sound
As a low-cost, general-purpose capacitor microphone, the AT2020 is hard to fault other than on account of its noise level. I particularly liked the well-balanced sound this microphone produced, both on voice and on acoustic…

By old-time music
We don’t need to spend too much time discussing the positive points of the Audio-Technica 2020, because we have already highlighted so many. Also, we have already discussed that at this price point, it represents great value. It may…

By MusicCritic
It is a sensibly priced microphone for a low-budget set-up. It has an airy sound and captures good clean vocal takes. It has a smooth, crisp, and well-balanced dynamic…

By IGN
The AT2020 delivers super audio but requires more parts to get up and running than a dedicated USB mic. This is for people serious about audio quality, but given the limitations of streaming, the…

By Gearank
The Audio-Technica AT2020 is an ideal budget-friendly condenser mic for home studios that are expanding to capture loud sound sources. It is a great supplementary mic if you already have a large-diaphragm condenser, and…