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Logitech Is Acquiring Blue Microphones For $117 Million In Cash (theverge.com)
Logitech announced late Monday night that it is acquiring Blue Microphones for $117 million. The company known for USB condenser microphones, such as the Snowball and Yeti, will join Logitech's existing portfolio of brands. The Verge reports: Founded in 1995, Blue sells microphones that range in price from $60 to over $4,000 (for studio-grade hardware), and they're used by podcasters, musicians, and any other consumers who need higher-fidelity audio than what they get from the built-in microphones on their devices. Now, after dropping a heap of cash on the company, Logitech will do its best to make sure Blue's devices become just as essential as its own wireless keyboards and mice. "For Logitech, this is a new space," the company wrote in a blog post. "But, at the same time, it's not at all. Gamers are already using our Logitech G webcams to stream. People are video calling with friends and family thanks to Logitech every day. And in business, our audio and video know-how is apparent every time a video meeting takes place at the office. Joining up with Blue and their microphone lines is a logical adjacent opportunity with great synergies."
They're making pretty damned good microphones e.g the Yeti is very popular among serious streamers.
I'd suggest if anyone is interested in getting one, do it before the deal takes serious effect, Logitech isn't what it once was.
Blue is kind of like Beats: stylish, easy to use, popular, but never the top quality in its price range.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Might be a good buy for Logitech but it will be an awful buy for everyone else. Just like Harmony they will destroy a vibrant company serving a niche market.
Harmony was producing new models and innovative remote products, then Logitech bought them and all new development stopped. The Harmony division hasn't produced a product that wasn't developed premerger. Blue Yeti will experience the same, logitech will cheap out in design products, ramp them then stop all development.
Just like harmony who was producing new products every year they will halt all new development, fire all the designers and developers and milk the product while it stagnates and dies.
Same as Squeezebox. Good products, killed by Logitech. Not sure why... I am pretty happy with the other products (mice and keyboards) from Logitech, but they seem to have some trouble running more "premium" product lines.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
I'm still pissed at them because of Squeezebox. I have two perfectly good Squeezeboxes gathering dust because they chose to abandon the Squeezebox community. As the rest of the world moved on to UPNP and standardized home media streaming platforms, Logitech chose not to. I would be hesitant to buy any higher end products from them that fall into this category again.
Participatory Governance : The only feasible option for a real democracy, where everyone really does have a say.
I've got a Yeti myself, and so does a friend of mine that runs his own business. He bought his after hearing how mine sounded, it can provide that rich "radio announcer" voice that people like to listen to. (in addition to the audio clarity, I also really appreciate its directivity and noise-cancelling selectable sampling patterns) He ended up re-dubbing all his existing instructional videos for his product line with the Yeit because of how much better it sounded.
I really don't know why you'd describe them (all?) as "crap mics", without anything to back up what you say, you don't sound very convincing. Cheap webcam mics are my idea of crap because that's what they sound like. And I'm speaking with over a dozen years of radio experience under my belt.
And no, you don't see them in hardly any big studios, because that's not what they are. They're high end consumer mics, not professional recording studio mics, at least not ones like what I got. The Yeti is one of their best values / most affordable small-studio-grade mics and is a great choice for smaller outfits like podcasters, streamers, and small businesses.
I get the impression you've never spent any time with a Blue mic and are just kicking the brand for some hidden agenda, or just snobbing it because "that's not what my friend the PRO uses".
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
Unlike TV, you need a big microphone if you are going to make a YouTube video, everybody knows that. And it should be placed directly in the middle of FOV.
Of course that is after you have placed your musical instruments and apple products casually in the background.
L'Idiot