Logitech is launching a new set of products that will begin shipping on September 24 and are aimed squarely at gamers, streamers, podcasters, and other creators. The large one is $149.99 Logitech G Yeti GXa “broadcast-style” USB microphone with a heavy stand and RGB lighting.
The Yeti GX is a dynamic supercardioid microphone, a type of unidirectional microphone designed to focus on the sound in front of the pickup rather than behind the microphone. That’s good if you don’t want keyboard noise to overpower your voice. It also means that if you move off-axis, your voice fades quickly, but the trade-off can be worth it when faced with poor recording spaces. Soren Pedersen, global product manager at Logitech, described it as having the vibe of a Shure SM7, a popular broadcast microphone.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a gamer’s microphone without configurable RGB lighting. There are two configurable LEDs, one in a circle on the back of the microphone and another behind the Logitech G logo on the side, and you can set various animated effects or simply choose a specific color for the lights. An LED strip on the digital volume wheel is red or blue, depending on whether the microphone is muted.
Pressing the volume wheel activates Smart Audio Lock, a feature Pederson described as a “safety net” to prevent the microphone from clipping and distorting when, for example, a streamer gets excited and starts yelling about something. The microphone does this with an analog limiter, like the one you’ll find on the Razer Seiren V2 X, which compresses the signal when the volume is too high to prevent the microphone from distorting. The feature also uses a built-in downstream expander to reduce the volume of unwanted background noise or echo in a poor recording environment.
The microphone ships with a desk stand with USB-C to USB-A cable, but can also be connected to a standard boom microphone stand, with adapters for 5/8-inch and 3/8-inch connections.
Logitech also announced the price of $59.99 yeti orb, a small ball-shaped USB microphone similar to the Yeti Snowball. The microphone has a more muted look than the Snowball, with a cloth-covered front and configurable RGB lights on top. Like the Yeti GX, it has a USB-C port on the back to connect to your computer. The Orb is a cardioid condenser microphone and Logitech says it will also minimize background noise. It can also be removed from its small desk stand to use with an arm stand.
Logitech also announced an updated version of its $149.99 Litra Beam X LED light bar. Litra Beam LX. The LX is two-sided, with a tunable white bar (2700K – 6500K) like the original on one side and an RGB light on the other. Senior product marketing manager Andrew Siminoff said the lights are UL certified for safe all-day use. The light has 1/4-20-inch threaded fittings for mounting on the end or middle of the light, and connects via USB-C or Bluetooth.
All three work with Logitech’s G Hub app to configure lighting effects, as well as vocal effects and specific audio profiles through the software’s Blue Voice feature presets. If you have multiple Logitech Lightsync devices, you can also sync lighting effects, if you really want to immerse yourself in pulsating, strobing RGB colors while you game. Logitech says they will also support Windows Dynamic Lighting, through which you can sync lighting effects with other non-Logitech lights.
It’s worth noting, and I do so with some nostalgic sadness, that these are the first Yeti microphones not to feature “Blue” branding since Logitech bought the company in 2018. In an FAQ earlier this year, Logitech said We will no longer use the Blue brand in the names of its products and will instead use it “to describe our technologies.”
Serve old Blue one, my friends.
