Most know Blue to be a manufacturer of high quality studio microphones. Their creative, intuitive and distinctive designs have caught attention from many engineers over the years. I remember a couple of years ago thinking to myself "I wish they would come out with a live microphone, I bet it would be awesome." So needless to say, when I found out I was going to be reviewing two of these mics, I was a happy guy!
The Gear
The Blue en·CORE series is currently composed of four different microphones; the 100 Series, 200 Series, 300 Series and the 100i Series. The two that I was sent are the 100 Series and 200 Series mics. Both of these sport a beautifully hand painted logo and CNC-machined grip. They both come with a soft grip mic clip and a soft inner lined mic bag.
The outside of these microphones are made up of a heavy gauge barrel and a strong reinforced grill that's finished off with a hardened metal plated finish. While both microphones do share some similar characteristics on the outside, they differ a bit on the inside.
The 100 Series is a dynamic microphone with a cardioid pickup pattern. It has a frequency response of 50 Hz – 15 kHz. The output impedance is 250 ohms and it weighs in at just .88 lbs. One thing I was impressed to see is that this microphone has a maximum SPL of 147! That's pretty high, even for a dynamic. Yes, I know, that usually is not a problem, but I have been in a position before where a singer bottomed out a microphone before. It was not a very pleasant sound, to say the least.
The 200 Series is an active dynamic – yes, I said active dynamic. This microphone has a cardioid pickup pattern as well. What makes this mic an "active" dynamic is that it has an active circuit onboard, allowing the output to be transformed and give roughly 4dB more gain out of the microphone.
Since this microphone does have an active circuit in it, phantom power is required to power the circuitry. One small but really cool feature on this microphone is that it has an indicator light on it, letting you know that phantom power is active in the microphone. This is something that can be really handy in the troubleshooting stage of gigs.
This microphone has an output impedance of 25 ohms and weighs in at just .88 lbs. It also has a frequency response of 50 Hz – 16 kHz. This one also has the amazing 147 SPL capacity as well.
The Drop
One of the things that is always done with a microphone road test is the infamous "drop test." This is a simple yet effective way of seeing how reliable a microphone will be throughout the rigors of the road. I'm not gonna lie, I was curious to see how reliable these mics would be, especially the 200 Series, considering it has active electronics inside of it. Both microphones not only worked after the drop test, it was nearly impossible to see if and where a dent was on the grill.
The Gig
I used these mics on a gig at a country bar. This place is definitely not the best sounding room. It has a shiny hard cement floor and glass windows all around. Not having a graphic EQ on anything does not help matters much either, so a good sounding stable mic would be greatly appreciated in a room like this.
Before anyone got there, I did a comparison between the two Blue mics and a couple other vocal mics that were at the venue. Through my comparison between the house mics and the Blue mics, I found the Blues to have a more natural, smooth sound. The 200 Series in particular had a nice warm, deep sound on the low end and a clear sound to it on the high end, almost like a condenser.
Oddly enough, with the condenser-like sound of the 200 Series, it also seemed like it had a bit more gain before feedback right off the bat before any of the other mics. From a performers' point of view, both of these mics do not have a particularly tight pattern. So a performer doesn't have to be right on top of it all the time and can "work" the mic a bit.
All in all, I like these mics. They have a great price point, seem to be reliable, and most importantly sound great. It would be nice to see a screw-on wireless capsule for these sometime in the future, as most of the shows I do use wireless.
Blue en·CORE 100 and 200 Series Microphones
Pros: Competitive price, rugged outer shell and grill, phantom power indicator light (200 Series only).
Cons: No wireless capsules available.
MSRP: Encore 100: $99; Encore 200: $149.
