Logitech is launching a new suite of products that will begin shipping on September 24th and are aimed squarely at gamers, streamers, podcasters, and other creators. The biggest of these is the $149.99 Logitech G Yeti GX, a “broadcast-style” USB microphone with a heavy stand and RGB lighting.
The Yeti GX is a supercardioid dynamic microphone, which is a type of unidirectional microphone designed to focus the sound in front of the pickup rather than behind the microphone. This is good if you don’t want keyboard noise to overtake your voice. This also means that if you go off track your voice will quickly disappear, but the trade-off can be worth it when you’re facing poor recording spaces. Soren Pedersen, global product manager at Logitech, described it as having the vibration of a Shure SM7, a popular broadcast microphone.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a gaming 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 just 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 button activates Smart Audio Lock, a feature Pederson described as a “safety net” to prevent the microphone from clipping and distorting when, say, a streamer gets excited and starts shouting about something. The microphone does this with an analogue limiter – like you’d find on the Razer Seiren V2 X – that compresses the signal when you get too loud to stop the microphone from distorting. The feature also uses a built-in downward expander to decrease the volume of background noise or unwanted echo in a poor recording environment.
The microphone ships with a USB-C to USB-A cable for desktop mounting, but can also be connected to a standard boom mic stand, with adapters for 5/8-inch and 3/8-inch connections.
Logitech also announced the $59.99 Yeti Orb, a small ball-style USB microphone similar to the Yeti Snowball. The microphone has a more discreet appearance than the Snowball, with a fabric-covered front and configurable RGB lights on top. Like the Yeti GX, it has a USB-C port on the back for connecting to your computer. The Orb is a cardioid condenser microphone, and Logitech claims it will also minimize background noise. It can also be removed from its small table stand for use with a boom stand.
Logitech also announced an updated version of its Litra Beam X LED light bar, the $149.99 Litra Beam LX. The LX is double-sided, with an adjustable 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 use throughout the day. 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 specific vocal effects and audio profiles via 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 be flooded with strobing, pulsating RGB colors while you game. Logitech says they will also be compatible with Windows Dynamic Lighting, through which you can sync lighting effects with other non-Logitech lighting.
It’s important to note – and I do this with some nostalgic sadness – that these are the first Yeti microphones that don’t feature “Blue” branding since Logitech bought the company in 2018. In an FAQ earlier this year, Logitech said they didn’t. will no longer use the Blue brand in their product names and will instead use it “to describe our technologies.”
Serve one for old Blue, my friends.