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Despite working primarily from home for years before the pandemic, I hadn’t given much thought to my WFH setup before 2020. I went so far as to invest in a solid display, mainly because he was sick of squinting at a 13-inch laptop screen for eight hours every day. In fact, it wasn’t until earlier this year that I decided to upgrade my workspace in any significant way.
I attribute this to being someone who constantly talks himself out of buying things. I’m a pretty frugal person, but I have no problem buying things that I know will have a big impact on my day to day life. So, I invested in a good pair of ANC headphones when I was able to snag them on sale; a full size mechanical keyboard for a more comfortable (and more fun) typing experience and the Blue Yeti Nano Microphone for increasingly frequent video calls.
I’ll admit that the Yeti Nano was probably the lowest priority item of those three things, despite being a longtime favorite in the mic space. However, it has proven to be a wise investment, mainly because I now have more video conferences than ever before. In pre-pandemic times, I had maybe one video conference a week, and that was during the busiest times. But now, for many reasons ranging from the wide acceptance of remote work to advancing my own career, I typically have multiple video calls a day. And I believe in putting on my best face (and voice) as much as possible: I try to turn my Logitech Stream Cam on almost every video call I take and I wanted my voice quality to match my video stream.
Valentina Palladino / Engadget
The Yeti Nano microphone offers this in a fantastic way. In my initial game after unboxing the thing, I could immediately hear the difference in my audio when I recorded some test samples in Audacity. My voice sounded clearer and louder, and the audio lacked the subtly fuzzy quality I normally hear when using my laptop’s microphone.
The Yeti Nano supports both cardioid and omnidirectional polar patterns, but I usually keep mine on the former since I’m the only one who uses it on a daily basis. However, I like the fact that I have the option to start a roundtable podcast in the future without spending more money on a better microphone. I also like that the Yeti Nano comes in handy during the few times a year that I’m a guest on the Engadget podcast. Previously, for those occasions, I used an external microphone that I bought years ago, but it didn’t come with a solid base like the Yeti Nano. It would be a struggle to get that mic in the right position on my desk for optimal podcast performance, and I don’t anticipate the same struggle with the Yeti Nano.
I’ve long known how popular blue mics are with budding podcasters, game streamers, remote workers, and the like, which is why the brand was the first I turned to when looking for an upgrade. Of the many devices in the company’s lineup, I ultimately decided to purchase the Yeti Nano in part because of its design. It’s compact enough to sit on my desk converter standing next to my monitor without obscuring the screen too much, and it’s still a great spot for video calls. I was initially hesitating between the Nano and the full size yeti, but ultimately decided that the few extra bells and whistles that come with the latter, namely stereo and two-way modes, weren’t necessary for my regular use. I was also able to pick up the Yeti Nano while it was on sale on Amazon, so instead of spending $100, I only spent $80 on it. That means I can invest a few extra bucks in the next piece of tech I decide will make my desktop setup even more functional.