Blue Microphone’s Icicle is a mic preamp and USB converter in a small cylindrical body. Plug it into the end of an XLR cable and any dynamic or condenser mic becomes a USB mic

FOR: Recording newbies as well as those who know their mics. Benefits to novices are obvious: simplicity, size and the stamp of a respected brand. For folks with a bigger mic closet, Icicle’s biggest benefit is universality. With a selection of mics of different characters, the Icicle acts like a traditional piece of analog hardware connecting various signals to the recorder.

NOT FOR: Monitoring what’s been recorded. Icicle is built for amplifying mic signals and sending them into the digital realm, but it has no audio output.