Blue Yeti Vs Audio Technica AT2020

The Audio Technica AT 2020 and Blue Yeti are excellent mics and popular among content creators due to their good performance, ease of use, and high quality.

For beginners, the choice between the two can be difficult. In this article, we will discuss the pros and cons of the Blue Yeti VS Audio Technica AT2020. Hopefully, the comparison and contrast between the two mics can help you choose the best bet for your needs.

Audio Technica AT2020

The Audio Technica AT2020 is a reliable mic that has gained popularity due to its affordability and ease of use. It is a cardioid pattern mic that cancels noise and can be used as a directional mic. It’s a USB mic with a simple setup. The mic offers a lot of conveniences and comes with wide compatibility with Windows and Mac. The mic features a high-frequency range and provides a headphone jack for monitoring the audio in real-time. The mic also offers clear audio and stands on a sturdy and adjustable stand.

Blue Yeti

The Blue Yeti is one of the most popular mics in the industry. It’s a multi-pattern mic that offers versatility. The mic has a stylish look and comes with an adjustable and firm stand. The mic provides onboard control and gives clear audio for podcasting, live streaming, gaming, and video creation.

Audio Technica AT2020 VS Blue Yeti

Appearance

The Blue Yeti is an icon in terms of looks. It features a bulky look that is a bit retro, but you will find a balance of style and class in its look. The mic is heavy and has a visual presence that we love for recording videos. It is available in various beautiful colors.

The mic has an all-metal construction, that means it is very sturdy and can handle studio-life abuse well. The mic features a grill mesh that is durable and does a great job of canceling the noise. The double layer of mesh protects audio against plosives. It does not work entirely as a pop filter but cancels the environmental noise to an extent. Blue Yeti seems taller than Audio Technica AT2020.

The Audio Technica comes with a simple yet elegant look. It lacks the classic look of the Blue Yeti but still manages to look presentable in video recordings. The mic has a metal body like the Yeti and a mesh grill as well for canceling noise. So as far as looks are concerned, both mics look good and provide a nice visual appearance.

Weight

The Blue Yeti is bulkier than the AT2020. Yeti has the reputation of being one of the bulkiest mics in the industry. The mic is not an ideal travel partner due to its weight.

The Audio Technica AT2020, on the other hand, is far more light weight and is easier to pack into a bag.

Polar Patterns

The Blue Yeti is a versatile mic that comes with four polar patterns. These patterns make it ideal for different recording situations where you have several speakers or more than one host. The four polar patterns make it an excellent choice for different types of recordings like gaming, live streaming, discussion, video creation, and even music.

The four patterns it features are:

• Cardioid Pattern: The pattern picks up the audio from the front. It suits the single hosts or gamers who want to focus on one person—the cardioid pattern rejects audio from the rear and sides, making it cancel the noise.
• Bidirectional Pattern: A bi-directional pattern can pick up audio from both front and rear sides. It can record the audio from sides and rejects the left and right.
• Omnidirectional: An omnidirectional pattern picks up the audio from all sides. It leaves nothing and records the detailed audio no matter it is coming from sides or front and rear.
• Stereo: Stereo pattern records the audio from the left and right. It is ideal for a situation when the mic is placed between two hosts.

All these useful patterns make the Yeti a very versatile mic. Selection of these patterns is also easy as Yeti has knobs or buttons on both sides for selecting your required pattern.

The Audio Technica disappoints when we look at the polar pattern, especially when we compare it with the Yeti. The mic is not a versatile option like Blue Yeti and provides only one polar pattern. It is a cardioid mic that picks up audio from the front.

The mic does not offer any other pattern that limits its use to only situations where you need a cardioid pattern mic. However, what it does, it does well. It does a great job of canceling the rear and sides noises; recording only the audio you intend to record.

Onboard Control

Both mics offer a fair amount of onboard controls.

The Blue Yeti features all buttons on its sides and bottom. You can select the pattern from the sides of the mic. To the bottom, it features a headphone jack for listening to the audio in real-time. You also get a volume control knob for adjusting the volume while monitoring the audio in real-time.

The Blue Yeti also provides a Mute button that is not present on the AT2020. The Blue Yeti can be muted with a quick button press, and a light indicator shows when the mic is off or on.

Besides all these, the mic also provides a gain control knob to adjust the gain to 20dB.

With that said, the AT2020 offers decent onboard controls as well. It features a headphone jack that allows zero-latency monitoring. The mic also features an advantageous option that is a Mixer. With this button, you can mix the recorded tracks, music, or audio from other sources and embed them into the live streaming or recording. You don’t need a mixer to do that, as it can be done right from the mic.

Unfortunately, besides these two options, we don’t have any other option in AT2020. There is no mute or gain control knobs like Yeti here.

Setup

Both Blue Yeti and Audio Technica AT2020 are two USB mics. As these are USB mics, you don’t need any audio interface to convert the audio signals into digital signals. They offer a simple setup. Plug in the USB cable into your system, and both mics are ready to go.

Audio Quality

Both mics offer an excellent frequency response. The mics give clear and crisp audio. The Yeti gives more detailed audio with its sensitive three array capsules. AT2020 also provides noise-free audio with its cardioid pattern mic.

The Blue Yeti gives broadcast-quality audio that makes it a better option for podcasting. The AT2020 provides a bit more raw audio that suits singers better.

Overall, both provide excellent audio quality and you can’t go wrong with either. 

Stand

Both Blue Yeti and AT2020 come with their mic stands. Both are adjustable mic stands that allow you to keep the mic at an optimal position.

If we go a little deeper, we have to admit the Blue Yeti stand is more sturdy and flexible. Blue Yeti is a beasty mic, and to compliment that mic, they have provided a very sturdy stand. The Audio Technica AT2020 comes with an adjustable tripod stand, but you might want to toss the flimsy stand to the side and want to buy something stronger and more stable instead.

Advantages of Blue Yeti

Multi-Pattern Mic

Probably the most stunning feature of Blue Yeti is its multiple options for recording patterns. These patterns make the Yeti a versatile option that you can use in several situations. The muli-patterns make them suitable for different applications. It suits a single user, multi-user, and even a group of people around the table can discuss, and Yeti works well in picking up the audio from all sides with its omnidirectional pattern.

Gain Control

The mic offers a gain control knob so you can adjust the noise level up to 20 dB. The feature becomes an important one, especially when dealing with high bass audio and loud noises. The 20 dB gain control keeps the audio smooth and pleasant to the ears.

Sturdy Stand

The Blue Yeti stand also wins the race for being more secure and stable. It also has a nicer appearance as compared to the AT2020. The stand of Yeti complements the overall style and look of Yeti.

Mute Button

The mic features a mute button from where you can turn off the mic at once. The button seems very handy when you have to stop recording in between to sneeze or cough. A red light indicator lets you show when the mic is on the mute button.

Disadvantages of Blue Yeti

Bulkier Mic

The Blue Yeti is larger and bulkier than Audio Technica AT2020. The mic nearly weighs 550 grams. It is thus not a very portable option but will not be an issue if you plan to only use it in a fixed location.

Not a Mixer

Another disadvantage of Yeti is that it does not come with a mixing option. It may not seem very important for some. Still, suppose your podcasting or other live streaming setup includes playing the different audio records between your sessions. In that case, the AT2020 does well in blending the pre-recorded audio into your soundtracks.

Less Noise Cancellation

Blue Yeti gives excellent audio quality, and its different patterns make it perfect, but its sensitive capsules may tend to pick up little noise from the environment. Though the double grill mesh cancels most unwanted noises, it may still capture some noise.

Affordability

That is probably the most significant advantage of choosing the Blue Yeti over the Audio Technica AT2020. Despite its all multi-pattern, solid build, and broadcast-quality audio, the Blue Yeti is still more affordable than the Audio Technica. It comes at a lower price than AT2020 and is easier to recommend for those on a tighter budget.

Advantages of Audio Technica AT2020

Mixer Button

Unlike the Blue Yeti, the AT2020 comes included with a mixer button. The button is placed right on the mic and is very easy to access. You can blend in pre-recorded audio even while live streaming, and it blends into your audio easily.

Less Bulky

As we have already mentioned, Blue Yeti is a heavy mic and larger in size. The AT2020 weighs less than Yeti and thus easier to pack in a bag, carry, or even place on a smaller microphone arm stand. The lighter weight of the AT2020 makes it a far better option to travel with.

Excellent Audio

The AT2020 is a cardioid pattern mic. It picks up audio from the front. The mic cancels the noise from the rear or sides and gives clear and crisp audio, which can be better for those who do not want to risk recording in the wrong recording pattern, which can happen in the Blue Yeti. 

Disadvantages of AT2020

Mute Button

The mic does not feature any mute button. So you cannot turn off the mic immediately in between recordings.

Gain control

The mic does not offer a button like Yeti again. AT2020 won’t allow any noise pad that seems a bit disappointing to podcasters and singers.

Expensive

Like we have mentioned, the Blue Yeti comes with great features as compared to AT2020, but still, the Audio Technica AT2020 is pricier and expensive.

Final Words

Both the Audio Technica AT2020 and Blue Yeti are fantastic microphones in their own right. Both have their pros and cons when compared to one another, yet they both appeal to a wide audience that are looking for a solid USB mic.

The Blue Yeti can be used for gaming, podcasting, live streaming, and meetings. On the other hand, the Audio Technica AT2020 is more suitable for music production and streaming.

The right choice for you highly depends on your use-case, but in the end, both options offer a great value for money and you can’t go wrong with either.