We've had a podcast on Co-Optimus now for close to 6 years, and its only this year that we've recently reformed it as more of a streaming show. That said, almost since the beginning we were using a Blue microphone for our audio recording. While we started with their Snowball lineup, it's their recent Blue Yeti Desktop Microphone that really ups the features and quality.
The microphone comes with a built in heavy duty stand, four recording patterns, and a built in gain dial. What makes the microphone unique is the directional recording that actually occurs on the SIDE of the screen rather than talking in from the top. The result is a recording that's more pleasing, flatter and, more natural sounding with less noise interference.
What I really like about the Yeti is I can place the microphone off to the side while streaming and it still picks up my audio really well. This removes the headset boom from my face and makes it more pleasant to interact with the audio via a webcam while streaming.
The other device Blue sent over is a pair of their Mo-Fi Headphones. What makes these headsets unique is the built in powered amplifier - which is charged via USB. Plugging these into a mobile device, like a tablet and then flicking on the amp gives you an incredibly rich and LOUD sound. These might be one of the most musical sets of cans I've ever listened to. In terms of gaming use I found them solid, but the quality difference seemed negligible over, say - the Astro A50s. Still the sounds were deep and rich, full textured.
Here's some video and audio impressions of both devices where you can actually here the difference in the Microphone's recording capabilities.
Thanks to Blue for sending over both the headset and the microphone. We'll be doing a giveaway of both devices in the near future so be sure to check back!
More info on the Blue Yeti can be found here: http://www.bluemic.com/snowball.
More info on the Mo-Fi Headsets can be found here: http://www.mofiheadphones.com/