Setup & Observations

Setting up the Blue Yeti Nano will require a single USB port and once plugged in Windows takes over and sets up the mic. As is, the mic will function just fine and can be adjusted via the microphone settings in the audio section of the main settings menu. However, if you wish to keep the Yeti Nano up-to-date or alter the gain, then you’ll need to download the software. The software also enables you to change the direct monitoring level as well as change the polar pattern.

Using the Yeti Nano daily has been an enjoyable and stress-free experience. The front volume control works very well and allows you to adjust the volume of your headphones without the need to utilise any settings on your PC. Having zero-latency audio monitoring is another great feature too, this enables you to hear exactly what the mic is picking up without any delay, and is brilliant if you need to monitor or adjust your levels while recording. In practice, we noted that this feature worked very well and meant we could keep tabs on how the audio sounded and if it was too loud or too quiet. The mute function works great too as you can quickly mute your audio if you need to take a call, cough or even sneeze during a live stream. That way you can keep anything private that needs to stay that way. Whats handy as well is that the dial illuminates very brightly to let you know when it’s muted and when the audio is being captured. When muted, it glows red and when active it’ll glow green, that way you’ll always know which state the microphone is in. We also like that the polar pattern switching button is slightly raised so that its easy to find if you need to change the pickup pattern when in use.


The majority of the Yeti Nano is metal with the exception of a few areas that are plastic. These include the rear button, the underside, the positioning adjustment and the volume control. To be honest given the price we were expecting even more plastic, but we are glad to see that this isn’t the case. The main microphone body feels extremely solid as does the metal stand. The plastic areas, of course, don’t have the same premium feeling yet they don’t too heavily detract from the overall build quality. The front volume control does has some wobble and play to it, but as it acts as a button, they couldn’t make it one dimensional as then it possibly wouldn't function as a button at all. The adjustments do feel a bit on the cheaper side, honestly though this isn’t a big issue as once you’ve got it into the optimal position you don’t really need to alter them again. The rear button is nicely tactile and has some good resistance which is reassuring, it also has very little play to it so it feels well planted within the mic.