Task: Sentiment Analysis
Input (English): I will admit, the Icicle does allow you to plug any mic with an XLR jack to your computer using a USB jack. It does indeed provide phantom power to condenser mics and it will deliver a signal to your recording software.  Beyond that, the usefulness depends on your mic and what you consider an acceptable recording level.  I tried this with an AKG 200, BLUE enCORE 200 and an AKG 4500. All deliver very nice sound when used in a conventional recording chain. I could barely get an audible record level yelling into the enCORE 200, my staple for location voice recording. Normally, I plug the enCORE directly into a digital audio recorder with an XLR cable. No mic preamp, no phantom power, no EQ, and I get a good clean clear sound level near the peak of input level.  This is one very disappointing product. If you route your mic through a preamp, then put the Icicle between the preamp and the USB input of your computer, you can get a decent record level, but that extra equipment is what this light weight gadget is supposed to avoid. Personally, I think you might be better off getting a decent channel strip* or mic preamp and an XLR to to mini jack to go between the channel strip and your computer input and forget the Icicle altogether.  BLUE makes some great products, but this is not one of their better ones.  *For those that don't know, Channel Strips combine several pieces of equipment into one box: typically a mic preamp and a compressor. Higher end units add some EQ capability as well or have other options. 
 Polarity: Negative
Output (English): True