I bought this mic, when it was on sale. Good price, it worked very well and sounded good. I was quite excited to use it on skype calls. Then, the computer went to sleep and the microphone wouldn't wake up, even when it was unplugged and replugged. If I wanted to use the Yeti, the computer had to be rebooted. I searched the internet for solutions. How to keep a USB port awake, not sure how much power it draws but my computer doesn't like it. So it sits on my desk, unplugged, most of the time.
As for the issue of taking over the audio inputs and outputs, yes sorta. I went in the control panel -> clicked on -> sound icon, on the play back tab, reselected my speakers (x-fi)output -> clicked on playback tab, made sure the yeti was selected Default. That was it. It takes over the audio properties on your computer, because it has a build-in headphone jack and the tri-capsule array for directional recording.
I might have rated it lower, if I was sure it was the microphone and not a weak 5 volt power supply on the USB ports in the computer. I would have rated it higher, if it worked all the time.
Well have a good day. and if someone figures out how to keep the Yeti awake and out of hibernation, Write a review somewhere. I will keep searching.