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Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

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Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#71

Post by bserge »

ryankrage77 wrote: post #28
diarrhea wrote: post #2

People vastly undervalue good audio quality. It also often makes the difference (given equal visuals) between great amateur and pro in e.g. the YouTube scene. I didn't have data to back this up before, but I bought a good microphone specifically for this purpose. People will simply like the audio, and by extension what I am saying and also me as a person, better. Meanwhile, my ears will continue to bleed from the awf…

Tomska used to have a video mentioning this (though in the context of making YouTube videos), in which he demonstated that video from a iPhone camera in conjunction with a professional mic was much more watchable than video from a professional camera with an iPhone mic. Sadly the video seems to have been removed, the only reference I could find was the last paragraph of this Wired Article, https://www.wired.co.uk/art…

And that was in 2015, wow. Nowadays a high end smartphone's camera delivers results close to a dedicated camera, assuming good lighting and stock lens. The difference is pretty much unnoticeable if you watch it on a smartphone, tablet or any small screen. If you're just starting out with video, it makes little sense to invest in a dedicated camera.

Audio, on the other hand, a couple hundred dollars on a good mic and preamp/recorder will be worth it 100%. It will make a noticeable difference on both good speakers/headphones and on the small speakers in phones.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#72

Post by jillesvangurp »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #39

I just use a pair of Bose QuietComfort III headphones. The audio from the built-in mic is very good. Zero background noise. I suspect a really good condenser mic, with a filter, would be better, but these headphones work great. I have noticed that people that use earbuds (in particular, Apple AirPods Pro), seem to also supply a lot of background noise. That does not happen with my headset.

With bluetooth headsets you have several issues:

- aggressive noise reduction can add unpleasant distortion

- depending what you use them with, you get a low bitrate bi-directional codec that does not sound great.

- any bluetooth interference leads to dropped frames and choppy sound.

- There's a bit of extra latency. I've had issues with bluetooth sound visibly getting out of sync with video I was watching. I expect this could also happen for the microphone.

The worst is people who are not aware they sound bad that ought to know better. I've had more than a few calls with people who basically talk a lot on audio/video calls professionally (e.g. recruiters, sales people, etc.) with apparently really shitty headsets. A lot of those people were using some bluetooth headset that combined with a lousy network (or saturated upload in the case of DSL), makes for a really lousy sound quality. Talking extra loud does not really help.

I just picked up a pair of Shure Aonic 50 headphones. I asked a few people in calls if it was an improvement over my built in imacs microphone. Answer: nope. It wasn't horrible but not exactly an upgrade. I also was not enjoying the low bit rate with the bi-directional codec that makes people sound like they are on a bad phone line. So, I switched to using the headphones for output only. The imac microphone is fine. I just need to make sure to be near it when talking.

If I bought these for calls I'd be annoyed of course. But I bought them for their sound quality and ability to filter out my obnoxious neighbor. Neighbor cancelling headphones are great for my stress levels.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#73

Post by happyhardcore »

AdamCraven wrote: post #57

If you’re on Mac a fairly cheap way (around $300/£250) to get a great sounding voice is to buy an ok microphone and Logic Pro. This will sound better than buying a microphone of the same price. In Logic add an equaliser to counteract microphone and room deficiencies. Then finish off with a compressor to add extra “warmth” Once done, output logic audio to a virtual sound card (eg sound flower) and use that as an input…

Reaper [1] is a good alternative to Logic that's platform agnostic (Windows / Mac / Linux) and is cheaper at 60 USD (plus the software doesn't enforce any restrictions at the end of the free trial, but you should still buy the thing if you can afford it!)

[1] http://reaper.fm/

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#74

Post by jtbayly »

criddell wrote: post #45
ryankrage77 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tomska used to have a video mentioning this (though in the context of making YouTube videos), in which he demonstated that video from a iPhone camera in conjunction with a professional mic was much more watchable than video from a professional camera with an iPhone mic. Sadly the video seems to have been removed, the only reference I could find was the last paragraph of this Wired Article, https://www.wired.co.uk/art…

Is there some way on the iPhone / iPad to shoot video with a Bluetooth mic? I bought a BT lapel mic and whenever it was connected to the phone, it showed up as headphones and audio wouldn't play from the phone until I disconnected it. If Bluetooth is the wrong technology, what would you recommend?

Bluetooth is wrong because it is almost always low quality. You need a wired mic.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#75

Post by ghaff »

fooblat wrote: post #51

It is amazing to me that we still have such a distance between people on this. Some people have basically created a tv studio at home with a nice set, good lighting, nice background, quality camera, and mic. Having a video call with these people is a nice and smooth. And somehow we still have people that think sitting in a noisy, messy room with the sun at their back and using their laptop's built-in mic/speakers is…

On the one hand, I'm sympathetic that not everyone has a place to create a TV studio at home. On the other hand, there are easy ways to block out the light from a backlighting window and to add a key light.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#76

Post by wombatmobile »

paulpauper wrote: post #27

why are so many people so cost conscious about mics and other consumer goods but have no hesitation about putting tons of money in the stock market , which sometimes drops 30% or more, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars or more of losses. Psychologically, it seems people are much more unnerved about overpaying $100 on a mic or laptop, versus potentially much larger losses on investments such as stocks or real e…

Good question, although the stock market is something else again.

Possibly your question/comment would resonate more with people if you compared the spend on a microphone with the spend on a suit, or a pair of shoes. It's easy to see the value of quality there, for appearance, comfort and health.

In the case of a microphone, the purpose is to communicate your thoughts, and to make a good impression, so the investment keeps working and giving you a return on investment for longer than the first few moments. And a good mic will last longer than an article of clothing.

A good mic is a great investment.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#77

Post by Mauricebranagh »

AdamCraven wrote: post #57

If you’re on Mac a fairly cheap way (around $300/£250) to get a great sounding voice is to buy an ok microphone and Logic Pro. This will sound better than buying a microphone of the same price. In Logic add an equaliser to counteract microphone and room deficiencies. Then finish off with a compressor to add extra “warmth” Once done, output logic audio to a virtual sound card (eg sound flower) and use that as an input…

I have been playing around with this using Ableton live - windows really needs a native way of doing this like sound flower.

I experimented using a second sound card and routing the out of my main to that - but I had ground loops.

I wanted this for TTRPG streaming so I could treat my voice to fit with the character better.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#78

Post by stunt »

ruph123 wrote: post #11

A cheap and usable condenser mic costs 30 bucks (e.g. Fifine), a lavalier mic costs between 2 bucks on aliexpress and 50 for e.g. from Rode. (I found that the ultra cheap aliexpress are the exact same like the no-brand 10 bucks on amazon, like so many things) I got both but mostly use the condenser mic and it is an absolute game changer. If you want to explain something it is so noticeable in the eyes of your confere…

That's more about podcasting setup though. Conferencing setup is different because you also have to listen to others.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#79

Post by loa_in_ »

paulpauper wrote: post #27

why are so many people so cost conscious about mics and other consumer goods but have no hesitation about putting tons of money in the stock market , which sometimes drops 30% or more, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars or more of losses. Psychologically, it seems people are much more unnerved about overpaying $100 on a mic or laptop, versus potentially much larger losses on investments such as stocks or real e…

That's because we're still animals, not some abstract economical agents.
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