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Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

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Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#101

Post by simplyinfinity »

xenocratus wrote: post #91
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…

> my ears will continue to bleed from the awful audio people broadcast into this world. I wonder, most people must notice how terrible everyone in e.g. video conferences sounds; If it is physically hurting your ears or being difficult to follow then it's understandable, but otherwise (as you mention with the masks) this sounds very superficial. Do you also complain about people wearing the wrong kind of clothes (and…

Acoustics & audio quality is important when trying to pay attention. Crappy acoustics can fatigue you and give you headache. Crappy audio can distract you, make you mishear things and overall is tiring to listen to. I've skipped online videos and lectures due to crap audio. I've gotten headaches and sore throat after sitting & talking in echo-y rooms for 30 mins.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#102

Post by Mauricebranagh »

scrozart wrote: post #82
Mauricebranagh wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I may have to send this link to our thursday night GM :-) his cheap headset mic keeps popping and has terrible quality. I use a chaepo Plantronics £40 for work but for my steaming I use a Focusrite claret and a separate cheap dynamic mic (plus an exciter). I do need to upgrade that mic to a sm58b or a AT 3035. I have thought about buying a focusrite scarlet and use a separate dynamic mic for work as well.

I have a similar setup, but use a Sennheiser e935. Sounds incredible. After 25 years in both live audio and recording, I would highly recommend it over the Beta 58. I might even use the e835 before the beta; certainly before the standard 58. Also, regarding the AT3035, I've recently purchased an AT2020 on a park since the price was insane (like $90 US), and it sounds great! I used it on a remote recording session as…

Ty for that.

I just used some 15 year old entry level Shure's I had from 15 years ago - massive self noise.

I think I was tending to the 30 as its a slightly hotter mic

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#103

Post by josephg »

shoto_io wrote: post #25
ghaff wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of people get wrapped around the axle of having the "right" $500 microphone whereas there are a ton of decent USB mics under $100 that will make a big difference. Also consider a good external webcam and doing something about lighting if you can. I realize that not everyone has a great physical environment to work with. But I'm struck by how many people who seemingly haven't made any real effort after a…

I have noticed with colleagues the insane improvements in video and audio after their amazon shopping sprees. At the same I haven’t updated my camera because I don’t have a nice room to work from and I feel a bit ashamed to show my tiny box with a high resolution... sounds weird, I know, but that’s how I feel

Do you have any recommendations for cameras? I've been using a macbook camera all year because all the cheapo logitech webcams on the market are clunky and look awful.

What do you recommend?

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#104

Post by Mauricebranagh »

tnzm wrote: post #97
Mauricebranagh wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

>windows really needs a native way of doing this like sound flower. https://vb-audio.com/Cable/ might interest you.

I know I have tried that just so poorly documented I gave up lifes to short.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#105

Post by jmkr »

bserge wrote: post #92
stephvd wrote: post #8

What are some decently good mics that don't break the bank but do the work?

The SM58 is still great for a dynamic mic (condensers are good but often pick up too much ). Will need a good preamp, though.

Here's a 20$ clone with a switch. Switch is definitely worth it.

Despite it not being a Shure itself, it seems like the clones are fine up to high frequency singing.

https://www.amazon.com/GLS-Audio-Vocal-Microphone-ES-58-S/dp...

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#106

Post by tdmckinlay »

andy_ppp wrote: post #9

It would be interesting to hear how bad the audio actually was...

Here's how they describe it in the paper:

First experiment (science conference talks from YouTube): "We selected two conference talks (in physics and engineering) from YouTube and altered their acoustic features using iMovie software. The good audio quality version of each talk was created with an audio filter called “small room,” which reduces the echo and increases the clarity of the speaker; the poor audio quality version was created with an audio filter called “Large Room,” which does the opposite, increasing the echo and decreasing the clarity of the speaker."

The second experiment (NPR interviews) was again using iMovie and they describe it like this: "The good audio quality version of each talk was created with no audio filters so that participants heard the interview as it was originally recorded. The poor audio quality version was created with audio filters that made it sound as if the researcher had called in on a bad phone line."

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#107

Post by ghaff »

Macha wrote: post #89
ghaff wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of people get wrapped around the axle of having the "right" $500 microphone whereas there are a ton of decent USB mics under $100 that will make a big difference. Also consider a good external webcam and doing something about lighting if you can. I realize that not everyone has a great physical environment to work with. But I'm struck by how many people who seemingly haven't made any real effort after a…

Why? The audio component, if it's bad, makes you hard to understand and makes its harder to contribute. The visual component is basically just a way for people to know that I'm there and a backup channel to indicate that yes, I am aware meet has once again decided not to recognise my mic and that I'm working on it. If I find a workplace that's ergonomic and works with my home environment, then the fact that there's a…

>Why?

First of all I agree that if you could only fix one thing, audio should take priority. Fortunately that's pretty easy.

I guess my context is that I'm on video a lot including with large audiences and for external consumption. So, yes, it matters to me whether my video is good. I also know people whose video is routinely terrible that they could likely improve significantly with very little effort.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#108

Post by ruph123 »

stunt wrote: post #78
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.

I think it is fair to assume that most people have some type of headphones at home or are capable of buying some.

Also you don't have to put the mic so close to your face that it is visible in your video feed. It still has a much better quality and less noise than many other solutions like bluetooth headsets I tested before.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#109

Post by OGWhales »

benkuhn wrote: post #13

It's also really easy to have high quality audio! The author recommends a "podcasting" microphone, but a $35 standalone headset mic[1] is almost as good and much easier to use. If you want to hear a comparison, I got kind of obsessed with this problem at one point and took some comparison recordings here[2]. (You need a standalone mic since most headsets, even really nice ones, have really bad mics because most heads…

Oh hey, I use that mic from your first link. Works quite well for the price. For anyone wondering, I do have V-MODA headphone, so I knew it would fit but it does fit in a couple other headphones as well.. it just won't fit in everything, so be aware of that.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#110

Post by 52-6F-62 »

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 think most of that is overkill (and not cheap) and most people would benefit just from a cheap USB dynamic or condenser mic direct.

Logic Pro is overkill.

Apple already offers a live virtual instrument and audio processing rig called Main Stage.

It’s $40 rather than $300.

https://www.apple.com/ca/mainstage/

But I think even that is overkill for your average office worker.

Microphones are already tuned, so you’re getting expert input to the sound at that end already. That alone would be in another league to a laptop in a noisy room.

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