Live data from Hacker News

Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

tips.ariyh.com

201–210 of 510 posts

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#201
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lenovo, Dell, Intel, Realtek, nvidia, Logitech, Samsung, AMD and many other big brands tell me clearly on their product spec that their hardware supports Linux. It's not like there is a shortage of choice.

Oh, can you tell me then, of a Laptop with Touchscreen, good hardware and Linux support? I have been looking for one since ages.

[deleted]

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#202
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lenovo, Dell, Intel, Realtek, nvidia, Logitech, Samsung, AMD and many other big brands tell me clearly on their product spec that their hardware supports Linux. It's not like there is a shortage of choice.

Oh, can you tell me then, of a Laptop with Touchscreen, good hardware and Linux support? I have been looking for one since ages.

Thinkpad X1 Carbon, although I'm not sure what the touchscreen support actually looks like (I bought the Windows version of the machine and installed my own Linux distro)

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#203
post #16
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…

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 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

There are diminishing returns for sure. But something worth considering is anything priced over $200 is likely closer to "pro" than "sumer' and is priced accordingly. You don't need an SM7 if you're not making money with it... and it's priced for those folks.

It's actually remarkable how much better all-in-one USB mics have gotten in the last 5-ish years since everyone began streaming - a Blue Yeti has an integrated ADC/preamp, its own stand, and comes with a cable. A SM58 ($100) will require an XLR cable ($10-15), audio interface ($50-100), and mic stand ($10-20) to have the same experience. Granted, that 58 will outlive you and you can mic anything with it anywhere, the cable will probably last a long time and can be repaired by hand, and the cheapest USB audio interfaces have lower noise and better preamps than any USB mic. So you get what you pay for.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#204

I have no evidence to back this up, but I strongly believe that video quality would have similar effects. I am a hobbyist photographer and began using my gear to improve my video quality on calls 6-8 months ago and people have continually commented on it, from executives to regular schmucks like me. We're a visual species and having a better view of the person you are talking with will help form connections. It doesn…

But for video quality, it goes beyond the camera but also lighting, having a clean background and so on.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#205
post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not really easy to be honest. Depending on the day, I am getting horrible static in my desktop microphone(s). This might be caused by no grounding in the outlet. I'm living in a really old house with no ground for most rooms (yes, I know), with only a bootleg ground to prevent _really_ bad noise and occasional static zaps. Though I've read of many people having the same issues with properly grounded machines (as far…

I don't recommend the following but in our old house I used to tie my outlet ground (that was free floating) to the radiator which was grounded. It worked until my mother reported the shower water was feeling "very harsh".

Sounds like the radiator was not actually grounded and the device plugged in had a ground fault.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#206
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…

I use that v moda mic with sennhesier hd598 open back. Had to mod them to connect them, but they’ve worked quite well for many years now. I might need to get a new mic because the volume control is starting to cut in and out if I move it too much. Great recommendation through!

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#207
post #93
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not a native english speaker, to me "pimp up" means to "upgrade" something. Sorry if that came off wrong.

I even know where your environment got that belief. Blame MTV, since 2004: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimp_My_Ride A lot of non-natives then miss that the meaning of the word is not about an "upgrade" but about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procuring_(prostitution) which was on MTV glorified as the part of the "Afro-American" "pop culture" which is also... not a really nicest approach. But... it was supposed to b…

It is dismissive to say that natives "miss the meaning". They do not. Pimp has multiple usages, as do a lot of words. It is very easy in English to create new nouns/verbs or new usages of existing ones and happens all the time.

As usual, the context is crucial for figuring out which usage it is.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curse anyone that uses an inline microphone on some earbuds. They sound awful and people frequently bump against them causing even more terrible experience for the listener.

Earbud microphones rubbing against clothing is like nails on a chalkboard for me.

I agree, but between that and most of my co-workers currently using their laptops built-in mics, I'd rather deal with the noise from the earbuds.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#209
I think there is a bunch of factors which are used as a proxy for whether a person is or isn't "professional". And being "professional" is itself a proxy for whether somebody is smart and possibly trustworthy.

In lack of better information (and even in presence of) our minds use a lot of shortcuts (biases) to guess some important information that you can't get directly. Almost all people will instinctively think about well groomed, well clothed people as more professional and trustworthy.

I think the same goes for how we present on a remote call and so I invested a little bit into making my audio/video setup and a more professionally looking office/background. Pretty sure it will pay for itself over time.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#210
I looked at the paper's abstract [1], and this is a conclusion made from just two talks/interviews by the authors of the study? Should probably replicate it before telling millions of people to buy hundreds of dollars of audio equipment...

I wasn't able to find an open access copy of the study, though I suppose there's always sci-hub.

1: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1075547018759345

Post reply on HN