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Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

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Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#241

Post by hdtrey5 »

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…

The manufacturer provides free shipping for those looking to avoid Amazon: https://fifinemicrophone.com/collections/microphones/product...

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#242

Post by oauea »

nvarsj wrote: post #229
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…

The ModMic is also excellent, and you can attach it to existing headphones [1]. I use this at home with my prized Sennheisers. It baffles me that some people don't seem to care about their audio quality on calls. The most obnoxious are those who use speakers and you get echo on all your talking, and despite telling them, they still never bother to get a decent mic. Another common offender are the Bose QC35s: they hav…

I absolutely love my Bose QC35s. With the modmic that I attached to them. When using the mic built into the Bose QC35s it switches to mono audio, and the mic itself is indeed also terrible. Very unfortunate.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#243

Post by geopsist »

A lot of people are posting links to microphones/headphones/stream-decks/etc... My personal experience from a series of podcasts at home and with 2 kids, a super duper mic would not solve my problem. A lot of the audio issues you see at events and streams like these stem from bg noise, echo, no pop-filter, stream lag. It's usually a case of repair, not replacing equipment. New microphones bring risk potential with excessive gain, headphones can make you too self-conscious or focus on the wrong thing. Like, rather than spending X amount on a new setup, just use some tools/plugins in post - most can be ran through OBS live, despite initially seeming like a post-production technical thing. I lost a lot of time repairing my audio in various tools when software plugin bundles like this - https://accusonus.com/products/audio-repair/era-bundle-stand... -gave me a way better recording upgrade, as opposed to a new mic.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#244

Post by ghaff »

hctaw wrote: post #203
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 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…

I usually use a Blue Snowball although I also have Behringer XLR mics that plug into my mixer for specific purposes (mostly recording podcasts whether remote or in-person).

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#245

Post by nickjj »

If anyone is looking it improve the quality of their audio for home recordings I put up a 10,000 word blog post + 90 minute video (no ads) on this topic recently at: https://nickjanetakis.com/blog/how-to-record-great-sounding-...

It covers everything from general tips to room layouts to hardware / software suggestions.

It really doesn't take a lot to get pretty decent sounding audio. At minimum a $50-70 USB dynamic mic and following the tips will work well enough as a baseline, along with picking up a decent pair of headphones to make sure you can hear yourself properly.

This is based on having recorded over 400+ screencast videos and 75+ group podcast episodes over the years.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#247

Post by andrewzah »

acqq wrote: post #234
andrewzah wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> Pimp has multiple usages ...checking the American dictionary (descriptive, not prescriptive): https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pimp noun: "a criminal who is associated with, usually exerts control over, and lives off the earnings of one or more prostitutes" "transitive verb: to make use of often dishonorably for one's own gain or benefit" "intransitive verb: to work as a pimp" And yes, I know that there's…

Dictionaries are not end all authoritative sources. They often do not keep up with slang. As a native English speaker I can say that "pimp" has both that usage and the usage coined from "pimp my ride". I don't have hard numbers on that usage of pimp, but I believe that it's entered the public lexicon at least for my generation. I don't think anyone my age would be confused by that usage.

You are technically correct, and also wrong at the same time by insisting that the way people actually use words in real life is "wrong" because the dictionary says so. If people use "pimp" in that manner, then it is correct.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#248

Post by MattGaiser »

nvarsj wrote: post #229
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…

The ModMic is also excellent, and you can attach it to existing headphones [1]. I use this at home with my prized Sennheisers. It baffles me that some people don't seem to care about their audio quality on calls. The most obnoxious are those who use speakers and you get echo on all your talking, and despite telling them, they still never bother to get a decent mic. Another common offender are the Bose QC35s: they hav…

> It baffles me that some people don't seem to care about their audio quality on calls.

1. It is a bunch of extra work and expense for something I probably do not really want to be on. Easy audio communication is bound to induce more audio communication.

2. I have to maintain a bunch of infrastructure for it, manage configuration, and deal with all the wires. It is far from a free and easy improvement.

3. I rarely speak in meetings anyway.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#249

Post by hardwaregeek »

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…

Agreed. My experience from watching some...challenging films in small film festivals is that bad picture can be tolerated, while bad audio will utterly ruin a film.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#250

Post by sofal »

chromaton wrote: post #231

I realized after many Zoom calls that a good presentation in both audio AND video are very important. My choice for audio is a Shure headworn XLR dynamic microphone. These are the type used by professional singers, public speakers, etc. Being headworn means that you don't have to worry about talking directly into the mic; you can move around a bit. This type of mic also has great noise rejection. We use it for livest…

I'm curious about how portable your setup is. Currently at home I have a giant dynamic mic (EV RE20) on a boom arm, but that's not going to be something I can use at the actual office when I hop into a little enclosed pod for a Zoom meeting or something. Does your setup work for that kind of thing?
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