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Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

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Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#271

Post by ZoomZoomZoom »

As usual, a lot of people here discuss and suggest some microphone models to improve their sound quality, but I think this is not the biggest factor. Specific models are mostly irrelevant as long as the recording conditions and personal preferences are not known.

Some people just hate keeping the mic just in front of their faces, but it's often the only reasonable way to achieve tolerable signal-to-noise ratio (in noisy or/and reverberant environments).

You need to decide where are you going to use the mic, how are you going to place yourself and the mic in the room, how free in your movements do you need to be while recording, and then choose the type of the mic accordingly. After that, the budget is often the deciding factor so you can seriously narrow down the options.

Anyway, I also highly advice using separate vocal/podcasting microphone (the kind you buy at music stores) and the headphones of you choice over headsets or, god forbid, internal laptop mics.

Don't know how many times you can link you own article, but it's relevant to the topic and I think it covers most of the information one needs to understand the basic processes and techniques:

https://indiscipline.github.io/post/voice-sound-reference/

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#272

Post by kps »

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…

> You don't need an SM7 if you're not making money with it...

Or maybe not at all. Someone actually measured one against an SM57: http://www.3daudioinc.com/3db/showthread.php?17046-SM57-vs-S...

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#273

Post by formerly_proven »

PascLeRasc wrote: post #136
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…

For me it’s because we aren’t allowed to have nice audio. I’ve been working from my music desk all pandemic, with several microphones, preamps, sound insulation panels, boom stands and pop filters, and I can’t use any of them with my work computer. I’ve bought and returned several interfaces and can’t get Windows to connect to any of them. I have Airpods Pro as well and Microsoft Teams won’t allow me to join meetings…

Maybe some corpo bullshit fiddling with drivers?

One of the bottom-of-the-barrel-but-actually-still-ok interfaces might be worth a try. E.g. the Behringer UMC22 has a PCM2906 clone in it, which doesn't even have any drivers, it's just straight USB audio class, supported right out of the box in Windows.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#274

Post by oehpr »

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…

As a comment. I got the v-moda. I like it a lot. It sounds great. BUT it's a very omnidirectional mic, it picks up everything going on in the room in clear detail.

If your environment is noisy, you would likely be better off getting a shotgun or cardioid style microphone with some directionality to it.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#276

Post by [deleted] »

numpad0 wrote: post #215
criddell wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the audio quality recorded from a Bluetooth microphone worse than audio played through Bluetooth headphones? (ie is recording worse than playback?) If not, then that's okay because Bluetooth headphones sound fine. A wired mic isn't really an option in the environment I want to film in but I want something better than the on-camera mic because I'm occasionally pretty far away from the camera. I also don't want the…

Worse, far worse, just forget Bluetooth.

[deleted]

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#277

Post by formerly_proven »

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…

Arguably SM7Bs are prominently placed in videos / video podcasts because "pros use SM7Bs" and therefore displaying that you are using SM7Bs for all speakers shows what a pro you are. Not because a 50 year old dynamic mic design is actually The Literal Best Thing Ever For Human Voices.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#278

Post by crazygringo »

jakebasile wrote: post #196

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…

Honestly, a camera like that is super overkill.

There are really only three things that matter for image in video calls: lighting, exposure, and background.

Lighting is by far #1. Then some kind of exposure adjustment to lock it in during your call at the brightest level that won't blow out any areas of your face.

As long as you've got those, there will then be zero difference between a cheap Logitech webcam and a fancy Nikon by the time the image has been downsampled and compressed.

(And make sure you've got the focus and white balance set correctly as well of course.)

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#279

Post by unexpected »

OGWhales wrote: post #109
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.

question - do you use this on video zoom calls? I can see the benefits on a non-video zoom call. But having a microphone on your face during a video zoom meeting makes me feel like a radio DJ trying to have a call.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#280

Post by analog31 »

An often overlooked issue is background noise. As a musician, I'm familiar with microphones, recording, etc.

I always give people the following advice: If you can hear it, the microphone can hear it. This includes HVAC noise that is ridiculously hard to get rid of in most office and home locations.

If at home, you can always temporarily turn off the HVAC while you record yourself. In fact, I've recorded at a commercial studio where, after getting everything set up and checked out, the final step is they turn off the HVAC.

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