Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter • Hacker News Board

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#281

Post by thescriptkiddie » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 3:48 PM UTC

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…

Has the modmic gotten better? I've had one for years and it has always sounded like garbage.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#282

Post by rectang » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 3:49 PM UTC

ZoomZoomZoom wrote: post #271

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 no…

And then there's always some jackass on the call who refuses to use headphones, causing an echo due to the feedback loop between their speakers and their microphone, which makes everybody else sound terrible.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#283

Post by geoduck14 » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 3:51 PM UTC

ZoomZoomZoom wrote: post #271

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 no…

You are my kind of nerd

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#284

Post by chrshawkes » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 3:51 PM UTC

I use a 1200.00 mic setup for my recordings for https://www.codehawke.com/

I can't tell that much of a difference between it and a blue yeti. The yeti, is definitely cheaper.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#285

Post by aendruk » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 3:52 PM UTC

If I’m set on wireless is there a better option than low quality Bluetooth? Something proprietary with a dongle?

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#286

Post by jmkr » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 3:52 PM UTC

bserge wrote: post #167

jmkr wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

I don't know about the clones tbh. I compared a genuine SM58 to a clone once and it had a lower noise floor, as well as better quality in the low range than the clone.

Yeah and a sm58 isn't that expensive, I just bought a mic to have one. When I start recording out an amp I'll probably get a 57.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#287

Post by emilburzo » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 3:53 PM UTC

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…

What do you use for headphones? (I'm assuming the Shure is just a microphone)

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#288

Post by yosito » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 3:57 PM UTC

Interesting that this it the top story on HN the same day that Zoom is promoting "professional" quality audio. And there also seems to be a user in the comments working really hard to promote Zoom. Seems like a marketing campaign to me.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#289

Post by ghaff » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 3:58 PM UTC

rectang wrote: post #282

ZoomZoomZoom wrote: post #271

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 no…

And then there's always some jackass on the call who refuses to use headphones, causing an echo due to the feedback loop between their speakers and their microphone, which makes everybody else sound terrible.

It really depends on the setup. I've tested by asking people with both computer speakers and wearing headphones and been told they didn't hear any difference.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#290

Post by nvarsj » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 4:01 PM UTC

thescriptkiddie wrote: post #281

nvarsj wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Has the modmic gotten better? I've had one for years and it has always sounded like garbage.

It depends a lot on your sound card I guess. Pro streamers use them on twitch as portable options (like Seagull) and they sound great to me.

The only real downside to it is the cable is sort of flimsy and the 3.5mm termination is not great quality. That's how my last ModMic perished, although it lasted a few years.