Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter • Hacker News Board

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#311

Post by spudlyo » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 4:26 PM UTC

tootie wrote: post #238

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…

You can also try the best kept secret in radio: https://youtu.be/gPbQYmkyqaE

This is my problem. In order to get a decent sound in my untreated office (reverberant bare walls, hardwood floor, etc) I need to have my dynamic mic with a low gain setting and I have to be right up on it, which makes me look like I'm on Joe Rogan's podcast or something. For Zoom I'd prefer if you couldn't see the mic.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#312

Post by nvarsj » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 4:27 PM UTC

Cd00d wrote: post #301

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…

> 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. I see comments along these lines here all the time, and I don't get it. I'm on zoom a majority of my day, and have maybe two colleagues that don't just use the laptop mic/speake…

It's probably just related to crappy laptop hardware. Macbook speakers/mics are great and I never hear any feedback from them. When it happens, and you can hear your voice echoing on everything you say, it gets quite annoying.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#313

Post by Godel_unicode » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 4:28 PM UTC

nvarsj wrote: post #290

thescriptkiddie wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It also depends on positioning and configuration; having it directly in front of your mouth and/or having the gain too high are common problems I've run into.

As an aside, it's been interesting as someone who knows things about audio to realize how much I've unconsciously internalized that most people apparently don't know. Like more gain != more better or what a plosive is.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#314

Post by vxNsr » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 4:35 PM UTC

enragedcacti wrote: post #17

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…

In my discord calls we have effectively resorted to shaming people into accepting a gifted clip-on amazon mic if they have an awful microphone. $10 every couple of months and no ear bleeding. That said, I really think some people are just immune to it. My mom for instance prefers to use the standard definition channels because the channel numbers are easier to remember and type. She says she can't tell the difference…

> gifted clip-on amazon mic if they have an awful microphone

Which one do you buy? I’m in the market for a good clip on mic

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#315

Post by ghaff » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 4:35 PM UTC

rectang wrote: post #303

ghaff wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It doesn't affect your own voice! So asking, "do I sound different now" doesn't tell you anything! Refusing to wear headphones only spoils it for everybody else .

I am saying that I have tried this out by calling people and trying different things and they have told me that they can't tell the difference. This has included professional audio technicians recording a Zoom interview.

I don't know why this sometimes seems to be a big deal and sometimes isn't, but that does seem to be the case.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#316

Post by closeparen » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 4:36 PM UTC

MaxBarraclough wrote: post #170

BeFlatXIII wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To add to the audio quality discussion, well-meaning people who want to improve their quality often make the mistake of buying the mic with the best spec sheet. That ultra-sensitive microphone will make you sound more natural than your built-in mic, but it will also pick up dogs barking down the street and your neighbor mowing her lawn. If you’re not in a studio-like office, a less-sensitive dynamic microphone is oft…

As someone who knows nothing about audio: wouldn't it make more sense to get a top quality microphone and apply post-processing, rather than deliberately getting inferior hardware?

No. There is no substitute for capturing the signal you want in the first place. And “inferior” is not the right word. Even at the high end of pro audio where budget is not really a concern, there are lots of different microphones, because there are lots of different situations you might want to capture and lots of different ways you might want them to sound. It’s a “right tool for the job” thing.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#317

Post by fractalb » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 4:39 PM UTC

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…

It couldn't have come at a better time for me. I have just started looking for a better mic to sound better to my colleagues. Thanks for the wonderful write-ups and suggestions

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#318

Post by randomopining » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 4:40 PM UTC

tauntz wrote: post #182

zeptonaut22 wrote: post #158

While condenser microphones with a boom arm are nice for a home office, they're not portable enough for a setup that will work after returning to a hybrid office/WFH life. Ideally, that portable setup would have no boom arm, no pop screen, no huge microphone. The best candidate I've found so far is the Audio Technica ATH-G1 Gaming headset (reviewed by the excellent Podcastage here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMg…

I can recommend the Samson Go Mic if you want something portable but decent audio quality ( http://www.samsontech.com/samson/products/microphones/usb-mi... )

Nice thanks. Howdoes it compare to Blue Yeti etc?

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#319

Post by brundolf » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 4:41 PM UTC

Cd00d wrote: post #301

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…

> 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. I see comments along these lines here all the time, and I don't get it. I'm on zoom a majority of my day, and have maybe two colleagues that don't just use the laptop mic/speake…

If they're using external speakers, the only reason you're not hearing echo is because it's being software-cancelled. Different systems are better or worse at this software-cancelling; phones are good, Apple computers are good, otherwise YMMV.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#320

Post by BurningFrog » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 4:43 PM UTC

Cd00d wrote: post #301

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…

> 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. I see comments along these lines here all the time, and I don't get it. I'm on zoom a majority of my day, and have maybe two colleagues that don't just use the laptop mic/speake…

I care, but not enough to ask people to QA my setup.

I don't know of a way to check how I sound without bothering anyone.