Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter • Hacker News Board

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#341

Post by lr4444lr » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 5:32 PM UTC

montroser wrote: post #21

This is fascinating! Makes me wonder about whether machine learning audio filters like Krisp[1] could actually take high quality audio and enhance it further to make you sound _even smarter_? Like as if you had the infamous NPR mic setup... This phenomenon does kind of seem obvious in retrospect. I was at a Socialhour[2] event recently where they had a few presentations happening simultaneously and you could bounce b…

I literally searched NPR on this page and came across your comment.

I have had a sneaking suspicion I cannot shake since once about 5 years ago I was listening to an interview with a pop musician on my local NPR affiliate that I may have been wrongly biasing my sense that their guests were smarter as compared to talk show guests on more right leaning radio stations on the AM dial. Not even as a matter of their political beliefs; just when it's subject matter experts or non-political celebrities. They always sound more intellectually deep or thoughtful on NPR than on those AM stations. Wonder if it's this effect...

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#342

Post by Nasrudith » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 5:34 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…

You are wondering why people who prioritize something else "don't care about audio quality"? Remember open offices? The likely culprit for them going with noise canceling headphones? Yeah they still have their old gear and are accustomed to it and the form factor.

Philosophically it is also why would you go with something big and cumbersome for a feature you seldom use? You don't carry a glass bed scanner in your laptop bag - you take a photo if you really need to get a digital copy of a printing. Plus not all are equally enthused or know how to filter through the crap without a large /in person show room/ that would be either filthy or a pain in the ass to disinfect before a pandemic.

Not helping matters are audiophiles being infamously placebo connoisseurs and walking proof that it is easier to fool someone than convince them they were fooled. That market is flooded with bullshit and specious claims so the default assumption for people claiming you need new more expensive audio equipment has been "ignore them, they are gullible idiots who think you need gold cables for digital connections to reduce low level noise for digital signals".

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#343

Post by hctaw » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 5:36 PM UTC

kps wrote: post #272

hctaw wrote: post #203

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 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...

The results are not horribly surprising, the SM7B has the same capsule as the Beta 57 which is awfully similar to the 57/58.But notice there's a 10-15dB boost below 80Hz on the SM7. They also didn't analyze the off axis response or proximity effect - the vents on the enclosure impact both drastically.

Don't look at a frequency response chart like that for insight. Anyone who has recorded a bass cab or kick drum with an SM7B would look at you sideways if you tried to use a 58 as a replacement unless you were really in a pinch.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#344

Post by hctaw » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 5:43 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #244

hctaw wrote: post #203

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 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).

I know they've made great strides but "Behringer" is a bigger indicator of quality than XLR or USB in that sentence. Blue at least has been making good mics for their entire existence (I use a Snowball too, it's great for my day to day calls). They've managed to stay pretty good since the Logitech acquisition, and prices have come down with scale.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#345

Post by robbrown451 » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 5:43 PM UTC

analog31 wrote: post #280

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 commerci…

"If you can hear it, the microphone can hear it."

Not great advice if there is a chance they want you to hear it.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#346

Post by toyg » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 5:44 PM UTC

paulpauper wrote: post #27

why are so many people so cost conscious about mics and other consumer goods but have no hesitation about putting tons of money in the stock market , which sometimes drops 30% or more, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars or more of losses. Psychologically, it seems people are much more unnerved about overpaying $100 on a mic or laptop, versus potentially much larger losses on investments such as stocks or real e…

The stock market is just a big unknown for a lot of people, and anyway it's something you evaluate on a long-term basis.

I'm more baffled by my/our inability to correctly assess our bad habits. A $100 item costs the same as, say, two $50 dinners - and unlike those, the item will stay with me for months or years. Still, I'd find it pretty easy to pay for two dinners in a week, but I'd agonize on pulling the trigger for a single purchase of goods.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#347

Post by Nasrudith » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 5:44 PM UTC

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…

And execute means killing the helpless. Does that mean those who execute plans are either cold blooded killers or it is a slanderous comparison of them to such?

Trying to be offended by taking the worst possible meaning as presumed most relevant is unproductive at best even when both parties are trying to polish the same communications. More likely counterproductive to the goal of seeming better.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#348

Post by spookthesunset » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 5:45 PM UTC

wombatmobile wrote: post #177

pa9am wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The most important thing is to have the microphone close to your mouth. There is nothing more annoying than listening to echo-y voice. The mic even have to be that expensive. I use a cheap dynamic mic from ebay with a windscreen and a mic arm and it sounds fine.

> I use a cheap dynamic mic from ebay with a windscreen and a mic arm and it sounds fine. How do you know what it sounds like? How do you know how good you sound to other people compared to if you were speaking through a good condenser mic?

Make your own zoom call and record it...

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#349

Post by Nasrudith » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 5:47 PM UTC

s_dev wrote: post #251

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…

>I have no evidence to back this up, but I strongly believe that video quality would have similar effects Any dating website will have this as basic advice. Thats evidence enough for me. Higher quality images are associate with better looking people -- however this is counter intutive, you would think that a lower quality image would leave more to the imagination.

That brings to mind questions about how non-good their appearence would have to be to look worse with rising image quality. I say non-good because one could look hyperboring as opposed to ugly.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#350

Post by spookthesunset » Thu, Apr 15, 2021, 5:50 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…

> 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 between that and full HD so :shrug:

Pretty sure our cable box just automagically switches over to the HD channel when you tune into the SD one.