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Why don't more people use throat mics?

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Re: Why don't more people use throat mics?

#31

Post by ARandumGuy »

I'm curious as to why the author even thought that a throat mic would have good audio quality. Throat mics are designed for loud, high intensity situations. For the use case of a throat mic, "good audio quality" means the receiver can actually understand what you're saying, something that is pretty easy to achieve in a home office environment.

And I'm sure that it's possible to make a throat mic that has great audio quality. But I think the overlap of "people who want throat mics" and "people who want good audio quality" consists solely of the author of this article.

Re: Why don't more people use throat mics?

#32

Post by digitallyfree »

If you care about aesthetics and sound go with the gear that broadcast professionals use - a headset/earset. There are carotid models that work pretty well in noisy conditions, though they don't isolate as well as a dynamic handheld.

You can get ones with a shorter boom that match your skin tone, and those aren't that noticeable on camera. That's what they use in musicals and concerts and they certainly sound much better than a throat mike.

Lavs are also an option but they do pick up more background noise due to the fact that the mic is much farther from the mouth. For computer use you may need an external preamp as most soundcards I've seen do not have adequate clean gain to drive a lav to acceptable levels.

Depending on your situation a shotgun mic above the monitor or a gooseneck (podium) mic are options as well. The gooseneck is basically a ECM on a flexible boom, and is relatively unobstructive. Note that these are starting to go into the more pricey territory, and you will need a preamp to drive them.

Re: Why don't more people use throat mics?

#33

Post by eropple »

tristor wrote: post #6

I have a pretty serious audio setup for WFH. I assessed throat mics and bone conduction headphones and IEMs, I then ultimately decided against these options and instead went for a front-address microphone on a boom and open circumaural headphones. In my testing, all of these technologies intended for stealth (primarily) were uncomfortable for long periods of wear/use, and traditional options were massively more comfo…

I tend to agree with you in the main - I use MDR-7506's and a sE Dynacaster as my normal setup - but you absolutely can get comfortable IEMs. But they really aren't cheap. If I need to do something that looks "cans free" at my desk I keep a set of Shure SE215s, which aren't super comfortable but they're tolerable for an hour or two.

To me, reasonably affordable throat mics sound terrible, which is a big factor.

Re: Why don't more people use throat mics?

#35

Post by SkyPuncher »

JohnTHaller wrote: post #30
tristor wrote: post #6

I have a pretty serious audio setup for WFH. I assessed throat mics and bone conduction headphones and IEMs, I then ultimately decided against these options and instead went for a front-address microphone on a boom and open circumaural headphones. In my testing, all of these technologies intended for stealth (primarily) were uncomfortable for long periods of wear/use, and traditional options were massively more comfo…

I use my Sennheiser PC38X for every work and personal call/conference I do. They have an excellent mic and great sound. I'd use them for music daily if I didn't WFH and have excellent speakers and even better headphones for just music. https://drop.com/buy/drop-epos-pc38x-gaming-headset A good wired microphone absolutely destroys the sound quality from bluetooth headsets.

I have a prior version of the same headphones. Very pleased with them.

I have, however, moved to a Jabra bluetooth. The wireless freedom is top-notch.

Re: Why don't more people use throat mics?

#38

Post by ARandumGuy »

rr888 wrote: post #7

I'm open to this. I can't believe after 2 years of work from home zoom calls are so bad. Headsets really arent as good as they should be. I'm experimenting with regular shotgun mics but they aren't ideal either. How come if you sit in a room its easy to talk to someone but online people are muffled or too loud or just hard to understand.

Part of the issue is bandwidth. Most online call software limits the bandwidth based on the user with the slowest internet. So if one person on the call is on crappy wifi, the quality goes down for everyone.

Re: Why don't more people use throat mics?

#39

Post by jgrahamc »

e-dt wrote: post #22
beanjuice wrote: post #3

One of the most Hacker News articles ever written. A bad solution (wearing a choker) to a self-generated problem (using Arch) that costs a lot of money. In summary: this generates more problems than it solves (unless you're a navy seal).

Quoted post unavailable.

I have no idea what you are talking about but you should take this type of comment to some other forum.

Re: Why don't more people use throat mics?

#40

Post by maep »

> Could Throat mics be the ultimate in high quality audio for cheap?

How can those microphones even capture fricatives or plosives in decent quality? Most of the vocal tract lies behind the throat. I looked for some examlpes and they all sound terrible.

If you want good and cheap audio, get an off-brand USB large diaphragm condenser mic, for example this:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tbone_sc_450_usb_b_stock.htm

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