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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?

#131

Post by throwaway413 »

hardwaresofton wrote: post #61
baisq wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

OP here, I hundred percent agree -- it was definitely stupid and pointless. Would do again :) If I'm a real HNer I'll post an update in 3-6 months after I've wired bluetooth to this. (don't hold me to this) [EDIT] - I'm not a real HNer, please don't expect that this will ever happen. No way I'll find time to hack up and wire bluetooth to this thing.

This is how you know this is a real hacker - says 3-6 months, feins sarcasm, then will show up next week with the modifications and a lack of sleep.

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

#132

Post by IshKebab »

soared wrote: post #119
remram wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The TLDR says: > Throat mics are an improvement over a standalone wired microphone Seems like a claim to me!

You pulled out a sentence fragment to completely change the meaning, not really a cool thing to do. > > tl;dr - Don’t chuck the Sony 1000XMs/AirPods just yet. Throat mics are an improvement over a standalone wired microphone (if that’s what you are using), and have better background noise reduction but in a quiet room your usual bluetooth headset is still way more convenient

That seems like the same meaning to me?

Throat mics are absolutely not an improvement over a standalone wired microphone.

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

#134

Post by chrismorgan »

hardwaresofton wrote: post #90
chrismorgan wrote: post #23

On Bluetooth audio issues: try switching from PulseAudio to PipeWire; it’s better in every way now save perhaps for one or two remaining tiny niches, and pipewire-pulse lets it act as a drop-in replacement for pulseaudio. The usual installation experience is completely uneventful: you install it, restart your session, and everything works at least as well as before. On the throat mic itself: what does it sound like?…

> On Bluetooth audio issues: try switching from PulseAudio to PipeWire; it’s better in every way now save perhaps for one or two remaining tiny niches, and pipewire-pulse lets it act as a drop-in replacement for pulseaudio. The usual installation experience is completely uneventful: you install it, restart your session, and everything works at least as well as before. I did! Pipewire is working awesome -- I'm using p…

Thanks for the sample.

That sounds very bad. Not quite as bad as any samples I had found, and still reasonably understandable, which some lousy device microphones (especially laptops’) aren’t—it’s bad in a somewhat different way. But I would strongly dislike having to talk to you with that as your microphone, especially if you were in a context where you could have used almost any other microphone. If I knew that you had put me through such a thing for no good reason (which could be context, physical disability, lack of possession of an alternative), I would be very likely to resent that fact.

Frankly, even if others don’t comment on it, you’re making talking with you far more stressful (whether consciously or subconsciously), because people are having to put a lot more effort into understanding you.

> Could Throat mics be the ultimate in high quality audio for cheap? (not really).

No. Absolutely not. Any podcast using such a microphone will bomb hard.

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

#135

Post by copperx »

nend wrote: post #54
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).

One of the most Hacker News comments every written. A dismissive comment about a diy home project because you'd rather be critical of someone else than build something yourself.

I can guarantee you wouldn't be making that comment if the post title was "Why don't more people code in machine language"?

But because it's a diy project, it somehow makes it laudable, even though it's a terrible idea and a waste of time and money when there are much better alternatives.

To be clear, I think "wasting time" in useless projects is not really a waste of time. But the title of the post implies that more people should waste resources in something awful.

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

#136

Post by ratww »

HideousKojima wrote: post #83
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).

Eh, I've actually been thinking of getting some for my wife and I for cycling, would make hearing each other over the wind and road noise a lot easier.

That's actually a great idea. Coupled with a Bone Conducting headphone it sounds like great gear for biking.

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

#137

Post by failrate »

hardwaresofton wrote: post #56
ARandumGuy wrote: post #31

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…

> 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. The good audio quality I thought would come from it being viable in a "l…

I enjoyed your article. I think it is very in the spirit of hacking and science that you asked a question and then meticulously chopped away at it until you had a solution-shaped object. I have also been fascinated by throat-mics from e.g. cyberpunk novels. Have you also thought about bone conduction to replace headphones? That would be very cyberpunk :)

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

#138

Post by dangus »

hardwaresofton wrote: post #125
dangus wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree, the article is proclaiming them to be a good solution: > Throat mics are an improvement over a standalone wired microphone (if that’s what you are using) I'll go as far to say that the author is making a completely false claim here and does the reader a disservice by not even attempting to back up this claim with a recording. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5_eI9ungGE&t=228s I'll just go ahead and say it…

> I'll go as far to say that the author is making a completely false claim here and does the reader a disservice by not even attempting to back up this claim with a recording. Hey you're right that was a pretty wild claim so I softened it -- I had a very specific (shitty, old) microphone in mind when I wrote that, but the article now has an audio sample, and a reworked tl;dr (it will be live in like... > The author d…

Obviously, nothing can overcome strong background noise, but I suspect most people's home offices aren't so terrifyingly loud that it's a problem.

This video helped me figure out some microphone basics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sdft3WiLvE

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

#139

Post by dangus »

Clubber wrote: post #89
dangus wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree, the article is proclaiming them to be a good solution: > Throat mics are an improvement over a standalone wired microphone (if that’s what you are using) I'll go as far to say that the author is making a completely false claim here and does the reader a disservice by not even attempting to back up this claim with a recording. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5_eI9ungGE&t=228s I'll just go ahead and say it…

>> Throat mics are an improvement over a standalone wired microphone (if that’s what you are using) >I'll go as far to say that the author is making a completely false claim It's an opinion, they are neither true nor false. It's fair to disagree with it though. Tomatoes are the best vegetable. Opinion. I'm sure I'll get plenty of disagreements and even some reminding me that a tomato is actually a fruit.

At the time of original publishing, the article didn't have any sound clips, so opinion is all we have to go on.

The addition of the sound clip definitely doesn't make me a believer.

I think a cheap Amazon microphone would beat this setup with far less complexity.

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

#140

Post by robga »

philliphaydon wrote: post #79

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rk79-Y6Nag Found this video which demonstrates the usage of a throat mic in an operating room. It's not perfect but it works quite well. I had never heard of this thing before but it's rather cool!

Here is a positive 4.6/5 review of it being used on a motorbike

https://www.webbikeworld.com/iasus-stealth-throat-microphone...

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