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Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

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Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#111
post #93
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not a native english speaker, to me "pimp up" means to "upgrade" something. Sorry if that came off wrong.

I even know where your environment got that belief. Blame MTV, since 2004: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimp_My_Ride A lot of non-natives then miss that the meaning of the word is not about an "upgrade" but about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procuring_(prostitution) which was on MTV glorified as the part of the "Afro-American" "pop culture" which is also... not a really nicest approach. But... it was supposed to b…

I both know what a pimp is and that that show probably made the expression famous. (In Germany there was even "Pimp my Fahrrad") However, I was not aware that this is not generally used in day-to-day language by native speakers.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#112
post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I even know where your environment got that belief. Blame MTV, since 2004: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimp_My_Ride A lot of non-natives then miss that the meaning of the word is not about an "upgrade" but about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procuring_(prostitution) which was on MTV glorified as the part of the "Afro-American" "pop culture" which is also... not a really nicest approach. But... it was supposed to b…

I both know what a pimp is and that that show probably made the expression famous. (In Germany there was even "Pimp my Fahrrad") However, I was not aware that this is not generally used in day-to-day language by native speakers.

> In Germany there was even "Pimp my Fahrrad"

It exactly confirms how that expression became popular there. A direct false association with "improving" "the look of the vehicles." (das Fahrrad == a bicycle)

Well...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVCh6Xp_VD8

Also, very funny, from the Wikipedia page of the show:

"Viacom, the owner of the Pimp My Ride franchise, has made legal threats against a number of small business owners over the use of the words Pimp My... in business names. Businesses using the names Pimp My Pet and Pimp My Snack have been threatened with legal action for an alleged breach of a trademark owned by Viacom. The website Pimp My Snack is now known as Pimp That Snack."

And more from the "pimp-gate": https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=4274500&pa...

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#113
post #11

A cheap and usable condenser mic costs 30 bucks (e.g. Fifine), a lavalier mic costs between 2 bucks on aliexpress and 50 for e.g. from Rode. (I found that the ultra cheap aliexpress are the exact same like the no-brand 10 bucks on amazon, like so many things) I got both but mostly use the condenser mic and it is an absolute game changer. If you want to explain something it is so noticeable in the eyes of your confere…

Pimps aren't admirable people.

I don't even know what your point is here.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#114
post #83
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…

Great article! Is there any inherent audio quality difference between USB and XLR in your experience?

Probably less static, lower noise floor, more tonal and full sound. I've used both and I obviously prefer XLR but it probably doesn't make any difference for casual use.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#115
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there some way on the iPhone / iPad to shoot video with a Bluetooth mic? I bought a BT lapel mic and whenever it was connected to the phone, it showed up as headphones and audio wouldn't play from the phone until I disconnected it. If Bluetooth is the wrong technology, what would you recommend?

Bluetooth is wrong because it is almost always low quality. You need a wired mic.

Is the audio quality recorded from a Bluetooth microphone worse than audio played through Bluetooth headphones? (ie is recording worse than playback?) If not, then that's okay because Bluetooth headphones sound fine.

A wired mic isn't really an option in the environment I want to film in but I want something better than the on-camera mic because I'm occasionally pretty far away from the camera.

I also don't want the hassle of recording audio on a separate audio recorder and then mixing that into my video. I want decent audio from a wireless mic recorded onto the phone video. I didn't think that was a big ask...

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#116
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lenovo, Dell, Intel, Realtek, nvidia, Logitech, Samsung, AMD and many other big brands tell me clearly on their product spec that their hardware supports Linux. It's not like there is a shortage of choice.

Oh, can you tell me then, of a Laptop with Touchscreen, good hardware and Linux support? I have been looking for one since ages.

Dell XPS 15 or 17?

I had a Matebook X Pro and it worked really well with Ubuntu but the battery life was terrible in Linux. Maybe it's something that's been fixed or can be tweaked.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#118
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there some way on the iPhone / iPad to shoot video with a Bluetooth mic? I bought a BT lapel mic and whenever it was connected to the phone, it showed up as headphones and audio wouldn't play from the phone until I disconnected it. If Bluetooth is the wrong technology, what would you recommend?

I believe Bluetooth is still worse than even analog 2.4Ghz transceivers due to compression. Perhaps it's good enough for a lapel mic if it uses aptX or whatever there is now, but uncompressed audio (preferably through a balanced connection) would be best.

I'm not looking for the best audio, just better than the on-camera microphone without introducing more gear or post-processing steps.

Re: Higher quality audio makes people sound smarter

#120

If you’re on Mac a fairly cheap way (around $300/£250) to get a great sounding voice is to buy an ok microphone and Logic Pro. This will sound better than buying a microphone of the same price. In Logic add an equaliser to counteract microphone and room deficiencies. Then finish off with a compressor to add extra “warmth” Once done, output logic audio to a virtual sound card (eg sound flower) and use that as an input…

For that you can probably just use Garage Band, which is effectively just Logic with less features, and free.
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