After an evening of testing, it turns out that my £19.99 POS Fifine USB microphone outperforms my Rode NT1A phantom powered condenser mic for any video calling platform.
I don’t know why I felt the need to test it, but now I know.
The Rode works much better as a dictation microphone for Nuance/Dragon though. The text generated is a lot more accurate.
Now I have a craving for a good shotgun mic to test as well.
I do wish Zoom had more audio setting options though. I want to control my own compression parameters!
So, well done to Fifine. Might try some other USB mics next. But not SM7B inspired stuff that needs to be very close to the mouth and thus be in the picture.
I hate that new trend of having the mic block out half the face. It looks crap.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
Comments
anyone know how to make that better in TEAMS ?
Might have to run OBS with it for noise gate/suppression filters.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
Got the same issue though with the mic (Shure Beta 58a) on a mic desk clamp arm thing and it does cover up a lot of the view. Sounds good however. Might consider a lavalier mic (like newsreaders and presenters use) for a more neater apperance on meetings.
Jabra Speak 510 Speaker — Portable Bluetooth Speaker, Conference Speaker — Connects to Laptops, Smartphones and Tablets — USB Plug https://amzn.eu/d/6ENMXaE
Mostly our standard is these, which are superb:
https://www.hp.com/gb-en/shop/product.aspx?id=77Y87AA&opt=&sel=ACC
To be fair to the rode it is a studio condenser designed to be very sensitive and pick up everything and supposed to be used in an acoustically treated environment. It's the opposite of what you need for a conferencing mic because it doesn't have any noise cancelling, in fact it's the opposite, it's noise amplifying for nuance and also very sibilant which usually needs post correction with a desser. Does Zoom have it's own noise cancelling built in?
I wonder if it's best to have in the headset/mic or PO, or does it not make a difference?
Most conferencing mics tend to be close address so they pick up mainly voice, either on a headset or end address dynamic mics like the SM7B type. The Aston Element may be worth a shout though, it's a full range dynamic that you are supposed to use a little further back, rather than right against like your classic radio mic. It's inexpensive too.
Aston Element Cardioid Microphone - Andertons Music Co.
I've no experience of shotgun mics, but their supercardioid patters should keep things tighter.
I use a Jabra Evolve2 65 headset.
Connects via bluetooth (which is handy if you need to move around a bit while on the call), battery lasts forever and charges quickly via the deskstand, connects to two devices simultaneously (so can take mobile calls as well as Teams calls without reconnecting), comfortable to keep on your head for hours on end, and never had a single complaint about extraneous noise.
I had the Rode with a 51db gain setting. The Fifine does have a level control but I don't know if it is a booster or attenuator. I suspect a booster.
Zoom has 3 or 4 noise cancelling presets available. I tried them all with both mics, and then for the Rode I also tried a noise gate and compression in my Helix.
I have not tried singing into the Fifine yet.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
Zoom was always the worst for audio quality, compression off ( or background noise off, I forget the terminology) for both me and the student. FaceTime was the best.
This is the mic
https://amzn.eu/d/13TzPGn
Though I was just going for a cheap laugh.
It's only me in the room so it's not too bad to sort out.
I’m so bored I might as well be listening to Pink Floyd
any suggestions ?
ps until now, after 4 years of every day TEAMS use, no-one has said they sound crap, which now sounds quite surprising and I’ve never read it before, but I’m happy to swap for something with the abive criteria
I genuinely wonder how some people manage to walk and breathe at the same time, sometimes...