[HN Gopher] Zoom bias: The social costs of having a 'tinny' soun...
___________________________________________________________________
Zoom bias: The social costs of having a 'tinny' sound during video
conferences
Author : bookofjoe
Score : 106 points
Date : 2025-03-27 16:49 UTC (6 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (phys.org)
(TXT) w3m dump (phys.org)
| rolph wrote:
| not just tinny sound.
|
| if it is an annoyance, chore, or PITA, to listen, even if its
| something asked for, there had better be compelling content ,
| else it is dumped quickly
| SoftTalker wrote:
| I use this as leverage to make calls go faster. I bought the
| cheapest mic on Amazon, it manages to be over-sensitive to
| background noises such as my computer fan but still barely
| captures my voice adequately. It's annoying enough that nobody
| wants to stay on the call any longer than necessary.
| alabastervlog wrote:
| Investing in a decent mic and paying a little attention to
| lighting is the new "buying a decent suit and having it
| tailored".
| 4b11b4 wrote:
| ugh, true
| happytoexplain wrote:
| Yup. But the AV setup is cheaper, easier to maintain, and more
| comfortable.
| alabastervlog wrote:
| > more comfortable
|
| Only if you don't try to wear it.
| danieldk wrote:
| Any tips for good mics? Any good options that are not
| immediately in front of your face?
| bbatha wrote:
| You'll want some kind of shotgun mic. The rode videomic2 is a
| good budget option. It has a standard 3/8" thread you can use
| with a desk boom.
| jcims wrote:
| I've been using one for a few years now and am really happy
| with it.
|
| Every now and then (once every 1-2 weeks) it drops off of
| the list of inputs on OSX but unplug and plug it back in
| usually fixes that.
| j45 wrote:
| Sennheiser MKE-600 is next up for me. have a graveyard of
| other mics that don't sound as well for my voice.
|
| Listen to a bunch of the shotgun mics on youtube and see
| which your voice might sound the best with.
| aroch wrote:
| I'm a fan of Saramonic's MV2000 (https://saramonicusa.com/sr-
| mv2000-large-diaphragm-usb-studi...) is an affordable, good
| quality cardiod mic.
|
| Frequently available for $50 and supports live headphone pass
| through if that's your jam.
| kstrauser wrote:
| I bought a Yeti Blue a while back, and several people
| commented positively on its sound quality. I'm pleased with
| it, especially given its decent price: it's not a bank-
| breaker for being such a huge upgrade over the built-in
| laptop mic.
|
| As a bonus, it has a hardware mute button on it. Now I
| usually leave my Zoom unmuted, and use the button to toggle
| whether my coworkers can hear me. It's more convenient than
| clicking the Zoom button or finding the keyboard shortcut.
| minimaxir wrote:
| The main issue with the Yeti Blue is that it's 15 years
| old: although microphone tech doesn't evolve as much over
| the years, it's still behind a bit (e.g. it does 48
| kHz/16-bit audio while modern USB mics do 96 kHz/24-bit).
| It also uses a USB-mini connector which is very annoying.
|
| There are a few modern improvements on it, such as the Yeti
| X.
| rpastuszak wrote:
| hehe, I just posted a sibling comment about the same mic.
| I've been using it for 5+ years, and I don't think like
| I'm missing anything. I suppose I need to make sure to
| keep myself uninformed on the subject so I don't get an
| upgrade :)
|
| The USB connector is not an issue for me, because the mic
| is connected to a docking station/computer display.
|
| The sound quality hasn't been an issue yet, and I've used
| it to record some game assets, etc...
|
| Have you used Yeti X? If so, how does it compare to Blue
| in practice?
| j45 wrote:
| Had a yeti nano, pretty good. Still the condenser mics are
| too sensitive at times.
| alabastervlog wrote:
| Basically any mic that's widely recommended for entry-level
| YouTubers (outside search engine spam, those don't count as
| real recommendations) will be a giant step up from laptop
| or headphone mics, enough that most people who just want to
| sound good on video conferencing probably don't need to
| spend more. The Blue Yeti is exactly that kind of mic, to
| the point that it's kind of a cliche.
|
| Shotgun mics popular among low-budget filmmakers (think:
| people who shoot local commercials, little indie films and
| shorts, and, when desperate for cash, weddings) would also
| be a good and fairly cheap way to go, though they may
| require other hardware to function.
| nottorp wrote:
| Do those do noise canceling?
| alabastervlog wrote:
| Shotgun mics? They're very good at cancelling off-axis
| noise (that is, anything that's not in a fairly narrow
| cone the direction they're aimed) but AFAIK it's really
| challenging to have hardware cancelling of _distant_
| noises in the direction of capture, while also capturing
| a narrow cone like that. So, do they do noise cancelling?
| Yes, very much so, it 's kinda their whole point, but
| also no, depending on what you mean.
| sevg wrote:
| The Blue Yeti is a condenser mic, so it picks up a lot of
| background noise.
|
| Going the dynamic mic route can end up costing a bit more,
| but worth it in my opinion. Unless you have a very quiet
| environment and don't need to type on a keyboard or click a
| mouse while on calls.
| kstrauser wrote:
| That hasn't been my experience at all, especially when
| set for cardioid. I use to ask diligently about whether
| my coworkers could hear me type, or my kids yelling from
| another room, etc., and they couldn't. It does a
| surprisingly good job of not picking up the trucks
| leaving from fire department literally across the street
| from my house.
| sevg wrote:
| I have a feeling this is likely due to noise suppression
| in the video call platform.
|
| Possibly Jitsi doesn't do it as well as Zoom or Google
| Meet, so my experience on Jitsi was a night and day
| improvement switching from Blue Yeti (cardioid mode) to a
| dynamic mic.
| kstrauser wrote:
| Fair enough. Zoom seems to be alright at that.
| MattSayar wrote:
| I have one of these, but honestly, I find it hard to
| convince myself it's better than the built-in mic in my
| MBP. I've gone back-and-forth in the Zoom audio settings
| between my Yeti and the MBP mic, tweaking the knob on the
| Yeti to every setting, and I still prefer the laptop.
| minimaxir wrote:
| I use the Elgato Wave:3, which is more table-level:
| https://www.elgato.com/us/en/p/wave-3-black
|
| The software is also surprisingly useful, and includes a
| mixer and real-time-audio effects which are expensive to do
| outside of the software on macOS.
| Pet_Ant wrote:
| I use an Elgato Wave XLR $200 so that I can upgrade my
| microphone separately; I'm not a fan of hybrid/integrated
| devices. I use it with an Audio-Technica AT2035 $200 and a
| Elgato Low-Profile Microphone Arm $100.
| Spunkie wrote:
| IK Multimedia iRig Stream Mic USB, it sounds great, has a
| built in audio interface, pop filter, direct monitoring,
| mixing, light up mute button, and all for under $100.
|
| Def use the mic with a pair of wired headphones/earbuds to
| use the live/direct monitoring feature.
|
| My team used to have a lot of issues with people mics being
| too loud or too quiet without realizing. Getting everyone on
| that mic and specifically using direct monitoring has solved
| that issue.
| j45 wrote:
| Try a Sennheiser, maybe like a mke-600. Once you see how you
| can laser focus on your voice, hard to go back.
| rpastuszak wrote:
| I've been using this one for the past +5 years, and I'm quite
| happy with it:
|
| https://www.logitechg.com/en-us/products/streaming-
| gear/yeti...
|
| It works better if you're really close, but .5-1m away still
| sounds fantastic (I work from a 3x4m sized room, with some
| outside noise).
|
| Cons: it's quite big
| fructose wrote:
| I work in high end professional audio services for
| conferences, events, etc in Silicon Valley. The Ferrari of
| headset microphones in the industry is currently the DPA 6066
| - the vocal nuances, timbre, and precision of the 6066 is
| that of a finely tuned instrument. Note that this is a mic
| only, you'll need something over or in ear to monitor audio
| from Zoom, Webex, etc.
|
| Agree that the best mics for speech are headsets that tightly
| control the position of the mic.
| alabastervlog wrote:
| > DPA 6066
|
| These are about $1,000 and look (though looks may be
| deceiving) shockingly easy to accidentally destroy, to save
| anyone wondering a Google.
| paulcole wrote:
| What is the Honda Civic? Relatively cheap, reliable, good
| enough for daily use for the overwhelming majority of
| people?
| 0cf8612b2e1e wrote:
| Not that I am qualified beyond the reviews I found, but I
| picked up a Shure 58 for $100. Supposedly used by many
| musicians and can be dropped/abused without issue.
| __mharrison__ wrote:
| See my response to parent comment.
| hammock wrote:
| Shure BRH440 ($400) or Countryman H6 if you want the low-
| profile style ($500)
| patrakov wrote:
| The one built into a Logitech C922 camera. Works best when
| there is some sound-absorbing material in the room, such as
| carpet on the floor, tapestry on the wall, sofa somewhere,
| and so on.
| dist-epoch wrote:
| The further away the microphone, the better acoustics and
| less ambient noise you'll need.
| dspillett wrote:
| I've been finding the pickup on my bluetooth bone-conduction
| headphones to be surprisingly good enough. I tried it as I
| found them convenient & comfortable for calls on my phone.
| People don't notice the difference when I'm using them rather
| than the company-provided wired over-ear headset.
|
| Though that might say as much for the company provided mic as
| it does for the BC ones!
| __mharrison__ wrote:
| I have a Blue Yeti, an AudioTechnica BPHS1 (headset), a
| Fifine 688 (cheap Shure SM7B competition), and a Behringer C2
| (pencil mic). I have also used "professional equipment" sent
| from studios for me to record with.
|
| The professional equipment sounds the best, but the audio
| device alone (sans mic) was $1200.
|
| These days, I use the pencil mic with a Scarlett device. It
| sounds good enough for my recording needs (I post-process
| everything regardless). It is out of camera, and pencil mics
| (or shotgun) are what pros use in camera studios.
|
| If you don't mind having a big mic on camera, the Fifine is a
| lot of bang for the buck. If you are a brand person, go for
| the Shure.
|
| A headset is great for minimizing sound when talking with
| others (say for a podcast interview), but I have yet to find
| one that is comfortable for using all day (I'm often teaching
| day-long courses).
| guappa wrote:
| I don't think anyone is going to blow 1 month of their
| salary to sound better on zoom.
| __mharrison__ wrote:
| Are you referring to the $1200 audio device? Yes, that is
| expensive. It is meant for professional recording.
|
| The average software salary in the US is about $10k a
| month. Few spend that much on audio equipment.
| LtWorf wrote:
| Why do you presume that software developers are the only
| ones doing zoom calls?
| hammock wrote:
| Pencil mic/ shotgun mic is what you want. Rode Videomic is
| the most accessible one you will find. They are highly
| directional (hypercardioid). The reason you sound tinny from
| your laptop is because a) they are not very directional
| (beamforming helps but it's not enough) and b) the lack of
| directionality is made up for by too much autogain thus
| picking up the room.
|
| The "podcaster mics" will work too but they are designed to
| be pulled up to your face. If you don't want the mic in
| camera then you will not get great results with them.
| dist-epoch wrote:
| "investing" is a strong word, when you can get really good
| microphones for $50-100.
| theultdev wrote:
| A mic and lights can be cheaper than a department store suit.
|
| Wouldn't really call it an investment.
| crazygringo wrote:
| An investment of time and effort.
|
| Audio gear is surprisingly complicated for non-experts to
| research, evaluate and monitor. (Like even making sure your
| app is _using_ it, and didn 't reset to your laptop mic when
| you accidentally unplugged it for a minute.)
|
| And fixing your lighting can require rearranging your entire
| office if you have a window behind you. Or investing in
| expensive blinds, etc.
| polishdude20 wrote:
| Is a MacBook pro m series mic not good enough usually?
| snickell wrote:
| I was wondering the same. I'd love to see a quick head to
| head, in realistic non studio wfh environment, starting with
| macbook mic, and then at $50, $100, $300 mic investments.
|
| Anyone got the setup already in front of them at their zoom
| desk and want to make us a 5 minute comparison video?
| nickthegreek wrote:
| I just got back from an All Hands meeting in our main office.
| Most people do it remotely. We had remote people presenting
| from their M-series macbooks. I was reading this thread prior
| to the all hands, so I was paying attention to the quality of
| the voices. Audio was being pumped through the ceiling
| speakers. They all sounded great and it convinced me that I
| did not need to throw money at an imagined problem... I of
| course reserve the right to change my mind as soon as I see a
| great desktop mic on a sweet deal.
| IshKebab wrote:
| MacBook mics tend to be very good in my experience. Easily
| puts you in the "hooray I can actually hear you" category.
|
| It's webcams (Logitech shit) and headsets that are the worst.
| kcb wrote:
| A good non-bluetooth headset. Logitech makes some with a
| wireless dongle. I use a Sennheiser DECT headset. Most DECT
| headsets have pretty tinny cordless phone type sound but this
| one has an ultra-wideband mode that sounds pretty nice. Can
| also walk around the house with 0 connection issues.
| sethammons wrote:
| My background is very tailored. A wall of 80s/90s themed stuff
| and a large pixelated "loading" bar with magnetic blocks for
| the progress bar. I get compliments regularly and I am sure it
| helps me stand out in a sea of screens.
|
| I run an HD obsbot camera and a great mic. I am fully convinced
| it helps.
| 0cf8612b2e1e wrote:
| Could you share the background?
| Contax wrote:
| I'm specifically intrigued by that loading bar with
| magnetic blocks.
| noname120 wrote:
| Is it not too distracting for a job interview?
| hammock wrote:
| Lighting makes a HUGE difference. Just get an Elgato Key Light
| Air from Amazon, set it to ~5700K and full brightness and watch
| the magic happen. It takes a while to get used to having a
| lightbulb in your face but it's so worth it.
|
| That, and the new Macbook Pro's portrait mode feature on the
| webcam. It's good enough that most people won't want to bother
| with setting up a DSLR
| __mharrison__ wrote:
| I "invested" in early 2020 when all of my training moved to
| Zoom. I've gone through a lot of equipment and frequently am
| complimented on my sound, camera, and background.
|
| My rank order for investment:
|
| 1. Mic - See my mic comment in another thread
|
| 2. Lighting - It is hard for good cameras to compensate for
| poor lighting. Good lighting on the other hand, does compensate
| and helps laptop webcams perform much better. I currently run a
| Godox ULC60bi with a huge parabolic diffuser. Probably overkill
| for many. You can get cheap fluorescent or LED lights with a
| diffuser. Would avoid a ring light especially if you wear
| glasses.
|
| 3. Camera - I have used Canon M50 and Sony A6500 as webcams.
| These days, I use an Insta360 Link. It's not quite as good as
| the cameras (you can add more "background blur" with their
| software), but it's more convenient. I still get compliments on
| this.
|
| 4. Background - Blur, doors, and bedrooms are what you see 90%
| of the time. A good background helps you stand out. I have a
| bookcase with the books ordered in color. Folks always comment
| about it. There are lots of other common looks, look on Youtube
| or X (Kevin Shen) for office makeovers.
|
| 5. Teleprompter - Not for scripts but for "looking in the eyes"
| of my students or the person on the other end of the call.
| __mharrison__ wrote:
| Wow, this is being downvoted. (Please help me understand why
| as this comment is a summary of interactions that I have when
| folks ask me about my equipment.)
| tetromino_ wrote:
| My guess is because for the median HN reader (an ordinary
| techie who doesn't talk much on video, and when he/she
| does, it's mostly to other ordinary techies), your setup
| appears to be expensive overkill.
| ajcp wrote:
| 4b. Collapsible green screen[0]. Can't recommend this enough
| if you don't want/have the ability to stage or curate your
| background (my "office" doubles as a guest room). It's also
| excellent for presenting and handy for any number of one-off
| things. When I don't need it I just slide it under the bed,
| easy.
|
| What teleprompter do you use? How do you use it?
|
| 0. https://www.amazon.com/FUDESY-Collapsible-Auto-locking-
| Green...
| heraldgeezer wrote:
| Waaay cheaper and easier than a tailored suit.
| minimaxir wrote:
| Protip: Don't use Bluetooth headphones as your microphone input
| source. The audio gets massively compressed.
| https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/10dit8y/lowquality_b...
|
| Use the laptop microphone as the input instead, or if no
| microphone is present just buy an external microphone. You
| probably don't need a $300 podcast-class microphone since the
| audio still gets compressed in transit, though.
| cosmic_cheese wrote:
| These days, most premium and/or business laptops (MacBooks,
| ThinkPads), etc have mic arrays that are far superior to those
| on earbuds anyway, being capable of eliminating background
| noise without negatively impacting audio quality.
| j45 wrote:
| Laptop mics huge upgrade from the past, and very convenient
| when I don't have something handy, they are not the best or
| even close.
|
| A decent mic will still outperform.
| neogodless wrote:
| Anecdotally, my friend and I were prepping me for an interview,
| and my Bluetooth Bose Q35 microphone was crystal clear, while
| my JLAB Talk Go via USB was having issues with echo. Now the
| former is a $350 MSRP device while the latter is a $50 MSRP
| device, but the latter is also much bigger, has much more
| bandwidth for the wired connection, and has exactly one
| purpose. So I expect it do better than the tiny pinhole
| microphone on my headphones!!
| unchar1 wrote:
| USB microphones usually have audio converters built into
| them. So if you're going for a cheap wired headphones, it's
| usually better to go with one with a 3.5mm jack.
| hammock wrote:
| >You probably don't need a $300 podcast-class microphone since
| the audio still gets compressed in transit, though.
|
| Misunderstands the value of a good mic. That's like saying
| DSLRs and flip phones take the same quality photos if you are
| compressing them down to 400x400 JPEGs
| to11mtm wrote:
| > Use the laptop microphone as the input instead, or if no
| microphone is present just buy an external microphone
|
| You'd be surprised at how many companies/etc issue laptops that
| don't handle background noise for anything, even the fan on the
| laptop itself.
|
| That said I've been using one or two variants of a gaming
| headset with dedicated receiver for the last 5-ish years.
| (Before that I used Logitech H800s with the dedicated receiver,
| alas the earpieces disintegrated after a decade or so.) Better
| audio quality and at the time were only 100$ on sale.
|
| _Especially_ if you are in an open office or pit style
| setting, bluetooth just has too many issues to be reliable
| /good for wireless audio.
| the_pwner224 wrote:
| The most important thing for good sound is distance between the
| mic and your mouth - since SnR falls off with the square of
| distance. Some people use a standalone mic mounted to an arm on
| the front of their desk, but I find that to be too intrusive and
| ugly. The ideal setup is a headphone with a boom mic.
|
| A lot of business conference headphones have a boom mic, as well
| as gaming headphones, but they all cheap out on the actual
| microphone element. For ideal sound quality you want to get a
| V-Moda BoomPro (wired, $20) or an Antlion ModMic Wireless ($140).
| These tack onto your existing headphones with a small magnetic
| clip (so you can take it off when not in a call). You can look up
| sound quality comparisons on YouTube, these two devices are far
| ahead of even the most expensive business/gaming headsets. It
| makes a vast difference in sound quality.
|
| The ModMic Wireless also works around the "Bluetooth sound
| quality is shit in headset mode" issue, since your headphones are
| in output-only (A2DP) mode and the ModMic has its own separate
| Bluetooth connection for mic-only.
|
| Finally, camera quality and lighting are important too. Here's a
| good article on lighting:
| https://languageoflight.blog/2020/10/08/time-zooms-by/. For the
| camera you can use an actual camera (DSLR/mirrorless, ideally
| with a fast lens) with an HDMI capture card, there's plenty of
| info about this available on the internet. An old iPhone can also
| work quite well afaik? Either way, it'll be much better than a
| webcam, particularly if your room's lighting conditions aren't
| ideal.
| tdeck wrote:
| What about lav mics? Are they a good option if you're willing
| to clip one on?
| the_pwner224 wrote:
| I think so, but I've never tried. I like to move around
| during calls so for me the ModMic Wireless + my existing
| Bluetooth headphones was the best option. I don't think
| there's any system out there that can beat the physical
| flexibility and ease of use of this setup.
|
| The ModMic comes with a tiny magnetic nub that adheres
| (permanently) onto the headphones. Then the ModMic itself
| snaps onto / off of that magnetic element, so it takes
| literally 2 seconds to take it on/off.
| LoganDark wrote:
| Cheap ($10) lapel microphones from Amazon tend to have
| extremely acceptable sound quality for me. They tend to
| record even subsonic frequencies fairly well.
| drdrey wrote:
| why would you want to record subsonic frequencies?
| LoganDark wrote:
| recording the output of my transducer (bass shaker), for
| one. Of course it's only really perceptible to others
| with transducers or very good headphones, but having
| enough output to still sound good enough through a
| recording is a point of pride for me.
| sethhochberg wrote:
| Lav mics and boom mics are great because they solve the
| problem so many other designs are trying hard to work around:
| distance from the speaker's mouth to the transducer.
|
| An inexpensive omnidirectional lav can sound good for much
| less money and much more reliably than complicated software-
| steered mic arrays or even desktop mics with various pickup
| patterns can in the hands of an average consumer because the
| source audio, proportionally, is so much louder than any
| background or room noises due simply to distance. Because of
| the inverse-square law, every time you halve the distance
| between source and mic you get 4 times the acoustic power, so
| much better signal to noise ratio.
|
| Real situations exist where simply putting the microphone
| closer to the mouth isn't good enough to solve the problem on
| its own, and that's why stage microphones have those pickup
| patterns that reject more noise but require some technique to
| use. That's not the reality for most people giving a
| presentation on their laptop, though.
| boarnoah wrote:
| I am slowly coming around to the idea of desk mics, like you I
| detest the idea of it hanging in my peripheral vision on the
| desk or monitor arms etc...
|
| Even at the higher end of closed back headphones, there is a
| still a decent bit of noise leak.
|
| I've Had V-Moda mic in the past, as well as Sennheiser and
| Beyerdynamic headsets with boom mics.
|
| It usually isn't a problem with the relatively low volumes in a
| meeting, but any other time the noise leak is enough to get
| reliably picked up on recordings etc...
| the_pwner224 wrote:
| Ah yes. I never thought about that since I use closed-back
| headphones. (Bose 700 ANC)
| Suppafly wrote:
| >You can look up sound quality comparisons on YouTube, these
| two devices are far ahead of even the most expensive
| business/gaming headsets. It makes a vast difference in sound
| quality.
|
| Assuming that's true, I'm not even sure I care. A halfway
| decent business or gaming headset sounds fine for Zoom or
| Teams, especially if it's wired to the audio jacks or has a usb
| connection. It's only the cheapest garbage that has problems.
| If you are doing audiobook narration or something sure, go for
| something better, but as long as you spend $50 or so you're
| fine for virtual meetings.
| Sohcahtoa82 wrote:
| > The ModMic Wireless also works around the "Bluetooth sound
| quality is shit in headset mode" issue, since your headphones
| are in output-only (A2DP) mode
|
| I will never understand for the life of me why the hell bi-
| directional high-quality audio over Bluetooth still isn't a
| thing, even in 2025.
|
| Bluetooth has MORE than enough bandwidth. 320 kbps output gives
| you damn near lossless quality, and just 128 kbps would be
| plenty for single-channel microphone audio, and honestly even
| just 64 kbps would be be fine. You would need _at most_ 500
| kbps. Bluetooth is capable of more than that.
|
| Even if there's no bidirectional high quality standard (HFP is
| bidirectional, but low quality), Bluetooth allows simultaneous
| logical connections of multiple profiles at the same time.
| Sure, your computer has an A2DP connection as the source to
| your headphones as a sink. Why can't a headset also open a
| second A2DP connection with itself as the source and the
| computer as the sink?
|
| It just doesn't make sense that a spec that's been around for
| what, 20 years has failed to keep up. I hate that as a gamer, I
| can't use the Bluetooth built into my motherboard to use a
| gaming headset if I want high quality audio. I have to get a
| headset with a proprietary dongle and then remember to bring it
| with me to LAN parties.
| ianburrell wrote:
| Bluetooth 5 added audio for BLE called LE Audio with LC3
| codec. BLE has higher (24 Mbps vs 1 Mbps) bandwidth than
| Bluetooth Classic. Bluetooth 5 headphones are available now.
|
| That would have been perfect time to update headsets. It
| sounds like A2DP can do backchannel now and there is Qualcomm
| proposed FastStream. But it isn't implemented widely and
| probably won't be until standardized.
| pelagic_sky wrote:
| I use my Rhode condenser mic, that I use for recording vocals, as
| my Google Meet mic while at home. I've lost track of the amount
| of people who have said "WOW" when I start talking and then go on
| to tell me how good my voice sounds. It's kind of lame, but true
| that I do stand out more when presenting to executive leadership.
| I've even had one VP remember me because of my mic and audio
| quality.
| ycombinete wrote:
| I've had a similar experience, where a friend suggested that
| Teams must boost the host's audio, based on how clear my voice
| was in a group meeting we had.
|
| And I just use the mic attached to my Game Ones which isn't
| even a condenser.
| earslap wrote:
| There are also documented effects of your camera quality, and
| even where your camera is placed (as you tend to look at your
| screen during a call so your gaze is always relative to it).
| __mharrison__ wrote:
| Teleprompter!
| calvinmorrison wrote:
| I moved my whole team to $30 logitech headsets and they're miles
| better than the laptop, airpod, and standalone webcam mics we
| have on file. Clarity is great for guys who work at the coffee
| shop. I play music while on calls and nobody can hear it.
|
| Sometimes simple works.
| m3kw9 wrote:
| How is this bias different than dressing and looking well? The
| screen/sound is where the rubber hits the road and if you have a
| messy room, noisy environment, crapy mic setup, poor internet
| quality, it all adds up to a chance you are not really detailed
| oriented.
| jmmcd wrote:
| > "During videoconferencing, of course, you know how you look,
| since you can see yourself too," Walter-Terrill noted. "But on a
| call with dozens of people, you may be the only one who doesn't
| know how you sound to everyone else: you may hear yourself as
| rich and resonant, while everyone else hears a tinny voice."
|
| Not quite! You don't really know how you look, because you see
| yourself before transmission.
| aranelsurion wrote:
| Some apps also show you mirrored image for some reason, so
| everyone else is seeing a mirror image of what you see.
| IshKebab wrote:
| Yeah I can't really blame people for not realising they have
| shitty mics and shitty internet because it's really hard for
| them to tell! Basically the only way is to start a meeting,
| record it, and then watch it back. But what a faff!
|
| Why is there no "play me back but delayed" test meeting option?
|
| Apparently Zoom has this but I'm using Google Meet at the
| moment... Their answer is "ask someone else". No really.
|
| https://support.google.com/meet/thread/45440945/is-there-a-t...
| deadbabe wrote:
| One thing you should do is not use your camera all the time. Use
| a really good profile picture, people will imagine whatever you
| look like in their head and you build an air of mystery and
| exclusivity. Save your on camera moments for when you want to
| grace others with your presence and court attention. Most people
| on camera just look bored, small, and uninteresting. By being
| more deliberate, you can avoid giving that impression.
| iteratethis wrote:
| Totally agree.
|
| I also consider it weird that in a group call somebody could be
| directly staring at you but you can't tell. Highly unnatural.
| topher6345 wrote:
| I'm using quite an elaborate stack for daily zoom calls wich may
| be interesting for those seeking a richer sound:
|
| A Mic Parts S-25 I built from a kit https://microphone-
| parts.com/collections/microphone-kits/pro..., Medium Diaphragm
| Condenser (requires 48V phantom power)
|
| into a JHS Colorbox V2 https://jhspedals.info/products/colour-
| box-v2 an electric guitar effects pedal emulating a Neve
| recording console channel strip, can do XLR in/out and pass 48V
| phantom power to the mic
|
| into a Focusrite Scarlett
|
| with Apple Airpods Pro as in ear monitors
|
| It works for me - I usually audition the mic and the Airpods
| before unmuting
|
| The colorbox helps increase the gain level so I don't have to be
| so close to the mic, I usually place it upside-down using a boom
| mic stand, at around 1 foot away from my mouth at a 45 degree
| angle from my forward gaze (to avoid plosives and sibilance), Its
| in frame as a conversation starter but doesn't necessarily have
| to be.
|
| I find my voice is more intelligible if I use the colorbox to
| reduce some of the midrange content. It also imparts some
| compression and harmonic distortion. I watch the Scarlett input
| indicator to avoid clipping at the digital input
|
| I find myself with less vocal fatigue using this equipment than
| the Airpods Pro as a mic. Also it just seems a little more
| exciting to think my voice travels through transistors and
| capacitors I soldered, through a recreation of a circuit that
| some of my favorite music was recorded though.
| tinix wrote:
| I'm really surprised there's no discussion about DECT headsets
| here.
|
| It operates over the 900 megahertz ISM band. I'm able to walk all
| over my house and property without audio dropping out, and it
| doesn't suffer from Bluetooth codec compression issues.
|
| https://www.eposaudio.com/en/us/headsets/dect-headsets
|
| I will say they suck for listening to music though (if you're an
| audiophile)... but I would just switch to good studio monitors
| for that situation.
| Defletter wrote:
| While that may very well be true, I'd be willing to bet that
| these effects are much more pronounced (and rightly so) with
| people who hotmic / don't use push-to-talk. As while this can be
| mitigated some with diligent muting by the host (or whoever), or
| with a raise-hand-to-talk system, it's still completely lacking
| in consideration for others, whereas tinny audio is something
| that sometimes cannot be helped.
| iteratethis wrote:
| Just get a wired business headset. No lag, no echo, great audio
| quality both ways.
|
| When I know one of my peers made a sizable audio investment, as
| of then I pretend I can barely hear them.
| pavel_lishin wrote:
| I purchased a nice microphone for podcasting, and it works so
| well during work meetings that people will comment how much
| better I sound even if I forget to plug it in.
| 0xTJ wrote:
| I (panic-)picked up a decent-quality but not overly professional
| podcaster-type mic ahead of my online Master's thesis defense,
| and now use it as my exclusive audio input method for Zoom and
| Teams calls. I have earbuds wired to its monitor output, which
| combines the mic with audio out from the computer, and it's just
| such a stable, easy, and good solution for my usecase.
| hammock wrote:
| The demonstration website for the study has the recordings used:
| https://perception.yale.edu/Brian/demos/Misc-AuditoryFluency...
|
| I would like to know the effect size but can't find the full
| paper.
| turtleyacht wrote:
| For Macs, Quicktime with New Audio Recording lets you hear
| yourself (if you're wearing a headset or earbuds). This helps
| modulate tone and prevent "yelling at the computer" phenomena.
|
| A recording doesn't have to be made. It's like having a free
| audio "monitor."
| supergeek133 wrote:
| So many people are overengineering this... I have a wireless
| Jabra headset. Works great. At home I use one of those usb
| speakerphone pucks, works great. Not these super special desktop
| mics that streamers or radio broadcasters use.
|
| The people who try to use their webcam mic or the built in mic
| are the ones causing most of the problem (yes I'm also looking at
| you Macbook users).
|
| I always thought it'd be a great idea if in your internal Teams
| or Zoom instance you had a "send this person a new headset"
| button to fix the problem.
| noname120 wrote:
| In my experience MacBook Pro mic is incredibly good, miles
| ahead of any (expensive) headset I've tried. Do you have a
| different experience?
| ajmurmann wrote:
| How do you have the macBook pro microphone in a proper
| position? If I only use the macBook the camera is in a bad
| spot. Usually my macBook is plugged in which means my decent,
| external camera on my monitor is in a good location and so is
| my lighting. However, it means my macBook is off to the side.
| shreddit wrote:
| I do have a (not cheap) BT headset and still use the builtin
| microphone of my mac. Why? Because when i use the mic of my
| headset it changes the type of BT connection and the sound i
| hear is basically unbearable.
| ALLTaken wrote:
| Is nobody using a DJI Mic2?? I hoped you guys would recommend
| something better than the DJI Mic2, not because it's expensive,
| but there surely should be better mobile/wireless mics, no?
|
| I hope someone knows, hey I am even down buying those talkshow
| moderator style mics, like the DPA 6066, that was recommended
| here. But don't they require a bulk of stuff wearing in your
| back attached to your pants/belt? For sound I would wear
| regular noise-cancelling in-ears, here the difference isn't
| that big, unless you're audiophile like me and many others in
| this thread. Especially so, if you have above average hearing,
| the world is optimised for lower-quality sounds :(
|
| Why the focus on just the Laptop/PC? Mobile Phones also feature
| crappy mics, especially when on loudspeaker. Yeah I noticed it
| depends very much on the software being used too, but WhatsApp
| sounds tinny, Instagram sounds crystal sharp, Zoom/Meets sounds
| tinny.
|
| What if you have to use the screen and still need to listen on
| your mobile phone? Bummer, the microphone switches to crap-
| quality on loudspeaker.
|
| Test yourself and record a message with loudspeaker on and off.
| Especially with background noise it's getting worse, whatever
| that algorithm is doing, it's tinning your voice to filter the
| stuff out.
| jccalhoun wrote:
| I regularly hear people on podcasts, radio, and tv who go on
| shows with shitty mics. I don't understand how. "I'm going on a
| national radio show. Maybe I should get a decent mic? Nah, screw
| it. I'll just sound like garbage." And no one behind the scenes
| on the show sends them a mic? Or at least tells them not to use
| airpods as their mic? Certainly there times when an interview is
| set up quickly. But I've heard entire 90+ minute podcasts where
| the guest was on a terrible mic.
| basisword wrote:
| PSA: If you use AirPods on a call, please don't use the mic. Set
| Zoom to use your laptop mic or another external mic. I don't
| understand how people don't realise a microphone next to your ear
| if going to sound like shit. The mic needs to be in front of your
| mouth. Same goes for people with those Bose noise cancelling
| headphones (or equivalents). The mic is shit. And that's expected
| given its position.
|
| BTW, the old wired Apple headphones with the cable remote/mic are
| a decent cheap solution.
| heraldgeezer wrote:
| Work headset is fine. At home I have a Blue Yeti + Logitech Brio
| that sounds and looks good.
| xuhu wrote:
| Would I sound better on Zoom if I took out one wireless earbud
| and spoke into it ?
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