Microphone - suggestions?

[ploughman1]

Speaks for itself, doesn't it? Seriously, have any of you any thoughts on this? All I've found is a USB mike is recommended but nothing beyond that. Money not really a problem but I don't want to spend far more than I need to. Any other thoughts? Headset? Mike place in padded box?

Thanx.

[Captiv8r]

Hi ploughman1

While it isn't intended for Captivate, Adobe does have information on choosing a microphone at this link.

Personally, I would avoid a USB microphone for the following reasons.

I've seen folks report one of a couple of things here with USB microphones. They either post to claim the microphone has NEVER from day one been recognized by Captivate. Yet most or all of their other audio capable applications uses it fine. Or they report that it initially worked fine, then stopped after a day or a week or another time increment. And again, the puzzling bit is that while Captivate no longer is able to use it, other apps are.

I don't believe I have ever seen a report of a headset microphone that didn't work where it connected to the PC by plugging the shaft connectors into the computer's sound card.

Food for thought... Rick

[shawninvancouver2]

Hello Rick,

I hope all is well.

Great link you provided! (re: https://admin.adobe.acrobat.com/_a295153/microphones). I hadn't seen this one before.

Thank you.

[workbench]

Shure M58
http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/WiredMicrophones/us_pro_SM58-CN_content

You'll need a preamp

the mic into the preamp the preamp into the line in, turn the gain way down on the PC mixer for the line in

[CatBandit]

Hi folks!

I use a laptop as my main, or "production" PC. And with that in mind, I bought a Logitech mobile headset with boom microphone. Sorry, I can't give you the model number - can't find it right now. But it comes in a solid rounded-rectangular snap-case that is form fitted to the headset / boom mic and accessories (see below).

The unit has both connections, the standard 3.5 mm plugs for audio output and microphone in, as well as an adapter connection that allows you to convert the "plug" connectors to a regular USB. Each connection type works just fine, and the case also holds the short converter in it's own form-fitting slot in the case, so you really can't leave it at home or lose it (as easily - lol).

It provides excellent audio in / out, and is ideal for travel or office.

.

[Guest]

I was also debating between Sony vs Logitech but I wasnt sure whether Sony would work with Captivate since its a 3.5 mm plug input, but as Catbandit mentioned, it has an USB adapter. Cat, what are your thoughts on Sony, if your using it.
Here are the links for both of them I was looking at
Logitech
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=5431927&st=usb+microphone&lp=3&type=product&cp=1&id=10...
Sony
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&lang...

Cheers!

[CatBandit]

Hi mixtapez and All,
The mics you pointed to are both desktop microphones. I use only the headset type containing a "boom mic". Two quick reasons:

One, the desktop mic is generally omni-directional, and I want a uni-directional microphone. Omni directional mics will pick up sound from a 360 degree radius, while a uni-directional mic will filter out the "side" noises, making for a better recording for voice-over purposes.

Two, with a boom mic, which by definition is attached to my head, I can get the microphone in pretty much the same place every time (relative to my mouth). A desktop mic isn't attached to anything, so the distance between your mouth and the microphone is going to vary more, from recording session to recording session. The distance between your chair and the desk, the position of the mic on the desk itself, even the existence of other objects on the desk will change the relative position of the microphone from the audio-in source (my mouth).

Hope this helps. Have a good weekend!!
.

[alight9010]

I just ordered a Plantronics .Audio 750 DSP USB PC headset. A client did voiceover with it (which I incorporated into a CP4 project) and the sound quality was excellent with no background noise. Usually I have to clean up audio and remove white noise but this headset has noise-cancellation that seems to be really effective.

[eholz1]

Here is another proviso on the microphone issue.
I have a Rode Podcaster USB mic. I have not tried it with Captivate, but use either Adobe Sound booth or Audacity to do the audio recording for a Captivate application. This is a broadcast quality mic, and provides exellent results. ( http://www.rodepodcaster.com/ )

Check it out. Captivate does not quite have enough features for tweeking audio tracks as SoundBooth and Audacity.

Cheers,

eholz1

[Guest]

Logitech headsets work well, the ones in the 50 USD range have passable results.

The setup I've come to prefer is a Shure PG58 with a tascam US-144 preamp. Produces flawless results using the xlr interface to usb.

[LabOwner]

I use the Logitech USB Desktop microphone. It's terrific!

[Guest]

Samsom CO1U, $90. Decent quality with built-in pre.

[shawninvancouver2]

Hello, I studied audio recording engineering a couple of dozen moons ago so I am a bit of a mic snob and balanced cable snob. Having said that, I am pleasantly surprised and pleased with the reasonable pick up and good sound quality of the Logitech USB microphone (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/webcam_communications/microphones/devices/221&cl=us,en). It is only $29.00.... and used mics worth more than $500 in the past. It is certainly no Shure or Sennheiser but it is pretty good in a quiet, sound dampened environment.

Contrary to what an esteemed member of our group stated, I would actually recommend a USB microphone over a analog one because you will (or should) greatly reduce noise (professional microphones exempted). As long as the mic is recognized by Windows, Captivate theoretically should not care what type of mic is being used. I haven't experienced any issues but perhaps others have for some odd reasons.

I attached a list of best practices... a document I have been working on for a little while. It is based on my past experiences... although many entries were shamelessly ripped from other Internet pages. I hope this helps you archive the best possible recordings.

[alight9010]

I had that one as well but found that it captured too much white noise if

you don't have a "dead" room in which to record. I recently got the Plantronics

.Audio 750 DSP USB PC headset which has great noise-cancellation. Because of

the headset form, you can get consistent distance from the mic each time

too.

[Captiv8r]

Hi Shawn

I'm assuming you are referring to posts from five years ago. Back then we saw all manner of trouble with USB microphones in Captivate. Most often, Captivate had real problems sensing them while every other application on the PC found them just fine.

I think that may have been version 1 or 2. I don't recall. But there has been progress made since that time where it's no longer a big deal. I use and also would now recommend the USB type of microphone!

Also appreciate your sharing what you find to be the case with the Logitech. My typical mic setup is a Microsoft LifeChat USB. And I really like the results I get with it.

Cheers all... Rick

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[shawninvancouver]

Greetings Rick,

LOL... I now see that this thread is one of those long life ones. I did not notice that your comments about USB were from three years ago. 🙂

I also agree with the other commenter about the Logitech picking up white noise (or simply ambient noise). In order to record successfully with this microphone, you absolutely need proper sound dampening (see my attachment for some suggestions).

Also, I am not a big fan of microphones with built-in noise cancelling, in my experience they can introduce some undesired sound artifacts.

[shawninvancouver]

Strange.... I am posting as shawninvancouver and shawninvancouver2.... darn corporate and personal accounts cannot be merged. 😞