Microphone for Zoom

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news4jc

18 posts

Geek

#296080 19-May-2022 09:59

My wife is looking for a microphone for her PC to use with zoom. I don't have any idea, but is the following any good, or what should I be looking for?

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/electronics-photography/home-audio/speakers-and-stands/other/listing/3600206086?bof=OBYYGriU

Many thanks, JC

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#2915891 19-May-2022 10:10

Is the microphone in her webcam not good enough? We encourage clients towards the mid-range Logitech webcams like the C92x and C93x series and have never had someone request an external microphone. Webcams | Logitech

Personally I like to be able to wander, and use a Logitech Zone wireless headset, which can connect via Bluetooth to laptops/mobile and comes with a USB dongle for connecting to a desktop.

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1101

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#2915894 19-May-2022 10:17

dont expect much from that $20 mic .

Perhaps a Logitech headset with built in mic would be a good option. Rather than using the PC's external speakers .

is there alot of ambient noise ? that could all be picked up by a desktop mic .

is the room echo-ey or dead sounding . Think about what it will sound like at the other end .
ie , think about how bad things can sound & hard to hear with some peoples phone on speakerphone . Thats what you want to avoid

news4jc

18 posts

Geek

#2915906 19-May-2022 11:04

1101:

is there alot of ambient noise ? that could all be picked up by a desktop mic .

is the room echo-ey or dead sounding . Think about what it will sound like at the other end .
ie , think about how bad things can sound & hard to hear with some peoples phone on speakerphone . Thats what you want to avoid

She has a tablet that she uses at the moment, and nobody's complained about the sound.

She spends quite a lot of time in bed due to illness, and wants to zoom on the bedroom 55" TV, but of course no camera or mic. A webcam would be about 1.5m away if mounted on the TV.

news4jc

18 posts

Geek

#2915907 19-May-2022 11:06

Dynamic:

Is the microphone in her webcam not good enough? We encourage clients towards the mid-range Logitech webcams like the C92x and C93x series and have never had someone request an external microphone. Webcams | Logitech

Personally I like to be able to wander, and use a Logitech Zone wireless headset, which can connect via Bluetooth to laptops/mobile and comes with a USB dongle for connecting to a desktop.

Thanks for your comment - see answer below about TV etc.

nitro

657 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2915912 19-May-2022 11:18

sorry to hear about her illness.

are you (she) using the zoom app on android tv? or is run on a device using the tv as display?

i would opt for something like a BOYA BY-MM1, rather than the one on trademe, but i don't know if you need a USB interface.

i've been using a bluetooth headset for Teams, but i realise some people don't want to have something in-ear or have their ears covered for extended periods.

Dynamic

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#2915929 19-May-2022 12:17

Sorry to hear about the illness. What device will be driving the Zoom meeting and how will this be getting the signal to the TV? We'll see if we can throw some helpful solution ideas at you that you may not have considered.

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#2915936 19-May-2022 12:46

I can highly recommend these Jabra units for both a speaker and microphone. Connects either by USB or Bluetooth and has a really good noise cancelling microphone built it.

https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/p/jabra-speak-510-usb-and-bluetooth-speakerphone/N207994.html

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nitro

657 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2915958 19-May-2022 13:29

Senecio:

I can highly recommend these Jabra units for both a speaker and microphone. Connects either by USB or Bluetooth and has a really good noise cancelling microphone built it.

https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/p/jabra-speak-510-usb-and-bluetooth-speakerphone/N207994.html

these are quite handy and might fit the application described. different price point, but i think it's worth it if used regularly, and often.

panther2

374 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2916008 19-May-2022 16:01

Senecio:
I can highly recommend these Jabra units for both a speaker and microphone. Connects either by USB or Bluetooth and has a really good noise cancelling microphone built it.

https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/p/jabra-speak-510-usb-and-bluetooth-speakerphone/N207994.html

I also have these and work really well

panther2

374 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2916009 19-May-2022 16:01

Senecio:
I can highly recommend these Jabra units for both a speaker and microphone. Connects either by USB or Bluetooth and has a really good noise cancelling microphone built it.

https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/p/jabra-speak-510-usb-and-bluetooth-speakerphone/N207994.html

I also have these and work really well

allan

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#2916045 19-May-2022 18:57

Senecio:
I can highly recommend these Jabra units for both a speaker and microphone. Connects either by USB or Bluetooth and has a really good noise cancelling microphone built it.

https://www.noelleeming.co.nz/p/jabra-speak-510-usb-and-bluetooth-speakerphone/N207994.html

Best thing I ever did was to buy one of these. Dramatically better than using laptop built in microphone and doesn't matter if you tend to move around a bit while speaking. Have also used it in a group setting with 5 other people in room (audio call). Person at the other end could hear us perfectly.

Edited to fix typo...

news4jc

18 posts

Geek

#2916349 20-May-2022 09:35

Dynamic:

Sorry to hear about the illness. What device will be driving the Zoom meeting and how will this be getting the signal to the TV? We'll see if we can throw some helpful solution ideas at you that you may not have considered.

The TV is fed by a Linux PC via HDMI.

news4jc

18 posts

Geek

#2916352 20-May-2022 09:38

nitro:

sorry to hear about her illness.

are you (she) using the zoom app on android tv? or is run on a device using the tv as display?

i would opt for something like a BOYA BY-MM1, rather than the one on trademe, but i don't know if you need a USB interface.

i've been using a bluetooth headset for Teams, but i realise some people don't want to have something in-ear or have their ears covered for extended periods.

TV is a plasma non-smart Samsung using an HDMI connection through a Linux PC.

news4jc

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Geek

#2916359 20-May-2022 09:45

Many thanks for the help so far, valuable information there. There are times when my wife wants to be seen on zoom, but mostly she has local video switched off, so others can't see her. But she still sees others on the call. A webcam would be good, and she also likes the idea of just a microphone. Those Jabra units seem likely too. 👍

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#2916369 20-May-2022 10:05

I got one of these https://surplustronics.co.nz/products/10658-usb-studio-microphone-desktop-stand-set-black to use with Google Meet. I use it as an overhead microphone above my monitor. I selected this one because it seems to be more or less identical to ones reviewed online that were found to be surprisingly good for the price. I can't say if this particular mic is or not as I'm not using it in a studio environment, but there have been no complaints from others in the meetings.

I was also eager to try out some powder coating powder I've had sitting around for a while. Knowing I could pull this apart and try out my misty burgundy powder was also a factor. To be honest, the $19 mic from TradeMe may not be great, but it's almost certainly going to be good enough for Zoom and much better than any built-in Webcam mic.

My brother uses one of those Jabra units and the sound quality from those also seems decent. It is a conference device however, so I need to be careful* not to say too many inappropriate things if I walk in while he's in a meeting :)

* Just kidding, I don't care if I offend.

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