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geekhack Community => Other Geeky Stuff => Topic started by: Son of Gnome on Sat, 28 April 2012, 21:44:48
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SO I just bought a pair of sennheiser 555 from a fellow member. Now I need to find a microphone to use with them. I am not sure if I want a clip on mic or a desk mic. I will be using it mostly for skype and video game playing, I also may stream with it as well.
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I would suggest the Logitech USB Microphone (http://www.logitech.com/webcam-communications/microphones/devices/221). It's not too expensive, but the quality is excellent for a desktop mic. You can just set it anywhere within a reasonable proximity to you on the desk and it will sound good. It's like 20 bucks on newegg
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I'd been planning on getting this thing for a while since its damn cheap and judging from that test clip, the sound quality isn't bad at all, especially at that $3 price: http://www.dealextreme.com/p/xty-operator-style-earbud-microphone-set-2631
Test sound clip: http://soundcloud.com/mictest1-2/xtymictest
Velcro dot for attachment to HD555: http://www.adorama.com/LQVP5.html?utm_term=Other&utm_medium=Shopping%20Site&utm_campaign=Other&utm_source=gbase&utm_term=Other&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=Other&utm_source=cj_4166869
What I was planning on getting before discovering the XTY mic was the Labtec LVA-7330, there is currently a new one up for sale on ebay for $15 + shipping & a used one for $10 + shipping. There are also a couple up on ebay, including a .99 + shipping listing.
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The Antlion Modmic could be a good choice.
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blue snowball is good.
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If you go the clip on route, this Zalman (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00029MTMQ/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00) is a nice option. It's under $10 and sounds great. I use it for everything and everyone always says I come through crystal clear.
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blue snowball is good.
More kudos for the Snowball. Works well for voice (games, skype) as well as music.
I had the Zalman clip-on mic and didn't think much of it beyond being convenient. Music reproduction was atrocious.
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I had the Zalman clip-on mic and didn't think much of it beyond being convenient. Music reproduction was atrocious.
The zalman really isn't good if your trying to capture anything other than voice, but if it's just a voice it does a pretty good job, especially for it's price. You really need to use the mic boost for it though.
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More kudos for the Snowball. Works well for voice (games, skype) as well as music.
I had the Zalman clip-on mic and didn't think much of it beyond being convenient. Music reproduction was atrocious.
I guess it depends on what you're using it for and how much you want to spend.
If you're going beyond the OP's original stated goals and have a little bit bigger budget, then I wouldn't recommend the the Zalman either.
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Well, to be fair, the Zalman mic never postures as a mic for instrument or music recording. I picked up a Zalman mic for my 555's and so far it seems to be doing well enough. The only unfortunate side effect is that the Zalman mic does not have a mute. I spent a little bit of time searching google and figured out an AutoHotKey script that works well enough for my purposes. The audio of myself that I've heard so far sounds at least as good as the Plantronics Audio 655 headset that I have while allowing me to listen through my 555's which are superior for music and significantly more comfortable. The Zalman mic lacks the boom-raise mute but mapping the AHK to Mouse4 works out well enough for me.
Saying that a $9 voice mic is poor at music reproduction is tantamount to saying that your DSL router would be bad at routing all the internet traffic between New York and Paris. I would even go so far as to say that the Zalman has superior directional capability and captures less of the other sounds in my room than the Plantronics headset. I can almost guarantee that this would be the case versus a desk-mounted microphone.
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i got some olympus omnidirectional mic that came with a lapel clip and an extra long separate audio cord.
pretty sure it's this one
http://www.amazon.com/Olympus-ME-52W-Noise-Canceling-Microphone/dp/B000MYPPPE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335864300&sr=8-1
skype ppl say i sound the best, out of other ppl they've skyped with.
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I would suggest the Logitech USB Microphone (http://www.logitech.com/webcam-communications/microphones/devices/221). It's not too expensive, but the quality is excellent for a desktop mic. You can just set it anywhere within a reasonable proximity to you on the desk and it will sound good. It's like 20 bucks on newegg
I second the logitech usb mic.
I find any sort of clip on to be annoying and this desktop mic actually does not pick up other noises causing background noise like many desktop mics are known to do
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Yeah, I have the Zalman, and if you are just trying to pick up voice for cheap, then it works fine. If you want to have a more serious mic, you could go for the Blue Snowball, and beyond that, people using the Shure SM57 that I have heard sound really good (casters and some studio musicians. The Snowball and the SM57 would require mounts and pop filters though, but yield the best results.
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I would suggest the Logitech USB Microphone (http://www.logitech.com/webcam-communications/microphones/devices/221). It's not too expensive, but the quality is excellent for a desktop mic. You can just set it anywhere within a reasonable proximity to you on the desk and it will sound good. It's like 20 bucks on newegg
I second this. Owned one before upgrading to a Blue Yeti, and despite being ~1/5 the price, the quality when using Mumble or other team-speak options which apply substantial compression, the two sound about the same; the Yeti picks up more minute sounds, which is arguably a downside for casual use.
Pin-on mics are of inferior quality across the board.