What's the biggest bang for $100 or less as far as headset/mic combos for Skype/impromptu PC-to-PC conferences/primitive podcasting?
it works ... fine'ish, but I'm looking to upgrade to something a little more elegant, better sounding, and streamlined - a headset combo.
I don't really want to spend more than100 bucks, but if the candidates out there for $200+ are truly THAT much better, it's not off the table.
any advice from personal experience? thanks in advance!
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M$2 Answers
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/digitalcommunication/productdetails.aspx?pid=006 It's USB based, so you need an available port.
Latest price was $39.95, and for the money, it's worth a test drive. :)
Personal experience with named product.
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M$skype loves those. plantronics has them from 27 (!) to about 120 dollars.
see:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826265046
you will need to find a way to place the microphone so the sound is good, not too nasal and free from plotive popping. the good news is, you will be able to move around more while keeping the same spacial relationship between your mouth and the mic.
after some time, you may want to get a desk mounted microphone. those start at 80 and go to 250 or so. (but the sky is the limit.) you'll need to sit or stand in one position for the whole time you are recording ... unless you like tat "off mic" sound that indicates you are on the other side of the room looking for something.
good luck. what's your podcast so we can all listen?
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M$
right on, thanks. i neglected to mention in the original question ... i've got quite a collection of high-end audio gear, including studio-caliber headphones and sensitive condensor mics specifically tuned for voice.
i'm now wondering if running those things through some mixers with compression and EQ isn't the way to go.
but as you mentioned, then you have to be glued to the desk unless you want that "laugh coming from the background" quality.
i'll check out your recommendations and do some experimenting.
the podcast will eventually be at http://www.grayther.com, touching a wide range of random thoughts, but mainly surrounding the creative endeavors of a peer and me. it's still about a month out ...
if you already have mics, consider getting a USB interface.
they take your XLR input, do the A to D conversion themselves then feed the computer the signal via USB. some have just one mic input and no controls (well, no knobs ... the controls are part of the driver software) some look like small mixers with 4 or more channels, phantom power, guitar inputs, mix minus and such.
http://www.sweetwater.com/c695--USB_Audio_Interfaces
Vista has been an interesting experience for my on my system once you get past the initial install. My *cough* is for the disdain I feel towards the Vista machines I support at work. :)
Never let Accounting dictate IT policy...you end up with Vista Home on systems, then complaints about "Why can't we authenticate to the server with Vista home". :)
Not a problem. It's actually quite a price drop, I remember paying about $70 for them when they first came out. Also, they have a 1-call button that can be used to open Windows Messenger, or if you have *cough* Vista, you can use it for the speech recognition after training your system. Not to shabby. :)
sweet; the timbre of adult contemporary DJs is good enough for me!
at 40 bucks, it's definitely worth a shot. thanks much!
was the cough for Vista? or the shoddy voice recognition.
i'll go on the record and say that i LIKE Vista ... but that's probably best saved for another discussion entirely.
thanks again,
/phil