Which microphone should I buy?

[Raes]

Hello there,
I'm a language teacher whose business is related to teaching online.

I'm wondering what kind of mic I should go for. Currently, I'm using a Samsom Meteor, which is working perfectly. However, I'm thinking of improving everything related to my teaching environment so that's why I'm considering buying a mid/high-end mic (my budget is around 400-500$).

What kind of microphone is the best for my situation? I work walking around my setup, I sometimes have to write on my whiteboard which is attached to the wall behind, etc.

I was thinking of getting a shotgun mic, but I'm a bit lost, to be honest.

Thanks in advance!

[Philbo King]

A lavelier mic plugged into a wireless mic transmitter would be most practical, especially if you have wonky room acoustics.

[Drew Stephenson]

Hi Raes, welcome to the forum.
Philbo's suggestion of a lavalier mic is a good one, but before we get too carried away it's important to understand exactly what problem we're trying to solve.
The chances are that the mic is not the weakest point in your overall signal chain. The data compression of your remote meeting software, and the acoustics of your room probably play a more significant part in the overall sound that reaches your listeners.
But I'll caveat that with your point about walking around your space and how that probably takes you a bit out of the original design parameters of the Samson mic.
In general, unless you're in a very large room, shotgun mics can introduce more problems than they solve indoors. So that brings us back to considering a lavalier as an option worth investigating.

[Random Guitarist]

Funnily enough I was asked this by someone else today, and I would say a headset mic is your ideal solution. It moves with you keeping the level constant, and it is really close to the source minimising room sound artifacts.

This DPA article is IMHO a very read on this topic.

https://www.dpamicrophones.com/mic-univ ... 20300%20Hz.

(Edited as I forgot the link )

[Wonks]

Shotguns are also very directional. Which is fine if you are sat in one place all the time, but if you speak when you move around, then you'll go off-mic very quickly and become quiet and muffled.

The Samson Meteor is a USB mic, but with other mics, you'll probably need an audio interface. Have you already got one, or is that something else you'll need to get. If you need one, will that also come within the $400-$500 budget or on top of that?

[The Elf]

A shotgun would be well down on my list of choices for this kind of use. I'd likely be thinking of a lavalier, or maybe a headset mic - maybe even an overhead omni if feedback is not likely to be an issue and I don't want to be attached to the mic.

[sonics]

A wireless lav mic would be way ahead at the top of my list for your situation.
You'll get great-sounding speech with little variation as you move around.

I'd be looking at wireless sets from Sennheiser, Shure and Audio-Technica.

[shufflebeat]

Problems with wireless setups:

- Audio dropout - white noise or (more likely) silence when your transmitter stops talking to your receiver. More prevalent at the older/cheaper end.
- Batteries run out - white noise or silence when your transmitter flakes out
- Planetary destruction due to the number of alkaline batteries. Rechargeables demand a serious rotation regime.
- Interference - the lecturer next door has had the same idea and students have at least one phone each competing for the airwaves.

Problems with lavaliers:

- Feedback - if you’re amplifying in a room then the closer you can get the mic to the source the less you have to turn it up
- Room noise - the further your source is from the mic the more room noise, and nasty resonances, will be included in the amp’d signal.
- Fitting - if you’re a lady-woman or a gent who likes to wear a dress then there’s a good chance you don’t have a belt-pack belt, or possibly a lapel or tie for your lapel/tie-pin mic.

Problems with headsets:

- Mic popping - put your mic directly in front of your mouth and every P, B, T and K (and some others) will have your audience wincing with discomfort. Wear protection at all times and keep your mic above your nose-line.

Good luck.

[Arpangel]

Shotguns, headsets, lavaliers, oh well, seeing as the field is open, I’ll go for a U87.

[Drew Stephenson]

Problems with wireless setups:

- Audio dropout - white noise or (more likely) silence when your transmitter stops talking to your receiver. More prevalent at the older/cheaper end.
- Batteries run out - white noise or silence when your transmitter flakes out
- Planetary destruction due to the number of alkaline batteries. Rechargeables demand a serious rotation regime.
- Interference - the lecturer next door has had the same idea and students have at least one phone each competing for the airwaves.

Problems with lavaliers:

- Feedback - if you’re amplifying in a room then the closer you can get the mic to the source the less you have to turn it up
- Room noise - the further your source is from the mic the more room noise, and nasty resonances, will be included in the amp’d signal.
- Fitting - if you’re a lady-woman or a gent who likes to wear a dress then there’s a good chance you don’t have a belt-pack belt, or possibly a lapel or tie for your lapel/tie-pin mic.

Problems with headsets:

- Mic popping - put your mic directly in front of your mouth and every P, B, T and K (and some others) will have your audience wincing with discomfort. Wear protection at all times and keep your mic above your nose-line.

Good luck.

There's no amplifier been mentioned so a wired lavalier might be an option if you're careful with the cable run, I have an AKG for work that cost about a ton, probably nearer £150 now.

[Random Guitarist]

- Mic popping - put your mic directly in front of your mouth and every P, B, T and K (and some others) will have your audience wincing with discomfort. Wear protection at all times and keep your mic above your nose-line.

Have the mic to the side by the cheek, plenty of volume and no plosives.

[Bob Bickerton]

Assuming the room is not acoustically treated and given you're moving around, then I'd say a headset or lavalier would be the way to go and I would have a preference for a high quality well-positioned (to avoid the plosives Shufflebeat mentions) headset. Wireless would assist with movement, again high-quality is recommended, but hard wired would be possible provided you're careful with cable management.

I use a DPA headset with Sennheiser G4 radio system - but you'd also need an audio interface to get it to talk to you computer.

Having said all that, I'd imagine there are bespoke high-quality wireless headsets specifically designed for this purpose (Sennheiser seems to have a range) but I'm unable to comment on them.

Bob