VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Art]

Somebody brought me a Logitek headphone/mic combo, apparently made for video games. It plugs into the computer in the USB, and then immediately, the computer recognizes two new Logitek sound cards, one in and one out.



He says it sells for under $50.



So I'm thinking, wow, wouldn't it be great if the mic sounded decent, because that would be the ultimate all-in-one portable production center.



So, I've been playing with it.



Headphones: Don't really sound that bad, but they're not what you'd call, um, good. Fairly comfortable, though.



Microphone: Really big bass rolloff. Also, even though it's directional, seemed to pick up more room noise (like noisy computer fans) than even my sensitive condensers. And the high end on the mic, not that great either.



So, sadly, still not ready for prime time.



Someday, though, I betcha, there'll be something like this that will be plenty good enough for auditions.



Then, someone will come up with one that's actually good enough for pro work.



If you'd like to hear what this mic sounds like, go to http://voices.cc/logitekheadsetvsneumannu87.mp3



If I can get my hands on a Snowball, I'll post a recording of that, too.

[Frank F]

Oh, that's Ug-g-g-g-ly... I stick with Neuman.



Frank F

[Art]

Frank:



You're right... I recorded some extended material with the Logitek today, and it don't sound great.



However, we ran that audio through a 5kHz FM subcarrier channel, and I had my colleagues listen to it (on a little table radio). They all thought it sounded better than the Neumann!



This thing is apparently used for VOIP telephone service, as well as computer dictation. Turns out, when you hear it on a phone, it really sounds good. It's obviously optimized at upper midrange frequencies, which does help voice clarity, especially in lo-fi environments.



One big problem I had with it is that you can't get audio on the phones while you're recording. It would have to loop through the A to D and back through D to A, and gets waaaay to much latency. So it's silent while you're recording, which pretty much takes away any benefit of wearing headphones. Also, turns out it has a lot of "handling noise" just from head movement. Since you don't hear any motion or noise while you're recording, and can't monitor your input, you can't tell when you're making too much noise.



BUT, if someone came out with a unit just like this, self-contained USB connected and powered headphone/mic combo, only:

- The headphones sounded good

- The mic sounded good, and

- There was an analog bridge between the two, so you could hear yourself recording,

...it would be a wonderful thing for voice artists. I'd get one right away.



But this toy ain't it.

[kgenus]