Things to watch out for in order to deliver a stress-free voice in a web conference.Compare sound quality with 8 types of microphones

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Photo: Impress Watch

Web conferencing can be said to have become a daily routine in the business scene. What are you paying attention to at the start? Perhaps the most worrisome thing is how the camera image looks. However, if possible, what I want to put more weight on is how I hear my voice. [See another image about this article] As long as I talk and explain, it is more important for the other party to be able to hear the voice clearly than to see it clearly on the camera. In the first place, if it is a simple meeting, it should be possible to turn off the video and talk only with audio, and in that case, the importance of audio will increase further because it can not be complemented with video. You may use the voice test feature of the web conferencing tool to check a word or two in advance, but it's still different from what you hear when you keep talking. That said, few people will be monitoring their voice throughout the meeting. Then, what should we be careful about when delivering our voice to the other party in a web conference in an easy-to-hear manner? What's more, what kind of microphone is better for web conferencing? In addition to reintroducing the points to note in the PC environment, we also compared how the actual hearing would be with eight types of microphones with different performance / price. ■ Creating an environment where the voice is not interrupted In order to improve the audibility of the voice, it is important to make sure that the voice is not interrupted when speaking. There are several reasons why voice may be interrupted or bubble wrap and noise may make it difficult to hear, but one possible cause is poor communication quality. Communication may be unstable due to a problem with the network line. To solve this, use a communication line that is as stable as possible. Wired LAN is the most stable, and I want to prepare a PC that can communicate at a speed of at least 1 Gbps or higher within the LAN. Many desktop PCs have a wired LAN port, but laptops may not. In that case, add a wired LAN interface that can be used by connecting to USB. However, there may be cases where a wired LAN connection is not possible due to the location of work. It's a hassle to run cables from other rooms for a long time at every web conference, and in some cases, you may get caught and break the equipment. If you can't use a wired LAN, you'll have to rely on wireless communication via Wi-Fi connection, but in that case, we recommend connecting with Wi-Fi 6 (IEEE 802.11ax), which is the newest standard so far. Wi-Fi 6 is a standard that enables higher-speed communication than conventional Wi-Fi 5. Moreover, even if multiple terminals communicate at the same time, the speed does not slow down easily. Even when a family member has to have a web conference while watching an online video, troubles such as sound and video interruption due to lack of bandwidth can be reduced. Furthermore, in addition to the high-speed 5GHz, it also supports the 2.4GHz band, which makes it easy for radio waves to reach far, which will increase the degree of freedom in the location of web conferencing to some extent. To use Wi-Fi 6, you need both a compatible device (PC) and a router. Most laptops these days are compatible with Wi-Fi 6, and Wi-Fi routers are also available. If your PC doesn't support Wi-Fi 6, there are some Wi-Fi 6 compatible wireless LAN adapters that are connected via USB, just like the wired LAN, so building an environment shouldn't be too difficult. In the microphone test conducted this time, a mouse computer notebook "mouse B5-i5" was used. It supports Core i5-1135G7, memory 8GB, NVMe SSD 256GB, 15.6-inch full HD LCD, wired LAN and Wi-Fi 6, and is suitable for business use including web conferencing. ■ To make the sound quality less noisy and easier to hear The next thing to take measures is the noise that enters the microphone. The operating noise of heating / cooling equipment, the noise of fans such as circulators, or the noise of cooling fans of PCs can be so-called environmental noises, and those noises can also be noises near cars and busy places. .. Keyboard type sounds are also a noise factor. When such noise overlaps with one's voice, it becomes difficult to hear, and some people may be distracted by the noise and lose their concentration. Noise is even more noticeable when the other party is using headphones, so I'd like to devise ways to prevent noise from entering from the beginning. The noise reduction function of Web conferencing tools is useful in such situations. Many tools, such as Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams, now have the ability to automatically suppress noise other than human voice, effectively removing environmental noise and typing sounds. Depending on the tool, the availability of the noise reduction function may change depending on the contract plan, but if it is available, I would like to turn it on. Even if the noise reduction function is not available on the web conferencing tool, you may be able to use other general-purpose noise reduction tools. A typical one is "NVIDIA Broadcast". It can be used only on PCs equipped with relatively high-performance GPUs such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX series, but it has the advantage of being able to obtain a more natural noise reduction effect with efficient and highly accurate processing. In addition, some recent notebook PCs have their own noise reduction function. Some are dedicated to the built-in microphone, while others can be used for general purposes, including external microphones. ■ What is a good microphone? 8 Record and compare products Once you have prepared the above communication environment and noise reduction settings, the next step is to select a microphone. This is because if the sound quality of the microphone is not good, the voice will still be difficult for the other party to hear, no matter how much other environments and settings are devised. The point here is that it is a wired microphone. Earphones / headphones with a built-in microphone, such as a wireless headset with Bluetooth connection, are convenient, but like the Wi-Fi described at the beginning, there is a problem that the sound tends to deteriorate or be interrupted when communication becomes unstable. However, it is not always the case in this case if the solution is to simply change to a "good wired microphone". You can imagine that an expensive microphone generally sounds better than an inexpensive one, but when focusing on the use of "web conferencing", it is possible to realize "voice quality that can be transmitted to the other party" at "somewhat cheap". If it is. You want to focus on realistic cost and performance. Therefore, we prepared eight types of microphones with different price ranges and performances, and checked what type of microphones are suitable for web conferencing based on how they hear when recording audio. .. The prepared microphones are as follows.・ Shure MV7X (XLR connection, dynamic, price guide: about 22,000 yen) ・ Shure SM58 (XLR connection, dynamic, price guide: about 12,000 yen) ・ audio technica AT2020 (XLR connection, condenser, price guide: about 10,000 yen)・ Audio technica ATR2100x-USB (USB connection, dynamic, price guide: about 10,000 yen) ・ BlackShark V2 gaming headset (USB connection, condenser, price guide: about 10,000 yen) ・ Apple EarPods with 3.5 mm Headphone Plug (Analog connection, condenser, price guide: about 2,000 yen) ・ Logitech StreamCam (built-in Web camera, condenser, price guide: about 15,000 yen) ・ Microphone with built-in notebook PC (built-in PC, condenser) On Google Meet, OBS Studio recorded the editor-in-chief of this magazine talking remotely. In both patterns, the noise reduction function of the tool is turned "off". The state of "on" is introduced in the last sample, so please refer to it. □ Shure MV7X (XLR connection, dynamic, price guide: about 22,000 yen) The top batter is the Shure dynamic microphone "MV7X", which is the most expensive I tried this time. Since it is a product for video distributors and voice recordings, it seems to be over-engineered for web conferencing applications, but the sound quality is just one word. Despite the compressed voice via the Internet, the high resolution that reproduces the details of the voice is wonderful. You can feel the softness of analog in the high resolution. Pop noise seems to be well suppressed thanks to the windshield. Not limited to the "MV7X", the characteristics of dynamic microphones are that the sound collection range is narrow (than the condenser microphone), it is difficult to pick up nearby sound sources (voice) and distant sound sources (noise). Thanks to this characteristic, environmental noise is less noticeable, which is a great advantage for web conferencing applications. In addition to the microphones, it costs about several thousand to 10,000 yen because a separate audio interface is required to use XLR-connected microphones, including those introduced below. □ Shure SM58 (XLR connection, dynamic, price guide: about 12,000 yen) This is also a dynamic microphone, but since there was no suitable microphone holder, it was recorded by hand. The low range is stronger, probably because it is a little too close to the mouth, but the sound quality and resolution are very high like the MV7X. Although it is an entry-class price range, it is more than sufficient for the quality of microphones used for web conferencing. There are a few parts where pop noise is felt, but it seems that it can be easily dealt with by simply adding a windshield. □ audio technica ATR2100x-USB (USB connection, dynamic, price guide: about 10,000 yen) A product that can be connected via USB in addition to XLR connection, even though it is a dynamic microphone. I dared to use a USB connection here, and verified it with two patterns: handheld and using the attached stand. All of them have clear sound quality, and I have no complaints about how easy it is to hear the voice, but I feel a little bit of distortion, or digital sensitivity to the input. As you can see by comparing in this way, you can hear it with high sound pressure because you can get close enough to your mouth with your hand, but with the attached stand, you have to keep it 40 to 50 cm away to avoid items on the desk. And the volume is suppressed. Even if the OS side raises the gain of the audio input to deal with it, noise may be amplified by that amount, so it seems better to use a dynamic microphone together with a microphone stand that hangs in front of you. □ audio technica AT2020 (XLR connection, condenser, price guide: about 10,000 yen) Also audio technica, this is a condenser microphone. The price range is also close. Perhaps because of the same manufacturer, despite the fact that the connection method and type are different, the way the voice is heard seems to be similar to "ATR2100x-USB", and the impression is that it is slightly digitally seasoned. Since it is a high-sensitivity condenser microphone, you can see that the environmental noise of "sir" is very small. However, there is no noise that is worrisome during a web conference, and the satisfaction level of sound quality is high. □ BlackShark V2 Gaming Headset (USB connection, capacitor, price guide: about 10,000 yen) A product that also supports USB and 3.5 mm analog connection. This time, I verified it with a USB connection. It should be noted that the standard price of 10,000 yen is not purely the price of a microphone because it is a headset that combines a microphone and headphones, but the sound quality is better than the microphones of about 10,000 yen or more so far. One step inferior. Perhaps because I'm focusing on the frequency band of the human voice, I can clearly hear what I'm talking about, but it seems to be an extremely processed voice. Since the boom microphone can be brought closer to the mouth, it may be suitable for the purpose of "making it easier to hear" in a web conference. □ Apple EarPods with 3.5 mm Headphone Plug (Analog connection, capacitor, price guide: about 2,000 yen) A product that can be obtained at a low price and has a sense of security because it is a genuine Apple product. The sound quality of the microphone is a little inferior to the BlackShark V2, so it's not hard to hear. However, it should be noted that earphone microphones connected with such a thin cable have the disadvantage of being prone to touch noise. In the latter half of the sample video, I intentionally touched the cable, but it can be seen that annoying noise was generated at that time. It may be hard to say that it is "suitable for web conferencing" in that sense because you may unknowingly touch the cable or rub it against your clothes. □ Logitech StreamCam (Built-in webcam, condenser, price guide: about 15,000 yen) Here is a pattern assuming that you are using a microphone with a built-in external webcam instead of an independent microphone. The voice quality has a strong feeling of being made, and the whole is like an echo sound. It seems that it is becoming more difficult to hear where the fricatives such as the sa line are conspicuous. If you speak fast, it may be mixed with noise and it may be difficult for the other person to understand, so try to speak smoothly and slowly. □ Notebook PC built-in microphone (PC built-in, condenser) The notebook PC built-in condenser microphone I tried this time has some distortion in the overall sound, but it is at a level that can be heard without problems. However, the fricatives are sometimes emphasized here as well, and it makes me feel tired after listening to the story for a long time. Since environmental noise is likely to enter, it seems better to actively use noise reduction functions such as web conferencing tools. This product is compatible with wired LAN and Wi-Fi 6 and is for web conferencing, but as for the microphone, since it has a built-in notebook PC, it is easy to pick up the type sound of the keyboard that is physically connected to the housing, so I myself I want to avoid touching the main body as much as possible when talking. □ Reference of how to hear when using the noise canceling function (Shure MV7X and Apple EarPods) Finally, for reference, I tried recording even with the noise canceling function of Google Meet turned on. The MV7X has the same high-quality sound as before, but it sounds like the details are a little lost compared to the previous time when the noise was canceled off. The environmental noise of the MV7X is originally small, and the change in the amount of noise is not so noticeable when it is turned on and off, so it may be possible to bring out the goodness of the microphone by not using the noise canceling function. EarPods can be seen that the environmental noise called "sir" is clearly removed by turning on the noise canceling function. The sharpness of the sound, which is typical of a condenser microphone, seems to have rounded corners, and the ease of hearing seems to be improved overall. With a microphone that does not have very high sound quality, it seems that it is especially easy to realize the effect of such software noise cancellation. By the way, in Google Meet, the noise may be suppressed to some extent even when the noise canceling function is off, probably because the auto gain works automatically for the voice input. Checking the compatibility of each web conferencing tool with the microphone in advance may be a technique for improving the ease of listening. ■ Which microphone is "for web conferencing" !? If you listen to all the recorded samples and decide which one is "for web conferencing" comprehensively from the sound quality, functions, and price range, personally. The feeling is that it will be either "audio technica ATR2 100x-USB" or "BlackShark V2 gaming headset". The advantage of "ATR2100x-USB" is that it does not require a separate audio mixer or microphone amplifier, and can be used immediately by connecting it directly to a PC via USB. It's a waste of quality to use only for web conferencing, but it's a product that allows you to easily experience the benefits of a dynamic microphone that can deliver your voice to the other party. However, I would like to consider a device (microphone arm, etc.) that can be used as a set so that it can be used close to the mouth. If you install it far away, the volume will be low and it may be difficult for the other party to hear, so be careful. Although the sound quality of the "BlackShark V2" is not particularly good, I felt that the balance between usability and price was "for web conferencing." Boom microphones are easy to reduce unnecessary noise, and are convenient for web conferencing in an environment where you can't speak too much. It may be a little noticeable because you wear large headphones, but it is a reasonable option in the sense that you can listen to the other person's story and hear your own voice. Of course, if you have a hobby or a side job that also serves as video distribution or recording, choosing a higher-priced dynamic microphone or condenser microphone will definitely increase your satisfaction. We hope that this verification will help you choose your microphone.

PC Watch, Satoshi Hinuma