Microphones

Overview

Microphones are becoming more and more common for computer users. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is becoming increasingly cost-effective for business and personal users since low-cost and free telephone plans are available for low to no cost.

Many computers come with a microphone built-in. If your computer lacks a built-in microphone or if it is broken or low quality, a variety or products are available for business and home consumers.

Musicians with simple or sophisticated home studios can buy high quality microphones to record sound on their computers. People who use VoIP or voice messaging can choose to purchase a headset instead of a microphone for hands-free communication. If you are interested in video conferencing or video chatting, you can purchase a webcam that includes a microphone.

Headsets

If you are making calls with your computer, and if you require high quality speech recognition, then you should consider a headset instead of a microphone. Headsets keep the microphone close to your mouth, so sound quality will remain constant. Your listener will not hear any background noise, and because the sound output is through headphones, your listener will not hear any background noise. With your hands free, you will be able to type and continue using your computer as planned.

When you are shopping for a microphone, look for products with a response frequency of 100 Hz to 8 kHz. Choose a stereo headset whenever possible. Always use a unidirectional microphone, meaning that the microphone should operate in one direction.

For Internet phone calls and voice chatting, desktop computer microphones are sufficient. In any case, they do not consistently produce high quality audio. Many computers use an omni-directional microphone, which means that sound is picked up from all directions. As a result, background noise will be prominent. Another disadvantage is that you need to position yourself very close to the desktop microphone.

USB or Analog?

When you shop for a microphone, you will have a choice between USB and analog products. With analog products, you'll need to plug in the microphone to two places: the headphone and speaker jacks. With USB microphones and headsets, you will only need to plug the device into one port.

The analog microphones are more versatile since you can use them with computers and other audio equipment. With USB microphones and headsets, your computer does not necessarily need a sound card. USB microphones tend to have better voice capturing capabilities and can record audio at higher frequencies.

USB and analog microphones and headsets are compatible with both desktop and laptop computers. You will need to make sure that you computer has the right soundcard to support both types of devices.

Companies and Brands

Plantronics, Logitech, Altec Lansing, and Labtec are companies that manufacture analog headsets. The same companies manufacture USB headsets and microphones. Logitech makes webcams with built-in microphones as well.