I have nice headphones. Need a wireless USB microphone so I don't have to switch to a headset to make a call

5

Right now, I have a pair of Sennheiser HD595 headphones. They are plugged into a DAC/headphone amp. I spend all day listening to music through them and they sound awesome. Then, for making calls, I have a wireless USB headset from Logitech.

Problem is, I can't make calls when I'm wearing my Sennheisers but I wouldn't want to listen to music all day using the Logitech headset. So I spend my day switching in between.

So the question is, how can I make calls while wearing the headphones of my choice?

One thing I thought of is a wireless USB microphone that I can clip to the Sennheisers. So I'd wear the Sennheisers with this mic all day and ditch the Logitech headset. But it doesn't look like anyone makes a microphone like this.

By the way, I would love if the solution didn't transmit the sound of my clacky keyboard or noisy wood flooring.

Matt Alexander

Posted 2012-12-08T18:57:57.943

Reputation: 749

Since it sounds like the HD595's have you tethered to your PC, I'll just throw out the idea of a wired microphone array. I know that Microsoft's Kinect products use an array of microphones, and they are supposed to be very good at picking up voice at a distance for speech processing. – Louis – 2012-12-08T19:51:35.123

Thanks for the suggestion, but isn't that a bit overkill for my needs? – Matt Alexander – 2012-12-09T16:00:39.347

A Kinect? Yes, definitely! :) I was talking about array mics in general. – Louis – 2012-12-13T02:53:42.457

Why USB microphones? You could get normal mics that plug into the 3.5mm Mic-in port of the PC/laptop right? – Irfan – 2012-12-14T15:22:40.273

Answers

1

It sounds like you're looking for something like a "ModMic" - it's a headset mic designed to mount in a modular way to any existing pair of headphones. You adhesively stick a very small magnetic attachment point onto the headphones, then you magnetically snap on the mic itself when you need it.

It sounds really good for a headset mic, with great directionality (cancellation of unwanted sound), and it's quite cheap (~$42USD). If you tie the cables for the mic and headphone together, it's no more annoying than the single headphone wire you have already. When you want to get the mic out of the way of your face you can really quickly & easily re-snap the mic arm into a vertical position (like a regular headset mic).

From what I can tell from listening & online research the static magnetic field of the attachment point doesn't affect the behavior of the magnetic coil (ie the sound) in your headphone speaker at all; I've been using a ModMic with a pair of Sennheiser HD 25-IIs for probably 3+ years now and it's worked perfectly that whole time.

A company called Antlion makes the one I use; there might be other brands around.

iono

Posted 2012-12-08T18:57:57.943

Reputation: 263

2

In a very similar case I use the Blue Snowflake Microphone. Albeit not wireless, works for me for the following reasons:

  1. Lowest profile to sit in front of a monitor and not obstruct the view.
  2. Can sit on side of the laptop and work just as well when needed.
  3. Strong enough directional gain to pick my voice from where I sit.
  4. Good sound quality.

I do not have experience with wireless mics - but would expect a bluetooth one like the one from Hammacher Schlemmer fit OK (again, no personal experience). I have also seen people put the Blue Snowflake and other small corded mics on the top of their monitors.

To address the comments, may be Revolabs xTAG will do it for you? Now, given the price of a wireless lapel mic, would it make more sense and convenience to go with a new Sennheiser with a mic in it? Or the sound is different?

Vlad Didenko

Posted 2012-12-08T18:57:57.943

Reputation: 316

I'm afraid that a standalone mic like that would pick up on the noises on my desktop too much, namely, my clacky keyboard. I want it to isolate my voice. – Matt Alexander – 2012-12-15T15:05:00.590

I did a few test recordings with Snowflake above and in front of the monitor, and Spark Digital on the side. My kbd is Realforce 87U "Silent" (dampened clacks). Typing can be heard fine on all three quite well - but not annoying to my taste. If you want to totally eliminate kbd sounds, you may have to buy and try. Really no reasonable advise can claim it will work for that in your acoustic environment. May be lapel interview microphones will do the trick, but I have not yet heard of them with USB connectivity. – Vlad Didenko – 2012-12-16T07:37:52.407

There is this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/514141-REG/Revolabs_02_DSKSYS_D_xTAG_Single.html - but I have not tried it.

– Vlad Didenko – 2012-12-16T07:45:38.870

1

My recommendation is the Blue Snowball. I use this in conjunction with my Beyerdynamic DT990s, and am really pleased with the quality and noise suppression. The Snowball has a switch on the back to toggle between three modes (the link above goes into more depth, but here is a summary):

  1. Cardoid -- Receives sound from a focused cone in front of the microphone.
  2. Cardoid -10dB -- Same as above, but filters out noise such as typing (My keyboard has Cherry Blues and this setting filters the clacking out very well).
  3. Omni -- Captures sound from all around the mic. Not good for your needs.

I have my Snowball on a shelf above my monitors, and it cuts out all the keyboard noise, fan noise, etc.

And it can be had for well under $100 US, which is very cheap for its quality. Good luck!

Chris Stauffer

Posted 2012-12-08T18:57:57.943

Reputation: 342

0

I think, searching small wireless microphone separated from headset is frustationfull. It have very narrow use case.

Why not configure voice software to output audio to headphones and input from headset. and clip headset to headphones? I see possible software troubles (not every software can separately configure audio in/out. Can be hard to differentiate two BT audio devices), but it possible can be resolved.

Mikhail Moskalev

Posted 2012-12-08T18:57:57.943

Reputation: 1 718

0

The general class of microphones you're talking about seems to be lavalier microphones, also known as lapel microphones. I also guess you could get one of those clip on ear mounted mics with a boom and hack together some way to clip it onto your headphones.

You might also consider using the one device for audio playback, and one for recording, as windows 7 allows

Journeyman Geek

Posted 2012-12-08T18:57:57.943

Reputation: 119 122

0

The easy way:

  1. Buy a usb desktop microphone http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/usb-desktop-microphone

The geek way: (only if your headphone amp supports microphone it)

  1. cut the headphone cable 12 inches from the headset
  2. put a female jack on it
  3. put microphone and remote control between headset and amp. http://www.amazon.com/Bose%C2%AE-QuietComfort%C2%AE15-inline-remote-microphone/dp/B0055DGM8Q/

The lazy way:

  1. leave the logitech headset on your desk
  2. set your computer or voip software to use just the mic from the logitech headset. They appear as different devices.
  3. set your audio options to put all audio though your headphones

MattPark

Posted 2012-12-08T18:57:57.943

Reputation: 1 061

Asked: 2012-12-08T18:57:57.943

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Active: 2016-09-29T11:19:08.573