Need a good microphone for Word 2004 audio notes capture

[Gregory J. Fleet]

Has anyone found a good external microphone that they would recommend
for use with Word 2004's new audio notes feature. I was looking for a
microphone that might work better than the built-in mic on my
Powerbook. When I type while I record, I find that I the built-in
microphone picks up too much of the keyboard noise. Therefore, I would
prefer an external mic (plugged into the audio in jack or USB) to
better capture the audio without this keyboard noise. I have a powered
Sony table mic, but the gain is much too low.

 

[Tim Murray]

I have a powered Sony table mic, but the gain is much too low.

Have you raised the gain in the Sound control panel?

 

[Gregory J. Fleet]

Hi Tim

Yep! tried everything I thought possible -- System Prefs sound panel
up full -- still crummy levels. Yet the work Dell (yuk! I know) seems
to handle the mic just fine without having to crank the levels to the
roof.

 

[Elliott Roper]

Hi Tim

Yep! tried everything I thought possible -- System Prefs sound panel
up full -- still crummy levels. Yet the work Dell (yuk! I know) seems
to handle the mic just fine without having to crank the levels to the
roof.

You don't say which Powerbook. Mine has no mic-in, just line-in, which
expects the levels from a pre-amp or headphone out from an amplfier.
If I want to use an external mic I have to pass the signal through
something like a portable DAT recorder first.

You might be OK with a USB mic. Avoid the Griffin iMic. Unless it hs
been radically re-engineered recently, it only works properly for line
level input. Its mic pre-amp was a total mess.

 

[Gregory J. Fleet]

Thanks Elliott -- much appreciated!

That now solves the problem with the Sony mic and the crappy levels I
was getting from it!

Back to the microphone question: does anyone have a recommendation for
(or experience with) an external mic for use with M$ Word's new Audio
Notes feature?

It seems the recommendation must be either:
- USB microphone (not a headset, but a table mic I'm thinking)
- microphone + pre-amp combo (obviously I don't want to carry around a
sound studio -- something that will work well and fit into the
backpack)

Thanks
.... g

 

[Elliott Roper]

Thanks Elliott -- much appreciated!

That now solves the problem with the Sony mic and the crappy levels I
was getting from it!

Back to the microphone question: does anyone have a recommendation for
(or experience with) an external mic for use with M$ Word's new Audio
Notes feature?

It seems the recommendation must be either:
- USB microphone (not a headset, but a table mic I'm thinking)
- microphone + pre-amp combo (obviously I don't want to carry around a
sound studio -- something that will work well and fit into the
backpack)

Well, to keep the conversation moving along, my solution is a Sony
ECM-909A mic (about UKP80) and a Sony TCD-D8 Walkman DAT recorder. Both
overkill for meetings, but I already had them. Any recording Walkman or
camcorder with headphone out and mic in would do the job too. You might
even find the camcorder's mic was good enough. Most of them will stay
in record forever if there is no tape in the drive.

I have not tried the audio notes yet, I'm waiting to get up courage to
try 2004 - I have so much effort invested in getting v.X stable, I'm
reluctant to start fiddling.

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur [MVP]]

It seems the recommendation must be either:
- USB microphone (not a headset, but a table mic I'm thinking)

I'm using a Telex M-560. It's a directional USB microphone. I work in a
rather noisy environment and the directional microphone really helps a
lot not picking up the ambient noise. I really like it.
http://www.telex.com/computeraudio/products.nsf/pages/M-560


Corentin