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'Sup goons. I'm in the market to grab a Samson C02 for a cheapo videoconferencing audio upgrde.... but I only need one, and they only sell them in pairs. Anyone feel like going halfsies?
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Nov 23, 2020 04:39
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SwissArmyDruid posted:'Sup goons. That looks really good, how much and would you share with a Canadian?
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Nov 24, 2020 17:22
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Not sure where to ask this but it didn't get much interest in the headphones thread. Is there a recommended PC mic for open mic gaming? I have Sennheiser HD599s which have the 2.5mm jack so I can't use my old VModa boommic and the last 2.5mm headset mic I bought broke. I've heard some things about the Mod Mic https://smile.amazon.com/Antlion-Au...n/dp/B07YN25KWN There's a USB one that's $15 more. This would go in the front of my case. Keeping it off the desk would be nice and wouldn't something like a Blue Yeti pick up my keyboard? I have Cherry Reds so not too loud, but still.
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Nov 26, 2020 06:41
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tuyop posted:That looks really good, how much and would you share with a Canadian? I was pretty sure "halfsies" was also colloquial up north, but... half, plus or minus whatever shipping it costs to go from the US to Canada or vice versa.
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Nov 26, 2020 08:12
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KingKapalone posted:Not sure where to ask this but it didn't get much interest in the headphones thread. Is there a recommended PC mic for open mic gaming? If you were happy with the old headset mic I'd just get the mod mic and be done with it.
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Nov 26, 2020 15:10
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powderific posted:If you were happy with the old headset mic I'd just get the mod mic and be done with it. I got hesitant after reading some reviews about it picking up everything or not actually sounding so great but overall I have heard it as a good option.
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Nov 26, 2020 16:24
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I’m happy with my modmic. I have an older one but I think it’s equivalent to the unidirectional.
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Nov 26, 2020 16:51
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Is a desktop mic like this going to pick up my keyboard all the time while gaming? It would be right between the keyboard and the monitor. https://smile.amazon.com/Shure-MV5-Condenser-Microphone-Lightning/dp/B010W6W9EQ/
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Nov 26, 2020 18:11
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My blue yeti does and it drives people insane on conference calls. Luckily I'm a sociopath and I don't care.
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Nov 26, 2020 18:14
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So are desktop mics and open mic gaming/calls just incompatible? Having one of those mic arms looks like it would be in the way so much or even covering part of the screen.
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Nov 26, 2020 19:10
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I have spent way too much time researching this, but in short, it is possible to get a microphone with a "cardioid" pickup pattern, so called because it vaguely resembles a heart, that has a blind spot (deaf spot?) directly behind the actual membrane element that picks up sound. It is also possible to get microphones with "super-cardioid" and "hyper-cardioid" pickup patterns, which take that cardioid pattern and squeeze it to reject even more sound from the back-sides, but bring back a little bit of that blind spot in the back. But, constructed in certain ways, such as in a pencil or shotgun form factor, the body of the microphone will just kill that little lobe of pickup anyways, leaving you with a very tight cone of what the microphone will, and will not pick up. Look up dialogue microphones, and coincidentally, the Samson C02 I'm looking to go splitskis on is one such microphone with such characteristics. Because the pickup pattern is narrower, what happens then, is you can have the microphone up above, pointing at your general mouth area, and it will not block your screen. TL;DR: You're rigging a boom pole microphone so you can have it out of the frame. (If you're going to attempt to emulate what I am trying, and I note that I have not yet tried this yet, you'll need a phantom power supply, and then an XLR to 3.5mm converter, shouldn't cost you more than $35 before tax, at minimum. After that, you'll want something to mount the included shockmount onto, and then after that, a deadcat, because allegedly the little foam windscreen that comes with the C02 does absolutely nothing.) SwissArmyDruid fucked around with this message at 04:49 on Nov 27, 2020 |
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Nov 27, 2020 04:16
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SwissArmyDruid posted:I have spent way too much time researching this, but in short, it is possible to get a microphone with a "cardioid" pickup pattern, so called because it vaguely resembles a heart, that has a blind spot (deaf spot?) directly behind the actual membrane element that picks up sound. The tighter pickup you get, the more critical mic placement and not moving around become. As you move off-axis or rotate your head, your voice level will fall off drastically. That’s the point of the mic, but I don’t know if it’s conducive to gaming. A hyper-cardioid basically has to be attached to a headset with a boom. You’d have such a small range of motion available otherwise. Super-cards need pretty good mic control too —sometimes only a couple inches of sweet spot.
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Nov 27, 2020 06:19
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Finding a cardioid that's actually a cardioid particularly for cheap that's not a Behringer handheld is actually pretty hard I've noticed. A lot of mics claim they only pick up what's immediately in front of them but then someone walks in the room and it is clear as day through the mic. I mean there's a reason Shure SM58s have been the music industry slut since their inception and it's because they have exceptional rejection, are cheap and virtually indestructible. ....but nobody really wants a mic all up in their face.
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Nov 27, 2020 11:22
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You know I never considered using my 58 for anything but music
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Nov 27, 2020 12:41
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Is there a subwoofer thread? I was thinking of getting a Monolith 15. Everything about it looks good but it only has a single balanced passthrough so if want to feed it a stereo signal I have to use the 2 unbalanced RCA?
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Nov 29, 2020 16:15
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I remember looking at reviews and a/b comparisons of the Monolith vs the other competition. Ended up picking the SVS PB3000 because from what I remember reviews said it hits even harder than the monoprice.. plus is made in the USA and has a better warranty.
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Nov 29, 2020 16:47
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I love my dual PB1000's in my bedroom, but I'm in the UK and the PB3000 costs a lot more than the Monolith 15 (£1000 vs £1500) People say the SVS name is worth it's own weight but all their benefits (45 day trial, stepup program etc) doesn't apply here. The PB2000 Pro is also £1000 and I considered it but against the Monolith 15, I'm leaning more towards the Monolith. I also considered the vtf-3 mk5 hp and vtf-15h mk2 but they're also drat hard to get in the UK too.  
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Nov 29, 2020 17:12
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Ak Gara posted:Is there a subwoofer thread? LFE data should be so close to identical in stereo it doesn’t matter.
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Nov 29, 2020 17:38
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What’s the cheapest way to accomplish the following: Arc optical output from TV Drive two relatively efficient B&W bookshelf speakers Sub out for future active sub This is doing living room duty and will primarily service tv watching and switch gaming. I see a lot of cheap options on parts express and Amazon. Trying to keep it under $200.
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Nov 30, 2020 19:03
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I'm sure you could find cheaper, but this should work and Dayton is relatively well regarded: https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-dta-pro-100w-class-d-bluetooth-amplifier-with-usb-dac-ir-remote-and-sub-outpu--300-3835
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Nov 30, 2020 19:18
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Os Furoris posted:What’s the cheapest way to accomplish the following: ARC isn't optical, that's HDMI only. The only real difference is you won't get integrated volume control and the like. Also all of these cheap amps I've seen don't have crossovers so the sub out is a manual deal and can be a bit tricky. There's external solutions like MiniDSP, though. I'd say the SMSL AD18 or SA300 if you're shopping new, or a good 2-10 year old AVR [Marantz, X-series Denon, A-series Yamaha, Sony ES, etc.] if used. The advantage of a receiver is they have bass management with proper crossovers plus their volume control might work with your TV remote. They're much bigger and more power hungry, though.
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Nov 30, 2020 19:26
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KillHour posted:I'm sure you could find cheaper, but this should work and Dayton is relatively well regarded: Grabbed this one as I was already looking at it. Thanks!
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Nov 30, 2020 20:36
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My mother-in-law is insisting on Christmas gift ideas, and I got rid of my huge (and kind of crap) floor speakers when we moved, so I'm thinking of suggesting a new set of speakers. Because we're moving to an apartment, I'm leaning toward bookshelf speakers, but floor speakers would be ok too. I'm looking at doing a plain stereo setup to play records and use the tuner, possibly hooking up the TV depending on how things end up arranged in the new place. Is it possible to get a decent pair of new speakers for, say, less than $200?
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Nov 30, 2020 20:45
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Pham Nuwen posted:My mother-in-law is insisting on Christmas gift ideas, and I got rid of my huge (and kind of crap) floor speakers when we moved, so I'm thinking of suggesting a new set of speakers. Because we're moving to an apartment, I'm leaning toward bookshelf speakers, but floor speakers would be ok too. I'm looking at doing a plain stereo setup to play records and use the tuner, possibly hooking up the TV depending on how things end up arranged in the new place. Is it possible to get a decent pair of new speakers for, say, less than $200? Ok with used?
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Nov 30, 2020 21:00
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BigFactory posted:Ok with used? I am, personally, but the challenge is getting my mother-in-law through whatever hoops are required.
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Nov 30, 2020 21:01
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Pham Nuwen posted:I am, personally, but the challenge is getting my mother-in-law through whatever hoops are required. I guess it depends on what your expectations are then. $200 is less than I would want to spend on a pair of new speakers, but you could be perfectly happy with like a pair or Klipsch R-41s for $100/pair (and maybe add a sub), or Polk Tsi100s for $150/pair. Neither is going to be a revelation but will sound good.
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Nov 30, 2020 21:34
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I need to get a center channel speaker. I know you're generally supposed to keep them in the same family, but I also know you want the best one you can get. I've got a set of Klipsch R-820F but I'm thinking of moving up to the RP for the center. Is that a good idea or no? And if I did would I be fine with the 4" speakers or do I need something bigger than can more closely match what I've got? Basically I'm looking at the 404c vs the 450c since they're both nicely discounted right now.
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Nov 30, 2020 23:24
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BigFactory posted:I guess it depends on what your expectations are then. $200 is less than I would want to spend on a pair of new speakers, but you could be perfectly happy with like a pair or Klipsch R-41s for $100/pair (and maybe add a sub), or Polk Tsi100s for $150/pair. Neither is going to be a revelation but will sound good. Ok. I may just look for used speakers myself and offer some other Christmas gift ideas to her instead.
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Dec 1, 2020 00:19
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yoohoo posted:I need to get a center channel speaker. I know you're generally supposed to keep them in the same family, but I also know you want the best one you can get. I've got a set of Klipsch R-820F but I'm thinking of moving up to the RP for the center. Is that a good idea or no? And if I did would I be fine with the 4" speakers or do I need something bigger than can more closely match what I've got? If you're going to use a center it should be as good as you can get. That said I'd go for bigger drivers over more of them unless you have issues making it fit, so the 500/600 if you don't want to go full bananas on the 504.
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Dec 1, 2020 00:30
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qirex posted:If you're going to use a center it should be as good as you can get. That said I'd go for bigger drivers over more of them unless you have issues making it fit, so the 500/600 if you don't want to go full bananas on the 504. I've got about 4" of clearance below the TV but plenty of space above -- the TV is in front of a non working fireplace and the top edge of the TV is about an inch above the top the fireplace, so I can set any size speaker on that (assuming the ~1" in front of the speakers is a huge no no. That said I still want to keep these not outrageously expensive. Is the 600 worth the extra money?
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Dec 1, 2020 00:48
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yoohoo posted:That said I still want to keep these not outrageously expensive. Is the 600 worth the extra money? As always, it depends. Those RPs are pretty efficient and have plenty of output in general so you probably don’t need the 600. That said it was cheaper on Crutchfield than either of the 4 driver ones.
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Dec 1, 2020 03:00
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What's being done about the HDMI 2.1 bug? What can be done, apart from a full recall? I've got my eye on a Marantz AV7706 but I'm gonna wait
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Dec 1, 2020 15:43
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Ak Gara posted:What's being done about the HDMI 2.1 bug? What can be done, apart from a full recall? They're waiting on Panasonic to fix it. Current timeline is they get a solution out early next year and it gets implemented by summer/fall. There's workarounds by avoiding specific formats but even the receiver companies are recommending people use ARC. As far as a recall goes I'd guess it's not going to happen, at least not without a paid upgrade/service and I personally would absolutely not buy a $2500 processor right now. You might be able to get a good deal on a used HDMI 2.0 one to hold you over.
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Dec 1, 2020 17:30
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You could also combine an HDMI 2.0 receiver with a shARC to get eARC functionality without a compatible AVR. That's assuming the TV has HDMI 2.1/eARC in the first place, of course.
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Dec 1, 2020 17:40
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Any recommendations for a cheap, basic USB microphone for talking on web meetings? I'm tired of using my phone, but my laptop's internal mic is worthless, people always say they can't hear me on it.
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Dec 4, 2020 19:09
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I use a Plantronics Blackwire 3200 headset at work and it's perfect for this exact scenario. Depends what your idea of 'cheap' is I suppose.
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Dec 4, 2020 19:38
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Olympic Mathlete posted:I use a Plantronics Blackwire 3200 headset at work and it's perfect for this exact scenario. Depends what your idea of 'cheap' is I suppose. That price is fine but I'd actually prefer just a mic, I'd prefer to leave the audio on the laptop speakers (or at least have the option to plug my separate headphones into the 1/8" jack).
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Dec 4, 2020 19:53
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I use a samson meteor mic, I like it, small, and peeps say I sound good, plugs into usb and works even on my locked down work pc.
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Dec 4, 2020 20:30
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alnilam posted:That price is fine but I'd actually prefer just a mic, I'd prefer to leave the audio on the laptop speakers (or at least have the option to plug my separate headphones into the 1/8" jack). If you get a 'proper' mic and use headphones it's a decent combination. Using the laptop speakers is a recipe for fuckery though. Most issues I've had over the years using video conferencing is from open mics picking up speakers and just feeding back. Usually from someone else's laptop. It depends how specialised you want to get. I've used the old iphone headphones/mic before and they're honestly decent and likely super cheap now when none of their phones have 3.5mm jacks 
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Dec 4, 2020 21:57
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similar to the conversation going on, i use a lovely headset as my microphone, just plugging in the mic only, leaving the ears unused and then i just drape it around my neck. i really like the ergonomics of this and dont want to switch to a desk mic, but surprisingly a cheap headset only has a cheap mic and its basically fallen apart. all that said, i really dont want to buy a nice headset and only use the mic part of it. are there any better options? the only thing i can really find are literally throat mics but those are a different beast and mostly look like they're for walkie talkies and such
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Dec 14, 2020 09:26
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