| smbhax [sys=PC; cat=Hardware; reg=NA] |
| | | Gaming headset. Tied for highest mic rating on rtings: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/microphone/recording-quality , https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/jbl/quantum-100
The mic is indeed far superior to the two other, more expensive headsets I've tried--at $19.99 on both Amazon and JBL's site--says its a 50% off sale but it's been that way over a week so I dunno--the Q100 is half the price of the old HyperX Cloud Stinger (see entry 1664) and a quarter of the price of the snazzy Logitech G433 (see entry 1673), but the sound is a CLEAR cut above; sounds almost like a real mic and gives a rich tone without any need for adjustment, so I was able to remove the 3-band equalizer filter I'd needed in OBS to get the Stinger to sound as warm as my Sennheiser E 945 stage mic's proximity effect.
The headphones are probably not as good, sound-wise; definitely not as nice as the G433.
The boom mic plugs in with a gold mini-jack that clicks really firmly into place. It comes with a little black foam egg over the end, which isn't something the more expensive sets came with. The boom arm is SUPER flexible (the G433's was sorta flexible, but would kinda flex back into its default shape on its own)--almost too flexible as I would prefer it to have one shape and stay there for the sake of recording consistency, but you can definitely shape it to however you want it.
The set is lighter than the others, and all-plastic. I guess you could say this gives it a cheaper feel, but I dunno; yes it is light and flexible, and not as seamlessly put together as the cush G433, but it doesn't feel creaky or flimsy to me at all. It is true that the clamp of the 'phones feels a little pinchy; it isn't a strong clamp, being light plastic, so maybe it's that the padding on the ears isn't very effective, not sure. The pad on the top of the head feels pretty nice; the Stinger could feel a bit painful up there if it sat a certain way.
The jack is the standard analog 1/8th". The cord is thin and finely braided, soft and flexible without feeling rubbery or weak; I like it. The jack is angled at 60 degrees or so rather than straight, not sure why. It's a bit shorter than the cords on the other sets I used--rtings says 4.1', whereas the others were 6'. And it doesn't come with a splitter, so I'm using the Stinger's 6'(!) splitter cable with it. = D
The real killer feature of the Q100 for me though--and this is a factor I haven't seen review sites cover, even a site as otherwise insanely thorough as rtings--is that it has hardly any head shake mic noise. I guess I move around a lot while playing and recording, and with the Stinger, that could frequently produce brief clouds of bassy reverberation on the recordings--and the G433 was way worse, even! I could reproduce these irritating recorded sounds--can't actually hear them directly as they occur--with both of those more expensive sets simply by shaking my head.
With the Q100 though, I can shake my head dizzy, and produce hardly a whisper of shake noise on the resulting recording, even with the 100's more sensitive mic (I'm using +17.9 dB gain with it in OBS, vs +20 for the Stinger, which also got a bit of a boost from the added equalizer). Freaking fantastic! This SHOULD allow me to make very clean-sounding recordings even while performing my usual agonized contortions on the floor with my arcade stick and the various boxes on which I attempt to stack it.
We'll see. Initial tests are hugely positive, so much so that I've already added another Q100 to my Amazon cart to have as a back-up. $19.99! What are all those other much more expensive headsets even doing. This thing feels like a miracle for recording, and thank goodness (and rtings) that I found it, 'cause I was worried my recordings would be forever plagued by those darn shaking noises.
I wonder if the light and simple construction is what allows it to be so noise-free; like, how would the heavier, more complicated sets possibly NOT have inner reverberations of some kind, with all the stuff they have piled on your head? That's a sketchy theory only, though. But it doesn't seem like the (other, at least) headset manufacturers test for recorded shake noise at all. Absolutely crucial to a flaily freak like me!!
The more sensitive mic WILL pick up more ambient sound, which isn't great in my small, echoey, uncarpeted apartment with a thin ceiling and in some years college noisy students living above me; also my big slappy arcade buttons will probably be all over the recordings. I think that will be far preferable to those unpredictable, weird, distracting shaking sounds though. |
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| | | | There was a Windows update yesterday, after which sound output from the mic seems to have dropped by about 12 dB. Windows Microphone Boost and volume are still maxed. Can max the Gain in OBS but now there's static and more background sound. Same results with my identical backup headset. Sigh. Going to try a USB headset I guess. |
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| | | | I can get the mic volume back sorta by bending the mic right in front of my mouth...but the sound is still thinner and ehh yeah not great. |
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| | | | Also the mic bent in front captures too much breath sound. : PP |
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| | | | I suppose it COULD be something else, like the mic plug on my laptop malfunctioning or the y splitter cable needed to branch the analog audio jack out from the headset for both mic-out and sound-in suddenly somehow developing a problem that mysteriously and suddenly and precisely muting just the mic volume a bit...but both of those seem pretty unlikely. |
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| | | | Also, changing Windows' mic Volume does nothing to the input volume registered in OBS--until Window's Volume is reduced to 0, at which point nothing registers from the mic. Was this how it was before? I dunno. What a mess. I suppose not many people were still using analog mics, but still. |
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| | | | And I wonder if it could be specific to this headset somehow, or a range of mics, or what. The Windows "Microphone Boost" setting, which maxes at +20 dB on my laptop (and did before the update, too), apparently maxes at different values on other peoples' computers--Googling, I found one person reporting a max of +10, others at +30, even +36. So there seems to be some kind of scaling going on there, wonder what it's based on. Oh well I suppose it could be based on the sound chip, like my laptop's Realtek. |
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| | | With more testing, seems to be about a 10.1 dB drop--I raised the gain filter in OBS from 17.9 to 28. That's a BIT close to the 30 dB max...
But listening to a comparison (here's just voice a few days prior to the update, for instance: https://youtu.be/-Uu6UwJGc_I?t=449), I'm not sure there's actually much difference; there's a bit of static around the edges on both, when listened to at volume.
Anyway I've ordered the best USB mic headset I could find via Rtings (Razer BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed Wireless https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/razer/blackshark-v2-hyperspeed-wireless ) (head-to-head comparison: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tools/compare/jbl-quantum-100-vs-razer-blackshark-v2-hyperspeed-wireless/13293/44397 ); the USB mic is rated a few 10th of a point lower, but the analog test is three years old now, and, heck, I'd like to see how it holds up vs the newer thing. There's an Amazon return center a few blocks away in our small DT now so returning the USB should be no problem if it isn't actually an improvement; the downgrade in recording quality from the Sennheiser handheld mic I was using before switching to headsets is kind of bothering me, so if I could magically get even a slight improvement, that would be great for all the babbling I do on my YT channel. |
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| | | According to my notes, I actually had to MAX the gain at 30 in OBS for the Sennheiser E 945 handheld mic--I suppose that was because I was using it with a cheap analog-to-USB adapter, instead of a proper uh professional mic amp or um whatever they use; so it came out a bit quiet.
For the HyperX Cloud Stinger headset I used a gain of 20.
Rtings says the "gain" ("Shows how much louder the microphone can go above our reference loudness level"; "Good value" = above "18dB") of the Quantum is 26.75 dB, vs just 11.42 dB for the HyperSpeed Wireless. That's not too promising given that I'm nearly maxing the gain in OBS for the Quantum...but then again the HSW is a totally different input type, and, unlike the Quantum, does have its own software with, the review notes, "Adjustable Level" "Mic Control," so, hopefully there will be a way to get it at a decent level--and if it can get to a decent level without the increased static you get when pumping the gain of these analog mics in OBS, that would be super. |
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| | | | Found I can pretty much go back to the previous OBS Gain setting for the Quantum if I bend the mic to my mouth (18 db instead of 28 db straight; pre-Win-Update was 17.9 db straight), and that doesn't seem to get TOO windy... |
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Inexpertly trying to find from which headset mic I can get the best quality capture of my mumbly voice: a Razer "BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed" USB headset--via its 2.4 GHz wireless dongle--or a JBL "Quantum 100" analog headset.
Their head-to-head Rtings reviews are https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tools/compare/jbl-quantum-100-vs-razer-blackshark-v2-hyperspeed-wireless/13293/44397 ; Rtings rates both their mics very highly among headsets, with the Quantum mic just a few tenths of a point above the HyperSpeed's.
0:00 - Razer BlackShark V2 HyperSpeed
27:25 - JBL Quantum 100 - bent boom, 18 dB Gain
46:18 - JBL Quantum 100 - straight boom, 28 dB Gain
47:47 - Quantum bent boom again
1:01:31 - nope, Quantum straight boom it is then
1:04:32 - errata
ARGH I was saying "8mm" audio jack instead of "1/8th inch" audio jack--or 3.5 mm.
And I realized I should just try a 3.5mm to USB converter cable.
Until that arrives, it seems like the best I've got as far as mic capture for YT gaming videos--since a Windows Update a week ago seems to have nerfed my 5-6-years-old mid-range gaming laptop's 1/8" analog jack audio capture by about 10.1 dB--is the analog JBL Quantum 100 with the mic straight out and 28 dB artificial gain: it's a bit low-level static fuzzy, but still a nice warm sound. I can get less fuzz if I bend the mic in front of my mouth, so I can drop the gain by about 10 dB, but that's breathy, more difficult to keep consistent, and risks moisture & eventual smelly microbial life flourishing in the foam mic cover.
The HyperSpeed's mic is clear and crisp by comparison, but cold and hollow: a more remote sound with a sort of whistling, echoing quality about it that I find less pleasant than the Quantum. Occasional passages from the HyperSpeed sound digitally compressed at lower bit quality, like digital compression; that might have to do with the wireless 2.4 GHz dongle, but the included USB-A to USB-C cable, while pleasantly thick, soft, and pliable, isn't quite long enough--it's maybe 6 or 7 feet--for wired use with my preferred recording arrangement.
In 2.4 GHz wireless, I heard an occasional faint high-pitched tone in the HyperSpeed's headphones for a minute or so--didn't seem to get that when using it wired.
Rtings says the HyperSpeed headphones have 15 ms audio latency when used wired, and 25 ms in 2.4 GHz wireless--and nearly half a second when used with Bluetooth, which I didn't try. Rtings said they got 81.25 hours of "continuous battery life" with the HyperSpeed--they consider anything over 24 hours top-notch. I had it go from 100% battery to 95% battery in a few hours of sporadic test use, plus sitting off--having switched itself off after idling briefly--overnight. It went from that to 94% in another couple hours of 3 or 4 takes for this video.
The HyperSpeed's Synapse software--which I found necessary in order to switch to the decent "Broadcast" mic EQ profile--feels bloated and not as reliable as I'd like.
(And I find the Synapse software's effect on my Razer DeathAdder V3 Wired mouse less pleasing and reliable than what I get through the non-Synapse plug-and-play mouse driver; I got the Razer mouse for its lovely ergonomics in standard desktop use rather than for its high-DPI capability.)
Both the HyperSpeed and the Quantum are free from occasional clicking noises mics on the two other headsets I've tried produced; those two headsets, a HyperX Cloud Stinger and a Logitech G433 7.1 Wired Surround Gaming Headset, had heavier, inflexible swing boom arms, rather than the thinner, lighter, flexible, non-swiveling boom arms of the HyperSpeed and the Quantum. I'm not sure all swing-type booms are prone to generating those clicking noises if I move my head while wearing a headset, but I'll probably be avoiding them from here on out!
I didn't go much into headphone build and sound quality--I feel really unqualified to judge that; I didn't like the default sound profile for the HyperSpeed, and found I had to switch to its "Music" profile in order for Firelink Shrine in Dark Souls III to sound as nice as I was used to on the Quantum, for instance.
The Quantum feels more comfortable on my head--lighter, less wobbly, and cooler on the ears--than the HyperSpeed, but that could be because I'm used to the Quantum. The HyperSpeed feels more plush and solid than the Quantum, although the prongs and wires holding the HyperSpeed's cups on look rather thin.
The Quantum sells for $40, the HyperSpeed for $100; when I bought mine several years back, the Quantum was on sale for $20; I was so pleased with it I bought a second as a back-up. = ) |
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| | | | The tabbed control panel window that sets "Recording" sound volume per sound input device is titled "Sound" but is found by the search phrase "change system sounds." = ppp |
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| | | | I tried a USB-to-1.8mm adapter--this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQ14TMR1 the 2.4 meter version--on my JBL Quantum 100 headset to see if that could let me record from the headset's mic with less artificial Gain and its correspondingly higher static fuzz; I've had to add ~10 dB more Gain in OBS since a Windows Update a few weeks ago. And it did--I could lower the Gain in OBS from 28 to 21 dB or so--but the sound was thin, losing significant warmth and breadth; and there might have been less static fuzz, but it's hard to tell really, since it's hissy and less pleasant. So, not an improvement. |
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| | | | Hah I still can't get the measurements right; ^ that should say 3.5 mm (aka 1\8th inch). |
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| | | | The high gain (currently up to the max, +30 dB) I'm using these at in OBS (that's on top of the max +20 in my laptop's audio controller settings, Realtek Audio Console, and of course the max setting in Windows sound settings) causes such high background/static noise on the mic that using either of OBS's noise cancellation filters starts to cause voice dropouts when playing intense audio, for instance in many Elden Ring boss fights. And it results in lower audio quality overall. Alas for that Windows Update or whatever it was that required a 10-dB audio boost earlier this year. This once-great mic just can't cut it now. |
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| | | | Note to self: as I'm switching over to a USB mic for now, I'm disabling the analog mic port--maybe?--by clicking "Don't Allow" on the Quantum's Windows sound settings. This pretty much nukes the mic from showing up again--it doesn't show up at all, disabled or otherwise, in Device Manager after that. : P To get it back, gotta go to Control Panel - Sound, then the Recording tab, and it'll show there as Disabled, and you can re-enable it. |
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| | | The problem with the desktop (game) sound feeding into the mic seems most likely to be due to the sound traveling through the headset itself, from the ear cups to the microphone; it gets slightly worse as applied gain is raised in the Gain filter, and--to a lesser extent--as sound playback volume is increased in the headset, but is unaffected by moving the mic closer to the opposite ear cup during sound playback (except maybe very very close, didn't try that), or by clicking the volume icon under Desktop Audio in OBS to cut pickup. It is also unaffected by putting Desktop Audio and mic on separate tracks in OBS.
The USB mic I'm switching to is the ATH-M50xSTS-USB, with a condenser mic--maybe the only gaming headset with a condenser mic? (See entry 1996.) In initial tests, the M50 requires 9 dB less artificial Gain to achieve the same vocal recording volume as the Quantum. Also, I don't know if the feedback loop the Quantum gets into is possible on a USB mic, but I won't be able to be sure about that one way or the other until I've used the M50 for a while; I've done one session with it so far and the problem didn't occur, but that was with Pac-Man, a less audio-intensive game than, say, Elden Ring, or even NES Tetris. Here was the problem the other day with the Quantum in Tetris:
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| | | [Didn't save this video because I'd recorded it in AAC audio which is only 16-bit. Anyway it was just me doing my "Hello this is Elden Ring" intro w/ the JBL Quantum 100 and then the ATH-M50xSTS-USB, and they sounded remarkably similar--indistinguishable, to my ear. M50x would've sounded markedly richer if recorded at 24-bit, of course.]
Both at 48 kHz sample rate (M50 goes up to 96). Quantum only does 16-bit; M50x is set to 24-bit.
I had the mic boom arms straight out, not bent.
Quantum was at 30 dB added Gain (via filter) in OBS. M50x was at 21, that seemed about equal in volume to 30 (which is the max) on the Quantum.
Both at 100% volume in Windows Sound Settings. Windows audio enhancements Off for the Quantum mic; the ATH mic doesn't have the option.
Quantum also at max plus 20 dB in my laptop's Realtek Audio Console, the sound card controller. The Quantum is an 1/8" (3.5 mm) audio jack analog mic, while this version of the M50x is USB.
RNNoise noise suppression filter enabled in OBS, as well as a -1 dB, 60 ms Limiter.
I have the stock foam mic cover on the Quantum; no cover--it doesn't come with one--on the M50x. I ordered some "L6"-sized foam covers that fit its mic, according to some Reddit comment: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016WOYASA ; they haven't arrived yet, but with the mic kept straight it doesn't sound like it gets any wind from my mouth, so I may end up going cover-less to maximize capture volume; I didn't catch any wind-y sound on these recordings with the mic straight, whereas it was immediately obvious--and pretty bad--when I bent the naked mic "near the corner of your mouth" per the pdf instruction book ( https://docs.audio-technica.com/all/ATH-M50xSTS-USB-UM-EN.pdf ). The Quantum never got THAT windy-sounding in my bent-mic-arm tests with it, but it also can't really bend as near the corner of the mouth and retain its shape there--plus it does have a modest foam wind cover. (The M50x is a condenser mic; the Quantum is a more typical headset mic, which I suppose means a dynamic mic.)
Although on the plus side, the M50x's arm is easier to bend and holds its shape easily, whereas the Quantum's (mind you the Quantum is a budget headset; the M50x is rather expensive) doesn't really hold anything beyond a mild bend, so it won't stay as close to my mouth.
While I'm at it, I'll mention that the M50x does clamp harder over the ears than the Quantum; not really painfully, but enough to leave a visible impression around the ear, and my ears definitely feel more relaxed wearing the Quantum, even with the surface worn off its old (I've had the Quantum for a few years or so, just got the M50x) leatherette earpads. I have the stock "mesh" pad earpads ("for increased comfort") on the M50x; it also comes with a pair of alternative "leather material" pads that "stress audio quality and sound isolation." I thought I have kind of a large head but just one notch up from the smallest headband size seems to fit best on the M50x.
Bent-arm, I was able to remove 10 dB of artificial filter Gain on the Quantum, and 15 on the M50x. This is potentially important because I'm probably having to move on from the Quantum because I've been getting some sort of sound/filter feedback effect in OBS in which game sounds through the headset somehow start spiking volume on the mic, visible in OBS' volume displays. I think this is due to some sort of interaction between the Gain filter, when set to a high amount of added dB, the noise suppression filter (still happens with the Speex "low CPU" noise suppression filter), and background noise--which high Gain boosts.
With Noise Suppression off and 21 dB Gain, the M50x's mono mic volume bar shows about -43 dB from background noise in OBS. The Quantum shows about -36 dB background noise at 21 dB Gain, and about -26 dB at 30 dB Gain, which is where I have to put it to equal 21 dB Gain on the M50x.
Incidentally, the Quantum, which I'm using plug-n-play, w/o JBL's sound app, only has "2 channel" options in Windows Sound Settings, & always shows two volume bars in OBS, even when Mono is checked in OBS' Advanced Audio Properties. The M50x has only "1 channel" options in Windows Sound Settings, and shows correctly as mono (1 bar) by default, regardless of that box.
That level of background noise seemed to be what triggered the feedback problem--which would result in game sounds somehow in the mic input, and Noise Suppression starting to suppress my voice, causing vocal dropout. My best guess so far is that the noise was from sound vibrating from the left ear speaker through the headset itself and into the mic.
Anyway, the goal is to keep Gain low, hopefully avoiding the feedback & drop-out. The M50x is off to a decent start, requiring 9 dB less Gain with the mic arms kept straight. If the feedback/dropout comes back, I'll have to try bending the mic to the corner of my mouth & using a wind cover; that'll mess with the clarity of the input with wind & muffling, & make keeping the volume input constant trickier since it's harder to judge the bent position than the straight one, but would greatly reduce the artificial Gain needed & almost certainly avoid the feedback and subsequent voice drop-out problem. Hopefully I won't have to resort to that but we'll see how the M50x holds up straight-arm in actual gameplay recordings. |
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| | | | Possibly the sound feedback problem had got worse in the past few months because as the weather gets colder, my apartment's two wall heaters are on more, and their fans add some background noise. The dynamic (I think) mic in the JBL Quantum 100 doesn't pick up that much background noise really but maybe it was just enough additional general ambient to push it over the brink. |
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