| smbhax [sys=PC; cat=Hardware; reg=UC] |
| | | Gonna be giving this a try, it boasts an actual condenser mic, something I haven't come across on a headset before. Haven't used a condenser since my Snowball, which came out echo-y in my hard-walled little apartment; since I'll have the mic close-up on the headset, hopefully that won't be as much of a problem here.
My previous go-to review site for headsets, rtings, hasn't reviewed this headset--and they're revamping their headset ratings, which are currently quite incomplete across their body of reviews. AND they along with just about every other headset review site rates the Razer BlackShark V2 Hyperspeed (see entry 1988) (or, more often, the Pro, although as far as Google informs me their mics are pretty much the same) mic highly, while I found it to be inferior in audio quality even to the gain-compromised JBL Quantum 100 (see entry 1678).
I also dread Razer stuff because with the Hyperspeed I needed one of its software settings to get halfway-decent mic sound, but the software is extremely bloated, glitchy, and messes with my Razer mouse input. ; p
The M50 on the other hand has no software to install; at this point I see that as a big plus.
The M50's boom arm appears to be the flip-up kind so I'll have to see if headshakes can cause clicking noises on the mic like a few flip-booms I've tried. That would be a shame.
I found out about it from this google-results PC Gamer headset round-up https://www.pcgamer.com/best-gaming-headset/ and review https://www.pcgamer.com/audio-technica-ath-m50-sts-streamset-review/ --currently the only headset review I can recall that actually treats the mic seriously instead of just operating from the assumed basis that well it's a headset mic so we should rate it on a vastly inflated rating compared to stand-alone mics. ; P
Keys will be:
- how much environmental echo / other noise does it pick up
- how much artificial gain is required
- does headshake cause clicks on the mic |
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| | | - Surprisingly, no echo that's audible to my ears; this small headset-mounted condenser mic sounds just as echo-less as the presumably dynamic--ie not condenser--headset mics I've tried in this small hard-walled & floored apartment. : )
- Gain required: judging from repeating "hello" into this vs the JBL Quantum 100, this one takes ~ 9 dB less artificial Gain--21 dB vs 30 dB--to max out in OBS, which will hopefully allow it to avoid the weird feedback/drop-out problem I've developed with the Quantum. (Would take even less (6 vs 20) if bent toward the mouth, but in the shipped no-windscreen (ie foam mic cover) config, wind interference when bent was almost as bad as the feedback/drop-out, really; anyway more on this and other things coming up.)
(I was also hoping just switching from an analog 1/8"/3.5mm audio port mic to a USB mic would fix that, but I'm not sure it would in and of itself as I can still get desktop audio seeming to feed into the mic volume indicator in OBS a bit--but hopefully it won't stay there and set up the dreaded feedback loop or whatever it was.)
- Shake test: no clicks showing on the mic volume bar in OBS. : ) |
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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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| | | | Hm being able to drop from 21 dB Gain to 6 would get rid of most of the static around the edges of the recorded vocals--where Noise Suppression stops scrubbing the background static to allow the voice through--so I'll have to test with the bent arm and a windscreen on the mic once they arrive today. |
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| | | | Now that I have a 24-bit mic with the ATH-M50xSTS-USB, I'm switching Audio Encoder from "FFmpeg AAC" to "FFmpeg PCM (24-bit)." In quick desktop test, waving videos around, this increased mp4 video file size by about 50%. Sound is much more rich. |
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The "L6"-size foam mic covers / windscreens, which I found out about from a Reddit thread somewhere about the M50x, fit--bit of a tug to get on the bulbous mic--but didn't do much to lessen the windiness of the pickup when the mic is positioned "near the corner of the mouth" as the pdf instruction manually recommends.
Also, my estimate of needing just 6 dB Gain with bent arm seems to have been too low; it may be more like the 10 dB difference I got bending the arm of the JBL Quantum 100, rather than 15 dB--so I probably would need Gain around 11 dB.
Haven't tested that though because the wind effect is so prominent that it really doesn't feel anywhere near worth the slight lessening of the faint static around the edges of the vocals.
So I think I'll just be rolling straight arm, 21 dB gain, no windscreen. |
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| | | | (That inconsistency of volume is a big part of the problem of trying to go bent-arm.) |
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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.
The condenser mic in the M50x is more sensitive so eh I guess I'm going to be passing the winter playing games with the heat off. ; D
Hm in the summer the fridge cooling pump or whatever kicks in more... ; )
Not confident I can use the Noise Gate filter for that stuff 'cause for instance the wall heater in this room is picked up louder on the M50x than my softest speaking voice. |
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| | | | I did used to turn off at least the nearer heater when I was using the Snowball, come to think of it. Can't remember if I turned off the heater in the other room too, but I was pretty paranoid about background noise with that thing so I may have. |
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| | | | Not going to unplug the fridge though. :P |
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| | | It's been working great, I'm really happy with this headset. : ) The flexible boom really does stay where it's placed rather than halfway bending back like the other headset booms I've tried; the boom has a cable-corded-style coating on it.
On the other hand the USB-out cable is a smooth rubberized surface rather than corded, and is permanently attached to the headset; a little worried about that as a potential weak link for this otherwise very solid piece of equipment; I mean, it feels sturdy enough, I suppose it's just that I happened to skim over one Amazon review where the reviewer had had their cord split or something, I dunno.
The self-monitoring feature turns on each time you plug the headset back in; a little strange but I guess it does let you know that the mic is working. ; ) The little flick dial to control the self-monitoring--the only control on the headset, volume is entirely via Windows--is a thin little thing that curiously you press IN to toggle the monitoring on/off; L/R on the dial is monitor volume. |
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| | | The mic is just about perfect for arcade stick play--it picks up enough of the stick to hear what's going on with it, but not enough to make the voice hard to hear, even my whispered mutterings (whose indistinctness and rambling is not the mic's fault ; D):
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| | | I've forgotten to turn the heaters off for a few sessions and it hasn't resulted in any obvious sound quality problems in the recordings.
The lack of a volume control on the headset has turned out to be a significant plus: I set the Windows volume setting to a comfortable spot--"18" has sounded good--and that's it, my headset volume stays absolutely consistent, which makes determining a decent volume setting for each new game easy: it's what sounds good in my ears--and I don't know if it's just coincidence or if Audio-Technica was able to tune it this way, but what sounds good to my ears has also worked out to be an excellent game volume for the videos, relative to the adjusted-to-max (w/ 21 dB gain in OBS) volume of the mic. How about that! |
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| | | | I'm using a SUNGUY 6ft corded USB extension cable (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B68X5MT2) with it, which has fit its plug quite securely; I wish the headset's attached cable was as flexible and strong as the corded extension, ah well. ; ) |
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| | | | ^ "Braided," not corded. 'p' |
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| | | Review I posted on selectbutton (https://selectbutton.net/t/methods-of-input-part-2/12364/1812)
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xSTS-USB StreamSet Streaming Headset
My previous headset like all the other headsets I've tried and probably 99%-plus of the headsets on the market have tiny dynamic mics, limited by their design to how much audio they can actually pick up. My previous was a JBL Quantum 100, rated as having one of the top headset mics, but it was a dynamic mic and as with the others I had to give it a large amount of artificial gain (volume boost) in my OBS recording software in order for my voice to get recorded at the cranked-up levels people are used to on YouTube.
The Quantum 100 was lots better than all the other dynamic mic headsets I tried but it eventually started getting audio feedback into the mic pickup, and dropped audio--I think this was due to the combination of high artificial gain, environmental noise (hard-walled tiny apartment, wall heaters, etc), and noise-cancelling software filters.
The Audio-Technica M50 on the other hand has an actual condenser mic, which means it's a powered microphone that picks up quite a bit more sound from the environment. I got it in the hopes that this would mean it would require less artificial gain, and thus avoid the sound feedback loop--and this did prove to be the case.
I'd worried that it would on the other hand have problems with picking up echoes in my tiny hard-walled-and-floored apartment, like my old Blue Snowball microphone--but miraculously, it doesn't.
So this thing has really worked out great! Other plusses:
- it can capture in 24-bit PCM audio, which wasn't an option with my previous headset
- the mic's braided boom arm flexes easily and holds its shape far better than the arms on my previous headset mics--it stays where you put it
- the earcups are quite comfortable and the build quality overall feels much more solid and sturdy than other headsets I've tried; no creaky plastic sounds
- by default when plugged in it activates a monitoring mode where you hear an echo of the mic pickup in the earcups; a control on the headset toggles this on/off and controls the monitor volume level
- ^ that's the only control on the headset--there is no volume control on incoming audio; at first I thought this was a downside but it has proven quite useful: I set Windows volume to a comfortable setting, and then can adjust volume per-game to whatever sounds comfortable to my ears--and magically that just happens to be a good volume for recording, relative to the mic audio level; no more extensive juggling and faffing about with different volume adjustments to try to find the right game audio level for recording, which was a real pain with my earlier headsets and their tiny volume knobs
- no software to install, it just works
- the earcup pads are replaceable
Two small negatives:
- the USB cord is not detachable, is plastic rather than braided, feels a bit on the thin side, and isn't quite as long as I'd have liked; I'm using a braided USB extension cable ("SUNGUY" on Amazon) with it, which fits it quite well--but I wish the included cable was that good, not to mention detachable so it could be replaced if needed; it definitely feels like the weak link of the headset, physically
- the headband is padded but still sometimes feels like it's digging a bit painfully into the top of my head; pushing it back slightly from the crown of my head fixes this, and the mic adjusts position easily enough to compensate, but it isn't quite the natural and secure-feeling position where the headband would go; maybe my head is just too pointy or something ; D |
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