From my community, Christopher Mirah:

I was wondering if you had or could get me any coupons for a usb microphone or headset. Now I am not sure exactly what kind of microphone I want to get so I was wondering if you could make any suggestions for a good one. Here is the situation for what I want the microphone for, a friend and me are wanting to start a podcast that we can share with friends.

My first question would be, should we each have a microphone, or would one microphone be enough, the location of the podcast would be an apartment with only us in it, I don’t know if this would be a factor in whether to purchase two microphones or not?

My second question would be is getting would getting a microphone be the way to go over getting two usb headsets? Also would you recommend purchasing any extras such as a pop filter, etc.?

My final question comes down to cost if you can call it a question that is, since we are both college students still we don’t have a lot of extra cash to thrown around, we would like to keep the price between the two of us to about $120 total. So I do not know if its possible to get some quality products within that price range or if it is even worth trying to do. Any coupons or suggestions you can make would be greatly appreciated, also we are in no hurry to make these purchases so if there are coupons or sales that you might know about that are happening later in the summer that is fine we can wait. Thanks in advance for your help.

Yes, I have coupons – specifically, for my top two recommendations: http://go.tagjag.com/yeti or http://go.tagjag.com/at2020 – and, of course, much more at http://coupons.lockergnome.com/ every day.

Build your equipment base steadily, or you’ll likely be overspending. You could each have a microphone, sure – but if you want to save money, just go with the aforelinked Yeti.

Monitor your levels live, of course – keeping down room noise and making sure you’re not clipping (or in the proverbial “red”). Trial and error, Chris!

Podcast Microphone

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One of the most frequent questions I get asked is “What microphone do you use?”. If I’m recording something in my home office via the live stream, then I use the Audio-Technica AT2020 USB microphone. However, when I’m recording on the go, that just won’t work.

The Vado 3 happens to allow an external mic. Therefore, I decided to try and see how it will work. The Audio Technica ATR-288W VHF Wireless Microphone was sent to me for review. What perfect timing!

The kit includes a lapel mic for hands-free use, as well as a traditional hand-held microphone. The lightweight transmitter operates on one 9-volt battery, and allows for up to 8 hours of continuous usage. The wireless mic will work from about 100 feet, but can reach up to 300 feet under optimum conditions.

According to the live chat room and the comments I”m seeing on the video so far, the sound isn’t the greatest with the lapel mic. However… you CAN hear it, right? It works, and it’s mostly clear sounding. The quality may not be as good as it is with the hand-held mic. However, it is clear enough to be heard. I think this is going to be true with any wireless mic, as compared to a wired one.

All in all, I am pretty happy with this Audio Technica mic. What are your thoughts? If you’ve used it, I’m interested in hearing your thoughts. If you haven’t used it, what do you have to say based just on this video alone?

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Wireless Mic Review

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The BlueAnt Z9I headset is very cool. It’s not just Bluetooth, it charges by USB. It’s a proprietary connector, but it comes with the cable. The nice thing is that you can pair this one headset with up to five devices. You can use it anywhere you can well, pair it.

To begin with, the BlueAnt is diminutive at 1.61″ x .68″ x .44″ and weighs a mere .38 oz. Once you choose between the two ear buds, a small or large, and adjust the ear hook to your taste, you won’t even know it’s on. The ear bud rests in your ear, similar to in-ear headphones, but don’t go as far in. The ear hook holds it in place nicely. The ear buds screw in and out and are easy to remove. The ear hook is fully adjustable. You can push it in to make it tighter around your ear, and it also swivels so you can adjust the angle the headset rests at.

The Z9i features BlueAnt’s Digital Signal Processing solution – Voice Isolation Technology, which is supposed to provide outstanding noise suppression, echo cancellation and wind noise reduction. It also offers the Voice Isolation Max feature, which is like putting it into turbo noise isolation mode. By default the Standard Voice Isolation mode is working. If you find the need to kick it up a bit, you press the MFB button for 1 second while on a call, and you will hear a voice telling you that you have activated Voice Isolation Max.

Every review I have come across claims that this headset is almost better than listening directly to your phone or other device. The quality is just absolutely superior. It’s extremely comfortable, and fits really nicely. The features include:

• Revolutionary noise suppression, echo cancellation and wind noise reduction
• Switch between 2 ‘Voice Isolation’ modes – standard & max
• Multipoint connection technology
• Wind Noise Reduction
• Multiple ear buds & rubber, ergonomic ear hooks
• Pairs with 5 devices

Usually, I get annoyed by Bluetooth headsets, and take them off. Are you one of those people who live with theirs attached to their head? If so, you definitely want to try this out. It’s honestly that good.

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Can a Bluetooth Headset Connect to More than One Device?

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On occasion, I’ve asked for your Top 5 tips and tricks. Thanks to bowler4ever for this excellent video email.

Top 5 Tips for Buying A Headset:

• Don’t buy dirt cheap! They break too easily or too soon, they tend to not have any controllers for the microphone and/or headphones (if you have a headset), they tend to not last very long, and the sound quality can be pretty bad and you can get static to no end!
• Buy within your budget! These $300 headsets may look great, but some can go for $45 and can work just as great or even better. So do your homework on these!
• Find a set that looks comfortable for your ears and also look for an adjustable mic (so when you’re not using the mic, you can put it off to the side of the headset). Comfort is EVERYTHING in a headset. Make sure you find a headset that will fit your ears comfortably (preferably ones with the padding around the edge) and make sure they’re not too small, otherwise it’ll just keep falling off (having one with a clip that goes around the ear is a GREAT option, as this problem is vitually eliminated!)
• Make sure the store you buy it at allows you to return it within 1-2 weeks, even if you’ve already opened the product, tried it, and you don’t like it. It makes no sense whatsoever if you buy a headset and try it, but you don’t like it and the store won’t let you return it, ESPECIALLY if they don’t have ones on display that you can try on! Staples is a great place to buy one and it has a 2 week return policy (as far as I know).
• If you have never tried one that plugs in via USB, I strongly recommend you try one, especially if you have a bad sound card or you have none at all, because the drivers are either on a CD or, when plugged in, immediately recognized by the computer and the software gets installed via Plug-and-Play. (There are ones that come with both analog [which is plugged into the sound card] AND USB [via an adapter that comes with the headset]).

So, those are the top 5 tips for buying a headset! If you have any questions/recommendations for a headset, e-mail me via YouTube or Ustream or just shoot an e-mail to one of the best geeks in the computer industry. His name is Chris Pirillo and he can help you out with a lot of stuff. His e-mail address is chris@pirillo.com and if you want to see him in action, please drop by and say hello at live.pirillo.com. Thanks for watching!

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Top 5 Tips for Buying an Audio Mic and USB Headset