To improve your zoom, up your mic game.
You can have a video-conference without video, but you can’t have a video-conference without audio.
Let’s face it. Our zoomified existence is tiring.
For lots of reasons, but one of the main reasons that we have such a hard time with zoom call after zoom call (or any service), is audio quality. Poor audio quality means that it takes more concentration to listen and understand — leading to less comprehension and attention. And a feeling a fatigue at the end of the day.
[For more on why audio is problematic and developments on the horizon, check out Why Do We Suffer From Zoom Fatigue? It’s All About The Sound. ]
Since starting the fall semester, I have been trying various ways to improve my audio quality. I have finally settled on the Wave 3 mic from the gaming accessory company Elgato, but along the way found a couple of good alternatives (a boom mic for example). Below are a series of recordings so you can hear from yourself, which mic yields the best results.
BTW, The phrase I am reading is one of the IEEE Recommended Practices for Speech Quality Measurements.
