Hybrid Work Hardware: Microphones – Internal, External, and AI
Even when companies enforce back-to-office policies, knowledge workers still spend a lot of time on conference calls, and podcasting is proving to be a durable tool for marketing and knowledge sharing. The microphones built into most laptops range from passable to terrible, so we set out to find out what happens when you upgrade the quality of your microphone. This is not intended to be a comprehensive survey of the market; we had three vendors send over microphones at different price points and aimed to answer the following questions:
Is there are noticeable difference between a relatively inexpensive USB microphone and built-in models?
How complicated are these setups?
How much of an improvement do you get when you move up the price ladder into professional territory?
With OEMs and their silicon enablers all promoting AI features on 2024 laptops, will external microphones be necessary going forward?
Internal vs External USB
Your audio on a conference call can be impacted by any number of variables including Internet speeds, your distance from the mic, and your neighbor’s leaf blower, but the baseline capability of the microphone is always going to be a factor. I started by testing the internal microphone on Microsoft’s top of the line Surface Studio 2+ ($4500 as configured) in a quiet environment. I recorded my test clip directly to the PC, making Internet speeds irrelevant.
You would think that a super-premium PC with “dual far field studio microphones” would produce good audio input and you’d be right – up to a point. The Surface’s internal microphones did pick up reasonably full range audio, and I used this setup for over a year without anyone complaining that I sounded rough on their end. However, listening back to the recordings, the noise floor is higher than any of the external microphones I tested, there’s a bit of warbling to parts of the recording, and the sense of presence is lacking – likely because you’re farther away from the microphone when it is fixed in the computer an arm’s length away. On a conference call with lots of participants, this might not be noticeable if you pop off of mute to ask a question, but it could definitely use improvement if you are the one giving the presentation.
JLab Epic Talk USB Microphone: Epic Value
External USB microphones start as low as $50, but I started with JLab’s $149.00 Epic Talk, which is regularly on sale for $99. JLab is a San Diego-based consumer electronics manufacturer that is somehow a bit under the radar; it offers a range of well-designed audio and hybrid work products at reasonable prices. (The audio quality of JLab’s new Epic Lab Edition earbuds is impressive, and the Epic Air Sport ANC remain my recommendation for sub-$100 earbuds for working out.) For less than $100, the Epic Talk microphone offers 192kHz/24bit resolution, three condensers, and four selectable directional pattern modes so it works equally well as a solo mic or on a table with multiple people for conference calls. There are volume and gain controls on the mic along with a 3.5mm headphone jack so you can monitor what is being recorded directly. A small desk tripod included in the box, but it’s quite short; in many situations it may make sense to invest in a small stand or mic arm which will bring the mic closer to your mouth. Setup is dead simple: plug in the included USB cable, and that’s it. I found performance to be excellent, and for most use cases, this should be a big improvement in recorded audio at minimal price.
Tula USB Microphone: Portability in Style
At the top of the USB microphone range is the $259 Tula Mic, which has a delightfully retro design in one of four colors (I chose red). Tula is a bit of a bespoke brand founded by an audio engineer in collaboration with engineers from the iconic Swedish brand Teenage Engineering. The Tula Mic is as much a mobile recorder as it is a desktop USB microphone, and it includes storage for up to 12 hours of high-quality WAV format along with a headphone jack and playback controls on the mic. Gain controls are button-based, which is not as fluid as a knob. Tula integrates Klevgrand noise reduction, which I kept off for the test recording, but was useful when recording in the field. By default, the Tula records in cardioid mode (directional), but it can be switched to omnidirectional for use on a table with multiple people. There are also modes for connecting lavaliere clip mics to turn the Tula into a one-stop interview device. The Tula is compact and comes with a gorgeous removable flip-and-folding stand that is best for portable use. There is also a standard thread for microphone stands; for regular fixed use, you will definitely want one to get the mic closer to your mouth.
The Tula sounds great, with perhaps a bit more warmth than the JLab. However, the real reason to spend 2.6x the JLab on the Tula mic is not so much the difference in audio quality, but the flexibility that it offers as a field recorder along with its industrial design.
Beyerdynamic M70 Pro X: Professional Quality, Complexity, and Flexibility
To test the high end of the mic range, Beyerdynamic sent over its M70 Pro X. The M70 Pro X was $299 when Beyerdynamic’s PR agency sent it, but at the time of this writing it is on sale at Amazon for just $99. The M70 Pro X comes in a large box that includes a soft case, elastic mount, and pop filter. That’s fairly complete for a professional microphone, but it still leaves several things out, items that studios will already have and will differ based on use case. The elastic mount is excellent – sturdy, and reduces vibrations from reaching the microphone – but it necessitates a proper stand or mic arm. I chose Elgato’s Wave Mic Arm for $99, which is sturdy and allows the mic to be properly positioned when in use, and then moved completely out of the way otherwise. The mic requires an XLR cable but this is not included; I bought a 10 foot cable (long enough to cover the mic arm and audio interface placement) from Monoprice for about $15. Next, you’ll need an XLR-to-USB mixing console/interface. My friendly PR rep sent over a Focusrite Vocaster One for that purpose. It lists for $149, but seems to be on a permanent sale for $99. All in all, an XLR setup like this costs $315 - $615 depending on the mic choice and sales.
The big advantage to such a sophisticated setup is that everything can be adjusted and tweaked for specific use cases. The Beyerdynamic M70 Pro X is designed for spoken voice and is marketed specifically for podcasting. The company sells other mics with different applications like singing or instruments. The M70 Pro X sounds extremely clean and perhaps a bit on the lean side, so I had great fun choosing different Effects presets on the Vocaster One that add just a bit of body to the sound, like “Radio” or “Warm.” The Vocaster One is easy to operate and includes an auto-gain wizard that makes it simple to get the input level right for different microphones. The Vocaster One has ¼” jacks for speakers, a 3.5mm jack for mixing in music from a smartphone, another 3.5mm jack for connecting a camera, and a ¼” headphone jack on the front for monitoring purposes. A 1/4” headphone jack may be another required purchase unless you already have studio-style headphones. This should cost less than $2, but is one more thing to keep in mind. For interview-style podcasts, Focusrite sells the Vocaster Two with a second set of XLR mic inputs and controls. There is also 48V phantom power for microphones that need it, like Beyerdynamic’s M90 Pro X. Focusrite has excellent tutorials online that reduce the setup complexity and learning curve, but there is no question that plugging in a USB microphone is simpler and cheaper. This Beyerdynamic setup is clearly overkill for Zoom calls, but for content creators it is ideal.
AI: Solves Problems But Can’t Fully Address the Baseline Audio Quality
Leading up to CES 2024, I have been briefed by every major silicon vendor and laptop OEM, and everyone is pushing AI. Qualcomm was first to put an NPU (neural processing unit) on its PC platform, and Microsoft used it as the launch platform for Windows Studio Effects – AI-powered features that add eye contact and filter noise in Microsoft Teams calls. Qualcomm is launching its high-performance Snapdragon X Elite PC platform in mid-2024, which should bring Windows on Arm to a much wider audience. Apple’s phones have had a Neural Engine (Apple’s marketing term for NPU) starting in 2017, and Apple Silicon-based Macs have had NPUs since the platform launched in 2020. Audio apps and video conferencing apps alike use the Neural Engine for noise cancellation. Lenovo has been putting its own NPU in its x86-based laptops, and offers its own AI software for audio enhancements. Even without an NPU, many of HP’s laptops feature HP Presence, which use the CPU for noise cancellation and volume leveling. Finally, the newest Intel and AMD processors just announced have integrated NPUs as well, giving them access to Studio Effects and other AI-based audio processing in the next version of Windows.
This technology works. AI can dramatically improve the ability to hear a speaker’s voice if there is droning noise in the background. It can isolate a single speaker from a background din in open office arrangements. It can even make it sound like you never moved away from the mic when you walk to the back of the room to grab a drink or open the door to let a pet out or package in. However, the better the signal that the algorithm has to start with, the better the end result is going to sound. AI can make the cheap mic integrated into a laptop sound better than it should, but a more expensive external microphone, placed near your mouth will provide a cleaner, richer signal for AI to work with. For quick calls on the go, an external mic may not be necessary, but it can still make a noticeable improvement in dedicated hybrid setups, and is a must for the highest quality results when creating content.
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