I could not find a video segment, which would describe HOW can I integrate Outlook inside Teams to email my specific team's members? I'd appreciate the tip. As a program coordinator, I need to email my 130 students. Thank you!
Guys the compression of teams absolutely kills any quality improvements. Don’t waste your money on a amazing mic. This guy doesn’t even talk about teams compression.
This is by far hands down THE BEST review on scenarios using External Mics for conference. When looking for reviews, all the reviews sampled the original audio, which of course sounds good, but none of these reviews included how would they sound when MS teams compress it and plays it back. One minor ask if I might, in your opinion which one of the bunch would cancel background noise the best?
Sorry to say - I just participated in 3 days of learning with 20 other people in Zoom. Today I participated in a board meeting with 20 people for an hour. I had the best experience in Zoom. Soundquality and ease of use was way better in Zoom. When accidently 2 people speak at the same time in Zoom it was understandable - but in Teams it becomes "blurry". Don't get me wrong - I don't hate Teams - I just wonder why a top dollar firm like microsoft can't make a state of the art program with all that money they got. The only sound adjustment in Teams is turning a filter on a little or a lot or off!!! And it only picks up channel one of my Focusrite. How on earth am I expected to work with that? I just wonder! BUT Kevin keep up the good work - I learn so much from your videos.
In my home office, the laptop mike is not an option, as I keep my laptop closed, using an external monitor, etc. I used to use the mic in my Logitech webcam, but it sounded too boxy and there was too much room ambience. I've since switched to a $60 USB mic (Fifine), and the improvement was immense. The mic pattern rejects most sounds coming from anywhere other than right in front (like most condenser mics will), and the overall eq is balanced pretty well. As you pointed out, for not too much money, you can make really big improvements. And you don't have to go with big well known brands. Rode makes great stuff, but I suspect that my Fifine is 90% as good for almost half the price.
There's also a comment to be made about background nose. A pair of apple wired earpods are actually amongst one of the best input sources, and that's against professional studio mics at $5000. I'm not saying the two compare in other environments, but in teams, there's little justification to spend more. Close micing will remove background echo and AC noise etc so it's worth looking at as an option.
Wow. This video is amazing. In my opinion I think the RODE NT-USB was the best when coming to audio quality. I need to get one right away. 5:10 to 5:22 made me laugh a little bit. Great video. Side note - Congrats on 550K.
So one important point to make about the Bose headphones is that, although the mic is not fantastic, where you are losing the most here is in Windows 10’s handling of Bluetooth headsets, where you can currently choose to get decent input audio quality but not acceptable outport audio quality because of the way that Windows currently handles Bluetooth profiles...which is sub-optimally, which you can prove to yourself and others by running the same headphones (or, say, Airpods) through an Android or iOS of MacOS device that handle the inevitable trade-off differently and, at least for conference calls like these, much more effectively. So at the moment, you are kind of stuck if you are in wireless land unless you can get a headset that has a specialized USB dongle (e.g., some of the Jabra headsets), in which case you can definitely get better quality. A workaround here (especially if you have AirPods) is to run your audio (or your audio and video) through Teams on an iOS device and then log onto the same meeting on Windows to get a bigger screen and more features on the platform. Another solution is to accept that you’ll be “wired” to your PC during a Teams call at your desk because of your mic, but use an iOS or Android device for teams when you can’t stay at your desk. In a year or three, we’ll probably have much better solutions here, but so it goes.
This is the best review I’ve found for WFH setups. There are a lot of mic comparisons, but few that run the audio through teams. Would love to hear the Rode NTG Go II, a newer $100 option run through this test.
It would be nice to not have teams autoadjusting the mic input levels as well. I often talk quite low and teams just put the input to 100 and directly cuts back to about 60-70 which makes my voice fade away like a whisper. Solved it by routing the audio through a virtual soundcard but please MS, let us turn this “feature” off.
It doesn't matter if I was first or second but I just click when I see a video from Kevin! I never care about the title or description! The thing is you make my day happy whenever I see your video as Ik I am going to learn something
Microsoft needs to fix the sound processing -- that's clear from that video! IMO there was not a meaningful difference of the three "good" mics after the sound went through Teams.
This was a great if brief run-through of microphone use for Teams. It would be nice to do something similar for those are looking for a good podcast microphone.
Would have been interesting trying a dynamic XLR mic…i guess there is so much compression that it could barely differs but would never find out so stick with what you have is the conclusion.
Thanks Kevin. I have understand that as the money increases the quality also increases. So Thanks again Kevin the quality in Sennheiser MKH 50 microphone has the best quality. :)
Thanks for the video. Very interesting to see the difference in audio quality as well as the degredation that Teams has. I'm curious if you are aware of the degredation being the same or better/different when using other videoconference software like Zoom?
The microphone is critical if you are online a lot. Personally, I find the Teams noise suppression makes the audio sound “underwater” - it not ideal. The Yeti, Snowball, and Snowflake by Blue are ones I’ve really liked. Of course, a $1200 Sennheiser would be nice :)
Dear Kevin. Thank you for the detail and useful explanation. I need your help on how to configure Rode Connect (with Rode NT USB Mini) to TEAMS. How the way we setup and 'connect' between those 2 things (Rode Connect and TEAMS). So we can get better and clearer sound. Thank you so much for the attention and help.
Don't want a big table mic or a chunky gamer headset+mic. As a matter of fact I just want better mic audio in conference calls - without having to look like mickey mouse or the hassle of setting up a separate mic. I have no space for that anyhow. I think a lavalier mic is for me. Guess the search continuous. Perhaps you could do a similar test for lav mics? Your production is stellar. Thanks.
Nice wrap up with a good cross section of chosen examples. Personally I've made excellent experience with the Saramonic Blink 500 b1 ($~180), which offers a bit more freedom as it works over Wi-Fi. At least when using it with OBS I didn't encounter any noticeable delays. Br, and keep on going
Thank for all this great content, Kevin. Your videos are well done and easy to follow, even for those of us who are technically challenged. Is Microsoft Teams suitable for a virtual conference and would you consider doing a tutorial on the subject?
You forgot to point out a huge issue with using microphones. They pickup a ton of background noise and echo. As you talked about you have a room with noise dampening equipment, such as foam panels on the wall and plush rugs on the floors. I had a yeti blue and it was awful unless I went into a closet and closed the door. Most people would be much better off with a high quality headset with background noise canceling built in like the VOYAGER FOCUS UC. With the headset they need one with a USB dongle or wired as standard Bluetooth cuts out often. If they really don't want to wear a headset I would recommend a teams certified speakerphone.
That was really useful to hear the difference. Thanks. Can you do the same but for cameras too? Be good to know if it’s worth buying an expensive web cam
The bulk of the problems with audio in Teams are to do with the stream rate, not the device quality, Teams as far as I can tell does not give me anyway to adjust the bitrate of the stream allowing it to recover from being downgraded since it is that action which introduces all the noise. Almost every other player allows you to adjust the bitrate, why not Teams?
What is the purpose of the compression? Is it to conserve bandwidth? If so, is it necessary for most people anymore? TH-cam and other video platforms can now stream 4K video. The video portion of this 4K video uses considerably more bandwidth than probably the best quality audio stream. Even video in a 720p video probably uses more bandwidth than the best quality audio stream. It seems that it would be optimal for Microsoft Teams and other platforms that use audio to automatically perform a quick test of each user's Internet connection. If the best quality audio stream can be handled, then that is what the user should get.
I'm not sure of all the nuances of how they landed on this level of compression although I'm sure there was some good rationale. I think especially when you have larger meetings with 10 - 50 people, bandwidth becomes an issue, especially when you have video on and someone is sharing a screen. All-in-all though, this feels like an area of improvement that would have a big impact on the quality of remote work.
It would be nice to have a comparison to a typical headset with an integrated microphone. Bose is not really representative for that and most of us consider a standalone mic coming from a typical headset like the ones from Jabra or Poly, because that’s what most companies hand out to their employees for home office.
I currently teach middle school math with many of the students learning virtually. I use the Jabra Talk 15 Wireless Bluetooth Mono Headset, which I purchased from Walmart.com - www.walmart.com/ip/Jabra-Talk-15-Wireless-Bluetooth-Mono-Headset/673565144 . When I purchased it in January, the price was $20.99, but as of the date of this writing, it has now increased to $31.49, which is still considerably less than any of the microphones that Kevin was using. In addition, it is wireless, so I have the option of moving around the classroom. Compared to the microphone integrated into the Webcam, the Jabra Talk microphone is of much better quality and the students do not complain of audio quality when using it; they do complain about the Webcam mic's quality, though. I do not use it as a headset, as I do not put it in my ear. I tape the headset to my lanyard and use the desktop computer speakers to hear the other participants. If you are producing a podcast, then the more expensive microphones that Kevin reviewed will probably be better. However, for a live meeting, you may want to consider some of the lower-priced options.
Exactly 👍 My recommendation is a mid-tier mic. It'll give you a massive improvement over a built-in mic. Of course, more expensive will likely be better, but the improvement isn't enough to justify the added cost.
Wow! Thanks for the video. I use the Rode NTSB since one year with MS Teams. From the beginning I had the feeling that it's not as good when I record the sound with another tool. I thought I had a wrong setting. But it's just Teams -.-
Hi Kevin, This comparison video very useful. Thanks for making it. I am using JABRA Headset. It sounds Okay but as you mentioned the Senheiser MKH 50 would be better. How about headphones? Did you use your PC's headphone jack for headphones or a Microphone monitor? Which one is suitable for Microsoft Teams and which doesn't cause a sound delay?
Great review. To me it is clear that external microphones are not worth it for Teams. The microphones were great by themselfes, but when put through Teams they lose 80 procent of the sound. On top of that you have to use headphones when you use an external mic with Teams. Definetely not worth the hassel.
The audio of the story telling line in this video was really very good! Not as sibilant as I’ve remarked several times in the past. I bet you’re using that Sennheiser from now on! And you’d be right to do so. Good job! BTW: many people use the RodeCaster Pro for their audio recording. Care to make a video on that?
Thanks for the note Geert! Sure - if I can get my hands on one 😁 For the sound, I also use a de-esser to get rid of the sibilants, a compressor to remove spikes in my voice, and adjust the levels to between -10 and -15dB. I think the resulting output sounds pretty good now.
I started spending money into the microphone but couldn't record the audio of teams to find out how it sounds through teams. I am glad I saw this from buying more expensive microphones
I use a Rode Podmic XLR mic, Brio 4k webcam and AG03 mixer and OBS with a greenscreen. But Teams squeezes my (video) quality hugely. Too bad. Since today my background noisefilter is off.... Good video btw, keep it up!
Great video comparison... Basically what everyone else said in these comments. I have been using a $25 pair of USB Headphones from Logitech. I liked the $100 Rode NT USB mini microphone as well... But then I thought... But what about listening or hearing the audio?? ...Just found on Amazon, Rode will include a pair of headphones for $19 more.
Hey, great video/comparison test Kevin. ...Yes, I totally agree - the *Leap* in quality with the Rode Mini makes it the wise choice, unless you have a big budget. 🙏 Tnxalot, Bobby 👏👏
Very nice video and good for raising the awareness on the issue. Maybe there is room for a part 2 that includes a few certified headsets and some common earplugs, e.g. airpods, Jabra evolve2-65, Poly Voyager etc. A part 3 then could include some of the "pucks". Hey, I could help and co-produce these with you since I have a nice collection of these devices at home. Interested?
Using a USB microphone with Teams is erratic as sometimes the volume gets adjusted to close to 0 and attendees can’t hear you. It’s a bug that MS needs to resolve. Until then the most reliable option is a usb wired headset.
Hey Kevin, really great video! Thank you for all the quick switching between each microphone's sound with and without Teams! Question for you... How much difference would a mid-tier microphone make if I am playing Teams' output through speakers* in my room? Sometimes it seems like Teams tries to prioritize one person's audio over an other's, such that if I am speaking, and someone else is as well, I might not be able to hear them either because... I don't know... I have wondered if perhaps Teams plays them quietly so as to not create a feedback loop and I just don't notice it (I'm a loud talker :P)? Or if it there are bandwidth issues, I thought maybe it switches to half duplex... or maybe Teams just has some sort of audio processor that decides to do it... but I definitely want to avoid that if possible, as we don't typically have cameras on, so I can't tell if someone is trying to talk. I don't like wearing headphones, and other people sound great through my speakers, but I don't know if that plays a much smaller part in this problem when you have a better microphone. Thanks!
I hope you follow this up with a great Bluetooth headset. Ideally i would like it to include the microphone in the test. I currently use an older Plantronics Voyager, but, the microphone sounds bad (according to others on my call). I want to upgrade but would prefer your input. Thanks!
Hey Kevin congratulations you got 550K subscribers 🎉👍👍 good I am so happy❤️❤️from 🇮🇳 India
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Very interesting subject. I would like to see if you have any advice on how to position / setup a Microphone with Teams so the output of the meeting doesn't create feedback or other issues. Also, in you tests with Teams, did you use Teams noice cancelling? Do any of the microphones tested feature noise cancelling?
Could you make an update and also inlude typical cams (Logitech Streamcam and others and also include lower priced (~ 50 dollars) USB mics? Would also be very interesting to compare the sound quality of Zoom, Teams, WebEx and the other options! :-)
Didn’t hear much difference between the two rode mics, which is just as well as I have the mini! Also just bought one of those circular shields to mask the room echoes.
Thank you Kevin for your video and your help ... please someone/Kevin can you give me any advice on how to have two mic in Teams sessions, I mean one mic for the presenter and another one for the audience in the same room?
Teams Low passes everything beyond 10Khz. There's a law of diminishing returns with microphones as a result. I own a Neumann U87 and there is absolutely no difference in discernible audio quality between it and something 1/10th the cost in comparison.
It's funny that you think your laptop mic in this video is the worst audio you've ever heard. That sounds better than every professional headset I have ever used at work. I've tried several that are between $150-400 and they all sound worse in Teams than your built-in mic demo. I've ordered yet-another $200 headset to try to improve it.
I use a Shure SM7B through a Fethead into a Scarlett 2i2 for my livestreams. Sounds mint when streaming or Zoom calls; zerro sound though Teams. I just don't get it.
I've been using AKG earbuds (comes with Samsung S series smartphones) and due to MS Teams compression they sound exactly the same as Sennheiser MKH 50.
Love your videos! I have a question for you. I use an Epos Adapt 560 headset with a Teams dongle. I am having issues with Teams ringing after a Teams call ends.Any tips to fixing the issue? I have friends that work with different companies and headsets and they also have this problem.
Watch next ⏩ A playlist of all Microsoft Teams videos with the top tips & tricks: th-cam.com/play/PLlKpQrBME6xJ4Mxv00syl8iOSgL-GVLMG.html
I could not find a video segment, which would describe HOW can I integrate Outlook inside Teams to email my specific team's members? I'd appreciate the tip. As a program coordinator, I need to email my 130 students. Thank you!
Guys the compression of teams absolutely kills any quality improvements. Don’t waste your money on a amazing mic. This guy doesn’t even talk about teams compression.
This is by far hands down THE BEST review on scenarios using External Mics for conference. When looking for reviews, all the reviews sampled the original audio, which of course sounds good, but none of these reviews included how would they sound when MS teams compress it and plays it back.
One minor ask if I might, in your opinion which one of the bunch would cancel background noise the best?
Sorry to say - I just participated in 3 days of learning with 20 other people in Zoom. Today I participated in a board meeting with 20 people for an hour. I had the best experience in Zoom. Soundquality and ease of use was way better in Zoom. When accidently 2 people speak at the same time in Zoom it was understandable - but in Teams it becomes "blurry". Don't get me wrong - I don't hate Teams - I just wonder why a top dollar firm like microsoft can't make a state of the art program with all that money they got.
The only sound adjustment in Teams is turning a filter on a little or a lot or off!!! And it only picks up channel one of my Focusrite. How on earth am I expected to work with that? I just wonder!
BUT Kevin keep up the good work - I learn so much from your videos.
This is the kind of microphone test that I have been looking for! I hope you can test affordable mics in the future! Thanks, Kevin!
In my home office, the laptop mike is not an option, as I keep my laptop closed, using an external monitor, etc. I used to use the mic in my Logitech webcam, but it sounded too boxy and there was too much room ambience. I've since switched to a $60 USB mic (Fifine), and the improvement was immense. The mic pattern rejects most sounds coming from anywhere other than right in front (like most condenser mics will), and the overall eq is balanced pretty well. As you pointed out, for not too much money, you can make really big improvements. And you don't have to go with big well known brands. Rode makes great stuff, but I suspect that my Fifine is 90% as good for almost half the price.
There's also a comment to be made about background nose. A pair of apple wired earpods are actually amongst one of the best input sources, and that's against professional studio mics at $5000. I'm not saying the two compare in other environments, but in teams, there's little justification to spend more. Close micing will remove background echo and AC noise etc so it's worth looking at as an option.
This is so crucial to have. Thank you for providing this much needed tutorial. If everyone at my work had a rhode microphone that would be epic! :)
The solution is to use Zoom.
Wow. This video is amazing. In my opinion I think the RODE NT-USB was the best when coming to audio quality. I need to get one right away. 5:10 to 5:22 made me laugh a little bit. Great video.
Side note - Congrats on 550K.
So one important point to make about the Bose headphones is that, although the mic is not fantastic, where you are losing the most here is in Windows 10’s handling of Bluetooth headsets, where you can currently choose to get decent input audio quality but not acceptable outport audio quality because of the way that Windows currently handles Bluetooth profiles...which is sub-optimally, which you can prove to yourself and others by running the same headphones (or, say, Airpods) through an Android or iOS of MacOS device that handle the inevitable trade-off differently and, at least for conference calls like these, much more effectively. So at the moment, you are kind of stuck if you are in wireless land unless you can get a headset that has a specialized USB dongle (e.g., some of the Jabra headsets), in which case you can definitely get better quality. A workaround here (especially if you have AirPods) is to run your audio (or your audio and video) through Teams on an iOS device and then log onto the same meeting on Windows to get a bigger screen and more features on the platform. Another solution is to accept that you’ll be “wired” to your PC during a Teams call at your desk because of your mic, but use an iOS or Android device for teams when you can’t stay at your desk. In a year or three, we’ll probably have much better solutions here, but so it goes.
This is the best review I’ve found for WFH setups. There are a lot of mic comparisons, but few that run the audio through teams. Would love to hear the Rode NTG Go II, a newer $100 option run through this test.
It would be nice to not have teams autoadjusting the mic input levels as well. I often talk quite low and teams just put the input to 100 and directly cuts back to about 60-70 which makes my voice fade away like a whisper. Solved it by routing the audio through a virtual soundcard but please MS, let us turn this “feature” off.
OG's know you're a legend! A man in a lifetime! Hat's off Kevin! Tysm! Helps a lot in meetings
The Rode NT USB mini sounded the best for me. Great video again Kevin!!
It doesn't matter if I was first or second but I just click when I see a video from Kevin! I never care about the title or description! The thing is you make my day happy whenever I see your video as Ik I am going to learn something
Agree!
@@HeahMinAn Thanks!
Microsoft needs to fix the sound processing -- that's clear from that video! IMO there was not a meaningful difference of the three "good" mics after the sound went through Teams.
This was a great if brief run-through of microphone use for Teams. It would be nice to do something similar for those are looking for a good podcast microphone.
Would have been interesting trying a dynamic XLR mic…i guess there is so much compression that it could barely differs but would never find out so stick with what you have is the conclusion.
I actually never knew Teams had that background noise suppression. Ive been looking at getting a Blue mini mic for work meetings, thanks Kevin
Blue mini will be a big improvement. Plus, if you need a mic for anything else, you've now got excellent recording quality 👍
Thanks Kevin. I have understand that as the money increases the quality also increases. So Thanks again Kevin the quality in Sennheiser MKH 50 microphone has the best quality. :)
Oh, the irony... Noice!
Thanks for the video. Very interesting to see the difference in audio quality as well as the degredation that Teams has. I'm curious if you are aware of the degredation being the same or better/different when using other videoconference software like Zoom?
The microphone is critical if you are online a lot. Personally, I find the Teams noise suppression makes the audio sound “underwater” - it not ideal.
The Yeti, Snowball, and Snowflake by Blue are ones I’ve really liked. Of course, a $1200 Sennheiser would be nice :)
Dear Kevin. Thank you for the detail and useful explanation. I need your help on how to configure Rode Connect (with Rode NT USB Mini) to TEAMS. How the way we setup and 'connect' between those 2 things (Rode Connect and TEAMS). So we can get better and clearer sound. Thank you so much for the attention and help.
I’m binge watching all your videos. Already seeing a 10x improvement 🙏
Don't want a big table mic or a chunky gamer headset+mic. As a matter of fact I just want better mic audio in conference calls - without having to look like mickey mouse or the hassle of setting up a separate mic. I have no space for that anyhow. I think a lavalier mic is for me. Guess the search continuous. Perhaps you could do a similar test for lav mics? Your production is stellar. Thanks.
0:02 - Hi Kevin! 👋
7:16 - 344th thumbs up from me! 👍
7:30 - Enjoyed it as always! ☺️ Bye and cheers!
There's so many different options available these days. Thanks for your insight!
Nice wrap up with a good cross section of chosen examples. Personally I've made excellent experience with the Saramonic Blink 500 b1 ($~180), which offers a bit more freedom as it works over Wi-Fi. At least when using it with OBS I didn't encounter any noticeable delays. Br, and keep on going
Thank for all this great content, Kevin. Your videos are well done and easy to follow, even for those of us who are technically challenged. Is Microsoft Teams suitable for a virtual conference and would you consider doing a tutorial on the subject?
Way to intro with the perfect Bass Audio to prove your point!!!
You forgot to point out a huge issue with using microphones. They pickup a ton of background noise and echo. As you talked about you have a room with noise dampening equipment, such as foam panels on the wall and plush rugs on the floors. I had a yeti blue and it was awful unless I went into a closet and closed the door. Most people would be much better off with a high quality headset with background noise canceling built in like the VOYAGER FOCUS UC. With the headset they need one with a USB dongle or wired as standard Bluetooth cuts out often. If they really don't want to wear a headset I would recommend a teams certified speakerphone.
That was really useful to hear the difference. Thanks. Can you do the same but for cameras too? Be good to know if it’s worth buying an expensive web cam
The bulk of the problems with audio in Teams are to do with the stream rate, not the device quality, Teams as far as I can tell does not give me anyway to adjust the bitrate of the stream allowing it to recover from being downgraded since it is that action which introduces all the noise. Almost every other player allows you to adjust the bitrate, why not Teams?
What is the purpose of the compression? Is it to conserve bandwidth? If so, is it necessary for most people anymore?
TH-cam and other video platforms can now stream 4K video. The video portion of this 4K video uses considerably more bandwidth than probably the best quality audio stream. Even video in a 720p video probably uses more bandwidth than the best quality audio stream.
It seems that it would be optimal for Microsoft Teams and other platforms that use audio to automatically perform a quick test of each user's Internet connection. If the best quality audio stream can be handled, then that is what the user should get.
I'm not sure of all the nuances of how they landed on this level of compression although I'm sure there was some good rationale. I think especially when you have larger meetings with 10 - 50 people, bandwidth becomes an issue, especially when you have video on and someone is sharing a screen. All-in-all though, this feels like an area of improvement that would have a big impact on the quality of remote work.
Extremely helpful video. Thx a lot!
I'd go for the Rhode NT. To me it had the best sound in Teams (not just compared to the price).
It would be nice to have a comparison to a typical headset with an integrated microphone. Bose is not really representative for that and most of us consider a standalone mic coming from a typical headset like the ones from Jabra or Poly, because that’s what most companies hand out to their employees for home office.
I currently teach middle school math with many of the students learning virtually. I use the Jabra Talk 15 Wireless Bluetooth Mono Headset, which I purchased from Walmart.com - www.walmart.com/ip/Jabra-Talk-15-Wireless-Bluetooth-Mono-Headset/673565144 . When I purchased it in January, the price was $20.99, but as of the date of this writing, it has now increased to $31.49, which is still considerably less than any of the microphones that Kevin was using.
In addition, it is wireless, so I have the option of moving around the classroom.
Compared to the microphone integrated into the Webcam, the Jabra Talk microphone is of much better quality and the students do not complain of audio quality when using it; they do complain about the Webcam mic's quality, though.
I do not use it as a headset, as I do not put it in my ear. I tape the headset to my lanyard and use the desktop computer speakers to hear the other participants.
If you are producing a podcast, then the more expensive microphones that Kevin reviewed will probably be better. However, for a live meeting, you may want to consider some of the lower-priced options.
What a boost of sound compression awareness... Awesome test, thank you.
With a high compression like this, invest with the expensive microphone is not a good choice because it's not different with the medium quality one.
Exactly 👍 My recommendation is a mid-tier mic. It'll give you a massive improvement over a built-in mic. Of course, more expensive will likely be better, but the improvement isn't enough to justify the added cost.
Wow! Thanks for the video. I use the Rode NTSB since one year with MS Teams. From the beginning I had the feeling that it's not as good when I record the sound with another tool. I thought I had a wrong setting. But it's just Teams -.-
Hi Kevin, This comparison video very useful. Thanks for making it.
I am using JABRA Headset. It sounds Okay but as you mentioned the Senheiser MKH 50 would be better.
How about headphones? Did you use your PC's headphone jack for headphones or a Microphone monitor?
Which one is suitable for Microsoft Teams and which doesn't cause a sound delay?
Great review. To me it is clear that external microphones are not worth it for Teams. The microphones were great by themselfes, but when put through Teams they lose 80 procent of the sound. On top of that you have to use headphones when you use an external mic with Teams. Definetely not worth the hassel.
We use a $50 Koss headset with boom mic and it sounds great. Not sure why you had to jump to $100 devices as starting point for good sounding mics?
I think Kevin, like most TH-camrs, has to do honest reviews of what he actually has. I find that entirely reasonable.
This is what I have on hand... I'll have to pick up more mics to expand my coverage 😁
The audio of the story telling line in this video was really very good! Not as sibilant as I’ve remarked several times in the past.
I bet you’re using that Sennheiser from now on! And you’d be right to do so.
Good job!
BTW: many people use the RodeCaster Pro for their audio recording. Care to make a video on that?
Thanks for the note Geert! Sure - if I can get my hands on one 😁 For the sound, I also use a de-esser to get rid of the sibilants, a compressor to remove spikes in my voice, and adjust the levels to between -10 and -15dB. I think the resulting output sounds pretty good now.
@@KevinStratvert absolutely, the audio sounds super great, now. Good job! Only adds to the quality of your channel. :-)
Very well explained 👏🏻
Thank you for the video!
What about microphones for a conference room using Teams?
I started spending money into the microphone but couldn't record the audio of teams to find out how it sounds through teams. I am glad I saw this from buying more expensive microphones
I use a Rode Podmic XLR mic, Brio 4k webcam and AG03 mixer and OBS with a greenscreen. But Teams squeezes my (video) quality hugely. Too bad. Since today my background noisefilter is off.... Good video btw, keep it up!
Great video comparison...
Basically what everyone else said in these comments.
I have been using a $25 pair of USB Headphones from Logitech.
I liked the $100 Rode NT USB mini microphone as well...
But then I thought... But what about listening or hearing the audio??
...Just found on Amazon, Rode will include a pair of headphones for $19 more.
I use a Plantronics headset, about 40 GBP, and it sound great. Did you do a video covering headsets already?
Hey, great video/comparison test Kevin. ...Yes, I totally agree - the *Leap* in quality with the Rode Mini makes it the wise choice, unless you have a big budget. 🙏 Tnxalot, Bobby 👏👏
Hi Kevin, I like your desktop backgrounds, so can you tell from where do you get these backgrounds.
I use stock images from PowerPoint. There are lots of excellent ones available.
Good video I thought the best balance was the Rode NT-USB Mini.
What about Teams on a Macbook? In my experience that is, hands down, the best experience.
Just what I needed... Thank you
Testing testing one two three..
That just got stuck in my mind..
That's how it was done in analog systems. With digital we now use "testing, testing, zero, one, zero, one".
SCNR ;-)))))))))
I think you should test AirPod ... it is practical and everybody has it or similar to it
Very nice video and good for raising the awareness on the issue.
Maybe there is room for a part 2 that includes a few certified headsets and some common earplugs, e.g. airpods, Jabra evolve2-65, Poly Voyager etc. A part 3 then could include some of the "pucks".
Hey, I could help and co-produce these with you since I have a nice collection of these devices at home. Interested?
Using a USB microphone with Teams is erratic as sometimes the volume gets adjusted to close to 0 and attendees can’t hear you. It’s a bug that MS needs to resolve. Until then the most reliable option is a usb wired headset.
I have not experienced this. Can you verify it with more than one Teams setup?
Kevin, I appreciate the information you provide. Thank You!
great video. what mic dd you use to record this video?
Good review. What about Hyperx Quadcast? It's a pity that Microsoft Teams degrade the sound. Is there any possibility to do not degradate it?
Hey Kevin, really great video! Thank you for all the quick switching between each microphone's sound with and without Teams!
Question for you... How much difference would a mid-tier microphone make if I am playing Teams' output through speakers* in my room? Sometimes it seems like Teams tries to prioritize one person's audio over an other's, such that if I am speaking, and someone else is as well, I might not be able to hear them either because... I don't know... I have wondered if perhaps Teams plays them quietly so as to not create a feedback loop and I just don't notice it (I'm a loud talker :P)? Or if it there are bandwidth issues, I thought maybe it switches to half duplex... or maybe Teams just has some sort of audio processor that decides to do it... but I definitely want to avoid that if possible, as we don't typically have cameras on, so I can't tell if someone is trying to talk.
I don't like wearing headphones, and other people sound great through my speakers, but I don't know if that plays a much smaller part in this problem when you have a better microphone.
Thanks!
Thank you for this comparison!
I find most of my co-workers and myself use USB headsets. Any chance you could do a video on best headsets and maybe external cameras?
Thanks for the suggestion! I've added this to my list. Stay tuned. Cheers!
I hope you follow this up with a great Bluetooth headset.
Ideally i would like it to include the microphone in the test. I currently use an older Plantronics Voyager, but, the microphone sounds bad (according to others on my call). I want to upgrade but would prefer your input.
Thanks!
I don't think the microphone is my problem - when I play a video, I have to mute myself or there is an echo. I can't figure out why.
well u realy hv gud presentation skills
Thanks a lot 😊
Hey Kevin congratulations you got 550K subscribers 🎉👍👍 good I am so happy❤️❤️from 🇮🇳 India
Very interesting subject.
I would like to see if you have any advice on how to position / setup a Microphone with Teams so the output of the meeting doesn't create feedback or other issues.
Also, in you tests with Teams, did you use Teams noice cancelling? Do any of the microphones tested feature noise cancelling?
I cant find the noise suppression option in the settings - devices 😔 Anyone know why? (Company computer)
That's an awesome videos, can you teach Excel macro or VBA in the future
Thanks for the suggestion! Here's a basic video on recording macros: th-cam.com/video/uyj_OljPlcU/w-d-xo.html I'll cover VBA coding soon!
Great review !
Great video!! Can you please review the Shure mv7 please? I’m looking to purchase it or the Rode NT-USB. Thank you
Could you make an update and also inlude typical cams (Logitech Streamcam and others and also include lower priced (~ 50 dollars) USB mics? Would also be very interesting to compare the sound quality of Zoom, Teams, WebEx and the other options! :-)
When I clicked the video... I saw the thumbnail...
Me: OH ANOTHER THING I CANT AFFORD, LETS WATCH IT!
I would say the Rode Mini was the best
02:21 laptop microphone
02:49 bose headset
03:12 mini microphone
04:10 microphone rode
04:24 sennheizer
05:10 tests
Didn’t hear much difference between the two rode mics, which is just as well as I have the mini! Also just bought one of those circular shields to mask the room echoes.
Nice! The circular shield should help considerably with the audio quality.
Do you have wireless ones to do Teams on iPad? I am looking for for wireless microphone and wireless earbuds. Bluetooth connection.
Thank you Kevin for your video and your help ... please someone/Kevin can you give me any advice on how to have two mic in Teams sessions, I mean one mic for the presenter and another one for the audience in the same room?
Does audio quality turns out better if we turn off the noise cancellation setting in Teams ?
Turning Off noise suppression helps if you have a studio quality mic?
I wonder if we can get Teams to not compress so much or get it to sound better. Even the pricey mic it muddies the sound.
Kevin, What mic you use ?
Teams Low passes everything beyond 10Khz. There's a law of diminishing returns with microphones as a result. I own a Neumann U87 and there is absolutely no difference in discernible audio quality between it and something 1/10th the cost in comparison.
Great to know. Can you make a video on microphones and Zoom as well?
Sure! I'll add to my list.
Excellent video ! Thanx !
Many thanks!
Great job man!
It's funny that you think your laptop mic in this video is the worst audio you've ever heard. That sounds better than every professional headset I have ever used at work. I've tried several that are between $150-400 and they all sound worse in Teams than your built-in mic demo. I've ordered yet-another $200 headset to try to improve it.
Shame you didn't include a Jabra 510 or similar
Does a standalone mic not cause echo? How do you make it work well with a speaker?
My microphone work perfectly on discord and other apps , I sound like a radio presenter, but teams make my voice horrible, what can I do ?
I use a Shure SM7B through a Fethead into a Scarlett 2i2 for my livestreams. Sounds mint when streaming or Zoom calls; zerro sound though Teams. I just don't get it.
I've been using AKG earbuds (comes with Samsung S series smartphones) and due to MS Teams compression they sound exactly the same as Sennheiser MKH 50.
Where all these test done with plug and play in mind or was there any presets or audio adjust?
Please make a tutorial on how to use Xcode
Thanks for the suggestion! I've added this to my list. Stay tuned. Cheers!
Awesome video. Many Thanks..!!!
Love your videos! I have a question for you. I use an Epos Adapt 560 headset with a Teams dongle. I am having issues with Teams ringing after a Teams call ends.Any tips to fixing the issue?
I have friends that work with different companies and headsets and they also have this problem.
Weren’t you on 500K just two weeks ago?