Lapel mic that eliminates background noise?

[MartinJ44]

Hi, I would like to buy a microphone:
- for spoken word in not very acoustic-friend
- that can eliminate background noise (people in other rooms)
- that will look "professional" and won't make me look like some livestreamer (cause I'm gonna be using it for work calls with higher-ups)

Is there a lapel microphone that would fit these requirements?
For example, I've seen that DJI Mic Mini has some background noise canceling although I have no idea how good it is (compared to "dynamic streamer microphones").

Can somebody please help me with this?
Am I looking for some unreal unicorn and instead should be looking for some other type of mic?
Thanks.

 

[Koeitje]

NVIDIA has tech to filter out that noise I believe. Look into that?

NVIDIA RTX Voice: Setup Guide

A quick-start guide to installing and using RTX Voice beta, NVIDIA's background noise removal plugin.

www.nvidia.com

 

[rationaltime]

Another name for that is "lavalier" microphone.
Though I don't have one Shure is a safe choice.

The thing is those lavalier mics are often used in quiet environments.
The best way to minimize the background noise is to increase the
desired signal. A headset boom mic puts the mic closer to the source.
You might consider that.

 

[ChrisG]

Lav mics are usually omnidirectional or cardioid. The former will pick up sound from everywhere, so avoid those. The cardioid pattern will help a little, but if you've got it pointing upwards towards your mouth, the side rejection will be around 6dB. Not great, and that's assuming a perfect polar pattern. Tiny mics like these rarely achieve that, which leaves the background noise sounding coloured and weird. IMO, neither is a great option.

The biggest improvement you can make is to improve the acoustic signal-to-noise ratio. The loudest sound at the mic wins, so move the mic closer to your mouth. You could go with a headset, or a more conventional mic placed as close as you can get away with (does it need to be out of the video frame?).

NB: while software can/will help to reduce the background noise, it's better not to rely entirely on it. The less work the software has to do, the better the results.


I also think it's worth considering how you'll be hearing the other people in the work calls. I wouldn't recommend putting them through speakers if you have a mic connected: they'll likely hear an echo of what they've said coming back via your mic. A headset fixes this immediately.

Finally, I'll note that if you're planning on using a mic on a stand, then your mic technique will be very important. If you turn your head away from the mic, the level will drop considerably etc etc.

My recommendations, in order of preference, would be:
- A decent headset
- An okay headset
- Schoeps MK41+CMC1U
- Beyer M201

The latter two will need an audio interface, and the Schoeps will need +48V phantom to be supplied by the interface.


Chris

 

[unpluggged]

Hollyland is known for good active noise cancelling in their wireless mics like the Lark 150 (long before DJI included it in their wireless systems). The latest and the least intrusive-looking from them is the Lark M2s.

 

[digitalfrost]

If you don't want to use a headset, your best bet will be a dynamic microphone that is as close to to your mouth as possible. But even then, you will require some kind of noisegate probably, either in software or in a hardware device. Do you have admin rights on the PC you connect it to, to configure and install any of these things, or is it a company machine where you can do nothing?

And it would help to know your budget.

 

[eric-c]

If you don't mind a small boom ear piece. Then the poly/plantronics voyager legend is an excellent noise canceling mic. Been using them for years. It's bluetooth though. Agree with other posters on external dynamic mics. They need to be real close to your mouth to sound good otherwise it will sound like the (bad) acoustics of your room.

 

[EERecordist]

As others have said, the closer the microphone to your voice, the further it is from noise. It is not for everyone, but you can mic the noise and mix it in out of phase.

This is a question faced by "location sound" recorders - where to place small microphones to pick up voice. So you can search for location sound lavalier placement.

They would look very professional attached to a shirt collar or near the top button.

They are also hidden under hat brims, on eyeglass frames, in or in hair.

Maybe you can get work to pay for it - the top of the line and tiny is the DPA 6060 series. Bigger and slightly better is the DPA 4060 series. Countryman is much more inexpensive and very small. The Japanese company Sanken is respected, and some people like Tram which has a different shape. Sennheiser and Shure have products, no Idea the different models.

Point Source Audio has a close to the ear microphone, I have not heard reviews.

Some come in different sensitivities.

There small microphones have a field effect transistor in the microphone head as an impedance buffer. Each microphone is different needing about 3-6 volts, and all the connectors are different on where the power Volts and signal connects. Look into an XLR phantom adaptor and plug that into your phantom power source.

The choice of microphone depends on where you mount it and your individual voice. Curtis Judd on YouTube auditions microphones and discusses placement.

As others have said the miniature booms, and DPA makes those which are excellent. If you are in a big city, you could probably pay a small fee to audition microphones from location recorders, musical/opera presenters, or find people in broadcast TV. Or buy, test, and return.

DPA was used for the Game of Thrones, and is exclusively used by location recording sound engineer Simon Hayes who has a YouTube. For DPA you want the CORE or CORE+.

 

[DVDdoug]

If you don't want to use a headset, your best bet will be a dynamic microphone

People THINK dynamic mics pick-up less noise than condensers because they are 20-30dB less sensitive. Mics are linear. You get less noise AND less signal with no effect on the acoustic signal-to-noise ratio. Once you amplify to the same volume, the noise is the same.

The hotter condenser mic gives a stronger signal for a better electrical signal-to-noise ratio, helping to overcome preamp noise.

Condenser mics are also usually better at picking-up higher frequencies and that can also give an impression of more noise but you can adjust-down the highs with EQ if you don't mind (or if you like) the change in sound.

A lot of audio interfaces don't have enough gain for dynamic mics unless you're recording something loud like a drum or guitar amplifier. Some people use a Cloudlifter (a pre-preamplifier) to get enough signal.

 

[AnalogSteph]

People THINK dynamic mics pick-up less noise than condensers because they are 20-30dB less sensitive.

I mean, the usual dynamic vocal mic is also going to be tuned for a roughly 2" speaking distance, unlike your average side-address condenser (although condenser vocal mics with similar tuning do absolutely exist and are a staple in live performance). So by virtue of sounding pretty naff at distance (*), they pretty much force you to get close, improving signal to (ambient) noise ratio along the way. And then people say dynamics keep the room noise out much better. Well, duh.

*) With proximity effect out of the way, the low end is quite underrepresented, and with 1" or larger transducers they're also quite directional in the treble, not to mention rarely the most even or present in the upper treble in particular. So the rest is quite dull and mic-centric, and then you get to worry about electronic noise levels as well.

 

[ChrisG]

People THINK dynamic mics pick-up less noise than condensers because they are 20-30dB less sensitive. Mics are linear. You get less noise AND less signal with no effect on the acoustic signal-to-noise ratio. Once you amplify to the same volume, the noise is the same.

Your assumption here is that the mic polar patterns are identical.

This is not the case: dynamic mics typically deviate (narrow) from their nominal pattern as the wavelengths get small, while a good condenser (like the Schoeps I mentioned earlier) will retain its pattern all the way up.
The narrowing directivity will help to reduce extraneous noise further.