What's the best microphone to attach to a computer for doing Skype calls in a conference room?

The blue yeti is amazing. I picked one up a few months ago to do podcasts but it has settings for omni directional pickup which you can sit in the middle of a room and get even sound form everyone around the table. Some of the guests on TWiT also use the yeti.

bluemic.com/yeti.

This is a matter of how much money you want to spend. The more expensive a microphone is the better quality you are going to get. This theory is not a 100% accurate, but you can still use it as a guideline.So instead of implying my favorite brand on you, I will let you decide for yourself which of the many posted here that you like.

I guess I could go through and list all the microphones that I think are good, but this is not the reason I answered. Really I just wanted to say that what you suggested about running four microphones through a soundboard is certainly your best bet. This will make everything a lot clearer, without making things complicated.

You don't really need studio quality for this, you just wanna make it a little clearer. Professional audio equipment is obviously gonna give you the best sound, but you don't really need THAT much of an improvement. Your most likely the richest member of mahalo, but still I don't want you to waste money.

So I would suggest running through a sound board after buying four decent computer microphones. Even if they are not top of the line this will immediately get rid of the underwater sound.

There is a nice audio demonstration at ClearOne (second link below) which shows how audio teleconferencing performance depends on: 1. Whether the connection is half or full duplex 2. Has single or distributed echo cancellation 3.

Has automatic microphone activation 4. Has noise cancellation 5. Room design considerations, such as acoustical treatment of wall surfaces 6.

And microphone placement. The best system would be full duplex and where each participant has his/her own mic with all of the above features of echo cancellation, automatic activation and noise cancellation in a properly acoustically treated conference room. If you don't want to give each participant their own microphone, there are also such things as electronically steerable microphone arrays such as this really cool mic!Duenhsiyen.

I work as an AV tech at a conference center; I have used ClearOne for a lot of analog conferencing and I think the Chat160 might be a good option to check out. You can attach two pods to the same system daisy chain via USB. I have never used the Chat 160 personally but I have used the MaxEX, the XAP series and Converge.

I absolutely love the Max series and would choose them over Polycom any day. They have better speaker, mics, controls and the call quality is crystal clear. If the Chat is anything like their other products it should work perfectly for you, look much more professional than mics going to an analog board.

http://www.clearone.com/chatattach160-skype-group-speakerphone.html You can also try it for 30 days http://www.clearone.com/TryBUY.

Yes, multiple microphones would be a better idea. If you want to hear something funny, read this out loud. I decided, after a long hiatus, to do radio voiceovers after I got an invitation from radiodaddy.com clear out of the blue one day.

I had no equipment, but the chance to get back into radio was irresistible I've attached two. The first was done impulsively with whatever I had--one of those little mics that have the clip on the back--a condenser mic. I'm the guy who's "Rockin" The Port City and Beyond" for Green Zone Radio...I didn't put two and two together until I heard this on-air clip--and got this e-mail.

I was on Armed Forces Radio in Baghdad...apparently many, many times! (I traced it--it was legit. ) "SIR, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE... ALL THE WAY FROM BAGHDAD, IRAQ TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS" ELIJAH CUMMINGS GREEN ZONE RADIO BAGHDAD, IRAQ U.S.FORCES" So now I'm hooked.

I'd known for the longest time that the human ear can only hear 20/20, or 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, and anything outside that is a waste. A friend wanted to do an internet radio show and spent hundreds on Electro-Voice microphones--only to have to dial-in to either blogtalkradio or talkshoe. A phone line brings the sound to something like 100Hz to 8000Hz--you lose the high and low end.

He didn't take my advice: do what I did. Go to your local Radio Shack (or now just look online). You want a mic that will deliver at maximum 20/20.

Fifty bucks, max. Get 7" stands for each one. Get yourself a mixer, too. I got a Karaoke Preamp they had on sale--a little gray box with two 1/4" mic inputs and two knobs--I'm one person so it was perfect.

.(It also has phono inputs on the back--excellent for dumping the on-air cassettes from the early 90s to my computer. ) Right into the "mic" input on my computer. They don't carry it anymore.

Clip 2 is what I sounded like just a few weeks later--unprocessed.. Put it up against the pro voiceover artist in clip #3--a guy who regularly works in Hollywood and does voiceovers like this one in his home studio for a living (it's a hobby for me at this point)...can you tell the difference? Links for products in sources. You might want to go with a mixer (the 4-input, rack-mount ones, pictured, that are identical to the ones we used on my live-remote shows almost 20 years ago, are $99) and a few condenser mics that don't pick up too much background noise.

But don't spend a ton on them. My mic is uni-directional--it only picks up sounds pointed at it, like my voice. You'll need omni-directional, which pick up sound from every angle.

The pictured ones are ten bucks each. You might also consider deadening the ambient sound somehow--if it's a room with all hard, solid surfaces you'll get an echo no matter what you do, and everyone has to be looking directly at the mic or it won't pick them up clearly. A windscreen will cut some background noise and also prevent pops on the other end.

They're $5.39 each.(I couldn't find a model number on my mic, but I'm pretty sure it's their generic "Unidirectional Dynamic Microphone," $24.99, whose tech specs say this: " When you wanna be heard. Specially engineered for vocalists and announcers, this microphone allows for more distance between the mic and the sound source while reducing distortion. * 60-16,000Hz response for increased sensitivity to varying frequencies * Unidirectional moving coil dynamic * 12-foot cable with 1/4" plug" It has a pro look, feel and weight, and it's definitely not a "Mr. Microphone.

" The 60/16 is OK because I can't make noises high enough only a dog can hear them, and my voice is not below 60 Hz. ) The good thing about this setup is that it's movable--remember I said we did live remotes with one of these. You don't HAVE to rack-mount the mixer.

If you do want to, get a small rack--I got one on eBay for about $40 for my own components. It's the size of a carry-on suitcase.So for $99, plus $40 for mics, lets round up to $24 for windscreens, I think the 7" stands were something like ten bucks each...ballpark $200 and you 10 sound smooth as silk on the other end. I've previously been able to give broadcast-quality audio via Skype when talking to family in Europe.

I have yet to hook the entire contraption up to my new computer.

Leo Laporte used to always recommend Blue Microphone's Snowball. It's a prosumer-quality USB microphone with directional and omnidirectional modes which works pretty darn well. If you're wanting a quick and easy solution, it'll definitely help, and be leaps above what you've got inside of that iMac.

However, people further away from the mic are still going to need to speak up, which is of course tackled with a multi-mic and board setup. Either way, at $99, it's worth trying out to see if a simple, but decent omnidirectional microphone can take care of your worries.

Lots of great suggestions here. Sure you CAN use multiple mics and in a production situation this is probably how it would be done. But then you may need to have someone assist which can be cumbersome.

You may want to balance quality over usability in such a situation. A dedicated conference device is likely a good option. If you can only have ONE mic in a room on a conference table and you want a semi-professional solution the best option is probably a PZM or boundary mic.

This is the most common microphone used for conference situations. A typical one will be mounted on a flat surface and can even be ceiling mounted. They offer great noise cancellation yet pick up sound from all directions and can easily be part of an in room installation.

They also don't look like a typical microphone which some people can find intimidating. In addition you'll likely want a simple mic pre-amp with a USB interface such as the M-audio MobilePre. Most basic pre-amps have two channels so you can even use two mics and place one at each end of the table.

This is a very common conference option. No mater how good your equipment is most conference calls are going to have that "under water" sound especially with several people on the line. (This is due to the way digital audio is compressed over a phone line).

To minimize this make sure that other callers mute their line when not speaking.

I'd recommend the Samson C03U, it's a studio quality USB condenser microphone and it can pick up sounds from all directions in its omnidirectional mode. So you could literally plug and play it into your iMac and then set it up in the middle of the table. And since it's studio quality the audio sounds great.

And it's a steal for around $120.

We use a number of these: phnxaudio.com/index.php?option=com_djcat... Small enough to travel with, USB bus powered.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.