Sorry, not DIY, but help appreciated...
Can anyone suggest why my new (and excellent on the video side) Logitech webcam should give me horribly boxy and bass-heavy sound, and why the separate microphone I obtained to get round the problem should sound exactly the same, but my old, lower-then-bargain basement i.t.works webcam (hopeless visually) produces beautiful clear, clean, crisp sound?
This is on a Windows 7 desktop PC. Thanks.
Doesn't really help you, but I purchased an external Behringer USB audio device with mic pre-amp and XLR connectors and a largish condenser mic (supplied with phantom power from the audio interface) and everyone told me I was very quiet using that on conference calls, I felt like I was having to "eat" the mic to be heard, or talk much louder than I am generally comfortable with.
Later I bought a Logitech USB webcam HDPro C920 (perhaps the same as yours?) which I was expecting to use for camera only, but I did try the audio from the webcam and that seems great, I no longer have any complaints from people when I use it, so it's now my preferred audio device.
No help either, but I bought an excellent HD webcam last year, and the audio is atrocious. I have to use my headset as well as the camera.
Bearing in mind there presumably has to be some sort of de-echoing facility to prevent the microphone from picking up the speakers, I wonder if it's just not meant to be ?
I'm familiar with the the basic mixer which controls the volume settings on individual devices (input or output as required) but I don't know of anything more sophisticated that that.
That will depend on what application you are using for video chat, Wechat uses noise cancelling of simultaneous sounds within a very small time window.
If you download the Zoom app, in settings there is a test page for both audio and mic. It can record your mic and play it back to you - so should give an idea what it sounds like to others.
Possibly, thanks. I'll have a search around and see if I can find something similar.
Mainly Zoom with occasional Skype.
Wish I knew the answer. Use Zoom quite a bit, and there seems no common factor in who sounds OK and who doesn't. Although those using a decent headset seem to sound best.
Dunno Win7 now, but on Win10 you could select the video from your new camera, and the audio from your old.
Both Zoom and Skype allow that when running under Win7, but I don't know of an actual Windows setting which permits it. I've been looking around for a mixer program which could be put across the mic input but had no luck so far.
Mic output I meant, of course. Apologies.
I'm always wearing headphones when using the webcam for audio, so no feedback or echo cancellation necessary.
All I know is the sound from the webcam mic is unusable. No matter what I do.
Just thinking about it, it's interesting that in the past Zoomy year on TV, it's not been the picture quality that's jumped out, but the sound quality. Specifically trying to get all feeds to have some sort of consistent profile.
The very first HIGNY by zoom clearly had some issue where switching to different speakers made the sound jump all over the place. However it's also clear in subsequent episodes and other programmes they got a handle on it.
Because it's expecting to drive tiny little loudspeakers which produce hardly any bass? Maybe? :-)
Zoom has a checkbox for 'disable Windows ducking', which might be relevant.
Where is this? I have the latest version of Zoom but can't find any such option. Thanks.
There's a difference between introducing a bit of bass boost and the dreadful sound I'm hearing.
I just found this YouTube review of the Logitech C920 and the reviewer reports an audio problem ("as usual with Logitech webcams"). Watch and listen from 3 mins 30 secs.
There are four qualities of audio in that video
start to 03:41 from an unknown mic while the logitech is unplugged and in shot, (clipping, with large amounts of treble and sibilance) like I'd expect a cheapo headset to sound?
03:42 to 04:18 From the logitech USB, which makes the room sound hollow, wouldn't say it was bass boomy though.04:19 to 04:57 still from the logitech USB? but using different software package? bass sounds better, but he's closer to the camera/mic (though he does say he zoomed in so maybe not) is there actually less background noise, or is the extra software removing it somehow?
04:59 to end usingthe USB condenser mic, sounds best, personally I don't particularly want a condenser mic in front of my face when I'm on a conference call, I'm not some US talk show host, I'm not giving a presentation, I want the mic to do the work and pick my voice up, I don't want to have to obviously "project" into the mic like a performer, I'm only talking to colleagues.I do agree with what he says about the lens being extremely wide and having good HD video quality.
If you want a physical privacy shutter for the logitech, I found this one is good.
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