There is nothing more disruptive than bad audio during a Zoom meeting.
Most of us can put up with low res video and even the momentary freezing, but if someone
says to you, You need to fix your sound.
It’s time to sort it out.
In this video I will help save the embarrassment of having poor audio by connecting an economical
USB microphone.
I will step you through the best Zoom settings and show you how to set up the mic on a boom
stand.
G’day, my name is Gary and I'm using the K669 USB microphone by fifine technologies.
They were kind enough to send me this mic to review without any expense to me.
They haven’t paid me but it has given me the opportunity to demonstrate how the mic
is used and I’ll sum up my conclusions later in the video.
First things first: -To connect a USB microphone to your laptop
or computer you simply plug it into a convenient USB socket.
To connect it to a mobile device you will also need an adapter, but more on that later.
The computer should recognize the device as a PnP audio device and set it up so you have
the option to select it.
If for some reason your computer has not recognized the new mic you will need to use the instructions
to set it up manually and I’m happy to answer your questions in the comments section.
-There are two ways to access the audio settings within the PC version of the Zoom application.
1- by logging into your personal zoom account using your username and password.
Make sure you have the Home page visible.
then select the settings icon.
I recommend setting up a free personal account so you have easy access to all your video
and audio settings without having to join a meeting.
The other method is: 2- Once you have joined a meeting, opening
audio settings via the menu arrow next to the audio button.
With the audio settings menu selected, choose the PnP audio device.
I recommend engaging the automatic level control.
This gives the app control over the sensitivity of your microphone so that others in the meeting
can hear each other at a consistent level.
A setting that may help to improve the quality of your audio if you’re in a quiet room
is to disable the Auto noise cancellation or maybe set it to low.
The higher this setting is the more permission you give the app to cancel what it thinks
is unnecessary noise and it will use more processor power.
If you have a budget computer it will need all the processing power it can get to stream
your audio and video data.
-Now you are set up ready to go.
Before you commit yourself to participation in the meeting it is always a good plan to
get some feedback from other participants to check they can hear you clearly.
-To connect your USB microphone to a mobile phone or tablet you will need the correct
adapter to join the USB plug to the device.
For iPhone and iPad you will need the apple camera adapter.
This smart adapter will correctly interface the mic digitally.
Cheaper non-apple adapters may not work.
-You're not limited to using this type of mic on a desk stand.
It can be mounted on a more versatile boom stand.
Let me show you how it is done.
I like to disassemble the parts first.
Prepare the boom stand with any thread adapters that are needed.
Screw on the ring mount. Set it at the correct angle.
Assemble the mic into the ring mount.
Then make sure the mic is facing toward you.
What are my conclusions about the K669USB microphone by fifine technology?
Using my “Basic” check points list to sum up it’s performance I found this little
mike performed very well, considering the price bracket it’s in.
The build quality is solid.
The case is made of metal and even though there are some plastic fittings on the tripod
they’re robust enough for everyday use.
The allround performance is acceptable for speech and comparing recordings with Rode’s
NT-USB and the fifine 669, the depth of the sound was a little thinner.
But considering the reason why most people would be buying this mike it was acceptable.
The simplicity of use was great.
I just plugged in to the PC and the mobile with the correct adapter and it worked out
of the box.
I did notice that there was some information in the instructions if I had problems but
with the latest version of Windows 10 and an updated iOS on the mobile it worked without
any issues.
Investment cost: Compared to the price you would be paying for some of the popular microphones
like Rode, Blue, Audio-technica and Apogee- at US$39 it’s good value.
Conclusion: The fifine 669 is a good economical USB mic for general use.
It does have some limitations though.
The mic doesn’t have a headphone output or a replaceable usb cable if you want a longer
cable.
There are more expensive models with these extra features but for the price, it's not
bad at all.
If you have any questions about the gear I have used in this video check out the links
in the description and type your questions or comments in the section below.
I’ve created other videos related to using a USB microphones with an iPad so feel free
to check it out.
Until next time, I will catch you later.