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I do the exact opposite. I use an EV ND96 for videoconferencing at work because I have a loud cat and live next to the train tracks and thus need something with

I do the exact opposite. I use an EV ND96 for videoconferencing at work because I have a loud cat and live next to the train tracks and thus need something with a tight pattern. I tend to eat the mic so I've always had a bit of the "voice of God" thing going with the proximity effect bit after enough people said they were impressed with my "radio voice" I took it a step further. I now goose the lows a bit, gate enough to reduce breath noise, and apply a moderate amount of compression using my interface's DSP. People seem to love the way it sounds and it nicely complements my midrange-heavy voice. You gotta give the people what they want and a guy half-whispering into a condenser sideways just ain't it :-) (at least in my case).

mulmen 4y ago
This is the remote work equivalent of taking a pill to make yourself a 6 foot tall white guy.
- jagged-chisel 4y ago
  Except the pill doesn’t work. No one can observe that the intended digital effect isn’t true to life.
  - mulmen 4y ago
    Wouldn’t that be the pill working?
_rs 4y ago
Curious, which interface do you use and how do you apply the effects? I’ve done this with varying degrees of success but always ends up introducing too much latency
- alexjplant 4y ago
  I use a MOTU [1] which runs this stuff on its own DSP and is configurable from a desktop app. You could also use a hardware solution in the form of a channel strip but decent ones start approaching a mid-range interface like my MOTU in price so the value proposition is dicey at best IMHO. At one point I had the wild idea of building a Series 500 chassis with discrete signal processors instead but shelling out $1500 for such only for _videoconferencing_ (and occasional recording) would have been completely irresponsible. [1] https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Ultralite5--motu-ultralite-mk5-18x22-usb-audio-interface https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Ultralite5--motu-ult...
  - _rs 4y ago
    Ah ok. I have an interface I really like already, was hoping there might be a software solution that doesn’t add so much latency. Thanks for the link though
    - ace2358 4y ago
      As a music producer where is all the latency coming from? I can run my daw with <10ms latency with a few simple effects on it. What software are you using / what workflow?
      - TylerE 4y ago
        Generally USB lag, plus the OS not running in real time mode, like using bog standard Windows Audio instead of ASIO
    - vintagedave 4y ago
      I was hoping for software too. Mostly because I don't have the understanding for a hardware tool like that: I have a decent-ish low-end mic (Blue Yeti, a USB mic) and was hoping for a software tool to run to achieve the same result.
  - MartijnBraam 4y ago
    I went with 19" rack gear [1] instead of Series 500. As mic I use an SM57 which is fed into a DBX 286 compressor/de-esser/gate/enhancer and that signal is going to the videoconferencing application and is looped back into my headphones. The neat thing about the 286 is that it's fully analog so I can still hear myself with zero latency. For the return signal from the videoconference I have a seperate audio interface that feeds into a Behringer Autocomp to compress practically all the dynamic range out of it and then it's going to a t.c. electric finalizer to do some multiband compression which fixes most midrange heavy gaming headsets. This gear also has a dual purpose as outboard gear for audio production stuffs though, it's not just for the video conferencing. [1] https://i.imgur.com/cpyASMz.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cpyASMz.jpg
gcr 4y ago
Fella after my own heart. On all my video calls in 2020, I had a Zoom H1 with a fuzzy pop shield feeding into a simple USB interface on a rickety tripod. Even with this simple setup without bells+whistles, I got so many compliments on how great my voice sounded.
JohnBooty 4y ago
I love this. Regardless of the exact tack taken, everybody who videoconferences for work should invest some time in maxxing out their voice and appearance as much as possible. At the simplest, this could be a $35 external webcam and a lamp or ring light to give yourself the most flattering possible angle. Or even spending $0 and just rearranging your existing setup. Love it, hate it, or otherwise... I look like a sack of potatoes so it brings me no joy to say this but, it's reality. The way you look and sound has an influence on how you and your ideas will be perceived by others. Might as well spend some time and (perhaps) a few dollars on it because it's ingrained deep in our biology for better or worse. The good news is remote work has leveled the playing field quite a bit here. It's far less work than looking and sounding great in person.
- dylan604 4y ago
  I hate video conferencing so much I want them to prefer my camera is off. Off is the default state of my camera, and if they ask me to turn it on, all that will be visible is an extreme closeup of a piece of tape. Expecting me to spruce up beyond what I would ordinarily look like in person is just ludicrous. This isn't instagram, and i'm not trying to gain any followers from a work call. I'll just chalk this one up as another thing I can blame on the unrealistic expectations people have come to think is required because of the influence they've allowed social media to have over them.
  - zrobotics 4y ago
    Hate to say it, but this isn't a social media thing or even new. How you look and sound greatly affects how people perceive your ideas. The parent comment had some good advice, making yourself look better does have an impact. Human psychology being what it is, it's futile to expect that people will just ignore the presentation and solely focus on the content. Plus, if everyone is stuck in a zoom call then they don't want to have to stare at the most unflattering angle possible. I'm certainly not the best looking person, but adding an external webcam from a different angle definitely was noticed by coworkers in a positive way. I end up in a ton of marketing calls, and often I have to be the engineering voice that speaks up to say 'we can't do it that way, here is an alternative'. Since paying attention to my camera setup, my warnings get taken more seriously and have more attention paid to them. Nobody is expecting you to look like a model or do a photo shoot, but spending a little bit of time improving camera angle, lighting, and mic really does pay off. No photographer takes low angle shots of close up faces since it's generally very unflattering, but that's the typical setup for a laptop on a desk. Just buying a cheap desk mic and a external webcam really will level up your presence in meetings. Don't think of it as Instagram bullshit, look at it as a way to use your tech skills to lifehack having a better interpersonal presence than you might have in person. Seriously, for ~$100 you can have a nicer camera and mic than 90% of everyone else, and having those things makes people treat you more seriously.
sundvor 4y ago
I love my NVIDIA Broadcast (3070 GPU) for removing my very demanding Burmese cat from any work conversation. I have a Røde mounted SE X1 condenser microphone which picks up absolutely everything; couldn't use it without my GPU. Putting a bit of effort into my audio setup has been a great thing for WFH. Kudos to yourself for doing the same.
- klodolph 4y ago
  > I have a Røde mounted SE X1 condenser microphone which picks up absolutely everything; couldn't use it without my GPU. It's a common misconception that certain types of microphones are more sensitive to background noise. Truth is, even if a microphone is more sensitive, it still picks up foreground and background noise equally. There are some caveats--you can reject background noise with the right polar pattern and mic placement, background noise might be buried in the microphone's self noise, and other minor quirks. But in general, changing microphones is not an effective way to eliminate background noise.
phendrenad2 4y ago
Hey, anything is better than just using the built-in Macbook mic, or airpods, which I've seen many people in tech companies do (an yes, it correlates to lack of situational awareness in their work too.)
- phendrenad2 4y ago
  As a corollary, the top brass at most companies I've worked with have high-end AV equipment just for zoom meetings. Make of that what you will.
eurekin 4y ago
What dsp are you using for realtime conferencing?
the_real_sparky 4y ago
The rnnoise filters (or Nvidia’s broadcast / RTX Voice tool) do a great job of suppressing noise. https://github.com/werman/noise-suppression-for-voice https://github.com/werman/noise-suppression-for-voice

mulmen 4y ago

This is the remote work equivalent of taking a pill to make yourself a 6 foot tall white guy.

jagged-chisel 4y ago
Except the pill doesn’t work. No one can observe that the intended digital effect isn’t true to life.
- mulmen 4y ago
  Wouldn’t that be the pill working?

_rs 4y ago

Curious, which interface do you use and how do you apply the effects? I’ve done this with varying degrees of success but always ends up introducing too much latency

alexjplant 4y ago
I use a MOTU [1] which runs this stuff on its own DSP and is configurable from a desktop app. You could also use a hardware solution in the form of a channel strip but decent ones start approaching a mid-range interface like my MOTU in price so the value proposition is dicey at best IMHO. At one point I had the wild idea of building a Series 500 chassis with discrete signal processors instead but shelling out $1500 for such only for _videoconferencing_ (and occasional recording) would have been completely irresponsible. [1] https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Ultralite5--motu-ultralite-mk5-18x22-usb-audio-interface https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Ultralite5--motu-ult...
- _rs 4y ago
  Ah ok. I have an interface I really like already, was hoping there might be a software solution that doesn’t add so much latency. Thanks for the link though
  - ace2358 4y ago
    As a music producer where is all the latency coming from? I can run my daw with <10ms latency with a few simple effects on it. What software are you using / what workflow?
    - TylerE 4y ago
      Generally USB lag, plus the OS not running in real time mode, like using bog standard Windows Audio instead of ASIO
  - vintagedave 4y ago
    I was hoping for software too. Mostly because I don't have the understanding for a hardware tool like that: I have a decent-ish low-end mic (Blue Yeti, a USB mic) and was hoping for a software tool to run to achieve the same result.
- MartijnBraam 4y ago
  I went with 19" rack gear [1] instead of Series 500. As mic I use an SM57 which is fed into a DBX 286 compressor/de-esser/gate/enhancer and that signal is going to the videoconferencing application and is looped back into my headphones. The neat thing about the 286 is that it's fully analog so I can still hear myself with zero latency. For the return signal from the videoconference I have a seperate audio interface that feeds into a Behringer Autocomp to compress practically all the dynamic range out of it and then it's going to a t.c. electric finalizer to do some multiband compression which fixes most midrange heavy gaming headsets. This gear also has a dual purpose as outboard gear for audio production stuffs though, it's not just for the video conferencing. [1] https://i.imgur.com/cpyASMz.jpg https://i.imgur.com/cpyASMz.jpg

gcr 4y ago

Fella after my own heart. On all my video calls in 2020, I had a Zoom H1 with a fuzzy pop shield feeding into a simple USB interface on a rickety tripod. Even with this simple setup without bells+whistles, I got so many compliments on how great my voice sounded.

JohnBooty 4y ago

I love this. Regardless of the exact tack taken, everybody who videoconferences for work should invest some time in maxxing out their voice and appearance as much as possible. At the simplest, this could be a $35 external webcam and a lamp or ring light to give yourself the most flattering possible angle. Or even spending $0 and just rearranging your existing setup. Love it, hate it, or otherwise... I look like a sack of potatoes so it brings me no joy to say this but, it's reality. The way you look and sound has an influence on how you and your ideas will be perceived by others. Might as well spend some time and (perhaps) a few dollars on it because it's ingrained deep in our biology for better or worse. The good news is remote work has leveled the playing field quite a bit here. It's far less work than looking and sounding great in person.

dylan604 4y ago
I hate video conferencing so much I want them to prefer my camera is off. Off is the default state of my camera, and if they ask me to turn it on, all that will be visible is an extreme closeup of a piece of tape. Expecting me to spruce up beyond what I would ordinarily look like in person is just ludicrous. This isn't instagram, and i'm not trying to gain any followers from a work call. I'll just chalk this one up as another thing I can blame on the unrealistic expectations people have come to think is required because of the influence they've allowed social media to have over them.
- zrobotics 4y ago
  Hate to say it, but this isn't a social media thing or even new. How you look and sound greatly affects how people perceive your ideas. The parent comment had some good advice, making yourself look better does have an impact. Human psychology being what it is, it's futile to expect that people will just ignore the presentation and solely focus on the content. Plus, if everyone is stuck in a zoom call then they don't want to have to stare at the most unflattering angle possible. I'm certainly not the best looking person, but adding an external webcam from a different angle definitely was noticed by coworkers in a positive way. I end up in a ton of marketing calls, and often I have to be the engineering voice that speaks up to say 'we can't do it that way, here is an alternative'. Since paying attention to my camera setup, my warnings get taken more seriously and have more attention paid to them. Nobody is expecting you to look like a model or do a photo shoot, but spending a little bit of time improving camera angle, lighting, and mic really does pay off. No photographer takes low angle shots of close up faces since it's generally very unflattering, but that's the typical setup for a laptop on a desk. Just buying a cheap desk mic and a external webcam really will level up your presence in meetings. Don't think of it as Instagram bullshit, look at it as a way to use your tech skills to lifehack having a better interpersonal presence than you might have in person. Seriously, for ~$100 you can have a nicer camera and mic than 90% of everyone else, and having those things makes people treat you more seriously.

sundvor 4y ago

I love my NVIDIA Broadcast (3070 GPU) for removing my very demanding Burmese cat from any work conversation. I have a Røde mounted SE X1 condenser microphone which picks up absolutely everything; couldn't use it without my GPU. Putting a bit of effort into my audio setup has been a great thing for WFH. Kudos to yourself for doing the same.

klodolph 4y ago
> I have a Røde mounted SE X1 condenser microphone which picks up absolutely everything; couldn't use it without my GPU. It's a common misconception that certain types of microphones are more sensitive to background noise. Truth is, even if a microphone is more sensitive, it still picks up foreground and background noise equally. There are some caveats--you can reject background noise with the right polar pattern and mic placement, background noise might be buried in the microphone's self noise, and other minor quirks. But in general, changing microphones is not an effective way to eliminate background noise.

phendrenad2 4y ago

Hey, anything is better than just using the built-in Macbook mic, or airpods, which I've seen many people in tech companies do (an yes, it correlates to lack of situational awareness in their work too.)

phendrenad2 4y ago
As a corollary, the top brass at most companies I've worked with have high-end AV equipment just for zoom meetings. Make of that what you will.

eurekin 4y ago

What dsp are you using for realtime conferencing?

the_real_sparky 4y ago

The rnnoise filters (or Nvidia’s broadcast / RTX Voice tool) do a great job of suppressing noise. https://github.com/werman/noise-suppression-for-voice https://github.com/werman/noise-suppression-for-voice