Speaking of the Labtec 704 Microphone...
Written: Jan 31 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: *Easy setup *Illuminated on-off switch *Cross-platform solution
Cons: *Low line level *Designed to be used on a desktop only
The Bottom Line: A good choice for voice recording/command/dictation on a desktop machine, but anyone wanting to record high fidelity audio or audio on a laptop may wish to look elsewhere.
|
|
|
| aricpedersen's Full Review: Labtec Verse 704 Consumer Microphone |
About This Review:
I am using this product with a Power Mac G4 dual 1.25 GHz. tower.
If you are interested in getting more information about this product, please go here:
http://www.labtec.com/index.cfm?page=gear/details&contentid=19&countryid=1001&languageid=1
(should all be on one line)
What do you want to do with your microphone?
Not all microphones are created equal for all kinds of applications. It is important that you know what you want to do with your microphone before you invest in a particular product.
The Labtec 704 (as with almost every microphone that Labtec offers) is designed for voice recording. This doesn’t mean that you can’t use it to record other kinds of audio, but it does mean that you won’t get as good results from this microphone as you would from one that was designed for a wider spectrum of audio uses. Alternately, if you are going to be recording voice a lot or if you are going to use a voice command or dictation product, then this is a good microphone to have.
USB microphones seem to be popular with home users because they are easy to set up and use. USB (thanks at least in part to Apple’s efforts) has become a “comfortable” technology. That is, most users understand what USB is and almost every modern computer is guaranteed to have at least one USB connector. But using a microphone with a 1/4 inch stereo “pin” connector would probably be even easier to use, and your computer would be just as, if not more likely to have a stereo “pin” input on it (especially if it is an older machine).
So why are there so many USB microphones designed to be used with computers? Simple. USB microphones are “digital.” This means that the microphone itself turns your voice or other audio directly into a digital signal that your computer can easily understand. If you use a standard microphone with a pin connector, then the computer itself has to do the work of translating the “analog” input from such a microphone into digital signals that the computer can work with.
Depending on the quality of the analog-to-digital conversion circuitry in your computer, this might be a total non-issue, but it might also introduce added noise into the audio as the signal receives interference from electronic components inside and around your computer.
A “digital” solution like a USB microphone is supposed to help cut down on noise since the conversion from analog to digital is done almost immediately away from most sources of interference and then sent digitally through a shielded USB cable to your computer.
Of course the veracity of this statement depends on a lot of suppositions. In my opinion, there is no real difference between the audio from a decent quality analog microphone and these inexpensive USB “digital” models. YMMV.
So what is the Labtec 704 like? How does it work and sound?
As you can see from the picture above, the Labtec 704 is primarily designed to be used on a desktop. It has a fairly large, slightly weighted base. The microphone itself is nestled inside a long, thin rigid plastic arm that can positioned anywhere within a 180 degree straight arc. The arm cannot be rotated in any other directions. This arm is designed to get the microphone closer to your mouth off the desktop.
The base has a single button on it. This button turns the microphone on or off when connected to a computer via the attached 8-foot long USB 1.1 cable. The button lights up with a green glow when the microphone is “live” so you can tell simply by glancing down at the base. This is a nice touch. The USB cable is not removable, but since the cable is 8-foot long, this isn’t likely to be a problem.
If you are looking for a microphone that you can take with you when you travel, this is not your best choice. You can fold the microphone arm straight down, but the microphone still takes up a lot of room with the large base and attached USB cable.
There are no special drivers needed for any major operating systems that have USB functionality built-in (Windows 98 or higher, or Mac OS 8.x or OS X). Just plug the microphone into your computer and select it as the sound input source and you are ready to go.
So how does the Labtec 704 sound?
According to the Labtec website, the 704 conforms to the following specs:
* Frequency response: 100 Hz - 16 kHz
* Sensitivity: -67 dBV/µBar, -47 dBV/Pa /-4 dB
* Microphone power source voltage: 1.5 V DC
* Impedance: < 1000 ohms
It also employs special background noise canceling technology that improves the performance of the microphone for voice command/dictation because it isolates your voice from other noise. This can be a boon in a noisy environment.
In my testing, I’ve found that the line level (the base loudness of the recorded audio) to be a bit too low. This is nothing that can’t be fixed in almost any sound/audio/dictation application by boosting the gain, but it would be nice to not have to do that to get optimal results.
Naturally, the microphone does a good job recording voice, but I find that the 704 doesn’t do as good a job with recording high-fidelity music. I find that music that gets recorded with this microphone sounds slightly “tinny.” Once again, audio quality is a subjective thing, so YMMV.
The microphone is unidirectional meaning that it basically focuses on a straight line in front of the microphone. This is good for voice recording, since you don’t want the microphone picking up stray sounds as they bounce off the walls. However, for music recording, an omnidirectional microphone generally turns out the best results since it captures more of the “full range” of acoustics.
Even though the button on the 704 is lighted, I have been able to use this microphone attached to an unpowered USB hub. Naturally, I would recommend using this microphone plugged either directly into your computer or into a powered hub, just to be safe, but it appears you can use any kind of USB 1.1 connection you have. Additionally, recording audio can place some strain on a USB controller that has to process the audio along with signals from other USB devices. Modern OS’es methods for handling USB audio have gotten better over the years, but if you do encounter stuttering or strange noises, you might want to try plugging the microphone into a less-used USB controller (most computers only have one, though, unless you buy a USB PCI card to put into your computer).
The Final Word:
The Labtec 704 is a good choice for voice recording/command/dictation on a desktop machine, but anyone wanting to record high fidelity audio or audio on a laptop may wish to look elsewhere.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
aricpedersen
|
|
Member: Aric Pedersen
Location: New Jersey
Reviews written: 34
Trusted by: 14 members
About Me:
"He's just this guy. You know?" - Currently on sabatical
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.