Question / Help Help with audio settings

keon191

New Member
Hello all!

I recently just finished building my new pc and am looking to start live streaming seriously. I want to be able to give my viewers the best experience possible through both audio and video. I believe I have both the pc and connection to do so.

i7 4770k
MSI GTX 770 OC (although I plan on returning this soon and getting a 780)
8GB DDR3 1886
25 down and 5 up

I want to improve my audio quality as it is terrible!

First, my microphone quality. I have an audio technica at2020 with a cheap adapter that allows me to connect it to my pc - some xlr to ubs phantom power thingy idk it was like 30$. Anyways the problem is their is a lot of static background noise, not sure if that's the best way to explain but that's what it sound like. I'm not positive but I have a feeling that the cheap audio adapter is whats causing the static noise but I don't want to go and buy a new one just to find out it wasn't the issue.

Second problem is it picks up background noise too easily. When I play back my stream I find that its mainly my keyboard that sets off the noise gate and not me talking. I have the microphone positioned slightly in front of my face which is above my keyboard. I'm a bit of a soft talker so I have it pretty close. Has anyone found a way to work around this? or will I have to deal with my mic picking up my keyboard.

I find hearing a persons keyboard while they are streaming (depending on how often they press their keys / how loud their keyboard is on stream.) really un-enjoyable. For example, trying to watch someone with cherry mx blues with bad mic settings is awful in my opinion and I don't want to deliver that same experience to my viewers.

Third problem: still working on this one but 3 is better than two right.

Should I look into buying a new microphone? Or is their other audio equipment I can buy the help alleviate the problem.

Test Stream: http://www.twitch.tv/kziim/b/512884456
Not the best video to show an example of problem #1 but rest assured it's there!
 

Sehorn

New Member
Your microphone issue probably starts with the mic. You are using a condenser microphone. This type of microphone is designed to compress the sound that comes into the mic. So your background noises like fans and your keyboard are going to be louder in the stream than they are to you in the room. This is a great mic for vocals if you are talking or singing. It also helps if you increase the signal the mic sends by simply increasing your volume. You say the mic is close to your face and for that one you want it ideally within 6 inches of your face. If you can work on those things you can certainly help without changing equipment.

If you want a new microphone the Audio Technica ATR2100USB is a good choice. It has a lot going for it besides being cheap. It is a cardioid dynamic microphone. This means that in addition to rejecting a good amount of off axis noise it has a higher dynamic range than your AT2020 so it will not "enhance" the volume of your keyboard.

You can also do things like place pads (towels work alright) under your keyboard to soften the noise that it makes.
 
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