Good microphones will have an impedance between 150 and perhaps 600 ohms.
Less is better; it reduces susceptability to electrical noise, so you can
put the mic further away from the PC.

  In general, more sensitivity is better because it can let you put the mic
further from the sound source.That's important if you want the speaker to be
on camera, but don't want the mic to be visible.  Generally, you'll get
better sensitivity (and less weight!) out of a condenser mic than out of a
dynamic mic.

  [Professional mics use 3-pin XLR connectors; if you get one of these,
you'll want an XLR-to-mini-plug adapter.  A condensor mic with XLR connector
is probably going to require an AA battery, which kind of defeats the weight
advantage....]

  None of this means you have to go expensive.  I've been getting good
results lately with a Digital Blue "Animation Station" which I recently
found for $10.  This is part of the Intel toy line from a couple of years
back -- I'm not sure if Digital Blue is a subsidiary, a spin-off, or what.
The unit takes three AAA batteries and can be used stand-alone as a solid-
state recorder with a 4-minute capacity, or as a PC-attached microphone.
  It has a better microphone setup/test utility than I've seen anywhere
else, and software that will do noise reduction and a variety of neat
special effects.  It's at least $10 worth of entertainment, as well as being
a decent microphone.

David Gillett


On 18 Jan 2004 at 23:16, Ian wrote:

> I want to do some voice recording on the computer for training videos and I need a reasonably good quality microphone.
>
> Can someone tell me what I should be looking for in terms of impedance and db sensitivity etc?
>
> My supplier catalogues offer quite a range and I have no idea what makes a 'good' mike a good mike.
>
> TX
>
> Ian Porter

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