I wrote this on my own guild's private forums, but considering we're about 100 in number, I wanted to help others with the info here, just in case someone else would find it useful. This is not a commercial, since I'm an audiophile, it causes me frustration when I hear crummy mics, to the point that I just squelch people with bad mics so I don't have to listen to them.

Do people often ask you to repeat yourself because they can't hear you clearly? Try these tips to communicate more effectively:

  • Do NOT use a mic on a desk, ONLY a headset mic
    You have to be about 2-4 inches away from a mic to use it properly. Are you going to lean over every time to use it properly? When you hit the desk, you're going to send a VERY LOUD boom through the intertoobs to my ears and hurt them.


  • Do NOT use open speakers and a mic... use the speakers attached to your ears (on the headset)
    Not only are you going to transmit what you're hearing over your speakers (I know there are about a dozen different narrators, but I don't turn that setting on... I know this because I hear it through other ppl's speakers/mics)


  • I tell this to the white kids that don't realize they're white, too: I'm sure you love that kind of music, but I don't. And I own a gun.
    ANY background noise (music, TV, kids, screaming, dogs barking, pigs fornicating, lawn mowers) will be transmitted when you use the VOX (PTT) key... oh yeah...


  • Use the VOX (PTT) Key! (VOX defined, PTT = Push To Talk)
    It may be a little complicated for you to hold an additional key whilst still holding move keys and clicking a mouse, but please try. All the above come through, plus fans, typing loudly, etc. unless you control when you transmit voice (VOX). The default DDO key is "F," and is placed pretty reasonably next to the WASD keys which we use already, so it's a no-brainer for me.


  • In other words, TURN OFF HANDS-FREE!


  • Have you done all the above and your mic still sounds bad? Do people ask you if you've got a loud fan/lawnmower behind you or say it sounds like Morse Code is on the line when you transmit?
    It's because you have an analog mic. Analog is a simple plug like what you plug in to your iPod... a shaft (insert joke here) plug that's called a 1/8" or a 3.5mm (same diameter) is an analog plug, USB is digital. You want digital... here's why:
    • Analog mics require the system processor to digitize your voice (and other background noise) into ones and zeros then hands that data to the DDO game client, which transmits it to the other ppl...
    • Digital (USB) mics do all the digital processing directly in the headset (or in-line control box circuitry) and pass this data directly to the DDO client, nearly completely bypassing the processor (though it has to do some work to route the data, but we're talking 1-3% of the processor strain as opposed to the analog method.)
    • Said self-processing does some pretty cool stuff:
      • It 'listens' to the background noise (dogs, arguing, crying, pigs doing what they do, sirens, fans) and plays the opposite wavelength, thereby nearly perfectly canceling the abhorrent sound out. (And now for the science: Your fan makes a certain noise. If you play the exact opposite of that noise, your ear hears a flatline. That's essentially how noise cancellation works... Ron Kurtus wrote a pretty decent article on this if you're interested in more... see the fourth graphic down.)
      • Before it plays the sound for your ears, it's already creating the algorithm to cancel it out... Example: Someone in your party asks for a heal. The USB headset's processor knows what it's going to transmit to your hears and knows that the mic will likely pick it up. It already calculates the opposing sinewave and cancels it out.



    • Analog mics pick up a LOT of interference!
      • EMF from the sun, fluorescent lights
      • Hard drives, cooling fans spinning inside your computer case
      • Tons of other things
      • Said interference is picked up along with your voice and sent down the line to your computer and picks up the above digital noise which is converted into audible data (stuff your ears can hear) as best the audio drivers in your computer understand and think that's what you're trying to transmit. (Did you know fluorescent lights blink about 60 times per second? That makes an electronic noise that your mic cable picks up and transmits! That's what the Morse Code noise is!
      • Since USB mics do all their processing before transmitting data down the cable, they rarely transmit this interference



So you understand you need a quiet environment and a USB mic. If you don't have a USB mic yet, I'll be happy to suggest one for you, but before I link you to it, I'll qualify myself a bit...

  • I am a voice actor and podcaster
  • I own the largest independent podcast group in the world
  • I understand a lot about computers (I've been fixing them for more than 20 years)
  • I own more than 30 professional studio and concert mics, some of them about $600 each
  • I use a $25 USB headset for all my podcasts and voice work (some of which is heard on television commercials) because I have found the best mic I've ever used. Now you'll hopefully have a picture of how great this mic is!
Do yourself a favor about buy the Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000 Headset. It retails for about $40, but you can find it on Amazon.com for around $25 with free shipping. I love this mic so much I literally own 1 attached to my main computer and have another one next to it, in case it breaks, I have 1 in my laptop bag and four that are brand new in box on a shelf in my office, no joke. This is the best headset mic you can find anywhere.

I do, in all honesty, have a complaint about it though: I have a huge melon for a head and it's a little constrictive. Here's how I fix it: Get a roll of paper towels (brand new so it has all the diameter), extend the cans (ear covers) all the way down and stretch it end-to-end over the roll. Leave it like that for an hour or two and then take it off and leave it alone for a little bit and it's wide enough for my melon. Make sure you wear it first though, don't just stretch it out of the box! Keep in mind it's made of plastic and can break if you're not careful. My wife has no problem whatsoever wearing it, so for normal folk, it's perfect!