Filtering Noise Talking on Skype With a USB Mic?

[Ryan Teasnob]

Someone asked me if I knew and I didn't - is there a way to filter out the hiss (it's pretty quiet but definitely there) on a Samson C01U USB mic while doing VOIP stuff like Skype?

With an XLR mic running through an interface, there would be options like inserting a noise gate. But I'm not familiar enough with using USB mics. Is there, like, a software program that might do this or something?

Thanks!

Ryan

 

[Seidy]

Noise gate just helps when you are not talking. If the signal is louder than treshhold (when you are talking for example) the noise will pass with the voice. It's kinda like automatic volume knob.

I don't think that there is program like that (well maybe you can route it somehow thru some DAW and add some effect there but it would be PITA).
Most simple solution would be using dynamic mic instead of condenser - it should not pick up so much room and noise.
Let's see what others think.

 

[Tim Gillett]

Does your USB mic have a volume control? If so have you tried adjusting it?

 

[Ryan Teasnob]

Thanks. No the USB mic in question is a Samson C01U. The noise is not room noise it's hiss which I am certain is internal from the mic itself, and not really even very loud. His audio sounds fine to me, but my friend (personally I use a Rode NT2-A/Fast Track so not an issue for me) says he is a perfectionist and would like to filter out that hiss, as quiet as it is. A gate would actually work really well for this since it is only audible when he is not speaking.

But if there is nothing out there to easily filter or gate audio for a non-recording VOIP situation, then I can just tell him he'll have to deal with it. Nobody else can hear it anyway (I don't think).

Thanks again.

Ryan

 

[Steenamaroo]

Well, if it's the self noise of the device, the only way to consistently improve it is to increase the signal to noise ratio.
IE speak louder or closer to the microphone.

If the guy is sitting a few feet away from the mic, then the amount of gain he's going to need is gonna results in audible hiss.

If he's an inch or so from it with the gain right down it should be all but eradicated.



The only thing about a noise gate is it's not straight forward getting it into the signal path.

He could run the mic into daw software, then output that track to a hardware output, (line, spdif, whatever), then back into a hardware input.
Skype would receive from that input.

An alternative is soundflower; A virtual equivalent.
Set the daw to play out to 'soundflower 2 channel' and set skype to receive from it.

I actually wrote a little podcast patch for a friend who did internet radio.
It did the above routing, plus it had ducking and eq built in.