Recording Lectures from Audience: Boundary or Condenser USB mic?

[coopa]

Edit: RESULTS

Boundary mic for the win!!!!

So I decided on a boundary mic. I got a good deal on an MXL AC-404 and I could not be happier. My recordings sound as if I were sitting in the classroom. Occasionally I hear a loud sneeze or cough, but mainly I hear voices.

This microphone also has a headphone out and a removable USB-B connection. It came with a leather case and a cleaning cloth. Not bad for $60 from newegg. Another great thing about this mic is that there is 180 degree sound recording so i can face it away from my laptop and do not get any typing noises. It is great for syncing up with my OneNote notes.

I have it sitting on my desk and I use it for voice recognition in windows 7 and it is surprisingly accurate. I highly recommend using this type of microphone for recording college classes or lectures or any situation where you have people talking from a distance in a large room and a shotgun mic is not appropriate.



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I have permission to record audio in some of my college courses. The lecture halls have great acoustics, all profs wear microphones and there are hanging microphones to capture the audience participation.

We sit at long skinny tables that I typically share with 1-2 other students.

If I want to record audio on my laptop (so it can be in sync with my OneNote notes) should I go with a condenser mic or a boundary mic?

Two reviews on Amazon.com of the Samson go mic were from people recording lectures and they were happy. A boundary mic/ conference mic seems like it might be better for the task, however I am worried that the intense amount of laptop typing/ tapping on the table might interfere with the recording?

I was looking at the CAD u7 or the Samson Go Mic
Both are priced at about $50.00 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/CAD-U7-Desktop...pr_product_top

http://www.amazon.com/Samson-Mic-Com...pr_product_top

One thing I like about the u7 is that it is a little less obvious that I am recording lectures. Preferably, most of my classmates will remain unaware of my accommodations. (Most classes do allow personal recordings)

On the other hand the Samson is smaller when folded and might withstand the constant wear of being thrown into my overstuffed backpack 3 times a day a little better.

I do not want a shotgun microphone because a lot of the class is based on audience participation, and the speakers make the sound come from both sides of the classroom.
Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[coopa]

Does anyone even have a suggestion of another forum where I could ask this question?

 

[mmntech]

Not many people here do audio work. A condenser is only the type of audio pickup it uses. They produce the best audio quality but are expensive and more delicate. Most indoor TV and radio productions use these. Boundary mics are also condenser mics. They're designed for rooms with bad acoustics to filter out echoes. They're usually placed close to walls.

What you want to look for is a mic with either a cardioid or omni-directional pickup pattern. Either of those mics should handle that. For a really good USB one, I recommend the Blue Snowball. Bit bulky but great quality. Does both of these pickup patterns.
http://www.bluemic.com/snowball/#/specs/

 

[dragonspeak]

In Australia I am told a lot of universities use the Acoustic Magic array microphone. But mainly this goes on the professors desk and picks him up when he moves about as it tracks direction.

That a bit expensive for your application though.:\

I do also like the Blue Snowball Microphone ( australian link sorry, only vendor I know of in aussie land) and it will do an excellent job. But also too pricey.

As in most things, you get what you pay for! Try a cheaper one, but prepare to buy twice.

 

[coopa]

Thanks for the suggestions. The blue Snowball is not discreet enough for my needs. I decided on the MXL AC-404 because it actually has 3 elements rather than 1 like the CAD u7, and Boundary mics in general are tuned to pick up speech from a distance whereas the Samson works best if you are closer.

Also the MXL- AC 404 captures 180 degrees, so I am hoping that will keep my typing/fighting out of the recording.

I will report back when I try it out, because if someone else is looking for information on boundary Microphones or recording lectures for OneNote from the audience on google then this thread is one of the first hits.

 

[coopa]

The mxl-ac 404 is great, in case anyone has a similar recording need. It does a fantastic job of pocking up voices and is a solid piece of equipment.

 

[coopa]

New recording need: Handwritten lectures.

The boundary mic works GREAT but it is USB and needs to plugged in to the computer. I am enrolling in a math class and want to take handwritten notes. Is there a good device out there that I can record using the usb mic that does not have to sit on my desk?

OR should I just buy a pulse livescribe pen? Will the quality of the recording go down significantly? I would prefer not to use the earbud microphones.

Thanks

 

[123thedude]

Hey.

I have a pulse livescribe pen and the audio is not optimal when not using the earbuds, the sound from your writing is picked up all to well, with the buds it's actually better than you'd expect. I am too enrolling in a mathclass next year, and my plan is to buy a Lenovo x220 tablet pc with digitizer input using the windows' math input panel or just plain handwritten notes. The reason i found this thread is because i'm looking for a USB microphone for syncing with OneNote (Lecture recording aswell) and i want to ask if you've had succes with mxl-ac 404, with regards to that?

 

[JSt0rm]

this should work on the cheap

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/deta...FQM6gwodalz_Sw

but it you want it to sound good you need a shotgun mic. Preferably a m/s mic so you can dial in the audience in post ala

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...M_191_AS_.html

Or cheaper

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...icrophone.html