shotgun & array microphones for speech recognition

[Jeff]

Has anyone here experimented with professional shotgun microphones for
speech recognition? I'm considering buying this microphone:
Audio-Technica AT835B Short Shotgun Condenser Microphone
(http://www.fullcompass.com/Products/pages/SKU--23740/)

I believe I can achieve far better results with this mic in a noisy
room. I actually plan to use this mic for my home jukebox system (and
later in a car system.) The current mics I'm using do work pretty
well though. In a car the crown pzm-10 and pzm-11 mic's work pretty
well even while on the freeway with a moderate amount of road noise.
With the crown mic's I can control my jukebox from 20 feet away with
high accuracy in a quiet room. My headset microphone (parrot talkpro)
works even better with lots of road noise and the stereo turned up.

I'm also considering buying this microphone - Acoustic Magic
(http://www.acousticmagic.com/products/)

Does anyone know which mic might be better in a noisy environment,
e.g. human speech, tv, ect. The user's mouth will be from 1-2 feet
away from the microphone.

Thanks,
Jeff
IntelligentJukebox (dot) com

[Robert L Bass]

> Has anyone here experimented with professional shotgun
> microphones for speech recognition?...

Not exactly for speach recognition but I've used several AT shotgun mics for
voice in high ambient moise environments. Overall they perform better at
this than typical cardioid mics because they reject more reflections and
extraneous sounds. The mic is most effective when pointed directly at the
speaker. That can make it less effective than other mics unless you are
directly in line with the barrel. If you plan to do most of your voice
commands from a set location this shouldn't be an issue. However, if you
need to issue commands from various points in the room the shotgun is
probably not your best choice.


> My headset microphone (parrot talkpro) works even
> better with lots of road noise and the stereo turned up.

The headset mic has one distinct advantage over most others. Due to its
proximity to your mouth it's far easier for it to distinguish your voice
from other sound sources. In open space SPL decreases with the square of
the distance from the source. At 1" away our voice is probably close to 100
dB -- maybe even greater. Road noise in a decent quality closed car is
probably a hundred times quieter. Even a loud stereo speaker located three
feet away isn't much compared to voice less than an inch away.

> Does anyone know which mic might be better in a noisy
> environment, e.g. human speech, tv, ect. The user's mouth
> will be from 1-2 feet away from the microphone.

In a car any decent headset mic should do. Shotgun mics don't offer the
same advantages in small, closed spaces that they do on a sound stage.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

===========================>
Bass Burglar Alarms
http://www.BassBurglarAlarms.com
http://www.Bass-Home.com
===========================>

[Jeff]

It looks like a shotgun mic is exactly what I am looking for. The
user is going to stay in one place and I won't be using this in a car.

If the Audio-Technica AT835B has specs as high quality as the PZM's I
think this mic is going to work great. Besides pickup pattern
(super-cardiod vs. omnidirectional) do you know of any other major
differences between these microphones which could affect speech
recognition?

Thanks for the info Robert. I remember doing business with you about
2 years ago. You were very helpful and gave me exactly what I needed.

--
Jeff
IntelligentJukebox *** d..t && com

On Wed, 2 Feb 2005 14:56:09 -0500, "Robert L Bass"
<sales@BassBurglarAlarms.com> wrote:

>> Has anyone here experimented with professional shotgun
>> microphones for speech recognition?...
>
>Not exactly for speach recognition but I've used several AT shotgun mics for
>voice in high ambient moise environments. Overall they perform better at
>this than typical cardioid mics because they reject more reflections and
>extraneous sounds. The mic is most effective when pointed directly at the
>speaker. That can make it less effective than other mics unless you are
>directly in line with the barrel. If you plan to do most of your voice
>commands from a set location this shouldn't be an issue. However, if you
>need to issue commands from various points in the room the shotgun is
>probably not your best choice.
>
>
>> My headset microphone (parrot talkpro) works even
>> better with lots of road noise and the stereo turned up.
>
>The headset mic has one distinct advantage over most others. Due to its
>proximity to your mouth it's far easier for it to distinguish your voice
>from other sound sources. In open space SPL decreases with the square of
>the distance from the source. At 1" away our voice is probably close to 100
>dB -- maybe even greater. Road noise in a decent quality closed car is
>probably a hundred times quieter. Even a loud stereo speaker located three
>feet away isn't much compared to voice less than an inch away.
>
>> Does anyone know which mic might be better in a noisy
>> environment, e.g. human speech, tv, ect. The user's mouth
>> will be from 1-2 feet away from the microphone.
>
>In a car any decent headset mic should do. Shotgun mics don't offer the
>same advantages in small, closed spaces that they do on a sound stage.

[G. Morgan]

Suzanne Subject: Re: shotgun & array microphones for speech recognition
Newsgroup: comp.home.automation
=> Jeff <= wrote:

>Thanks for the info Robert. I remember doing business with you about
>2 years ago. You were very helpful and gave me exactly what I needed.


Hmmm....

Watch your credit card statement this time. He's a felon.



--

-Graham

Remove the snails to email

[wkearney99]

And you're an ass. But neither of these facts is news.

"G. Morgan" <alarmprosnail@snailgmail.com> wrote in message
news:421f32a5.343538772@news.individual.net...
> Suzanne Subject: Re: shotgun & array microphones for speech recognition
> Newsgroup: comp.home.automation
> => Jeff <= wrote:
>
> >Thanks for the info Robert. I remember doing business with you about
> >2 years ago. You were very helpful and gave me exactly what I needed.
>
>
> Hmmm....
>
> Watch your credit card statement this time.