[bladefd]

Greetings & salutations, 
 
So I am looking for a nice portable microphone that will work well in area with quite a bit of background noise. I have hand problems, and I am getting Nuance Dragon to assist me with work. I currently have Zalman Zm-1. It is decent for $8, but I want something better because it picks up too much background noise & is cheap quality mic. My budget is up to $200 - if it's more let me know regardless, my insurance might help (they won't pay $300-400 though lol - gotta be within reason).
 
I don't want to buy a headset as I like my Beyerdynamic DT880, but you can recommend some headsets as I am open to suggestions. I would prefer a clip-on mic that I can clip to either the DT880 wire itself when at home or my shirt collar when not at home.
 
Somebody recommended modmic, which is a lapel boom mic. Looks nice but it requires attaching it to a headphone (not a clip-on that can go onto shirt collar). Lowers portability.
 
 
In summary, What I am looking for in mic:
-background noise cancelling
-portability -- wireless mic is possible.. I was thinking I could have 2 separate receivers for work & home, but I dunno if I'm asking for too much
-decent quality
-reasonable $$$. $200 or more is fair, but as I said, it could be bit more
 
-bluetooth is a possibility, but I dunno if there are good bluetooth mics out there
-light wireless headset is possible but cannot be supra-aural as those become uncomfortable after long hours
 
Any suggestions??

 

[billybob_jcv]

One of the ways to reduce background noise and increase the perceived sound quality of the mic is to place the mic fairly close to you mouth, then lower the gain on the mic. That is essentially what is happening with a good quality headset & boom mic. Take a look on the sidelines of any professional sport - the sideline staff are wearing headsets with boom mics, and those mics are very close to their lips.

 

[Youth]

I'm in a similar situation although I don't have hand problems, I just need a mic. I've also come across the AntLion modmic which seems nice.
 
Then there is Sony ECM-CS3 which also looks nice.

 

[bladefd]

One of the ways to reduce background noise and increase the perceived sound quality of the mic is to place the mic fairly close to you mouth, then lower the gain on the mic. That is essentially what is happening with a good quality headset & boom mic. Take a look on the sidelines of any professional sport - the sideline staff are wearing headsets with boom mics, and those mics are very close to their lips.

 
Yeah, I noticed if I hold Zalman mic up close up to my mouth, it sounds bit better (still picks up some background noise). Unfortunately, I cannot get it comfortably onto my shirt up close to my mouth as it is not clip-on mic with a clipper. It is a $8 mic though so I don't expect much. Is there any decent omnidirectional mic I can use but wouldn't have to stick it onto my face? I don't really like the boom mic in the pic that would be in your face for maybe 9-10 hours a day lol..For 3-4 hours it might be fine
 
I came across Turtle Beach i30 . The only issue I see with it is that they are closed headphones that eliminate air movement and all outside sound. Noise cancellation doesn't work too well according to few reviewers there..I heard Nuance Dragon is pretty picky when it comes to mic quality (speech-to-text needs good quality sound input to provide higher accuracy)..
 
What do the hosts use on the night shows and shows like American Idol? I have seen these before.. These are micro-size and just clip-on -- distance and background noise seem to not be an issue for them at all.. I tried finding these, but not much luck