Is the microphone on Apple EarPods good enough?

stevez · Post by **stevez** » April 16th, 2019, 4:23 pm

Hi! I'm a new volunteer here and also new to recording for audiobooks. I'm still figuring out what equipment and software to use, but I'd like to try using GarageBand, since I work on a macbook pro and it comes with GarageBand installed. I don't have a dedicated microphone for recording audio and would like know what other volunteers think about using the microphone on the standard Apple EarPods. Is it good enough for recording audios for LibriVox?

I do plan on investing in a decent microphone for recording in the near future. What would you guys recommend? Which microphones do you think have the best value?

Steven

Post by **TriciaG** » April 16th, 2019, 4:39 pm

Probably not the best sound quality. You could try it (do the test recording) and see how it turns out.

Post by **philchenevert** » April 16th, 2019, 5:30 pm

I agree with Trish. But please DO give it a try with what you have. You are assured of getting some feedback on your 1 minut e test and it's better to jump right in. You can and probably will buy some better equipment later on but since you are here, turn on that machine!

stevez · Post by **stevez** » April 16th, 2019, 6:55 pm

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll definitely try the 1 minute test with what I have and post it on the forum to get some feedback!

lurcherlover · Post by **lurcherlover** » April 24th, 2019, 3:01 am

stevez wrote: ↑April 16th, 2019, 4:23 pm
I do plan on investing in a decent microphone for recording in the near future. What would you guys recommend? Which microphones do you think have the best value?

Steven

This depends on how much you can pay. Mic's can cost anything from 20$ to $6,500

There are many mic's in the $50 - £300 range that will do a reasonably good job.

Post by **annise** » April 24th, 2019, 5:51 am

Unless you have another use for a microphone or are an experienced user, I wouldn't rush into buying a very expensive one because you may hate recording books, and you may find your voice is more suited to some than to others. Some phones seem to be OK to use as a microphone, some laptops also or maybe you could borrow one just to get started?

Anne

stevez · Post by **stevez** » May 1st, 2019, 10:16 pm

Thanks for the advice Anne.

And just an update for anyone interested in the future. I did the test recording with the microphone on Apple EarPods and it worked out better than expected. The sound quality is OK although there's a lot of room for improvement. Judging from the feedback I got, I think it's perfectly fine to start out with using microphone on Apple EarPods to record. I think it's acceptable and won't turn anyone away from listening to the recording due to sound quality.

Also it seems to work a lot better on Audacity than on GarageBand (or maybe I just didn't get the settings right).

Post by **annise** » May 1st, 2019, 11:00 pm

Thanks for posting - it's nice to know advice worked

lymiewithpurpose · Post by **lymiewithpurpose** » May 2nd, 2019, 7:18 am

stevez wrote: ↑May 1st, 2019, 10:16 pm Thanks for the advice Anne.

And just an update for anyone interested in the future. I did the test recording with the microphone on Apple EarPods and it worked out better than expected. The sound quality is OK although there's a lot of room for improvement. Judging from the feedback I got, I think it's perfectly fine to start out with using microphone on Apple EarPods to record. I think it's acceptable and won't turn anyone away from listening to the recording due to sound quality.

Also it seems to work a lot better on Audacity than on GarageBand (or maybe I just didn't get the settings right).

Yes, I was the one who checked the test and can second all of this. But I do want to point out to any new users reading this, be aware that this may not work for you. For example some people can use built in speakers, others find it to be poor quality. So it is really an individual case, and luckily here it worked