I am incredibly lucky in one way, which is that I am able to work at home. Because my group is “distributed”, i.e. spread out all over the country (the world, actually; we have group members in Bangalore), almost everyone works at home rather than “in the office”. (Which is pretty appropriate given that we’re doing cloud computing products!) As a result, I spend a heap o’ time in various online chats, both text, audio, and video. Skype, Lync, Hipchat, Google Hangouts . . . a lot of time with my group staring at me out of the built-in cam on my mac and listening to my nasally tones through the built-in mic. Which is okay, but not that great, honestly. (Sorry, Steve Jobs.)
So I was pretty pleased when I got a chance to try out the Blue Tiki USB microphone. Most of my group has given up on external mics, and they use headphones. This being the wireless era, I really didn’t want to have to go back to a set of wired headphones, I had already discovered that, when it came to online chat via my laptop, my Motorola Bluetooth headphones just didn’t cut the mustard (I don’t know why). So my hope was that the Tiki would allow me to provide folks with good sound quality and save me from having to go back to wired headphones. (Which also give you Headphone Hair–have you noticed?) How did it go? Read on to find out!
The Tiki Blue is powered by your laptop, so you have to leave it plugged in. It has two plug-in modes: plugging the device directly into a USB port:
And using the extension cord wire:
I used it in this mode almost exclusively because I have a plethora of USB devices and a very limited number of USB ports (even with my Belkin 7-to-1 adaptor I still have a shortage sometimes!). Also, having it on the wire allows me to move it around in case anyone says they can’t hear me. For the record, though, no one ever did.
I tried the Tiki on both my HP laptop and my Macbook Pro. On both, the systems recognized them quite well, and getting everything set up was no more difficult than opening the appropriate settings folders and selecting the mic to be the default input device. The only trouble I had was when I switched back and forth between the Macbook Pro and the Windows PC–for some reason, the Windows PC seemed a little . . . well, “stubborn” is the only word I can think of to use here . . . to accept the device as the default for Skype conversations. I sometimes had to wait a minute or two before Skype recognized and started to use it. It was weird, but just as likely to be a problem with Skype as the mic itself, I’m sure. (Google Hangouts was just as stubborn when I first plugged the device in.)
I performed two different sound-quality tests on the mic. First, I compared the sound I got recording myself through the Tiki with the sound I got (using the same sentence) using the Macbook Pro’s built-in mic. The sound that I got with the Tiki was definitely superior; much less distortion, and a lot less ambient noise getting through using the Tiki.
Second, I bored my co-workers by asking them multiple times how I sounded. Could they hear me okay? Was there a lot of ambient noise or did I sound good? How did it compare to our coworkers using headsets? And so on. The universal answer I got back was, “You sound fine.” (Oy.) But further questioning revealed a lack of distortion as well as a clean signal. And I definitely noticed that with the Tiki (as opposed to the built-in mic), that “lag” you get when you’re in a group room in Google Hangouts or Skype or Lync or whatever–where you speak at the same time as someone else and you have to wait for the sound signals to “clear” before anyone else can speak–was reduced. It wasn’t gone–it never can be over a network, I don’t think–but it was improved.
Overall I’m darn happy with this product. All my workmates are stuck there wearing headphones all the time, but I just pull the Tiki around ’til it’s near my face and I’m good to go. (Between that and my iHome USB speakers, I’m in good shape A/V-wise.) If you’ve been looking for a good, solid external microphone, this is definitely one you should consider.
Dan’s Tiki Take: I was able to pick one up when I visited with Blue Microphones at last week’s Pepcom Holiday Extravaganza. I’m continually impressed by their microphones and love using the Mikey Digital they supplied for review. (Read the review.) The Tiki also impresses. I am impressed with the way it cuts out background noise and focuses on recording… you. The noise reduction does cut out some of the highs and lows. This will present a sound that can, initially, be a bit jarring. It does, however, mean a lot of the noise is being filtered out. As the product page notes:
The audio quality of Tiki will be different from that of your built-in, intentionally. In Intelligent Speech mode, Tiki was designed to highlight the mid-range sounds (conversational range) and as a result will be a bit less bright but also less harsh than a built-in.
You’ve been warned.
What I really love about the Tiki, beyond it doing a good job of recording clean audio, is the simplicity. There is little with which to fumble. You just plug it in and… you are pretty much good to go. Add to that the fact that the Tiki is small and therefore highly portable, and you have a winner of a device if you use a laptop and record speech or do a lot of VOiP-calling. I am really loving this device and appreciate the company giving me the chance to use one long-term.
I also love that you can get it for under $50 when you purchase here in our Amazon Affiliate Store.
What it is: Blue Tiki USB Microphone
What I liked: Easy to use; Good clear sound for listeners; Portable
What needs improvement: Improved “Live-swapping” capability (thought this may be the fault of the software I used and not the Tiki!)
MSRP: $59.99
Source: Manufacturer’s evaluation unit
Related posts:
Review: Hyundai PC / Notebook Angled Mini high-powered Microphone from USB Fever
Blue Microphone Yeti Pro Review
MXL TRIO USB Condenser Microphone Review
Review: Blue Microphones Yeti
Plantronics .Audio 476 DSP Headset- A Gear Diary First Look
Andrea SuperBeam Phones SB-405 Stereo Headset Review
The LTB 5.1 USB Headphones Review
Review: Samson Meteor Mic
