Audio Archives

Mic Gain Experimentation

Hi, ev’rybody!

I need your help. I’ve taken a short trip to get the mail, and recorded it in two different ways; I’d like your help to let me know how you’d like to hear future BGA podcasts. Do you prefer the sound of the first half, where we walk to the mailbox, or the second half, when we return home? There are pros and cons to each; there’s no right or wrong answer. I’m just curious. This is your chance to help shape the future sound of this podcast. Send your comments to blindgeek@lioncourt.com, or like our brand-spanking-new Facebook page and leave a comment there, so we can all share and enjoy.

I’m dealing with a small but irritating health issue, so this podcast is rather short, but I think it actually works better as a short podcast, given its purpose. Don’t worry; we’ll be back to our more traditional length, if not longer, son enough.

In the meantime, grab your earbuds, headphones, or whatever earpieces work best for you…

Download the episode…

…Give me some feedback on which half of the podcast you like best for sound quality…

…And above all…

…Enjoy!

Testing the New Equipment

They’re here, they’re here! The brand-new mics are here!!!

In this episode, we unbox the new in-ear binaural mics and take them for a test run to Starbucks. Fun times to be had! I’m very interested to know if you, the listener, notice any difference in the spaciality and/or quality of these new microphones. I know how they sound to me; I’m just curious to see how they sound to you.

One caviat: I talk in the podcast about how I’ve turned the limiter of the recorder off and am hoping the traffic doesn’t cause clipping or distortion. Well, as it turns out, the Olympus LS-14 has a recording mode called Quick Mode which automatically adjusts the recording levels to compensate. So as I understand it, regardless of what I have the limiter set to, Quick Mode is kind of doing its own thing. Which means we get that “limiter effect,” which seems more noticeable to me with the increased output of these microphones. So next outing, I’m putting the recorder in Manual Mode and will try recording with the limiter really off this time.

Or perhaps I should just leave well enough alone…?

Anyway, here’s our test run. Leave feedback at blindgeek@lioncourt.com, or follow me on Twitter (@blindgeek) and leave feedback there.

And now, fellow Adventurers…

…don your headphones…

…Download the episode…

…And enjoy!

ApplePlay with ApplePay

Here’s the episode discussed in the previous one, from October 30, 2014. Step into the WayBac machine and let’s go.

Incidentally, I do still have the mono recording mentioned. So if there’s interest, I’ll post it… although I should tell you, we’re going to be exploring that whole area in depth on this podcast in a short time, so the recording’s relevance is not what it would’ve been when it was made.

We’re off to experience ApplePay for the first time. This isn’t the most impressive demo, since neither I nor the McDonald’s employees had much of a clue what we were doing. I’ve since become much more adept at using ApplePay, as have the employees. Even so, I think you’ll find the speed of the transaction impressive.

And with that, we’re back to our friends, the binaural mics, so don your headphones…

…Download…

…and enjoy!

End of the Beginning

Hi, folks. Glad to finally be back.

Please forgive the audio quality in this particular episode. The why of it is explained in the episode itself, so I won’t bother to repeat it here. It sure feels great to be back!

The website mentioned in this episode is Dreaming with Jeff. As I did on our walk, I strongly encourage you to check it out. It’s an awesome thing Jeff Bridges is doing over there, and it’ll feel damn good to be even a small part of it.

If you want to send me feedback on this, or any other, episode, please send it to blindgeek@lioncourt.com. Watch for the Blind Geek Adventures Facebook page, coming soon.

I think.

That’s the plan, anyway.

You can grab your headphones for this one if you want, but it’s not nearly as necessary. This one’s just in good old-fashioned stereophonic sound. Grrrrrrrr…

In any case, download…