I bought this mic so I could use voice control with Cortana on my Windows 10 desktop. I first tried a mic that plugged into the microphone jack on my sound card however windows wouldn't play nice with it. I bought and tried the USB Sound Tech mic and it worked like a charm! I was looking for a mic that didn't take up a lot of real estate on my desk and didn't poke me in the eye every time I drop something on the floor under my computer desk.<---(that happens more than I care to admit) :p
I needed a mic that would be able to pick up my voice anywhere in the room. This mic was designed for office conference calling. All the reviews I read about it indicated that it did a very good job of picking up the voices of people sitting around a conference table. People on the phone indicated they could hear clearly and without a lot of background noise. I looked at other mics but only found ones that were basically recording studio mics that worked best with you sitting directly in front of them. Even those that claimed they were omnidirectional, had a very short pick up range that dropped off fast.
I can honestly say that the Sound Tech CM-1000USB Table Top Conference MIcrophone worked far better than I imagined it would. Cortana was able to hear me standing 30 feet away from my PC. This means Cortana can detect my voice anywhere in my living room, balcony, kitchen, dining room and at the very end of my hallway. Any further and I would be outside of my home. So in fact I don't really know how far this mic can pick up my voice, but I do know that at least it will still hear me at 30 feet and possible more. I did the test at night under very quiet conditions. I did a second test during the day with my balcony door wide open to let in the street noise, cars driving by could be heard, people talking as they walked by as well as children play. Cortana had no problem hearing me during the daytime test as well. I am really impressed with this Sound Tech Microphone.
Lastly... there was 2 rooms Cortana could not hear me and that was my bedroom and bathroom. However the Sound tech Mic will allow two or more mics to be connected together in daisychain fashion to extend its range. So in theory you could with enough cable, place a microphone in the bathroom and bedroom and cover the whole place. I have no plans to do this but it would be an interesting experiment to try and see if it worked.
In closing this I want to say that the Sound Tech USB Conference Mic is and extraordinary microphone for what it was build to do. It impressed the heck out of me and I would recommend it for conference calling or for what ever else you can think of?
PS - I want everyone to know that I did NOT receive one red cent or... a FREE product to test for my honest opinion *cough*. I will gain nothing from this except knowing that I have given a totally honest and unbiased review. And that maybe some fellow tinkerer like myself will find the information useful.
| Brand | VEC |
|---|---|
| Item model number | CM-1000 USB |
| Product Dimensions | 22.86 x 7.62 x 15.24 cm; 159 Grams |
| Item Dimensions L x W x H | 22.9 x 7.6 x 15.2 centimeters |
| Color | Black |
