I ordered a second generation 3-1 but, it was defective so I'm really not sure what it was capable of.

I'm looking for something that would ideally be cheaper than or equal price to the 3-1. I know there are a few models that are offered in the Knowbrainer store but they are out of my price range.

I am looking for a desktop microphone because I will be dependent upon it professionally to be productive. The main reason I am thinking about a desktop model is so that I can use the desktop microphone for dictation and some sort of headset for working on the phone.

I recently graduated and I have not yet found a job. So I am not sure exactly what type of office I will be working in.

Also if anybody has any any advice in general regarding working with speech recognition software and working on the telephone I would be very open to hearing it. Thank you in advance.

It turns out that the 3-1 microphone is not a good fit for my voice. 

Amin I think I remember one of your earlier post where you recommended a sure beta microphone. Would you recommend this particular microphone for this situation I am interested in? Ideally, I am looking for microphone that will allow me to speak fairly softly into it and will have enough noise canceling ability to not be bothered by the other people and things around me.

I'm just concerned that in some office environments more noise canceling may be necessary.

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I have a boom o. Which from what I have seen has plenty of noise canceling ability for the average office environment. The main reason I am looking at a desktop microphone is because I could use the desktop microphone for dictation and then I could use a telephone headset for working on the telephone.

I understand that traditionally desktop microphone do not have a great deal of noise canceling ability. I'm just hoping to find something that will work reasonably well to allow me to work on the telephone. Really, I am open to any solution that will allow me to manipulate the telephone.

The Shure Beta 58A works extremely well for speech recognition.  However, it only works in high noise environments if you keep your mouth very close (less than 2 inches away) from the microphone, which is basically treating it as you would treat the microphone element on a headset microphone.  It's a flexible solution, because you can increase the gain and dictate from 6-8 inches away with high accuracy in a quiet environment and then lower the gain and dictate from very close range when the environment is more noisy. 

If you want to spend less money, the Audix OM2 is another dynamic hypercardioid microphone (like the Beta 58A) which will probably deliver similar results to the Shure (based on its reputation and specifications), although I can't vouch for it on personal experience. 

Amen thanks,
I will definitely keep that in mind. I don't know if I will be in an extremely noisy environment so, I might be able to meet in the middle somewhere and have the microphone about 3 to 4 inches away. The problem is like I said, I don't know where I will wind up.

When you were using the buddy desktop microphone, I understand that you are not in a high noise environment. Were you in what could be considered an environment with an average noise level? In other words, do you think it would be suitable for the average office environment?

Thanks

I used the Buddy mic in an office which was absolutely quiet except for a loud overhead air vent/fan.  The DSP technology did a superb job of elminating the fan noise, but I don't know if it would be suitable for an office with other kinds of background noises (people talking, etc).  I doubt that any microphone will give you good results from 3-4 inches away in a noisy office.

I wouldn't be surprised if you could find a phone headset that was comfortable to wear at the same time as the Audio Technica PRO8.  I use iPhone-style earbuds with my PRO8HEX headset all the time.

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I have sent mine back. I checked the tracking number and it should be delivered to your location today. I have never used a properly functioning desktop microphone before but the one thing I'm worried about is noise cancellation.

I'm just trying to work out a solution because it would be very handy to be able to operate the telephone and speech recognition at the same time. Some users on this forum have posted about the shure Beta microphone. Would that be an appropriate solution it would seem to function the same as a typical desktop microphone? My understanding is that it has a very good level of noise cancellation.

I have tried a couple of switches but, I haven't run across anything that would be ideal. I'm thinking with someone else on this forum must have run across the same problem. Can anyone give me advice on how they tackled this telephone problem?

I spoke with Lunis and decided to return my 3-1 microphone because we thought that it was not right for my voice. But today while I was dictating I noticed that my USB ports are starting to act little funky. I am routinely hearing the noise that is made when you unplug or plug in a USB device even though, I am doing neither. Earlier today I was using a VoIP phone and my phone was unexpectedly disconnected and I received an error message at that my microphone was no longer working.

Could my 3-1 issues be because of USB ports acting up? If so, how do I find out?

I understand that 3-1 might not be ideal for an office environment but I really wouldn't mind having one for home use either. So I am hoping that maybe this will fix my problem.

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Thankfully, I was able to find someone in the assistive technology field that actually had a 3-1 microphone that I could borrow. I have now created a profile that works reasonably well.

I think my problems were stemming from two things. Firstly, I had forgotten how much I truly need to enunciate when creating a brand new profile. Secondly, I had found some updates that were available from Windows to actually fixed my USB issues.

I am able to get good results from the microphone from about 5 to 6 inches away. But as I move further away from the microphone than 5 to 6 inches by result become much much worse. Any ideas about that particular issue? I do have a softer voice but I did not think it was that soft.