How To Step Up Your Audio On Your Next Zoom Call
Let’s get right to it!
The first thing you want to do is not use the built-in microphone on your computer, phone, or tablet. You don’t have to invest a huge sum of money to get a new microphone, but it will make an immediate difference in the quality of your sound if you go for even a reasonably priced option. Shure makes two USB microphones that sound excellent, and you won’t need to get a separate sound card for them to work. The brand new Shure MV7 is fantastic and costs around $250. And I can honestly say it sounds great, as I own a pair of these. (The cheaper MV5 is not as good in terms of quality, but for 80 bucks can surely get the job done). Also if you don’t want to splurge on these options, your Apple Airpods will give you much better clarity than the built-in mic computer, just trust me on that one.
The next thing you need to do is log into your Zoom account using an internet browser. Once you’re signed in, go to settings, then in-meeting advanced, and then press the button on “allow users to use stereo audio”, and “allow users to select original sound in their client settings”.
Next, this is a very important step, open up your Zoom app, and in the main drop-down menu press check for updates, and update to the latest version.
Finally, go to Preferences, then select Audio and select the below options:
Uncheck automatically adjust microphone
Set the suppress background noise button to low
Next in the advanced audio settings, make sure that echo cancellation is set to auto
Make sure the button “show in-meeting option to Enable Original Sound From Microphone” is checked in (This is crucial, for best quality audio!)
Then check in the buttons labeled High Fidelity Music Mode and Use Stereo Audio
Andddd finally, once you’re in the Zoom chat make sure to have the “Enable Original Sound” turned on, and do this every time you log out, because it turns off the original sound every time.
So technically this is more than 4 simple steps, but I combined them so it kind of is. Nevertheless, doing this will take you no more than a few minutes to implement and will make you sound like a total pro on your next virtual deposition, conference call, or yoga class.
Bonus Tip: If you’re going to splurge on the MV7 microphone make sure to get a table top mic stand or a boom microphone arm extension for ultimate performance.
For a more in depth look, check out this video below made by the talented Colin Gailey.
