- Microphone Settings On Mac
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- Microphone For Mac Mini 2014
- Usb Microphone For Mac Mini
- Microphone For Mac Mini
- Webcam And Microphone For Mac Mini
macOS Catalina introduces Voice Control, a new way to fully control your Mac entirely with your voice. Voice Control uses the Siri speech-recognition engine to improve on the Enhanced Dictation feature available in earlier versions of macOS.1
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How to turn on Voice Control
After upgrading to macOS Catalina, follow these steps to turn on Voice Control:
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Accessibility.
- Click Voice Control in the sidebar.
- Select Enable Voice Control. When you turn on Voice Control for the first time, your Mac completes a one-time download from Apple.2
Voice Control preferences
When Voice Control is enabled, you see an onscreen microphone representing the mic selected in Voice Control preferences.
To pause Voice Control and stop it from from listening, say ”Go to sleep” or click Sleep. To resume Voice Control, say or click ”Wake up.”
Microphone Settings On Mac
How to use Voice Control
Get to know Voice Control by reviewing the list of voice commands available to you: Say “Show commands” or ”Show me what I can say.” The list varies based on context, and you may discover variations not listed. To make it easier to know whether Voice Control heard your phrase as a command, you can select ”Play sound when command is recognized” in Voice Control preferences.
Basic navigation
Voice Control recognizes the names of many apps, labels, controls, and other onscreen items, so you can navigate by combining those names with certain commands. Here are some examples:
- Open Pages: ”Open Pages.” Then create a new document: ”Click New Document.” Then choose one of the letter templates: 'Click Letter. Click Classic Letter.” Then save your document: ”Save document.”
- Start a new message in Mail: ”Click New Message.” Then address it: ”John Appleseed.”
- Turn on Dark Mode: ”Open System Preferences. Click General. Click Dark.” Then quit System Preferences: ”Quit System Preferences” or ”Close window.”
- Restart your Mac: ”Click Apple menu. Click Restart” (or use the number overlay and say ”Click 8”).
You can also create your own voice commands.
Number overlays
Use number overlays to quickly interact with parts of the screen that Voice Control recognizes as clickable, such as menus, checkboxes, and buttons. To turn on number overlays, say ”Show numbers.” Then just say a number to click it.
Number overlays make it easy to interact with complex interfaces, such as web pages. For example, in your web browser you could say ”Search for Apple stores near me.” Then use the number overlay to choose one of the results: ”Show numbers. Click 64.” (If the name of the link is unique, you might also be able to click it without overlays by saying ”Click” and the name of the link.)
Voice Control automatically shows numbers in menus and wherever you need to distinguish between items that have the same name.
Grid overlays
Use grid overlays to interact with parts of the screen that don't have a control, or that Voice Control doesn't recognize as clickable.
Say “Show grid” to show a numbered grid on your screen, or ”Show window grid” to limit the grid to the active window. Say a grid number to subdivide that area of the grid, and repeat as needed to continue refining your selection.
![Line in microphone for mac mini Line in microphone for mac mini](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126355948/950197269.png)
To click the item behind a grid number, say ”Click” and the number. Or say ”Zoom” and the number to zoom in on that area of the grid, then automatically hide the grid. You can also use grid numbers to drag a selected item from one area of the grid to another: ”Drag 3 to 14.”
Usb Microphone For Mac Mini
To hide grid numbers, say ”Hide numbers.” To hide both numbers and grid, say ”Hide grid.”
Dictation
Microphone For Mac Mini 2014
When the cursor is in a document, email message, text message, or other text field, you can dictate continuously. Dictation converts your spoken words into text.
- To enter a punctuation mark, symbol, or emoji, just speak its name, such as ”question mark” or ”percent sign” or ”happy emoji.” These may vary by language or dialect.
- To move around and select text, you can use commands like ”Move up two sentences” or ”Move forward one paragraph” or ”Select previous word” or ”Select next paragraph.”
- To format text, try ”Bold that” or ”Capitalize that,” for example. Say ”numeral” to format your next phrase as a number.
- To delete text, you can choose from many delete commands. For example, say “delete that” and Voice Control knows to delete what you just typed. Or say ”Delete all” to delete everything and start over.
Voice Control understands contextual cues, so you can seamlessly transition between text dictation and commands. For example, to dictate and then send a birthday greeting in Messages, you could say ”Happy Birthday. Click Send.” Or to replace a phrase, say ”Replace I’m almost there with I just arrived.”
You can also create your own vocabulary for use with dictation.
Create your own voice commands and vocabulary
Create your own voice commands
- Open Voice Control preferences, such as by saying ”Open Voice Control preferences.”
- Click Commands or say ”Click Commands.” The complete list of all commands opens.
- To add a new command, click the add button (+) or say ”Click add.” Then configure these options to define the command:
- When I say: Enter the word or phrase that you want to be able to speak to perform the action.
- While using: Choose whether your Mac performs the action only when you're using a particular app.
- Perform: Choose the action to perform. You can open a Finder item, open a URL, paste text, paste data from the clipboard, press a keyboard shortcut, select a menu item, or run an Automator workflow.
- Use the checkboxes to turn commands on or off. You can also select a command to find out whether other phrases work with that command. For example, “Undo that” works with several phrases, including “Undo this” and “Scratch that.”
To quickly add a new command, you can say ”Make this speakable.” Voice Control will help you configure the new command based on the context. For example, if you speak this command while a menu item is selected, Voice Control helps you make a command for choosing that menu item.
Create your own dictation vocabulary
- Open Voice Control preferences, such as by saying ”Open Voice Control preferences.”
- Click Vocabulary, or say ”Click Vocabulary.”
- Click the add button (+) or say ”Click add.”
- Type a new word or phrase as you want it to be entered when spoken.
Learn more
- For the best performance when using Voice Control with a Mac notebook computer and an external display, keep your notebook lid open or use an external microphone.
- All audio processing for Voice Control happens on your device, so your personal data is always kept private.
- Use Voice Control on your iPhone or iPod touch.
- Learn more about accessibility features in Apple products.
1. Voice Control uses the Siri speech-recognition engine for U.S. English only. Other languages and dialects use the speech-recognition engine previously available with Enhanced Dictation.
2. If you're on a business or school network that uses a proxy server, Voice Control might not be able to download. Have your network administrator refer to the network ports used by Apple software products.
So you need a computer microphone? Many laptops come with built-in mics, but they usually aren’t anything to celebrate. If you have a desktop PC, a lot of times they won’t come with a microphone.
So which one should you get?
Our top pick for a computer microphone is the Blue Yeti.
It really depends on your intended use and budget though, so we’ll highlight our favorite picks for general use, like when using Skype or Zoom. All of these are excellent desktop mics for a variety of uses.
Microphone quality usually increases with price, so know that for the most part, your budget will determine how well you will sound. You will also want to consider the type of input you are using. USB and 3.5mm are common connections that work with both Mac and PC.
Lastly, is portability import? Some of these mics are great for travel.
Check out our dedicated posts for gaming mics and USB podcasting mics if either of those fits your use case.
Contents
- Best All-Purpose Computer Microphones
Best All-Purpose Computer Microphones
All of the computer microphones listed here come with either built-in or detachable stands so you don’t have to worry about how to keep them standing on your desk.
Blue Yeti
Our top choice for the best PC microphone is the Blue Yeti. Not only is the sound quality excellent for the price, but it has features that I’ve found I cannot live without (I use it on a Mac for podcasting). Whether you plan on using it for gaming, podcasting, voiceovers, YouTube videos, Skype calls, Hangouts, or all of the above, this mic excels.
You can switch it between 4 modes so you can use it for solo speaking, conference calls, in-person interviews, music recording and more.
You can plug in a pair of headphones and adjust the volume, change how sensitive the mic is (gain control), and it comes with a nice sturdy base that allows the mic to be adjusted to the correct position on your desktop (every desk is different).
Shure MV5
Not only is the Shure MV5 a good computer microphone, but it is Apple MFi Certified. That means you can connect it directly to an iOS device without any adapters. It includes both a USB cable and a Lightning cable, so you don’t have to worry about needing to buy a separate cable.
It includes a headphone jack for monitoring, 3 preset DSP modes, and is small enough to carry with you. You can remove it from its stand and use it laying on a desk or table, making it even more portable.
This is easily one of the best computer mics under $100 – and the ability to use it on your iPad or iPhone is really a bonus!
Audio-Technica AT2020USB+
The AT2020 is a classic vocal mic that performs well above its price point.
The AT2020USB+ is, you guessed it, the plug-n-play USB version.
![Microphone For Mac Mini Microphone For Mac Mini](https://www.onlinemictest.com/image/input-tab-osx-4.png)
It has a headphone jack so you can listen to yourself speaking (don’t use your speakers or there’s a good chance you’ll get a nasty echo) and a mix control dial that lets you blend audio from your computer with whatever you microphone is hearing (like your voice).
It comes with a USB cable, tripod stand, carrying pouch, and a threaded mount for attaching to other desktop stands or arms.
Samson Go Mic
Usb Microphone For Mac Mini
The Samson Go Mic is one of the best computer mics for travel and portability. It is plug and play for both Mac and PC (no drivers required) and will sit on a desk or clip to your laptop screen.
But don’t discount it because of that. It has a headphone jack for live monitoring, a frequency response from 20Hz to 18kHz, and comes with a carrying case. This is a great all-around mic that will perform well recording YouTube videos or chatting over Skype.
Samson Meteor Mic
The Samson Meteor Mic offers a great value for the price – and is a great complement to any PC or Mac. You get a flat frequency response from 20Hz to 20kHz, 16-bit 44.1/48kHz resolution, and a headphone monitoring jack. It comes with a USB cable and a carrying case.
Microphone For Mac Mini
You’ll get great sound for any spoken audio for under $70.
Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB
The Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB is one of my favorite entry-level PC mics. You can use it with either USB (for direct connection to your computer) or XLR (for use with a mixer or audio interface) connections, giving you a lot of flexibility and room for expansion.
It’s also a dynamic microphone, meaning that it won’t pick up background noise as easily as most of the other mics on this page.
Because you can use it handheld or with the included stand for desktop use, it works great as a vlogging mic or podcasting mic, among many other uses.
We featured it in our podcast starter kit and we have a separate review if you want to learn more or see some recommended accessories.
Webcam And Microphone For Mac Mini
Blue Snowball
The Blue Snowball is a quality budget microphone for your PC. You can choose between cardioid and omnidirectional (front and all directions, respectively) pickup patterns and the metal stand is adjustable to different heights.
Blue offers 6 different colors of the Snowball so you can get the exact look that matches your setup and will great on your desktop.
If you’re looking for a plug and play mic that is made by a reputable company, sounds great, and is easy to use for under $50, grab this one.
Fifine Cardioid Mic
There is a cheaper version, but it doesn’t have the onboard volume control and it picks up sound from all directions, which is bad in most cases. The cardioid version uses a cardioid pickup pattern, meaning that it is meant to just pick up sound from the front – like your voice. It’s an upgraded version of Amazon’s best-selling computer mic and is a good choice for a cheap PC microphone.