Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core 8GB kit $232 / 4GB kit $116 / 2GB kit $72. New Macbook 2GB DDR3-$65. HARD DRIVES available -- Free shipping / LIfetime warranty.

Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com

LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, Apple Batteries and Apple A/C Adapters. Also Great prices on Used Apple Computers. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.

Mac users can finally play Party Poker for Mac. Not only that, they can also learn how to play PokerStars for Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, laptops, and LCD TVs side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for a new cell phone GPS products or MP3 players. The Ciao network makes searching products easy for you.

Miscellaneous Ramblings

Hands On: Griffin NE Mic

Does Griffin's NE Mic adapter deliver satisfactory audio input using cheap PC Mics?

6 Nov. 2000 - Charles Moore - Tip Jar

Apple's PlainTalk microphone is different from a standard mic in that incorporates a built-in preamplifier that supplies a line level audio input to the computer. This means that any microphone or other device you plug into your Mac's PlainTalk microphone jack needs to support line level input.

However, the PlainTalk microphone interface means that Mac users are shut out of the majority of computer microphones on the market, especially the vast array of inexpensive ones available for Wintel PCs. And while Apple's own PlainTalk microphone is a very decent unit, it must be either perched on top of your computer monitor or held, neither of which is necessarily the most ideal or convenient solution. People who use voice input a lot will probably prefer to have a headset or boom microphone.Griffin NT Mic

The solution for Mac users who want to use non-PlainTalk microphones is the Griffin Technology NE Mic audio adapter, which is compatible with most non-powered microphones that have a standard 3.5 mm stereo or mono jack.

This adapter is fully compatible with the PlainTalk audio port used on recent Macs. It works by amplifying the mic level signal that most microphones output and boosting it to the Mac's line level signal.

Designed for both professionals and hobbyists, the Griffin NE Mic adapter incorporates a low-noise amplifier and requires no SETI or drivers.

The NE Mic adapter plugs into the microphone port on Mac OS systems, giving you the option of using a wide array of inexpensive microphones, multimedia displays, communications devices, and headsets manufactured for both the PC and consumer market. "You will now be able use any microphone that you could buy at a computer or discount store," says Paul Griffin, CEO of Griffin Technology Corporation.

I decided to give the NE Mic the acid test, trying it out with a cheap PC mini-boom microphone that I picked up from a surplus mail-order house for Can $3.99 (that's about US $2.60), figuring if I got decent results with that, then performance with higher-quality PC mics should be even better.

My test procedure was unscientific: I basically recorded similar phrases several times using the Alert Sound recorder in the Mac OS Monitors & Sound control panel, and then subjectively compared the results produced by three microphones - the $3.99 cheapo; a presumably likewise inexpensive mic and speakers headset combo that Griffin sent along with the NE Mic test unit; and an Apple PlainTalk mic as a control.

To use the NE Mic adapter, I just plugged the adapter module into the test Mac - in this case, my son's PowerBook Lombard 333 MHz machine, and then plugged the two inexpensive microphones into it in turn.

Not surprisingly, the stock Apple PlainTalk mic supplied the cleanest audio input of the three. However, I was surprised at how good the cheap little boom mic was, and I got a very acceptable recording of my voice using it. The headset mic was disappointing, however. It had plenty of volume, but produced an unacceptable background hum or buzz no matter where I set its in-line volume control.

Having established that the cheap PC boom mic offered reasonable input quality, I decided to see how it would work with dictation software, in this case IBM ViaVoice. Here again, the results were surprisingly good. Dictation accuracy using the $3.99 a microphone did not appear to be much less accurate than it is with the Andrea headset mic that ships with ViaVoice or with the Apple PlainTalk mic.

However, I discovered to my dismay that after switching back to the regular dictation mic, using the cheap mic seemed to have corrupted my ViaVoice voice profile files, and recognition accuracy had deteriorated to default (pre training) levels. Fortunately, reading ViaVoice one of its training stories seemed to restore things to normal. Consequently, I suggest that when experimenting with different microphones, one should set up alternate voice profiles in dictation software.

At US$19.95, Griffin Technology's audio adapter offers a low-end solution for novice or aspiring Digital musicians, Audio/Video producers, Multimedia designers, and Voice Recognition users. The audio adapter's preamplifier outputs approximately a 100x gain on the normal mic level signal produced by unpowered microphones. This produces the professional industry standard line level signal used by Apple since the Quadra models. "With all the multimedia monitors with built-in microphones on the market today, the NE Mic audio adapter fills a great need," says Griffin.

The NE Mic adapter is compatible with all currently shipping desktop Macs and PowerBooks (but not iBooks), as well as all models made by erstwhile Mac cloners such as Power Computing, Motorola, Umax, Marathon, PowerTools, and APS. It is also compatible with most legacy Mac systems introduced since 1993.

I found that the Griffin NE Mic adapter works as advertised, and is an ideal accessory for adding more mic flexibility to your PlainTalk Mac. However, my encouraging test results with ViaVoice and the cheap mic notwithstanding, I strongly recommend that serious dictation software users invest in a high quality microphone. NE Mic expands the range of possible candidates.

For more information, visit the Griffin website.

Appendix: NE Mic Technical Specs

  • Input Impedance: 900 Ohms
  • Output Impedance: .1 Ohms
  • Input Connector: 3.5 mm mono
  • Output Connector: 3.5 mm custom
  • Audio Gain: 40 dB
  • Operating Voltage: 5 V
  • Input Voltage: 1.6 V
  • Power Consumption: 6.4 mW
  • Bandwidth: 60 Hz-12 Khz
  • Current Consumption: 1.3 mA
  • Height: .73 inches
  • Width: 1.03 inches
  • Length: 2.37 inches
  • Cord: 3.86 inches

Charles Moore has been a freelance journalist since 1987 and writing for Mac websites since May 1998. His The Road Warrior column is a regular feature on MacOpinion, and he is a news editor and columnist at Applelinks.com.

Recent Miscellaneous Ramblings

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

[an error occurred while processing this directive] Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2008 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.


Have a question?
Ask an expert!

Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Best Used Macs
Video Cards
Email Lists
InfoMac's Low
End Mac Forum

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
MacResQ
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.