The microphone setting on a Windows 7 computer is maximum. Methods for reducing noise levels. Alternative microphone settings
Microphone is one of the most necessary devices for computer. With its help, you can record sound and communicate on the Internet using your voice, which significantly expands the capabilities of the system.
However, many users have problems setting up the microphone. Sometimes the sound from the microphone is too quiet or contains a lot of noise. If you also encounter similar difficulties, then this material should help you. Here you will learn how to set up a microphone on Windows 7.
The second tab of the microphone settings on Windows 7 is called “Listen”. The “Listen from this device” function is available here. If you enable this feature, the sound from the microphone will be automatically transmitted to your speakers. In addition, here you can configure how it will work this function when the laptop is running on battery power.
The next tab with microphone settings is called “Levels”. Two of the most available here important settings microphone, this is also microphone gain. If this is your first time setting up your microphone, you can simply set the volume to 100 and the gain to +10 or +20 dB. In the future, these settings can be lowered if the microphone is too loud.
The next tab is called "Improvements". Depending on the number of settings available here may vary. For example, in some cases you can only disable all improvements here.
And in some cases, microphone settings are available on the “Enhancements” tab, which relate to noise and echo suppression.
The last tab of the microphone settings on Windows 7 is called “Advanced”. Here you can change the bit depth and sample rate settings, and you can also change the settings here monopoly regime microphone operation. If you don’t know what bit depth and sample rate settings you need, then just click on the “Default” button.
Once you have gone through all the tabs of the Microphone Properties window, you can assume that setting up the microphone in Windows 7 is complete. Close everything open windows by clicking on the “Ok” button to save the changes.
Setting up a microphone using a sound card driver
In addition to everything described above, there is another way to set up a microphone on Windows 7. This is setup via sound card. The settings available through the driver are completely duplicate system settings Window 7.
To access the sound card driver settings, you need to open the Control Panel and go to the Hardware and Sound section. Here you can find the control panel for your sound card.
Also, the sound card control panel is usually accessible from the “Taskbar” (lower right corner of the screen).
After opening the sound card control panel, you need to go to the “Microphone” section. Basic microphone settings will be available here: microphone volume, microphone gain, sampling frequency and bit depth.
When you change the microphone settings through the sound card control panel, the system microphone settings in Windows 7 automatically change.
Probably each of us wants to chat or sing our favorite song at Karaoke. To do this, it would not hurt us to connect the microphone to the computer. Actually, how to connect and configure a microphone in Windows 7 will be discussed later.
To set up a microphone, of course, you first need to connect it. Usually on a sound card the microphone jack is painted pink and a microphone icon is drawn or written “Line In”.
Having connected the microphone, we proceed to setting it up in Windows 7. To do this, open the “Control Panel” through the “Start” menu. In the window that opens, we need to find the “Sound” section; this is done by entering a phrase in the upper right window with the inscription “Search in the control panel”.
Click on the inscription “Sound” and a window with sound settings will open. We are interested in the “Record” tab. We go into it and see the connected microphones. Here you can set the default microphone if you have more than one. In order to proceed to setting up the microphone in Windows 7, do double click on the icon with our microphone.
Sound Window - Recording Tab
The “Properties: Microphone” window will open; in fact, all the microphone settings are hidden here. In the “Levels” tab we can adjust the received signal level and gain level using sliders. In most cases, a gain level of 20dB will be sufficient. As you increase the gain, noise will increase, so try not to overdo it.
The “Improvements” tab will help us fight noise; be sure to check the “Noise reduction” box.
The “Listen” tab will help us test the microphone’s operation. Check the box “Listen with of this device" and click "Apply". Now you can enjoy the sound of your voice on your computer, just don’t forget to uncheck this item later, otherwise the microphone will work all the time and you won’t have so much fun.
To be able to communicate normally using instant messengers with the ability to transmit video or audio, or record voice information, you will need a device such as a microphone. Several very important factors will influence its operation during setup:
- audio driver;
- serviceability of the device;
- its proper connection.
When a computer uses a built-in sound card, it is more advisable to connect the device to the rear panel, that is, directly to the motherboard. On most computers, the microphone connector is pink.
Connection is also possible on the front panel system unit. But such a connection will be another link in the sound transmission chain. The fact is that most cases do not have shielding for audio wires, so there is more noise inside the case than outside it. The quality of the device will be slightly worse.
Many current laptops have a combination of microphone and headphone jacks.
Audio drivers and their installation
The need for drivers exists and is relevant regardless of what type of sound card is used - built-in or discrete. The driver itself is essentially a program that connects Windows with a particular device. The absence of a driver will disrupt the functionality of interaction between the operating system and the microphone.
The presence of drivers is checked using the Device Manager, which can be found in the Start menu. If there is at least one unidentified device in the “Dispatcher,” then you need to download drivers for it from the official websites of the computer or motherboard manufacturer. After downloading, you will need to install them.
Settings
So, how to set up a microphone on Windows 7? To do this, you will need to use the “Sound” utility, the menu of which can be accessed through “Start”. Click "Start", then "Control Panel", then "Hardware and Sound".
In the “Sound” window, which we previously opened, you need to go to the “Recording” tab. You will need to find a microphone. The device name is highlighted and then the “Properties” button is pressed. After this, you need to select our microphone on the tab and check the box next to the “Use this device” icon.
After saving the changes using “Apply”, you need to make settings in the “Levels” tab. Here you can adjust volume, balance, etc. important parameters. Don't forget to save your changes after the settings are completed.
You can disable certain sound effects using the “Disable all” item. sound effects", located in the "Improvements" tab.
Switching on on the front panel, checking operation
Some motherboards then on the front panel lead to certain functionality problems. After we insert the device, nothing simply happens. There is a feeling that there is no connection between the panel and the motherboard.
One of the best ways solutions similar problem– setting up the RealtekHD manager. Its functions include such type of work as reboot sound devices. This allows the front panel to interact with the motherboard.
To check whether the microphone was connected and configured correctly, you need to use the Sound Recording utility. You can get to it through a regular search in Windows 7. Here you need to click directly on the icon and speak any phrase into the microphone. After which the recording is saved. If the recorded sound is completely satisfactory, then the connection and setup were successful.
The Internet is not just a limitless repository of all information, but also one of the most the best means for communication between people. Many of us use different programs For voice communication (like Skype or Viber) and from time to time situations may arise when the interlocutors cannot hear each other well. For example, if the sound is simply quiet, then the problem is definitely not the Internet connection or even the program itself.
Usually inexpensive headsets, connected to a not very high-quality built-in sound card, can give enough low level sound and its quality. Now we will try to figure out how to improve this situation.
Which microphone will be suitable for communicating on the Internet?
In our case, you can choose one of three main types of microphones:
- Conventional with analog output;
- Web cameras with microphones;
- Microphones connected via USB.
Microphones with analog output
This is the most common type of microphone. They meet in various configurations: on a stick, with a stand, or combined with headphones. All of them are connected to the microphone jack on the PC using a regular “Jack 3.5”. Inside such a microphone there is a special capsule, which receives sound vibrations. The capsules themselves can have different characteristics in terms of their sensitivity and noise level. It’s clear that cheap microphones don’t differ much high level and quality. So the situation when an inexpensive microphone is very quiet, or too noisy, occurs quite often.
Web cameras with microphones and digital USB microphones
You can find cameras equipped with both a simple analog microphone and a digital one. In the first case, two cables will be connected to the PC at once: one to USB, the other to the microphone input. In fact, the microphone here is no different from the analog ones that we described above, it’s just hidden in the camera body.
In the second case, only one comes from the camera USB cable. This option is much preferable. This is due to the fact that the signal from the microphone capsule must be converted into digital view through a special analog-to-digital converter, which is already adjusted to specifications capsule and transmits sound in fairly good quality.
Of course, in inexpensive cameras the sound will also be far from ideal, but thanks to such a converter, the quality can be higher than that of analog microphones with terribly quiet sound. Among the cameras with digital reception sound, Logitech products performed well. Moreover, even the cheapest models can boast of quite normal sound.
What is a USB microphone? In general, it is the same as a camera equipped with a microphone, only without a camera. Often, this type of microphone has the most best quality sound. Unfortunately, they are quite rare on sale, and those that are available are professional models with a high price.
Microphone settings
In earlier articles we already looked at. But many users still often talked about the quiet sound. Some even had to shout loudly into the microphone so that the interlocutor could at least hear something. To correct this situation, you should configure the microphone not in the IP telephony program, but in the sound parameters of the operating system itself.
We will take a step-by-step look at setting up the microphone in the operating room. Windows system 7 using the fairly common Realtek HD codec and configured on Windows XP with an AC’97 compatible codec. Having seen how the settings are done in these codecs, you can do this in others, all by analogy.
Increase microphone volume in Windows 7 via Realtek HD
Before you begin making all the settings, make sure that the microphone is connected to the computer. After connecting the microphone (usually it is connected to the Pink colour) The codec manager will make a request to determine the connected device.
It’s clear that we need to select “Microphone input”. After this, the microphone will be available for use, and we can begin setting it up.
Now open the sound manager for Realtek HD, or run standard mixer volume. To open the dispatcher, click on its icon in the notification area. And if you decide to do everything through the volume mixer, then do right click mouse click on the sound icon and select volume mixer. Then open the Recording tab or go to Recording Devices. 
We can do the same through the parameters in the control panel. Open the “Start” menu and click on the “Control Panel” button. After that, in a new window we find the necessary sections. 
Let's try setting up the microphone using standard means systems. And so, launch the volume mixer using any of the already known methods. 
Find the input to which the microphone is connected. Typically these inputs are identified by color and the computer panel they are on. At the same time, at the beginning there is the word “Microphone” “Mic” and other variations with the same meaning. If you do not connect the microphone anywhere, it will not be displayed. To enable output even of inactive inputs, right-click on empty space in the window and check the box next to “Show disconnected devices”. 
In general, select the input to which the microphone is connected and click on the properties button. Then, in the next window, open the “Levels” tab. 
On this tab you can adjust the strength input signal and degree of amplification. The reason usually lies in the level of amplification quiet sound. To amplify the sound, you simply need to increase the gain level. Often it is enough to set it at +20 dB. You can specify more (if there is such a possibility at all), but then the noise level will increase too much. To get rid of them, or at least reduce them, open the “Improvements” section. 
First, uncheck the “Mute sound effects” checkbox, and then check it next to “Noise reduction.” If, in addition to noise, there is also an echo, then suppression of such a phenomenon as echo can be activated. Unfortunately, when such filters are activated, the voice will sometimes significantly change its sound, in some cases it even sounds with a “metallic” coloration. This is the price of inexpensive microphones.
Now open the “Communication” tab. Here you can activate convenient function reducing the volume of playing music and others system sounds while using voice communication. 
Adjusting microphone sensitivity via Realtek HD
Open the Realtek manager window and go to our microphone tab. 
You can configure the same parameters as last time. Everything is shown very clearly and quite understandably. The manager window looks the same in both Windows 7 and Windows XP.
Setting up a microphone in the operating systemWindows XP
Here we will use the AC’97 compatible codec setup. We will consider the setup at Intel example built-in audio device, but the principle of all actions in all other codecs will be identical.
Double click on the sound icon on the taskbar. The Audio Mixer will open. 
If you suddenly find that the sound icon is missing on the panel, you can turn it on. Open the Start menu, click on the Control Panel launch button and open the Sound and audio devices settings. In the “Volume” section, check the box next to the line “Display icon on taskbar”. 
After opening the mixer, expand the Options menu and click on “Advanced Options”. 
Now let's start setting up the recording mixer. Open the Options menu and select Properties. After that, set the switch to the “Record” position and in the next list, make sure that the checkbox next to “Microphone” or “Mic Input” is checked. 
Click the "OK" button. In the main window of the mixer we look for microphone adjustment. Here you can set the required sensitivity level and, if necessary, turn on the gain (this feature may have different names, but the effect is always the same - +20 dB to the volume). 
In most cases, for the microphone to function properly, it is enough to connect it to the desired connector of the sound card. But sometimes you still have to make some minor adjustments, and next we will look at how to set up a microphone on Windows 7 and 8.
Setting up a microphone on a computer Windows control 7 and Windows 8 are produced almost identically and we will do this through the control panel. And so, to set up a microphone on Windows 7 or 8 you need to go to “Control Panel\Hardware and Sound\Sound”. After the window appears "Sound" go to the tab "Record", where all connected microphones will be displayed on this moment. Select the required microphone and press the button "Properties".
In the microphone properties tab "Are common" make sure that the device is turned on and go to the tab "Listen", where we check the box “Listen to this device” and press the button "Apply".
This setting will allow us to immediately play sound from the microphone and evaluate the quality of its work. It is best to connect headphones, otherwise terrible whistles and noises may appear due to repeated playback of the sound coming from the speakers.
To further configure the microphone on your computer, go to the microphone properties tab "Levels".
On this tab you can adjust the microphone audio volume and microphone gain. Each microphone may have its own values, which is why we enabled listening to the sound from the microphone in order to determine all the values empirically by dragging the sliders and evaluating the result. At the same time, do not forget that when the microphone is amplified, the level of interference also increases significantly.
After we have achieved the desired volume level, go to the tab "Improvements", where you can remove some audio interference.
You need to check the box here "Disable all sound effects" or select a combination of items below. Moreover changes made will take effect and can only be assessed the next time you turn on listening mode. Those. you need to return to the tab "Listen" Disable and re-enable microphone listening mode.
On the tab "Additionally" You can also adjust the bit depth and sampling frequency for our microphone, which in theory affects the sound quality, but in principle you won’t even notice it, except that as the quality increases, the volume of the recorded sound file will noticeably increase.
This concludes the entire setup of the microphone on Windows 7 and 8 on a computer. After setting up, do not forget to turn off the microphone listening mode.
