Dictation Programs: Recommended Input Devices?

[Ledgem]

My family recently bought Macspeech, a dictation program for Mac OS X that is based on the Dragon NaturallySpeaking dictation engine. Macspeech does not work nicely at all with Bluetooth headsets (like the kind you'd use with your phone) and its performance is barely passable when using the built-in microphone on my Macbook Pro. I've read that the performance difference between using the built-in microphone and a headset is astounding. Macspeech has a list of recommended input devices, but it seems a bit outdated and the selection is rather dismal.

So, I'm looking for recommendations on a headset. The headphone sound quality doesn't matter to me; the only thing that should matter is the microphone quality (and the overall comfort of wear). Headsets that work well with Dragon Naturallyspeaking or Windows Vista's dictation input should work well for me, too.

I'll take any recommendations into consideration and there is no hard price limit, but I was hoping not to exceed $50. In theory any headset type should work, but based on reviews it sounds like dictation software prefers headsets that connect through USB. (I'd never even known that headsets/headphones were going via USB instead of analog - must be new?)

I did some searching around and found two other possibilities. Even if you have no recommendations, I'd appreciate comments, experiences, etc. about either of these two:

Creative FATAL1TY 3.5mm gold-plated Circumaural Gaming Headset
While I'd feel silly to use a "FATAL1TY" brand headset (especially for non-gaming purposes) and I'm no fan of Creative, it seems like the positive reviews about the microphone and comfort of the headset far outnumber the negative reviews. I don't know whether it's compatible with Mac OS X or not - they only seem to have Windows drivers, but I'm not sure whether drivers would be necessary on OS X. I plan to contact them about this, but if anyone here knows, please leave a comment.

ABS AZ1 Virtual 7.1 Surround Sound Light Weight Circumaural USB Gaming Headset
Not as heavily reviewed, but it also seems promising in terms of comfort and microphone quality. Similar to the above, I'm not sure of its Mac OS X support. I've contacted the company to find out and am waiting on a response.

I'd prefer a headset to a tabletop microphone because I live in the city and my apartment catches a lot of road noise (and people here seem to think that the car horn is the greatest invention ever created). I'm under the impression that a headset, by virtue of placing the microphone closer to your mouth and implementing noise cancellation, would be more effective than having a stand-alone microphone. If you have experienced otherwise, please let me know.

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To those who are curious about dictation software, I'll say this: it's very interesting, but in order for it to be effective it probably takes a lot of getting used to. I type very quickly (typing speed test results are consistently over 100 words per minute; I think my max was 120 wpm) and I feel that dictating is slower. It's also relatively tiring, because for every bit of punctuation you need to actually say it ("period" and "comma" may not seem too terrible, but "open quotation" and "close quotation" would probably get pretty tiring). If you use it often I'd imagine that it feels less tiring and more natural, just as typing did when we all started. While it's quite exciting to see the computer get what you're saying right, it will invariably mess up at times. If you watch it while it enters the text, seeing it mess up is very distracting. Any speed gains you might have by talking over typing would likely be negated by your having to proof-read the text to make sure that the computer did it right. And if you think that you talk way faster than you type, forget it - you don't need to talk like a robot for the software to work, but you need to speak evenly and clearly. 'Speak the way that a newscaster does' was the basic instruction for how to use the program.

Text aside, the idea of being able to call up programs and command your computer without having to touch the keyboard or mouse seems pretty neat. One would probably need to create their own custom commands for most programs that they use, though. I'm hoping that the use of a headset greatly increases the accuracy of the computer (as well as the speed and ease with which I can speak) - if so, I'll put in the time to force myself to get used to dictating in order to give it a fair shot.

[Claies]

I'm currently loving these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16826289001

Not a very well-known brand, but this headset has really good features and sounds very good. It accepts both USB and standard inputs (with a simple hardware switch between them), hardware volume settings, and the microphone is detachable.

I'm not sure why you'd want a dictation program, then, especially if you often type faster than you speak. I heavily edit everything I write, including the stuff that I post to the public, so I don't see the appeal in it.

[Ledgem]

Thanks for the recommendation. A fair number of the reviewers seemed to have microphones that stopped working, but perhaps it was a bad batch. I'll add it to my list of things to look into more closely.

Regarding why I'd want a dictation program - I don't. Another family member has a potentially great use for it for work. I'm regarded as being the technology-oriented member of the family, so I've been tasked with figuring out the best way to get it functioning. If it works well but I find that I really still have no use for it, I'll simply hand the headset over to the other family member. If it works well and I find that it's actually of great use to me, we'll just buy two of the same headset.

Dictation programs are pretty darn expensive. Unless you're disabled, have carpal-tunnel syndrome, or are performing certain tasks, I can't really imagine how dictation would be useful. But I'm saying that as someone who has logged about five sentences with the program, using a barely satisfactory microphone. If my opinion changes and I find that it's actually quite useful, I'll return here (pending my memory) and write about my change of opinion.

[Claies]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

Thanks for the recommendation. A fair number of the reviewers seemed to have microphones that stopped working, but perhaps it was a bad batch. I'll add it to my list of things to look into more closely.

Oh, I often think that my microphone stopped working when my parents on the other end of Skype don't pick me up. Make sure you check the mute button near the volume knob.

[Ledgem]

It seems that a USB headset is a requirement, for some strange reason. Headsets connecting via a 3.5mm jack can be used, but you'll need a USB converter for them. I'm not sure why, but that forces me to reassess my choices.

Also, I've never used a USB headset/headphones before. From what I've read they're supposed to be "plug and play" and the sound card is essentially a part of the device (which is part of the reason why it goes through USB, as opposed to normal audio ports). Can anyone verify that? I got tired of waiting for their email reply and called up ABS' tech support to inquire whether the AZ1 is compatible with Mac OS X. They said it wasn't, and that they tested it. On the other hand, I've read that certain headsets (notably the Logitech ones) are true "plug 'n play" - requiring no drivers for usage, as long as the OS has some basics that can support them. (And it seems like Linux and Mac support them just fine.) It seems that in some cases, plugging in the device requires that audio applications (such as your music player) be restarted in order for the output to work. I'm wondering if the ABS guys perhaps didn't realize that limitation (particularly if that limitation is limited to Mac OS X/Linux) and mistook it to mean that it didn't work at all. Can anyone shed some light on this? Are some USB headsets just more picky/specialized than others and thus require special drivers, or are they essentially all the same in terms of OS support?

[Eviltape]

Are some USB headsets just more picky/specialized than others and thus require special drivers, or are they essentially all the same in terms of OS support?

Yes. If it requires drivers, then exactly what special super-duper thing does it need them for? If the answer is not clear, then I wouldn't buy it.

The everyday Logitech USB headset is fine if you don't care about gratuitous audio quality or durability, anyway.