Has anyone tried this to improve microphone audio?

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Has anyone tried this to improve microphone audio?

Post by noreply »

I am trying to improve the Microphone Audio

Unfortunately, there are very few parameters which we can change in the software – but I was thinking of using the following module…

Electret Microphone Amplifier - MAX9814 with Auto Gain Control

https://www.adafruit.com/product/1713

Here is an extract from the above link ..

Description
Add an ear to your project with this well-designed electret microphone amplifier with AGC. This fully assembled and tested board comes with a 20-20KHz electret microphone soldered on. For the amplification, we use the Maxim MAX9814, a specialty chip that is designed for amplifying electret microphones in situations where the loudness of the audio isn't predictable.

This fancy microphone amplifier module is a step above the rest, with built-in automatic gain control. The AGC in the amplifier means that nearby 'loud' sounds will be quieted so they don't overwhelm & 'clip' the amplifier, and even quiet, far-away sounds will be amplified. This amplifier is great for when you want to record or detect audio in a setting where levels change and you don't want to have to tweak the amplifier gain all the time.

The chip at the heart of this amp is the MAX9814, and has a few options you can configure with the breakout. The default 'max gain' is 60dB, but can be set to 40dB or 50dB by jumpering the Gain pin to VCC or ground. You can also change the Attack/Release ratio, from the default 1:4000 to 1:2000 or 1:500. The output from the amp is about 2Vpp max on a 1.25V DC bias, so it can be easily used with any Analog/Digital converter that is up to 3.3V input. If you want to pipe it into a Line Input, just use a 1-100uF blocking capacitor in series (100uF sounds best).

For audio-reactive projects, we suggest using an FFT driver library (such as the one in this library) which can take the audio input and 'translate' it into frequencies. If you just need to keep track of audio levels, see our sound-level meter tutorial for Arduino



The question is if we now have the ability to “alter” gain and invoke AGC for the microphone – will this likely improve the audio quality?

I guess if the firmware is processing the audio in a “specific way” – then any external improvements in gain / AGC might be in vain – as they will not be “seen” by the firmware??

Can anyone chime-in and comment on the above?

Is it worth trying – or is this a definite no-go area as audio improvements will not be possible due to algorithm in existing firmware limitation?

I also noted that since this module is made by adafruit – they have LOTS of Arduino projects – there is a FFT driver library – is this of any use for the possible improvement of the current audio setup in the (tr)uSDX? Or is the FFT library already used for the audio in the (tr)uSDX?

Just asking – as this could be a “door” in microphone audio improvement department.

Cheers
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