Sound Tech CM-1000USB Table Top Conference Meeting Microphone with Omni-Directional Stereo USB

HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDThe problem I was trying to solve:My wife teaches in a hybrid class room - some kids logging into a video conference from home, the rest (about 16) are in the classroom with one computer logged into the video conference (sound over classroom speaker, video displayed on a smart board). The kids in the class room can hear the kids at home just fine because kids at home each have their own microphone built-in to their device. But with only one microphone in the class room, the kids at home can't hear the kids in the class room clearly. My wife was having to constantly repeat what kids in classroom were saying. My wife had a drama unit coming up based on a script that has LOTS of parts. She'd normally have the kids read the parts but that wasn't going to work if the online kids couldn't hear what the class room kids were saying.I researched a lot of tele-conferencing solutions including speaker phones and one-piece microphone arrays. The ones that seemed like they would work for a room full of kids were way too expensive. Then I found the CM-1000USB and it's sibling product the CM-1000. Before your read any further, I'll tell you that my wife was able to assign parts to both kids at home and kids in class - it worked great, she was thrilled. The coverage isn't 100% perfect but the less then perfect parts are a matter of 1) adjusting mic placement and 2) possibly adding another mic if mic placement alone doesn't do the trick. For now, it works well enough that my wife hasn't been in any hurry "fix" it.To set this up, you plug the CM-1000USB into an available USB port on your computer. You can then plug multiple CM-1000s into the CM-1000USB and other CM-1000s to create a daisy-chain. Multiple microphones allow you to effectively cover a larger area/more people - the computer sees 1 microphone no matter how many mics you connect this way.These mics are plug-and-play on the Windows 10 computers I tested. As soon as I plugged in, the CM-1000USB, the computer recognized it and started using it as the default microphone. If you start/join a video conference it should also see this as the default mic - if it doesn't, video conferencing apps let you choose which mic to use. [See USB PORTS at the end of this review for some caveats about certain USB ports].I bought one CM-1000USB and two CM-1000's to cover a room large enough to hold 30 students sitting at student desks. Because of where the computer was located (and lack of more extension cables), I strung the mics from the ceiling roughly down the middle from side-to-side. I mentioned tuning the mic placement earlier - a better way to run the mics would be down the middle from front-to-back (or visa-versa). That way, no one would have the mics behind them. This should be possible without moving the computer - just more extension cables. But even this less-than-optimal mic placement is working for my wife. See HANGING THE MICS at the end of this review for comments on hanging these mics from the ceiling.RANGEPeople ask how far away these mics will pick up sound. That's just one of the key things to consider. I'm not qualified to speak on any remotely technical acoustic topic so I'm going to keep this list very basic.Range - Person Speaking to Mic:I tested the CM-1000USB in a large, quiet room and the mic could pick up my voice from 25 feet away (Your results may vary based on acoustics of the room background noise, etc.). But consider the following:* Other participants in a video conference will have to turn their volume up to hearyou if you are 25 feet away. If you have some people with their own mic (like remote learners)and you sitting 25 feet away, other participants may have to adjust their volume dependingon who's talking.* In rooms where there's a lot of background noise (noisy air conditioners, outside noises), avoice from 25 feet away will be harder to hear over the background noise.Relative Range - furthest person from the mic vs closest person to the mic. If the furthest person is 20 feet from the mic and the closest person is 5 feet way, it will - again - likely be harder for other participants to get the volume right.Three mics seemed like it would be enough to address the range concerns above (and they got the job done in this case). You can always add more later if you need better coverage. Just plug in the additional mic - no extra setup required.CONNECTING THE MICSThe CM-1000USB and CM-1000 both come with 10 feet of cable attached. As long as you don't need to space them any further apart than that, you don't need anything else. If you are running cords above false ceiling tiles, you'll likely need additional extension cables.If you are running cables near equipment like fluorescent lighting fixtures, use shielded cables to avoid electrical noise. See Accessories towards the end of this review for details on cables adapters. I used shielded cable and had to run one of them directly next to a fluorescent fixture - zero electrical interference. See HANGING THE MICS for additional info.ACCESSORIESThese mics come with all the required cables - the USB mic has a 9 foot long cable attached, the CM-1000 mics have a 10 foot cable. If you need more cord, and / or are running these cables near “noisy” electrical equipment, I recommend shielded extension cables - they are a little more expensive but they help prevent your mics picking up electrical interference that reproduces as audible noise. Any cable running above false-ceiling tiles should be shielded to avoid picking up noise.To connect CM-1000's look for 3.5mm Shielded AUX Extension Cable available on this site in a variety of lengths. I used 15 foot extension cables for both of the CM-1000 mics and didn't notice any impact on audio quality.To connect CM-1000USB to computer, Shielded USB 3.0 Extension Cable. Up to approximately 6 feet. I used a 6.6 foot cord. USB cables have a maximum length that any USB cable should support; I believe the official spec is 3 meters or approx. 10 feet. High quality shielded cables may work over longer distances - I had a total of 15.6 feet total by adding a shielded extension cord. At some point the signal will degrade to the point where the mic may no longer work or work well. If you need to put the mic further away than 16 feet from your computer, you may need an Active USB Extension Cable also known as a USB Repeater cable. These are more expensive. I am repeating what I've read, I haven't actually tried an active cable with the CM-1000USBOptionally - 3.5mm Jack Adapter - 90 Degree Angle 3 Pole 1/8” TRS 3.5mm Jack Male to Female Stereo Audio Adapter. This allows you to connect a cable coming from the ceiling to a CM-1000 without having a loop of cable sticking out from the side of the mic and then up to the ceiling. Not required, just neater.SOUND QUALITYI am not an audiophile but I found the CM-1000USB / CM-1000 produced excellent sound quality for a video conference solution. If you ARE an audiophile note that the frequency response (frequencies that the mics can reproduce) is 100Hz to 10,000KHz. High fidelity requires up to 20KHz. But human speech tops out at around 8,000KHz so these mics have more than enough range for the intended use.HANGING THE MICROPHONESI'd suggest trying whatever is easiest first. You can try more complicated options if the easy ones don't get you the results you want.First, these mic's are meant to sit on a conference table. They don't include any hardware for mounting them from a ceiling; it's up to you to find some creative solution. They aren't particularly heavy and aside from anything else you do, they are physically attached to cords. I hung them upside down, not by the cord facing sideways.Hang them upside down. Imagine the mic sitting on a table and lines radiating out from the sides of the microphone in all directions - that's the main pickup pattern - less so from directly above. If you hang them from the cord, half the mic would be pointed at the ceiling.The easiest option would be to stick the mics directly to the ceiling. I considered using 3M Command Strips or similar but I cannot vouch for that as an appropriate use of that product. Assuming you figure out a way to securely stick the mics to the ceiling, there are two potential downsides. First any vibrations from the ceiling may be picked up by the mic as noise. Second, direct ceiling mount places mics further from the people talking. You might need more mics and/or you might pick up more background noise.Suspending the mics below the ceiling brings them closer to the people speaking - closer is generally better for audio quality. If vibrations are a concern, you can suspend the microphones using flexible materials that will isolate the mics from vibrations.USB PORTS:I initially plugged the CM-1000USB (with an additional CM-1000 daisy chained to it) into a USB port on the front of my desktop PC at home to test - nothing microphones were not detected, did not work. Then I remembered. The USB ports on the front of my computer are really only designed to support flash drives/USB sticks - things that don't require a lot of power. I've tried in the past to use those ports to charge my iPhone and I get an error message on my phone saying it cannot charge. I switched to a USB port on the back of the computer and mics were detected and worked right away. If in doubt about a USB port, try using it to charge a phone/tablet or similar. If you can charge a portable device like that, you should have enough power to run the CM-1000USB - but I make no guarantees ;-)

Works well. Picks up sound fairly well when placed on a conference table in proximity to the speakers. Much larger coverage and greater clarity than internal laptop mics. Only wish it had a mute button.

The media could not be loaded. Sound Tech CM-1000USB Table Top Conference Meeting Microphone with Omni-Directional Stereo USB Sold by: image-enterprises for: $67.66 on February 6, 2015.TLDR: I prefer the Tonor with a windows setting of 99.My reviews all always 100% honest personal opinions on items I purchase for my own use, I am not given anything nor do I receive anything in exchange for my reviews.In this review I compared three microphones, the CM-1000, the Veetop and the Tonor. I was sitting in a recliner in the same place with the microphone on a table 3ft away in the same place talking at normal levels with Windows microphone setting at 100 for all measurements. The results are:-30-25dB Average for the CM-1000-25-20dB Average for the Veetop-20-15dB Average for the TONORThe CM-1000 has two 1/8” inputs for two additional microphones while the other two do not.The other two have weighted bases, a touch sensitive mute button in the center and a USB type C port while the CM-1000 does not.I prefer to use one of these “hockey puck” desktop microphones versus mounted torpedo type microphones for DIY/review video recordings and video/audio conferencing here at or around (within 10ft) of the PC. For on the go recordings, I use the built in camera microphone or when away from the tripod, a wireless lavalier microphone.I remember windows (7 and earlier?) having a setting for +20dB gain but it is no longer there in the current version Windows 11 64bit 24H2. I honestly don’t know if that was a factor of using a 1/8” analog input microphone versus a USB microphone. With that said, I find for whatever reason there is a noticeable difference in setting Windows microphone gain setting to 99 versus 100.The cable on this CM-1000 finally gave up the ghost, outside insulator fell apart and a short developed so I replaced it with a 10ft USB A to C that I cut off the C and soldered inside the microphone then RTV'd to hold it all in place. Still working as it did on day one.What makes this microphone unique is the ability to use two additional microphones using the 1/8" plugs. I nevered used that feature but can be essential for a conference table with multiple people at multiple distances. A true conference microphone.Today I prefer the Tonor at a windows setting of 99 as it achieves the most voice gain with the least background noise but this CM-1000 served me faithfully for a decade, thats 5 stars IMHO. YMWVHope this helps.

This microphone, on its own, works well. When I tried to daisy-chain it together with another CM-1000 (non-usb), their performance fell apart. I went back to using a USB audio adapter with 2 CM-1000 (non-usb) microphones which works great.

I am very impressed with this microphone. It's not too big (maybe the size of a flat baseball). I like the round/curvy design. I use it with a USB 3.0 hub (I have a Surface Pro 4, so I have to use a hub in order to use multiple USB devices), and it worked great. I am not happy that the Surface doesn't have a microphone jack, but after reading lots of reviews for USB microphones, I'm glad that I found a good USB microphone. The quality is fantastic. Very clear/crisp. And I think it was reasonably priced. (I was using a $250 3.5 stereo microphone that ran on a button battery with my previous computer, which was smaller/lighter, but I actually prefer this microphone!) Hopefully it will be just as awesome for years to come!