i’m using rhasspy with home assistant currently with PS3 eyetoy as microphone. it doesn’t work too well if there is little background noise or from a distance and i was wondering what is the best mic to use for it?
i use home assistant and rhasspy totally offline so not going to use amazon/google equipment
Hello,
I have had the best experience with jabra, so with 410, 510 or 710. As far as i remember, 510 had a slightly better microphone. The cheapest way to get these devices used.
The advantage is, that you also get a good speaker for voice output from Rhasspy.
2 Likes
Got a 30€ USB microphone and it’s perfect !
Sounds interesting. Could you share a link or further details, please? 
Or $4 from aliexpress.
It is a Spirit of Gamer Eko. I bought it 20€ on a french site 
Is it possible to use on a raspberry I2S MEMS and I2S stereo output at the same time ?
3.5mm and I2s works fine.
A Dac and 2x I2S mics should work but from what I have seen they clash trying to use the same simple_soc audio driver.
I keep meaning to google that further.
There are some relatively cheap stereo ADC sound cards also that work really well powered mic modules and obviously have alternative audio out to the 3.5mm.
If you just want audio in on a Pi then the 2x I2S mic modules is best as i/o is clock synced so software EC will work.
If EC aint a need then yeah get a USB mic as you can use elsewhere but solely for a voice.ai they are not the neatest and certainly would’t fit an enclosure like the modules would.
That is the point. I’m interested in those modules for integration purposes but definitely won’t limit myself to the 3.5mm output…
Thats my point if you are going to use the 3.5mm use I2S.
If you are not going to use the 3.5mm don’t be daft to get seperate mics and output as you will exclude the use of EC.
Respeaker to USB sound cards with a single clock for input and capture make far more sense.
There are even Dacs with input, but if you are using the 3.5mm the tidyest, cheapest option with good performance is 2x I2S mics.
For not much more you can get a stereo mic USB sound card that also has high quality output.
The Hifi DACs are relatively pointless unless via high end audio or high end headphones, but completely pointless through the classD amps and single speakers often deployed.
That is my point, usb mic is plausible but in most cases its a bad fit.
Apart from the USB respeaker the software drivers of the Pi based are stinky that will often lead to a clash or dependency problem.
Edimax do a stereo ADC for £7
https://www.scan.co.uk/products/enermax-ap001e-dreambass-usb-soundcard-plus-earphones-genie-with-integrated-80-hz-plus6-db-bass-boos
But that 6db bass boost is far too much for me.
Its all opinion but from what I have tested seperate mics and dacs for common usage voice ai are low down on the list.
For the price of a mediocre USB mic you can get a usb sound card with 2x active mic modules and have preety good audio output already built in as admittedly the 3.5mm is pretty stinky PWM 33Hz-7Khz affair.
Many of the audio options have many considerations and if high quality media is high on your list then EC is essential as you will get it to start but will not get it to stop as your Mic will be flooded with the media.
For some reason advice is given with no mention of that for a user to discover after purchase and in use.
If hifi audio quality media playback isn’t a priority then the 3.5mm will do, can still do EC but maybe not a priority.
I had a syba usb soundcard that turned out cmedia fake and a Kotion one that has took for ever to turn up and some other mic modules and like I2S + DAC never did progress as need to get 2nd wind on testing as waiting for a better solution to KWS.
USB Mic only seems to make sense if it going to have possible use elsewhere and for £20 don’t expect more than just average and relatively adequate.
Seems to be a quite expensive solution, a 410 is about 100eur here in germany.
The PSeye cam works very well for me and is 10$ at eBay. Maybe experimenting with different hotword services will help here? I.e. PSeye and Snowboy works good for me in german, will still test others soon.
Dont get me wrong, I am always willing to pay for better quality but 100eur just for the speaker / mic combo (+ Pi, SD, Power) seems a little over the top to me.
Glad if you are happy with it of course 
Coming to the speakers I ordered several 5 - 10EUR speakers from eBay. My observation is that 3,5" speakers often create noise when directly connected to Pi, while USB dont. They have huge differences in quality and if you want a cheap one that performa good, you have to order and send back a few from Amazon until you found the right one 
Using a cheap USB soundcard or something like mentioned above might also be a good way to go. But as I created one master and at least 3 zero satellites for my Snios back then I wanted to keep them as cheap as possible.
1 Like
That is a known problem with pis, the on board audio is pretty bad. Most ppl use hdmi or a usb sound card.
1 Like
That https://www.scan.co.uk/products/enermax-ap001e-dreambass-usb-soundcard-plus-earphones-genie-with-integrated-80-hz-plus6-db-bass-boos is an awfull looking thing but actually quite rare to get stereo mic in.
Cheap though and work OK.
Cheapest way is 2x I2S mics but the 3.5mm audio wise is pretty bad for wide band audio.
You can pick up really cheap USB sound cards but they are all mono input apart from that edi-max, syba do one but often is approx $15.
You might be able to get away with a cheap USB as often the sensitivity with a passive mic is pretty bad, but if you do a bit of a search on ebay or aliexpress you will find a choice of electric/mems analogue modules that are active and $ cheap.
I just prefer the stereo ones as even though only x2 that does help with sensitivity.
Output wise even the ultra cheap USB sound cards are OK and much better than the 3.5mm.
Even with programmable gain +5/0/float volt don’t bother with AGC though.
MAX9814 Microphone AGC Amplifier Board Module Auto Gain Control for Arduino Programmable Attack and Release Ratio Low THD
Just over 1$ a piece.
There are analogue mems ones and even cheaper ones avail.
Even $2 will get you a usb sound card but as said prefer the stereo ones, but being powered they are going to be better than the cheap USB mic inputs often get with a passive.
The class D amps without signal can give a bit of hiss hence why I like this one as it has a pull to gnd standby.
You can bridge it for mono output also as stereo is pretty pointless without physical space seperation.
But even the cheaper TPA3116 modules are OK you only notice the no media hiss if quiet and near.
PS the ratings are Fubar often quoted feeding 2ohms with 10% THD, with 4 ohms your prob talkinh 100watt is approx 40watt of resonable quality.
Its often true of the lower wattage ratings which the reality is they could be much lower than you expect, with little saving.
Eventually the Kotion S1 Usb sound card turned up but bum steer as its mono mic, damn youtubers!
So seems the only ‘cheap’ stereo mic soundcard is the edimax.
The HDMI mention got me thinking I had never tried a splitter/extractor there are also vga with audio out but vga is sort of getting rare now.
Wondered if without a video connection are the extractors going to be a PIA for audio so got one to test.
I got an conference microphone, because they also use a mic array like alexa, google smart home…
It´s not perfect, but it works quite well within a 4m radius
I have a Jabra 510 I picked up used for ~30 -40 USD.
It can pick up voice anywhere in the main room, and even side rooms if its quiet in the house. I have been very happy with it.
You got a great price on that used Jabra, especially the 510.
Yes, I did.
Which is why after ordering when they changed from free shipping to $5 I didn’t raise hell… it was still <$45. I hadn’t found one for twice that… was very happy.
I found it on some trade site I had never heard of… Mercari I think it was called. I tried finding other stuff, but that was the only thing I’ve found so far that was an actual deal.
I have been very happy with it. Actually just finished doing some custom stuff… created a custom intent handler, and now I can adjust the volume with voice command, and play MP3’s.
In my opinion the PSeye Cam is totally underestimated. Its only 10 bucks at eBay and offers a mic array much better than in any affordable mic you can buy.
Here is a good read with additional links: https://www.cnx-software.com/2019/08/30/using-sony-ps3-eye-camera-as-an-inexpensive-microphone-array/amp/
If you want to be able to stop Rhasspy playing media and barge in with a “Stop” then unless you have an all in one device that has built in AEC or audio out/in on the same card and clock (soundcard) then you will not.
People seem to quote the urban myth that the PS3eye cam that I have actually tested is great or that the mic array has any advantage or is greatly more sensitive as its not.
The PS3 had beamforming algs which with linux we do not so it is merely a mic with bad drivers that was never designed to run on a PC and it runs because someone managed to do a reverse engineer hack and it was never completed in full.
I do play media so the idea of a Gump Rhasspy isn’t one for me and that means all USB mics as you will not get a linux EC alg for it unless its built in.
My ps3eye cam is in my spare parts bin and most people who recommend have never used one with rhasspy.
1 Like