My Personal Audio Setup

I’ve never been quite happy with my personal audio setup — the headphones and microphone I use whilst I’m walking around. Several years ago, I reached a comfortable point with my home setup, where I use a Røde NT1-A mic, a set of AKG K518 headphones, and a Scarlett Solo interface.

But, spurred by my AKG K518s ageing, and by getting a new set of terrible USB-C headphones, I started thinking about my personal audio setup again.

Some time ago, I had some thoughts on the matter:

So my AKG K518 headphones are at the point where it's more work to repair than to replace, so now I'm in the market for new headphones...

— Jashank Jeremy (@jashankj) 2021-01-12T13:56:44Z

For the last week or so, I've been using a set of Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's --- excellent sound quality, but the fit is abysmal: the boots and speaker grille scrape at my ears, the set flops around and unseals from my ears, and I've got a gnarly pimple starting.

— Jashank Jeremy (@jashankj) 2021-01-12T13:56:44.000Z

I keep hearing the assertion that over-ear headphones are better at ambient sound rejection than on-ear or in-ear, and I reject that assertion: in my experience, over-ear is worse for fit, and isolation is thus easily lost.

— Jashank Jeremy (@jashankj) 2021-01-12T13:56:44.000Z

Things I want in headphones: * wired, or non-Bluetooth wireless. * on- or in-ear. * relatively rugged. * for on-ear: cups that swivel >90°. * for in-ear: can attach to collar. * no 'active noise-cancelling'. * reputable (Senn, Harman*, Shure).

— Jashank Jeremy (@jashankj) 2021-01-12T13:56:44.000Z

Lemme guess: as usual, I'm not a "normal consumer" and therefore no products exist that fit my niche.

— Jashank Jeremy (@jashankj) 2021-01-12T13:56:44.000Z

I’ve previously had positive experiences with the audio parts of Sennheiser and Harman headphones, and depressingly bad experiences with the consumer-wireless connectivity (i.e., Bluetooth) part.

I can’t really do personal audio with non-Bluetooth wireless, either: all the solutions seem to assume mains, but one unspoken requirement is it’s suitable for walking around in an uncontrolled environment. So wired it is.

I then stumbled across the Røde AI-Micro interface, and an idea took form:

At long last, I've ordered a real replacement ...

— Jashank Jeremy (@jashankj) 2022-08-30T22:43:06.000Z

+ Sennheiser IE 100 Pro (because I want robust enough IEMs); + Røde AI-Micro (because 3.5mm connectors are hard); + Røde LAV-GO + LAV-HS (because I wanted a mic as well, and this seemed like a reasonable option).

— Jashank Jeremy (@jashankj) 2022-08-30T22:43:07.000Z

So … how did that go, several weeks on?

• Sennheiser IE 100 Pro:

  Excellent, do recommend.

  I’ve seen several articles saying these headphones don’t fit well, especially if worn for a long time — this definitely seems like it would be a problem — but my experience is that it fits comfortably alongside both with glasses and face-masks, although it did take a bit of fidgeting, and has led to the unintentional discovery that my ears are very slightly asymmetric.

  That these fit comfortably is unsurprising, given these are one of the options for real wireless in-ear monitors for live performance.

  (And yes, I opted out of the Bluetooth widget.)

• Røde AI-Micro:

  Way better than I was expecting! This lives in its pouch in a pocket, and to it are connected both the IEMs and mic, and any ol’ device I want audio from. I can connect it to either a smartphone — I notice no appreciable battery life loss — or to a laptop, and it Just Works.

  I’m not entirely happy with the pouch, especially given the plugs hanging off it, and my initial concern about the ruggedness of its USB socket was well-founded, given I’ve managed to kill it.

  Summarily, it’s awesome, I love this … but I want longer cables by default, a pouch that fits it better, and a much better set of connectors.

• Røde LAV-GO:

  Ideal for what I want: works excellently, tucks away neatly out of the way (I tend to keep it clipped to my tie — either to the base of the knot or to the side of the tie not far below the knot — or to my collar, if I’m sans tie, or to my glasses, if I’m sans collar), and has marvellous audio quality. But cable strain relief seems to be a serious problem: whilst it has a Kevlar-lined cable, its weakest point is where the cable meets the boot (and the boot is, in my view, severely undersized).

• Røde LAV-HS:

  Needs a better sizing guide, I wound up with a “Large” which ends up being far too big, and practically unusable. Once I determined I could clip the mic to my glasses, that tended to be a better, less intrusive solution than a flailing headband.

So, summarily, and as usual, I’ve destroyed all the connectors on devices that work perfectly well and meet my needs excellently. Sigh.