How to make a microphone out of headphones

Whether you have high-end headphones or just can't find the right microphone headset that suits your tastes, is portable enough, and doesn't degrade the quality of your music, there's always a way. Turning your favorite headphones into a headset that can record your voice, take calls and control video chats is a real challenge.

Microphones and speakers are similar in many ways. Microphones convert sound into electrical signals, and speakers do the opposite, converting those electrical signals into sound. Despite this reciprocal relationship with each other, they are virtually made up of the same components and operate on the same sound principles.

How to use headphones as a microphone

Microphones and headphones consist of vibrating diaphragms that convert sound into electrical signals and return to sound again, so you can use headphones to record sound.

When you speak into the microphone, the diaphragm vibrates, sending electrical signals down the wires inside the microphone and into the mixer preamps. These electrical signals run through the wires going to your amplifier and speakers, which have an electrical coil and magnet attached to the speaker cones. When the cones vibrate, these signals are converted back into sound.

Speakers can work like microphones, reversing the flow of electrical signals, with the sound waves entering the speaker, causing the magnet attached to it to vibrate, and then sending an electrical signal through its wires. The sound quality of re-tuned headphones is worse compared to purpose-built microphones, but they can be improved a bit with sound settings on your computer.

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Step 1

Locate the audio input for the microphone or line input on your computer, and plug your headphones into the jack.

Open the Audio Control Panel by going to the Start screen. On Windows 8 software, it looks like this:

Step 2.

The audio device management program in the search box might be called "Sound" or "Manage Audio Devices." Click one of these options in the results to open the sound control panel.

Click the "Record" tab and if you have multiple devices, confirm the use of the selected headphones, set them to default and click "OK".

Step 3.

Click on the "Record" tab in the Sound Control panel. Perform continuous tapping on your headphones or just tap them, watching for the green bars to respond, indicating that your device is making noise.

After confirming that your impromptu microphone is specified and working, select it and click the "Set Default" button. Click the "OK" button, you are now ready to use your headphones as a microphone.

How to use your headphones as a microphone on your phone and tablet

1. Find an app with an audio recorder that provides an audio sensitivity setting to match the audio on your device. Alternatively, use an external preamp or mixer to perform the matching. Many mobile devices have a hard automatic volume gain control.

2. In order to convert headphones into a microphone on iOS and Android operating systems, you will need an adapter with microphone and headset jacks that divides the input into two signals: one for the microphone and one for the headphones. Plug the jack into the adapter's microphone input and connect the adapter to your mixer or audio interface. Make a couple of test recordings and make adjustments for better settings.

3. You have a tiny microphone that you can use at a concert or shoot hidden video with it, because its small size makes it easy to hide the process.

If there is no audio input

It happens that sometimes there is no audio input on Android. In this case, a solution to the problem may be available through Bluetooth, which is also a microphone. So plug it in and find an app like Easy Voice Recorder that can record with Bluetooth.

Those who use an iPad can try Recorder Plus HD to record via Bluetooth. The problem is that sometimes Bluetooth can give you interference, but if that phone headset is all you have, it's worth a try.

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