Headset mics: What's stopping advancement?

[IKEA Cherry Chair]

Is there any reason headset mics haven't had a lot of development over the past few years? They're super convenient and seem like they have potential

It might not be the size, pretty sure there are phone mics better than headsets, and those aren't too big if I recall 

It could be price, but I don't know the average price of mic components

Maybe they're difficult to work with?

My current theory is that they're too niche in the world of audio to be considered something to dig into.

What do you guys think?

[Anghammarad]

well... I dunno... there are some really expensive "Gaming" Headsets out there that sound terrible, flat, no dynamics etc... 

 

I'm currently sticking to cheap 10-20 bucks Logitech Headsets... USB or Audio Jacks... those do sound superb from the microphone standpoint... but the listening experience is not as good... So just for chatting or when I stream, discord etc or record audio for stuffz. 

[IKEA Cherry Chair]

1 hour ago, Caroline said:

Size, good mics are big and headset mics can't be larger than a bean.

Hm, suppose that makes sense

It's because small mics capture less sound waves, right? Or is it smth else?

[Doobeedoo]

Also price, cheaping out and not everyone are good to make. For example Modmic probably the best slap on mic and it's same expected size.

[Spuriae]

There are headsets with great microphones out there. Check out tests of the Audio Technica BPHS1, for instance.

 

For high-end headsets, the main limitation is that vocal clarity and susceptibility to plosives get worse when you position a microphone directly in front of the mouth, so they can only get so good compared to standalone microphones. Moving the mic further away improves quality, but makes the product bulkier and reduces the background noise rejection.

15 hours ago, Caroline said:

Size, good mics are big and headset mics can't be larger than a bean.

High quality microphone capsules can easily fit in a headset microphone. The B&K5128, which is considered state-of-the-art for headphone acoustic measurements, uses 6mm microphone capsules. Professional lav mics can sound great and they're typically 4-6mm. Most standalone condenser microphones use 14mm capsules – big, but not so big that you couldn't put them in a headset if you wanted to.

4 hours ago, Doobeedoo said:

Also price, cheaping out and not everyone are good to make. For example Modmic probably the best slap on mic and it's same expected size.

For most consumer headsets this is also a big reason. When most users don't base their purchasing decisions on microphone tests, and the user's poor microphone positioning or the connected device usually plays a bigger role in bad-sounding recordings, there's little incentive to make an excellent headset microphone in the consumer space.