VXI Xpressway Wireless Bluetooth Headset
Printed From: MSSpeech-Forum
Category: Windows™ Speech Recognition Forums
Forum Name: Wireless
Forum Description: Wireless Microphones for Windows™ Speech Recognition
URL: https://www.msspeech-forum.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=280
Printed Date: 24/Nov/2024 at 1:23am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.02 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: VXI Xpressway Wireless Bluetooth Headset
Posted By: Sixwheels
Subject: VXI Xpressway Wireless Bluetooth Headset
Date Posted: 14/Feb/2012 at 4:37pm
I mentioned this headset in a different topic, but no one ever responded, so I thought I would bring it up here. I'm not particularly fond of Bluetooth, but if this headset does all that it says it does, and is decent with Windows Speech Recognition, then I would certainly consider buying one. How about it, Marty, would you recommend this headset? 
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Replies:
Posted By: mmarkoe_admin
Date Posted: 14/Feb/2012 at 4:42pm
Bluetooth samples audio at 4 kHz. WSR samples audio at 16 kHz. Therefore recognition would be exceedingly poor. Don't even consider Bluetooth with WSR.
Marty |
Sixwheels wrote:Posted By: Sixwheels
Date Posted: 14/Feb/2012 at 4:53pm
| I see. That's very disappointing. I really liked the battery life, and the multiple methods for wearing it. Is there anything comparable that isn't Bluetooth? The battery life is of utmost importance. :-) |
Posted By: mmarkoe_admin
Date Posted: 14/Feb/2012 at 5:29pm
Bluetooth is often confused with RF (radio frequency) which is a high quality audio. If you want the best wireless with accuracy and high noise canceling look at the http://www.emicrophones.com/p-1154-samson-airline-77-wireless-usb-headset.aspx - Samson Airline 77 USB . Make sure to watch the movie. The headset goes behing the head and loops over the ears. The flexible boom only goes off the left side of your mouth. A single AAA lasts 8-10 hours. We use rechargeable batteries we get from Thomas Distributing. Marty
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Posted By: Sixwheels
Date Posted: 14/Feb/2012 at 5:58pm
| I have looked at the Sampson several times, but it is just way too far beyond my price range. And the 8 to 10 HRS is probably too short. If I put the headset on at 9:00 AM, it would be done (even at its best) by 6:00 PM. After the battery drains, I can't replace it myself, and I have no one else who can at that time of the evening. Ideally, a 16 hour life is about right for me. Are there any others you can suggest? |
Posted By: mmarkoe_admin
Date Posted: 16/Feb/2012 at 2:30pm
Are you able to mount a cabled desktop microphone or gooseneck near enough to your mouth (3-6"). Marty
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Posted By: Sixwheels
Date Posted: 17/Feb/2012 at 10:41am
| Great minds think alike, Marty, that's why I had originally bought the Buddy Desktop Microphone, and right now I can this Andrea headset mounted on a bendable arm. The problem is that I am never in my wheelchair the same way twice, so consequently the microphone is never in the same place twice. I know that I need a wireless headset because there are other mitigating circumstances, namely that I use my computer to control my television set and DVR. So basically I have to face my computer to control a television that is behind me. You can see how problematic that could be. ;-) |
Posted By: mmarkoe_admin
Date Posted: 17/Feb/2012 at 11:08am
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Sixwheels,Thanks for explaining your varied positions. We hear many times a week from people who wish for a small unobtrusive wireless microphone with great accuracy, good noise canceling and low attractive pricing. Were this device available, we would stock it and sell hundreds a year. Marty |
Posted By: antihadron
Date Posted: 17/Feb/2012 at 11:45am
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Just thinking about the Samson questions. I have one and really like it. I find that I get better runtimes with plain old alkaline vs rechargables. The rechargables are great, well because you can recharge them :-) But I find they will wear out, and even fresh they don't last as long. I've not done any tests to back this up, so this is basically my opinion. The Energizer Lithium AAA may bring the runtime up to the level you need. From the energizer website, at 600mA drain, the batteries last twice as long as alkalines (2 vs 1 hours). At 50mA they last a little longer but almost parity. I'd guess that the drain on the Sampson is about 150-200mA (I can't find it on the specs). So its between a high drain device and a low one. This may mean that the lifespan in the Samson would be between 25%-50%? longer than a standard alkaline. Might be worth testing at any rate... Not sure if thats worth the extra price for the batteries. Another thought I'd had is to add a battery pack for either multiple AAA batteries or one big old D cell. If the batteries are wired in parallel, so that the voltage is 1.5v you should get a runtime of an extra 8 hours for every AAA you can add to the pack. No idea how either of these ideas would affect the warranty or cause neckstrain :-) Another idea for the application you have in mind (remote command and control not dictation) would be an array mic. My experiences are mixed, but if you are not doing transcription you cannot beat the convenience. As long as someone else is not in the room with you and the music is not loud, I have decent results in controlling the media player across the room just using the mic on a Microsoft cinema LifeCam. I've also had mixed experiences with the bluetooth mics (for cell phones). The ones I like the best are the ones from BlueAnt. The new ones support high resolution audio, but I wish they would get around to supporting high resolution audio in the BT profiles (so they DON'T actually support high resolution audio). I don't think either of these solutions would well at all for accurate transcription, but probably fine for C&C. Added benefit is that you can have both solutions (array and noise cancelling transcription) available at the same time (probably running on different computers). Nathaniel http://www.thevoicesoftware.com |
Posted By: Sixwheels
Date Posted: 17/Feb/2012 at 1:03pm
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Great information, Nathaniel. Unfortunately for me, I need it all; dictation and command. I've tried an Acoustic Magic array microphone, and it didn't really work in my environment. The same can be said of the Buddy Desktop microphone. Both microphones work well in quiet environments, but then understandably fail when it comes to controlling my video devices. I could probably get by with the Samson wireless headset microphone and its 8 to 10 hour life (I would just have to swap batteries earlier in the day), but its price point is still a problem. Still, I suppose you have to pay for what you need, so I will probably end up with one sooner, or later. By the way, have you ever looked at the Sanyo Eneloop rechargeable batteries? They are fantastic!
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Posted By: Sixwheels
Date Posted: 17/Feb/2012 at 1:09pm
Exactly what I need! I'm going to leave it up to you to design and build such a thing. And I'm going to even volunteer to test it for years and years.
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Posted By: mmarkoe_admin
Date Posted: 17/Feb/2012 at 1:58pm
Marty
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Posted By: antihadron
Date Posted: 17/Feb/2012 at 2:00pm
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Microphones have been a bit of an Achilles heel for SR. Not sure if its
the problem with the microphones or the algorithms processing out the
noise. Whatever the reason, if you do alot of SR, you will probably
end up using either a samson, ME3, or MD43II :-) I do mostly C&C, so I use an Andrea-750 (I like the headphones and the portability). I also use the built-in array mics on my laptops/android (again for C&C), if only for the convenience. Also I need to make sure that the applications I am building work using less than perfect mics. I use my Samson mostly for transcription. It really is an awesome microphone. I would use it more, but its a little cumbersome to use with a headset. I also wish it would beep when its about to run out of battery. Its embarrassing to talk to a dead microphone :-) I've been meaning to get the enLoop batteries. I like the specs on the shelf life and the fact they don't lose their charge as quickly. But my kids don't understand the concept of 'rechargeable' batteries and throw them out. As it turns out cheapo Alkalines work the best for me right now :-) I wish they didn't. On a related note, I installed an automatic infrared motion switch int one of my bathrooms where the lights were always getting left on. However, people kept using the physical switch to turn it on and off (and still left the bathroom light on). It was not until the switch broke off, that it started getting used the way it was meant to be used. Convenience and habit often trump innovation. Cheers, Nathaniel http://www.thevoicesoftware.com |
Posted By: antihadron
Date Posted: 17/Feb/2012 at 2:10pm
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One thing that might be worth mentioning here is that with bluetooth the problem may not be with the microphones sampling capability at all. The BlueAnt microphone that I mentioned is capable of sampling at 16KHz and has great noise cancelling. Its the Bluetooth profiles on the host device that kill it and bring it down to unacceptable levels. The handsfree profile that is the 'standard' knocks the sampling rate down. Nathaniel http://www.thevoicesoftware.com
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Posted By: Sixwheels
Date Posted: 17/Feb/2012 at 6:07pm
Retire? You can't retire, who else am I going to gripe to about my microphone problems?
For what it's worth, I would chip in a couple $100 to help you develop that device.  |
Posted By: Sixwheels
Date Posted: 17/Feb/2012 at 6:26pm
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Nathaniel, I'm curious, have you ever used Plantronics microphones? They don't sell them, apparently, on emicrophone's website, but I've always heard good things about them. What about that, Marty, have you ever tested them? The original Eneloop batteries that I bought about a year ago were only rated with a shelf energy storage life of one year; the ones they sell now are rated at three years and 1500 recharges. I think they are well worth the extra cost. Just my opinion, though. Sound as if you have the same problem in your house that I have in mine; electronics illiteracy.
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Posted By: Sixwheels
Date Posted: 18/Feb/2012 at 8:58am
Interesting. Is there some way around this shortcoming?
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Posted By: antihadron
Date Posted: 20/Feb/2012 at 12:27am
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If memory serves I think its the Headset Profile vs the Handsfree profile that needs to be supported on the host device (and the client headset). Whether or not that can be done, depends on the Bluetooth stack you have. Truthfully I don't know if its a problem with the implementation of the stack or the actual Bluetooth specification itself. The device is capable of it and does high def audio streaming already using A2DP albeit receive only. I tried at one time to fiddle with it, figured out that it does not work and why, and ultimately gave up. Nathaniel
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