When it comes to amplifying your voice with a microphone, you really have just four options: a mic on a stand, a handheld mic, a lavalier or a headset. The latter two offer hands-free mobility, and the lavalier is a popular choice for preachers, lecturers and “stand-up” entertainers. For folks wanting to take the quality and consistency of their sound to the next level, however, the headset offers many sonic benefits.
First, headset mics stay at a fixed distance and angle to the mouth. A headset delivers the same sound whether the person is looking up, down, straight ahead or to the side. A lavalier mic, even with compression and equalization applied, will deliver inconsistent sound as the head moves. Second, a headset mic can be positioned in a prime spot close to the mouth. This translates to a strong, natural sound that has fewer feedback problems.
Danish manufacturer DPA has been building high-quality headset mics for many years, and has achieved notable success in both the live theater and sound markets. DPA’s model 4088 headset mic extends the benefits of the category another notch or two by nature of its cardioid (directional) pickup pattern.
Unlike the common omnidirectional headset mic, the 4088 is designed to reject sound coming from behind the mic’s element. This includes floor wedge monitors, loud instruments, reverb and any other unwanted sound source. The end result is cleaner sound, with improved feedback rejection.
The DPA 4088 mic is a delicate wisp of a mic, consisting mostly of light aluminum tubing, small plastic clips and tiny wire. The headset clips over both ears, with an arc of wire spanning the back of the head at jawbone level. The size of the arc is adjustable, accommodating a wide variety of head sizes and shapes. The microphone itself is attached to a flexible boom extension (another metal tube) that emerges beneath either ear.
The other end of the mic cable terminates in a tiny MicroDot connector; converters are available to work with most any wireless belt pack. A full-size XLR adapter also lets you use the headset in a wired configuration.
Once properly adjusted, the 4088 is quite comfortable—I actually forgot the mic was on several times. With a few gentle, strategic bends, the microphone can be positioned at an optimum location at the corner of the mouth. This points the directional pattern across the mouth instead of perpendicular to it, and keeps the mic out of reach of plosives and other breath noises. Being this close to the mouth, the 4088’s “off-axis” placement doesn’t affect sound quality much.
Placing a mic within an inch of the mouth is not without its challenges. The first is susceptibility to breath noises, sibilance and plosives. I found the 4088 capable of generating some pretty ugly sounds when placed too close to the mouth or too much in front. Plosives weren’t the issue in my testing—instead, the “F” sound splatted and slurred until I moved the mic away from my cheek an inch or so. Once positioned off my cheek a bit, I was able to move the mic forward until it was right alongside my mouth. I then had clean pickup of all consonants.
This location also improved sound quality markedly, which points out the second challenge of up-close miking: consistency in placement. With a lavalier mic located six inches from the mouth, a move of 1/2-inch doesn’t make a huge difference. When you’re starting just an inch from the mouth, a 1/2-inch move in any direction changes the aural landscape dramatically. Once you find the “sweet spot” for the 4088, do everything you can to make sure it returns there every time.
With careful placement, the 4088 delivers crisp, full, detailed sound to rival that of a studio vocal mic. A touch of EQ may be in order, though, as the directional nature of the 4088 can cause a darker sound in some positions. This added fullness can benefit thinner voices, especially females with brighter, sharper voices.
We tested DPA’s 4066 omnidirectional headset mic in the pages of Church Production Magazine (“A Dozen Microphones,” Sept/Oct 2001 issue), and a comparison is in order. The most notable difference between the two is that the omnidirectional 4066 is much more forgiving in placement, delivering almost perfect sound from anywhere near the corner of the mouth. The directional 4088 is much more choosey about its location.
If competing sounds or loud monitors are not a concern, the omnidirectional DPA 4066 is an easier mic to work with. Because the mouth is so much closer than the unwanted sounds, even the omni pattern offers surprising noise rejection.
But if a directional pattern is a must -- and in challenging environments it might be -- the DPA 4088 headset mic is an impeccably designed solution. The quality and consistency of the sound this mic delivers is impressive indeed.
