Well "internal microphone" would be any other that's not the one of the Bluetooth headset you're using in the call.
You can use high quality codecs with Bluetooth to listen, but when you use Bluetooth headset as a microphone, it switches to the "headset profile", that has greatly reduced bandwidth and a simpler codec, hence reducing the quality of sound in both directions.
You can very clearly hear the bandwidth difference if you connect to a Zoom call using your Bluetooth headset both for listening and as a microphone, and then switching the microphone to the one in your laptop while someone is talking. I guess that any other software will work, but it's the one I use in the office.
I usually have a high quality microphone on my desk (an AT2020, but you don't need to go that far, I already had it) and use my headset just for listening. But it might not work if you have to talk away from your desk.
I've heard that some people use headsets that aren't bluetooth, like the Jabra or Plantronics that are made for call centers, where you connect the headset base directly to the laptop. They seem to have also an incredible connection range, but they are very pricey so I haven't bought one for testing.
Edit: The "non Bluetooth" headsets I was talking about use the DECT standard. But make sure you get one that has super-wideband support, or you'll have the same mic quality problem. Not the range problem, as it seems like you can even leave your house and keep talking. But they're typically expensive, like USD250-450
> You can very clearly hear the bandwidth difference if you connect to a Zoom call using your Bluetooth headset both for listening and as a microphone, and then switching the microphone to the one in your laptop while someone is talking. I guess that any other software will work, but it's the one I use in the office.
Maybe this isn’t a problem if you are within the Apple ecosystem, or maybe Apple has solved this problem if you are within their ecosystem (AirPods + Apple laptop)? Or maybe I have terrible hearing. Because no, I can’t hear the difference. It’s actually crisper and clearer with AirPods.
> I usually have a high quality microphone on my desk (an AT2020, but you don't need to go that far, I already had it) and use my headset just for listening. But it might not work if you have to talk away from your desk.
A professional grade external microphone (that is NOT an internal mic) is going to sound better. This has nothing to do with Bluetooth.
I was talking about my combination of hardware, but I can do that with the integrated microphone in my MacBook and I'll hear the difference too. I can't comment much on Apple Bluetooth devices as Apple hides any codec information: they don't say which codecs and profiles are supported on their devices, and they've removed connection information in their OS, so I have no idea. But from what I've seen online, it's been problematic even for AirPods + Macbook users [0]
I haven't tested with any AirPods, and I don't know if they do non-standard things, but I've tested with a multitude of Bluetooth headsets and adapters, of different brands and supported codecs and all do the same thing.
This is because different codecs are only supported in the A2DP profile that's unidirectional. Once you use the microphone it needs to switch to the headset profile (HSP)or the hands-free profile (HFP).
HSP is very low quality in both directions, using a very low bitrate PCM encoding. Regular HFP is a bit better, also low bitrate PCM, 8khz sampling rate, but no good. HFP from version 1.6 supports a mono channel SBC encoded but in a 16khz sampling rate. Better but not great at all.
There's also a pair of codecs (FastStream, AptX LL) that support a duplex channel to send microphone audio back in good quality, but device support is not great.
And theoretically Bluetooth 5.2 with LE Audio supports Isochronous Channels, but I have no idea what hardware supports that.
So: Bluetooth audio is a mess. You need to mix and match a combination of standards and codec support in your computer hardware, your computer OS, your phone hardware, your phone OS, your headphones... quite a party.
> I've heard that some people use headsets that aren't bluetooth, like the Jabra or Plantronics that are made for call centers, where you connect the headset base directly to the laptop. They seem to have also an incredible connection range, but they are very pricey so I haven't bought one for testing.
Just get a cheap gaming headset.
Pretty much all wireless gaming headsets also have perfectly fine quality for two-way communication, and you can get completely reasonable ones for ~$50-$100.
Remember, the primary use case for these is to mix gameplay, music, and voice calls while also keeping the latency very low. Bluetooth would never fly in that world, and it's bizarre that it's tolerated elsewhere.
All wireless gaming headsets that I've seen are Bluetooth.
What I've seen from some of them (or even some headsets that aren't "gaming") is "Gaming Mode", that usually means that they either use a low latency codec like aptX Low Latency, or reduce the buffers in the connection or something like that. That's also useful to reduce latency when watching videos or TV.
But once you switch to headset mode, you're back to the low quality mode every Bluetooth headset uses.
Meanwhile, as I cannot justify (to myself) the $350 expense, I'm using a $65 1More Sonoflow headset that works great for me and also have aptX codecs.
> All wireless gaming headsets that I've seen are Bluetooth.
Which have you been looking at? Typically it's just labeled as 2.4GHz in the spec sheet (yes, it's a bit silly since Bluetooth operates in the same band.. oh well).
I just went through my local IT store's cheapest wireless gaming headsets[0] (ignoring colour variations), and I saw:
- HyperX Cloud Mini Wireless[1], Bluetooth, 549kr (~$55)
Oh, I thought the Lightspeed protocol was only for keyboard and mice, as that is/was what they first claimed on their site somewhere. I guess that I always skip those headphones due to the design.
The problem I see here (and in other propietary protocols) is it's very difficult to know what's the quality of the audio stream. Can't find any information about the codecs, sampling rate, bitrate... and the microphone reviews that I've found for that kind of headsets sound very bad.
With the prices on good quality wireless headsets I sometimes feel like I'm going to end up buying a broadcast quality headset with a long cable and forget about it :D
In my own experience, AirPods offer the absolute best microphones for zoom calls, other than professional-level equipment.