The ATA Chronicle - March/April 2023 - 23

closed-back over-the-ear
headphones, which also
isolate sound, you should
also use " side tone " or zero
latency self-monitoring
to hear yourself as you
speak. Check the package
information about this-
many models offer this
feature. Many non-overthe-ear,
otherwise known as
" on-the-ear, " headphones
are actually closed-back
design, including the popular
Jabra Evolve 40 and the
Sennheiser 8.2 USB. Jabra
has a side-tone software
setting that many are not
aware of, and interpreters
should definitely use this to
help create that more natural
listening environment and
avoid pulling one side off. An
example of an excellent value
open-back headset is the
Sennheiser PC 8 USB (not the
8.2), priced roughly around
$30. There are also many
great choices for open-back
headphones (not headsets-
headsets have a microphone
attached), including the
Koss Portapro and many by
Audio Technica, for those
who prefer to use a separate
microphone. Always strive to
keep the volume as low as you
can when listening, for your
hearing health and to prevent
bleed-through into the
microphone. You'll hopefully
find that when listening using
open-back or semi-openback
headphones that you can
turn the volume down.
You want to look for
headphones or headsets
that have speaker elements
that meet the ISO standard
24019:2022 (Simultaneous
interpreting delivery
platforms-Requirements
and recommendations)
of 125-15K Hz frequency
range. Why? So you'll hear
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a full range of tones. Many
cap the range at 8-10K
Hz, and over time this will
cause more fatigue for your
brain. Remember that, as an
interpreter, you need to hear
better than those working
in call centers or in other
situations since you listen
and speak at the same time.
How Do You
Really Sound?
For microphones, the biggest
issue I see in the profession
is that everyone focuses on
how things sound to them,
but few pay as close attention
to how they sound to others.
Again, you want to meet the
ISO standard 24019:2022 of
125-15K Hz for frequency
response range and use a
microphone that meets your
specific needs. Think about
all those presenters out
there-oh how we wish they
paid better attention to their
microphones.
While any separate
microphone is generally
better than none,
microphones matter very
much for interpreting, and
we in the profession aim
to set the standard out
there and be role models.
Interpreters should sound
great both for colleagues
taking relay and for listeners.
A boom headset microphone
is great for those who
have a lot of paper rustling
and work in semi-noisy
environments. Believe it
or not, the inexpensive
$30 Sennheiser PC 8 USB
mentioned above meets the
ISO 24019:2022 standard.
It's a very solid choice for
primary or backup use
because it works on virtually
every platform flawlessly
due to its relatively simple
internal " sound card. " It
Remember that,
as an interpreter,
you need to
hear better than
those working in
call centers or in
other situations,
since you listen
and speak at the
same time.
also has an inline mute slider
switch and volume dial. The
Koss CS300 USB is also an
excellent value at $50. Most
headsets out there, such as
the Jabra 40 Evolve and Poly
Blackwire models, don't
meet the ISO 24019:2022
standard and don't sound
as good on the other end.
They have a slightly muffled,
heavily processed sound.
While great choices for other
applications, they are less
ideal for interpreting.
Which Microphone
Design?
Stand-alone microphones are
a great professional choice,
but I recommend having a
headset as a backup (please
note that everyone needs a
backup ready, every time you
work). Things to consider:
most USB microphones are
condenser microphones that
have a cardioid pickup pattern
as an option or default. The
cardioid pickup pattern is
basically heart-shaped and
picks up sound from in front
and a bit to the sides of the
microphone, but not from
the back. Make sure you're
using the correct pickup
pattern if the microphone
has options, as you don't
want " bidirectional, " which
is suited for interviews, or
" omnidirectional, " which
will pick up sound in every
direction. I'm not a fan of
most of the USB condenser
microphones out there.
Why? They pick up too
much background noise and
sound tinny to the listeners,
even with the cardioid
pickup pattern.
My least favorite for
interpreting is the Blue Yeti.
Why? I dislike the sound and
the ambient noise it picks
up, and too many users
don't know how to position
it. It's a great gaming
microphone, but if you use
it for interpreting, please
use it properly: have it close
to you, at a good height,
and make sure it points
straight up to the ceiling
and not at you at an angle
like other microphones. It's
a side-address microphone,
meaning the capsule is on
the side and not the end, so
you speak into the side of it
and not the end.
I very much like the Tula
microphone for travel,
but it's a pricey device. I
personally far prefer dynamic
microphones to condenser
microphones as they, in my
opinion, provide much higher
quality audio for the listener,
more like a true studio or
stage environment. But there
are very few USB plug and
play dynamic microphones
out there. A great one is the
Shure MV7. It's similar to
the iconic pro-broadcast
microphone, the Shure SM7B,
but it's cheaper and it's USB.
Note that it also has an XLR
connection option.
You can also choose a
non-USB from a wide variety
of relatively inexpensive
American Translators Association 23

https://www.jabra.com/ https://koss.com/products/cs300-usb https://www.jabra.com/business/office-headsets/jabra-evolve/jabra-evolve-40 https://www.poly.com/us/en/products/headsets/blackwire https://www.poly.com/us/en/products/headsets/blackwire https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC-USB-Headset-line/dp/B005HWEZGG https://koss.com/products/porta-pro https://www.audio-technica.com/world_map/ https://www.tulamics.com/ https://www.shure.com/en-US/products/microphones/mv7?variant=MV7-K https://www.iso.org/standard/80761.html https://www.iso.org/standard/80761.html https://www.iso.org/standard/80761.html https://www.iso.org/standard/80761.html https://www.iso.org/standard/80761.html http://www.ata-chronicle.online

The ATA Chronicle - March/April 2023

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