For the best audio quality, we strongly recommend that both hosts and guests use headphones while recording in Zencastr.

In this article:

Why Headphones Are Recommended

Using headphones helps prevent echo, also referred to as crosstalk, which is an issue where your and your guests’ audio picks up in each other’s microphones. This Zencastr blog post has a more detailed explanation of what crosstalk is, an example of how it sounds, and additional tips on how to prevent it.

Headphones vs. Earbuds

The key difference between headphones and earbuds is:

When deciding which to use yourself / which to advise your guests to use, keep in mind:

Using either headphones or earbuds is strongly recommended over using your computer’s internal speakers.
Headphones are generally more effective than earbuds in preventing echo/crosstalk.
Basic earbuds are often included with mobile phone purchases and therefore something your guests will likely have.
Whether using headphones or earbuds, make sure the volume allows you to hear others but isn’t turned up too high.

If you often use the same headphones to record, you can set them as the default headphones in your computer’s settings.

On Mac:

Click the Apple menu on your computer.
Click System Preferences.
Click Sound.
In the dialog that pops up, click the Output tab.
Select the headphones, earbuds, or speakers you want to set as the default.

On Windows:

Click the Start menu on your computer.
Click Settings.
Click System.
Click Sound.
On the right, click Sound Control Panel.
In the dialog that pops up, click the Playback tab.
Select the headphones, earbuds, or speakers you want to set as the default.
Click Set Default.

Zencastr automatically detects and uses your computer’s default audio output. To change this: