Top tips and tech to replicate your office environment at home
If you’re new to working from home, any sound you’re not used to can catch your attention. Speakers are a great way to drown them out, but if you live with someone, or don’t want to disturb the neighbors, it’s worth picking up a pair of noise-cancelling headphones.
My recommendation is Shure’s AONIC 50 headphones, which are the best-sounding pair I’ve ever tested. They use large, 50mm drivers that Shure spent years researching, and are tuned to optimize audio quality. Over-ear headphones are a lot bigger and heavier than earbuds, but the AONIC 50s have enough padding on the ear cups and around the band that I never really noticed. You can activate the headphones’ noise cancellation by flipping a switch on the right ear cup, and adjust its sensitivity inside Shure’s PLAY app . There are two levels of noise cancellation: normal and max, and 11 levels of “transparency,” which allows you to specify how many outside sounds you’d like filtered into the headphones through its microphones. Transparency mode is worth tweaking if you wear these headphones outside, where it makes sense to be aware of your surroundings, but using the noise cancellation modes is a better choice for your home office. If you get distracted every time someone closes a door or the floor creeks, these headphones can make a big difference.If you’re working from home, it means your entire day relies on a strong internet connection. I’ve had the opportunity to try several modern routers, but Linksys’ Velop MX5 has consistently come out on top. The tall, white router connects to the cable modem from your ISP , and creates a strong wireless network that extends up to 3,000 sq. ft. . The router supports Wi-Fi 6, the latest version of the wireless standard that’s faster, farther reaching, and more secure. Most tech isn’t built with Wi-Fi 6 yet, but all of your current devices will connect seamlessly. I’m recommending this router because of its rock-solid dependability, and its ease of use. I’ve never experienced any slowdown, even when over a dozen devices were connected and being actively used. Keep in mind the speeds you get will depend on the plan you’ve selected with your ISP — a fast router cannot improve a slow connection. Setting up the router took about five minutes in Linksys’ app , which can also be used to diagnose Wi-Fi problems, see which devices are on your network, or set per-device parental controls.A good webcam is the key to coming off well on a video call, and this one from AUKEY covers all the right bases. It can record and stream video in 1080P , so the people you’re communicating with will see you clearly, and its built-in microphones can pick up stereo sound while automatically reducing background noise. The webcam can be folded over the front of your laptop’s display, or propped up on a tripod if you’d like to get your computer’s screen out of the way. It connects to your machine via a USB-A cable attached to the webcam itself, so you don’t have to worry about losing it. AUKEY’s webcam is compatible with both MacOS and Windows, works with every major video conferencing service, and doesn’t require any additional software to run.Razer’s Seiren X USB Microphone is a worth addition to your home office if any part of your job requires talking to other people. Like a webcam, a dedicated microphone will allow the people you’re speaking with to hear you a lot more clearly than they would have through the one built into your computer. This one uses a supercardioid pickup pattern, which Razer says picks up sound from a tighter angle, while blocking out most other sounds. This microphone is only 8.43-inches tall, and rests on a stand that can be bent to angle the mic up toward your mouth. It has a mute button and volume knob on the front that allow you to make audio adjustments on the fly, and a MicroUSB port on the bottom, which allows you to hook it up to a computer. The Seiren X is compatible with both MacOS and Windows, will work with all of your apps, and doesn’t require additional software to run.
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