Pikka Speech
Audio setup

Input hardware guide

Give every word a clean path into the room.

A quick, practical setup guide for phones, headsets, microphones, speakerphones, interpreter consoles, mixers, and app audio. Complete the Audio Check before the audience joins.

Which setup for which situation

Find your situation, then jump to its setup.

A phone as the microphone

Any phone with a web browser can be the microphone. Open the speaker link or scan the speaker QR code, allow the microphone, then tap Start broadcasting.

  • Keep the phone close to whoever is speaking, and keep fingers and cases clear of the microphone openings.
  • The speaker page keeps the screen on while you broadcast, but it can't stop someone pressing the lock button. Leave the page open, and set Auto-Lock (iPhone) or Screen timeout (Android) to the longest time in the phone's display settings.
  • Charge the phone or keep it plugged in. On iPhone, Low Power Mode sets Auto-Lock to 30 seconds.
  • Turn on Do Not Disturb so calls and notifications don't interrupt.

Breakout rooms

Table discussions: pass the phone

  1. 1Put one phone on each table. Open the speaker link on it and pick that table's breakout room.
  2. 2Whoever speaks holds the phone close, talks, then passes it on.
  3. 3Everyone else listens on their own phone, in their own language, with earphones or by reading the captions.

Keep one live microphone per table. A second live phone at the same table hears the same voices, so everything is transcribed and translated twice. A phone playing the translation out loud nearby is picked up as well.

Wired earbuds or a headset with a microphone

The simplest upgrade for one speaker. The microphone sits close to your mouth, so it hears your voice more than the room, with no pairing and no battery to charge.

USB-C
Phones and laptops with a USB-C port, including iPhone 15 and later.
Lightning
iPhones with a Lightning port.
3.5 mm jack
Phones and laptops with a headphone jack. On a Mac with a single sound port, that port also takes a headset's built-in microphone.
  • Plug in before you open the speaker link. On a laptop, choose the headset under Input device; on any device, run Check audio to confirm it hears you.

Bluetooth earbuds and Bluetooth microphones

They work, with a catch. When a Bluetooth headset's microphone is in use, the connection switches to the hands-free (phone-call) profile, which carries mono sound at 8 or 16 kHz. Your voice goes out at phone-call quality, and what you hear in the earbuds drops to that quality too.

A microphone that connects over Bluetooth hits the same limit, because the phone-call profile is the one that carries a microphone. Newer LE Audio earbuds can sound better while the microphone is on, when both devices support LE Audio.

Better option

A wireless microphone with its own receiver

Wireless microphone kits come with a small receiver that plugs into the phone or laptop through USB-C, Lightning or USB. Your device sees a wired microphone, so the phone-call profile never comes into play.

Choose one sold as plug-and-play, with no app or driver needed. On a laptop, pick the receiver under Input device.

The laptop's built-in microphone

Fine for one person sitting close in a quiet room. It sits further from your mouth than a headset, so it also hears typing, the fan and the room.

  • Sit close and face the screen.
  • Don't type while you talk.
  • If a headset or another microphone is also plugged in, check which one Input device shows.

A USB conference speakerphone for a small room

A speakerphone combines a microphone and a loudspeaker in one unit, made to pick up several people around a table. Plug it into the laptop by USB and choose it under Input device.

  • Put it in the middle of the table, away from laptop fans.
  • Use one speakerphone per room, as the only live microphone.
  • Listeners in the same room use earphones, so the speakerphone doesn't pick up the translation.

A sound desk, mixer or interpreter console

Why 3.5 mm console-out into a MacBook combo jack is unreliable

MacBook 3.5 mm combo jacks are designed for headset-level microphones, while interpreter consoles and mixers typically output a much hotter line-level signal. The converter can hard-clip before the browser receives the audio, destroying consonant detail that speech recognition needs. Software cannot recover information already lost at the input.

Recommended chain

Best option

USB audio interface with line-level input

Suitable examples include the Behringer UCA202, Focusrite Scarlett Solo or 2i2, and MOTU M2. Choose according to the venue's connector, channel, reliability, and headroom requirements.

Console balanced output → audio interface line input → laptop USB

Budget fallback

Passive attenuator cable

A 20–40 dB 3.5 mm line-to-mic pad can reduce line level enough for a combo jack. It is less predictable, lacks balanced-pair hum rejection, and varies in quality, so always run Audio Check at the venue.

On-site checklist

  1. 1Connect the source through a USB interface or an attenuator cable.
  2. 2In the speaker page, choose the correct device under Input device.
  3. 3For a console or mixer, connect its line output to the audio interface’s line input.
  4. 4Select Check audio (5s), then speak at the same level you will use during the event.
  5. 5Adjust the source until Audio Check reports a clean signal.
  6. 6Start broadcasting and watch the live warning banner during the event.

Read the Audio Check verdict

Clean
Ready to broadcast.
Signal clipping
Reduce the mixer or source output level.
Signal too quiet
Raise the source output or ask the administrator to adjust makeup gain.
No signal detected
Check the cable, unmute the source, and confirm the selected device.

Profile quick reference

ProfileIntended forProcessing
MicrophoneBuilt-in laptop mic, lapel mic, or headsetStandard microphone capture
Line / ConsoleInterpreter console, audio mixer, or professional PA feed80 Hz high-pass filter, soft limiter, and adjustable makeup gain
System audioZoom, Teams, a browser tab, or another appDirect app-audio capture