A headset or earbuds are strongly recommended to receive the most accurate feedback with Carnegie Speech software.

Before launching your Carnegie Speech software, set the headset microphone volume in Windows

First, plug in the USB headset and wait for the driver to automatically load (about 10 seconds)

In the System Tray,

Right-click on the speaker icon and select Recording Devices from the resulting menu

In the Recording Devices dialog box, right-click on the Headset Microphone item and “Set as default device”.   In the drop-down dialog box, select Properties

In the Headset Microphone Properties dialog box, click on the Levels tab and drag the slider bar to 80.  Then click on the Custom tab and ensure AGC is checked.  If the device reports that the microphone is too loud or too soft, you may need to change these settings.

Close the Headset Microphone Properties windows and return to the desktop

If this is the first time that your Carnegie Speech software has been used with the selected browser on this computer, permission may be requested by your browser.  Click Allow to accept NativeAccent in the browser pop-up window. Chrome will remember this setting and you will not need to repeat this in the future, unless you clear your browser cookies.

If you are using a headset, place the headset on your head and position the microphone 2 finger-widths away and to the side of the mouth. Do not place the microphone pickup in the airway path. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT as this will cause sound distortion in your recordings, and cause the speech recognition system to provide inaccurate feedback.

You are now ready to begin using Carnegie Speech software