Dictation hardware: what to buy first

People ask me what I dictate with. I have tried a lot of microphones, buttons and pedals, and the short version is on a new page, Dictation hardware, with links and where to buy in Israel. This post is the order I'd buy things in.

First: a cheap wired headset

The gold standard for dictation accuracy is a wired headset. It looks goofy, and nothing else comes close for the money. The microphone sits a few centimetres from your mouth, so your voice is much louder than the room. An inexpensive one beats the built-in microphone of most laptops and desktops. Jabra is my go-to; Logitech is fine too.

The rule behind it: get the microphone as close to your mouth as you can. A microphone that sounds lovely on a podcast is not necessarily a good dictation microphone.

Second: something to start and stop with

When I became a parent and started using Hebrish all day, dictation became even more important to me, and I often had only one hand free. I wanted to start, stop and retake without touching the screen. That is why the apps let you map your own buttons to their actions instead of fixing one gesture: everyone's hardware is different.

A three-pedal foot switch (start, stop, retake) is the classic answer, and I recommend one; don't buy the tiny cheap ones. For hands, there are generic USB buttons on AliExpress, Flic buttons, the 8BitDo Micro and even gamepads. On Android, Key Mapper binds almost any of them to Hebrish. Once you dictate all day, one macro button isn't enough: I like dedicated buttons for retake, delete and insert.

Then: one of each

The setup that works best for me is a few devices rather than one perfect one: a solid desk microphone at home, a good wireless headset for when I'm out, and a couple of handheld buttons for when my hands are full.

The full list, with shops in Israel and specialist dictation dealers abroad, is on the hardware page.