Hardware guide
Dictation hardware worth buying
Microphones, buttons and pedals that make dictation better, and where to buy them from Israel. Nobody paid for these recommendations and none of the links are affiliate links.
The one rule: get the microphone as close to your mouth as you can. Speech recognition cares about how loud your voice is compared with the room, not about studio sound.
First buy: a wired headset
The best accuracy comes from a wired headset with a boom microphone. Yes, you will look like a 2004 call-centre agent. Your transcripts won't care. The microphone sits a few centimetres from your mouth, and there is no battery to run flat and no Bluetooth to drop out.
It doesn't have to be expensive. An inexpensive wired USB headset will beat the built-in microphone of most laptops and desktops. It is the cheapest improvement you can make, so buy one first. Jabra is my go-to; Logitech is fine too. Both are sold in Israel (see where to buy).
Microphone types, for dictation
A short guide to what each kind of microphone is, and how it does for dictation rather than for recording music or podcasts.
Headset (boom microphone)
A microphone on an arm in front of your mouth, attached to headphones. It stays at the same distance however you move your head.
Best for dictation Wired is the most reliable. Wireless is the one to take out of the house.
Gooseneck
A microphone on a long, bendable stem, standing on the desk or clamped to it: the kind you see on conference tables and lecterns. You bend it so the tip points at your mouth.
Best desk option For when you don't want anything on your head. It only works while you stay in front of it.
Lavalier (clip-on)
A tiny microphone you clip to your collar, wired or wireless.
Good Clip it high, near your chin. Further down your shirt it picks up more of the room.
Handheld dictation microphone
A microphone shaped like an old dictaphone, with record, stop and play buttons on it, such as the Philips SpeechMike. Common in hospitals and law firms.
Good, if you dictate a lot Built for the job, with the buttons where your thumb is. Expensive, and it takes a hand.
Dynamic microphone
The rugged kind used on stage and by many podcasters. It is not very sensitive, so it hears what is right in front of it and little of the room.
Only up close Good if it is almost touching your lips. Back off a hand's width or two and your voice drops away quickly.
Desk condenser ("podcast" or USB microphone)
The large, sensitive microphones on stands that sell as podcast and streaming microphones.
Not ideal Sensitive means they also pick up the room: echo, the fridge, the kids. At arm's length, that is a lot of room for every bit of voice.
Why a podcast microphone isn't the best dictation microphone
A podcast microphone is chosen to make a voice sound good to a listener: rich, warm, full range. Speech recognition doesn't care about warmth. It needs your words much louder than everything else, every time. A podcaster sits still at a fixed distance from the microphone; someone dictating leans back, turns to the other screen and talks while walking around. A cheap headset that keeps the same few centimetres from your mouth wins over an expensive microphone half a metre away.
Buttons: start and stop without the mouse
When I became a parent, dictation became even more important to me, because a lot of the time I have only one hand free, or none. I started looking for ways to control apps without the screen. That is why the Hebrish apps let you map your own buttons onto their actions.
- Android: start, stop, start again (retake), pause and discard can each be bound to a button (Settings → Sound, microphone and buttons → Buttons; the floating mic must be on). The same actions are broadcast intents, so automation apps can trigger them too.
- Ubuntu and Windows: a toggle key (tap to start, tap to stop) and a push-to-talk key (hold to talk). Any key works, including a foot pedal.
Hardware to try:
- USB HID buttons. AliExpress has many generic ones with 1, 2 or 3 buttons. They act like a keyboard, so you can bind them to push-to-talk or tap-to-start, tap-to-stop.
- Flic buttons: small wireless buttons you can stick anywhere.
- 8BitDo Micro: a tiny Bluetooth controller. An unconventional choice, but it gives you a lot of buttons to play with.
- Gamepads. Another unconventional option. AliExpress has lots, wired and wireless. They are made for games, but each button can be mapped to something else.
On Android, I recommend Key Mapper for binding almost any hardware to Hebrish: it can tell devices apart and send the app's intents, so a remote doesn't steal keys from other apps.
If you dictate all day, one macro button soon isn't enough. I like dedicated buttons for retake, delete and insert.
A foot pedal
The classic transcription accessory, and I highly recommend one. Your hands stay free, and your feet do the starting and stopping.
- Get three pedals: start, stop and retake. That is the most useful layout.
- Don't skimp. The very cheap pedals tend to be too small to use comfortably.
- What I bought (summer 2026): the Olympus (OM System) RS-27H, from DictationOne through Amazon. Check for the H: its keyboard mode, which makes it usable outside Olympus software, is an H-series feature. The older RS-27 without the H doesn't have it.
- AliExpress has pedals too, and Amazon sometimes ships to Israel. I haven't found an affordable local supplier.
Brands with a strong lineup
Office headsets
- Jabra: my go-to recommendation, wired and wireless.
- EPOS (the former Sennheiser business headsets).
- Poly (formerly Plantronics, now HP).
- Yealink: I use the BH71, a wireless headset with a small boom, on the go.
- Logitech: fine, and easy to find.
Made for dictation
- Philips (Speech Processing Solutions): the SpeechMike handheld microphones, popular in medical dictation, the SpeechOne headset and foot controls.
- OM System (formerly Olympus dictation): RecMic microphones and the RS foot switches.
- Grundig Business Systems: Digta dictation microphones and foot controls.
Where to buy
My recommendation: buy from a specialist dictation and transcription shop. They have the widest selection of dictation microphones, headsets and foot pedals, and they know the products. There aren't many left, and I don't know of one in Israel I can recommend; the local transcription hardware market isn't well developed. Check that a shop ships to Israel before you order.
Specialist dictation shops, by country
| Country | Shops |
|---|---|
| UK | Speak-IT Solutions, Speech Products, Dictating Machine Company, VoicePower |
| US | DictationOne, Dictation Store, DictationMall, Transcription Gear, Moore Dictation, Dictamic, DictationProducts.com, Total Voice Technologies, TVPS |
| Canada | VTEX Voice Solutions |
| Australia | VoiceX, Dictate.au |
| New Zealand | Philips (the manufacturer's New Zealand site) |
A partial list: the shops I know of. I bought my foot pedal from DictationOne, through Amazon.
In Israel
I haven't found an Israeli shop that specialises in dictation microphones. For headsets, these are the shops I use:
Speed of Sound Headsets and microphones, with a good range of office headsets and great support.
KSP Jabra and Logitech headsets.
Ivory Jabra and Logitech headsets.
International orders
AliExpress HID buttons, gamepads and foot pedals, shipped to Israel.
Amazon Headsets, pedals and dictation microphones. Some items ship to Israel; check each listing.
Are you an Israeli retailer that stocks quality dictation microphones, or can you recommend one? Tell Daniel, and it can go on this page.
If you dictate all day
The best setup I have found is not one device but a few, so there is always one to hand:
- one solid desk microphone for home,
- one good wireless microphone for when you're out,
- and a couple of handheld buttons, for dictating when your hands are full, as they are when you're parenting.
Have a favourite piece of kit? Tell Daniel.
Try it with your microphone
Free, on-device, for Android, Ubuntu and Windows.