How to talk to Claude by voice — on an iPhone and on a Windows PC — using the Shure MV7 and the RØDECaster Video S. Plus how to run one microphone into two computers at once, and how to switch between mics on the console.
The real reason for this setup isn't podcasting — it's talking to Claude by voice instead of typing. A good microphone turns an AI assistant into something you can simply speak to, hands-free, like a conversation. Here's how it works across two devices.
On the phone, open the Claude app and use its built-in voice: tap the microphone and speak the request out loud instead of thumb-typing. It's the fastest way to hand Claude a task while away from the desk — just talk, and Claude Code does the work.
At the desk, you talk to Claude Code on Windows using this microphone as the input. The trick is Windows' built-in voice typing: click into the chat box and press Windows + H, and whatever you say is typed right where the cursor sits. Whichever microphone Windows is set to — here, the Shure MV7 over USB — becomes your voice to Claude. No typing, no special software: just speak and it appears.
On macOS, switch on Dictation (System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation). Then press the dictation shortcut — on recent Macs it's the microphone key in the function row, or you can set it to press the Control key twice — and speak into any text field, including the Claude Code terminal or the Claude website. For fully hands-free control of the whole machine, macOS also has Voice Control.
Besides the Claude app's voice button, you can dictate anywhere you'd normally type. Tap the little microphone key on the on-screen keyboard and start talking — your words drop straight into the Claude message box. It's the easy way to hand Claude a longer request you'd rather say than thumb-type.
On an Android phone or tablet, open the Claude app, tap the message box, then tap the microphone on the Gboard keyboard and speak. Same idea as the iPhone: your speech becomes the text you send to Claude.
Every method above works through AirPods or a Bluetooth headset — just set them as the microphone in your device's sound settings. That lets you pace the room, cook, or work at the bench while you talk to Claude, with nothing in front of your face. For a spoken back-and-forth, the Claude app's voice mode pairs especially well with earbuds.
And here's the physical setup behind it — one Shure MV7 talking to two computers at once (explained in full just below):
Here's the part that trips people up, and it's genuinely clever. The Shure MV7 is a rare "hybrid" microphone: it has both a USB output and an XLR output, and both work simultaneously. That one feature lets a single microphone serve two computers at once:
Meanwhile, on Channel 1 (Combo 1) of the RØDECaster sits a second, separate microphone — a 512 Audio Limelight. That one is a condenser mic, so it needs 48V phantom power switched on for its channel to work.
So the full picture: one MV7 pulling double duty (PC by USB, Mac by XLR through the RØDECaster), plus a Limelight on the RØDECaster's other channel. Two microphones, two computers, one mic shared across both — all from a single desk.
The RØDECaster Video S has two combo inputs on the back — labelled Combo 1 and Combo 2. Each one accepts a standard XLR microphone cable (they also take ¼-inch TRS plugs for instruments and line signals). So "XLR 1" is Combo 1, and "XLR 2" is Combo 2.
Each input has its own channel on the console, and every channel has a Mute button. Muting a channel stops its sound from going anywhere — the main mix, your headphones, and the USB feed to your computer. That makes the Mute button the cleanest way to switch between two mics: the idle one stays connected but silent, and it can't pick up stray room noise while the other one is talking.
This is the fastest way to flip back and forth. Both mics stay set up; you just move the mute from one to the other.
Finding the Mute button: on the RØDECaster Video S's touchscreen, tap the channel strip for that input — the Mute control sits right on the channel. A muted channel is clearly marked (usually greyed out or shown in red). If your screen shows the mixer as vertical faders, the Mute button is at the bottom of each fader.
If you'd rather leave both channels unmuted, you can switch by volume instead: keep the mic you're not using turned all the way down.
| You want to talk on… | Unmute (or fader up) | Mute (or fader down) |
|---|---|---|
| XLR 1 (Combo 1) | Channel 1 | Channel 2 |
| XLR 2 (Combo 2) | Channel 2 | Channel 1 |
The RØDECaster Video S connects to your computer over USB and shows up as a microphone. Whichever channel is unmuted is what your computer hears — so the same Mute switch above chooses which mic feeds your dictation, video call, or recording.
Here's the RØDECaster Video S's on-screen mixer, drawn out. Each microphone has a tall volume slider (fader), and directly beneath it are two buttons: MUTE and LISTEN. The MUTE button is the one you'll use to switch mics. When MUTE is red, that mic is silenced. When it's grey, that mic is live.
Above, Mic 1 is live (its MUTE is grey) and Mic 2 is silenced (its MUTE is red). This is the starting point — you're talking on XLR 1.
Look at the mixer screen. You'll see a column (a "channel strip") for each microphone — one for Mic 1 / XLR 1 and one for Mic 2 / XLR 2. Each column has a tall slider, with MUTE and LISTEN buttons beneath it.
Not sure which column is which? Tap the MUTE on one and speak into a mic — whichever goes silent is that column's mic.
You'll do two taps: turn on the mic you want, turn off the one you're leaving.
Tap A — on Mic 2, tap its MUTE button so it turns from red to grey. Mic 2 is now live.
Tap B — on Mic 1, tap its MUTE button so it turns from grey to red. Mic 1 is now silenced.
That's the whole switch. You've moved from XLR 1 to XLR 2.
Tap Mic 1's MUTE (red → grey, Mic 1 live), then tap Mic 2's MUTE (grey → red, Mic 2 silent). You just flip the two red/grey buttons whenever you want to change mics.