Need help getting Mic , etc. for voice recording

[bgravato]

Sorry if I gave the wrong idea, I wasn't asking for the playback specs again, just reinforcing Koz comment that the perceived quality is quite dependent on the playback system of the listener... and the listener's ear by itself... "quality" is always a bit subjective... and not fully measurable.

Now, I did remember that I have a mic that came with my Sony camcorder a while back. Checked it out and it's a Sony ECM-MS907 model. It seems to get good general reviews. The specs say it's a condenser mic so I assume I could try that with the ART USB DUAL PRE maybe?

Not sure about that... The ART preamp has two mono inputs (balanced). That's not what you got there... That's a stereo mic, apparently from the pictures looks like a stereo jack for the output. You can split that to two mono signals, but it would still be unbalanced...

I couldn't find much info about what kind of signal does that mic outputs... It only speaks about compatibility with other sony equipment... Sony equipment is known for using their own proprietary formats and does like to play with others...

Without knowing exactly what kind of signal does it outputs and how it's wired it's hard to say what you can do with it...

[kozikowski]

Sony ECM-MS907 is a special purpose microphone designed for custom connection to a stereo camcorder or personal recorder. I don't think it will plug into anything else. Most microphones are mono.

It will not plug into an ART USB DUAL PRE .

You may find the Logitech microphone all you need for all those jobs.

Koz

[tmh]

OK, thanks - sounds like my Sony mic is really for my Sony Camcorder (mini DV style). So, I'll pick another one. I still am not clear as to whether I can expect better quality from a mic/preamp setup or a USB Mic like the Logitech or Snownball I've read about. If I use the preamp setup, giving me the option of two inputs (if I understand correctly) what type of jack would the mic cord have? Can the USB mic be used with the Pre-amp to improve quality or is it an entirely different set of Mics I need with a different connection?

I'm getting there - be patient with me!

[bgravato]

USB mics already have a preamp built inside, and you have to stick to it, unless you know something about electronics and feel like opening the mic and hacking it

Preamps are meant to be used with more "professional" kind of mics... these usually come with a XLR connector (which usually don't include the cable).

The Art preamp for example has hybrid input sockects which accept either a XLR connector or a TRS connector. TRS male connector is a stereo jack connector but the wiring is not the typical stereo wiring (unbalanced) instead of a left and right channel it has the same signal on both wires but inverted on one of them. Usually all professional mics have this kind of connection. The idea of a balanced audio connection is to eliminate the noise on the cable, so you can have very long cables (like on stage mics in a concert) with barely any loss in quality due to the cabling.

If you're curious about a more detailed explanation of balanced audio connections here's an article about it: http://www.dplay.com/dv/balance/balance.html

[bgravato]

Forgot to say that the preamps built in the usb mics are usually of a lower quality than a dedicated external mic preamp.

[tmh]

Thanks much for the info. I think I'm getting close to knowing what I'll want. Sounds like I have a few ways to go on the microphone so I'll do a bit more checking on that.

Now, the soundcard. As I said, I have a HP mid-level desktop. It has an integrated sound card (Realtek I think). Being that I am not concerned with high-quality playback on my PC, just recording, would I want a different card? Some mentioned an external card - needed? Any ideas on this?

[kozikowski]

The sound card is used to create a digital signal from your microphone or other show. USB microphones go around all that because they have all the electronics inside them They deliver a good quality digital signal to the computer -- whether or not you have a sound card installed.

We keep dancing around the "best microphone" because it's too easy to get burned. There's no shortage of complaints about the Samson U01 microphone and its cousins because some tradeoffs are needed to push all that electronics processing inside that one little microphone.

The microphone element, the preamplifier, the processor and digitizer are all smashed inside a USB microphone. The more expensive microphones split things up and you can choose the quality much more accurately.

Take this for one example...

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/pix/TimPlays.jpg

The microphone is a very high quality analog unit and presents its tiny, low level show on an XLR connector.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XLR_connector

This plugs into a sound mixer...

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PV6/

... which amplifies and mixes the show with as many as three other microphones. It produces a very healthy, powerful analog signal which I plug into my Mac which has a very high quality analog to digital converter. The whole thing is recorded by Audacity.

So that's one product line. The mixer can be split up into the Preamp (typical -- the Arts unit) and you may or may not need the rest of the mixer knobs and controls at all. That mixer can be bought with a digitizer inside and it will make the digital bitstream all built-in. That's the USB version.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PV6USB/

USB microphones pack all that into one microphone, the disadvantage being you can't change anything -- you can't reach over and turn up the volume a little. Setting microphone volume is impossible on some models.

Our company, on the other hand, has two Blue Snowballs and they work pretty well. I will shortly do a voice test into the Logitech unit. That works OK, too. USB microphones are very simple, cheap, dead easy to use and are indicated if they fit your tasks.

For good versatility and top quality, you need the individual pieces model where you can choose each piece.

I love this microphone for my voice, that preamp is really quite and well behaved, I need to mix four microphones into a show and since I have a Mac, I don't worry about the digitizer at all. Your mileage may vary, void where prohibited, licensed drivers only.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/clips/timWed_A.wav

Koz

[kozikowski]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqFGm67wtUQ

And no, it didn't escape me that he's doing this commercial with a tie-tack microphone on his chest for voice and not the product.

Koz

[bgravato]

The Art preamp can be used as an external sound card for playback too... It has a headphones output and there's knob to select if the sound you hear on it is coming from the mics or from the computer (or both).

I still think that if you're going to record speech only you should probably start with the $20 logitech mic.