Converting balanced output from preamp to 3.5mm 2-channel

S

Saturn2888

New member
Soundcard: Realtek ALC1150
Preamp: Behringer ULTRAGAIN PRO MIC 2200

I have an XLR microphone and a preamp w/ both XLR and 1.4" in and out. Both outputs are balanced so I can't just take the 1/4" and convert it to 3.5mm. I also can't take the XLR and convert it to 3.5mm either for the same problem.

Now there are some options. I could record one channel or convert to single-channel 3.5mm which both do the same thing. I lose the balanced properties of the XLR and (GUESS, please correct if wrong) get only half the signal strength.

What I'd like is either a box that converts balanced output to unbalanced line-level output or some driver for my computer's inputs that automatically does the second channel inversion.

Does something like this exist or is there a setting on my preamp that does this for me?


NOTE: The Phase Rev button on the preamp reverses the phase on both channels, not just the one.
 
It seems this box does what I want, but it's very expensive and would only work on one channel the way I want: MCM 555-8485

Honestly, I'm very surprised there aren't more boxes that convert pro audio equipment to computer 3.5mm stereo inputs since it seems like a lot of people would want to do this without a USB interface.
 
You can buy (or make if you're handy with a soldering iron) a transformer device to do the conversion for you but DON'T DO IT. Don't spend another penny on going this route. The Realtek sound card is designed for playback of your movies and making Skype calls but it is useless for even vaguely serious sound recording. You'll find your results are noisy and very lacking in headroom.

You've already spent money on an XLR mic and a largely unnecessary Behringer mic pre amp...don't waste any more on this route.

For not much more than the cost of the adaptor you want, you can buy a pretty reasonable USB Audio Interface (Sweetwater has M Audio M Track II interfaces for $79.95 just now) and the results will be orders of magnitude better. If you like the Behringer, you can take the balanced TRS out to the Line in on almost any USB interface.
 
My biggest issue is latency. If I'm live streaming, I'd like the mic to line up with the audio coming from the computer. I have a USB mic w/ 1ms latency, and it matches up pretty good, but I dunno if it's really 1ms or not. I've already bought a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2 for some other mics (waiting for it to get here), and I appreciate you saying to use the TRS into it so it doesn't double-amp the connection. I haven't found any places that put that info out there.

I've not heard any issues going from the preamp to my integrated soundcard. I dunno if I'm not pushing it enough or if the preamp's just that good or that maybe I don't even know what to look for in the audio. My main thing here (potentially wrong) is that the 3.5mm input jack on the soundcard's gonna be right in time with the audio out of the desktop since they're both coming from the same source. This means less latency and zero to no audio lag from the mic in the stream. Because of the games I'm playing, the mic and desktop audio have to match up or it's gonna sound strange to people watching.
 
You are chasing your tail with latency of such small amounts. 1ms is the same as moving back one foot in distance - nobody can hear that. All digital mixers exhibit more than that. I have to agree about the poor audio performance of the Realtek - and don't forget that because of it's drivers, you've probably already got quite a bit of latency you are not noticing - typically 10-15ms on these types of input devices. You haven't said where the video is coming from, but many modern HD camera used by their digital outputs also have latency in the video output, so time aligning is always going to be a little loose. A decent audio interface will have less latency than your built in card.
 
The video is coming straight from the computer, not a capture card. The audio-in needs to match the game audio as closely as possible, or it will be noticeable. Some videos I made were recorded w/ 10ms latency instead of 1ms latency w/ my current USB mic, and it was very obvious.

So you're saying the integrated Realtek card's drivers, or the card itself, is actually going to have higher latency than a USB audio interface? If that's true, than I've been going about this the wrong way, and I'm willing to accept that and correct it.

This changes my question. How can I tell if a USB interface outputs stereo instead or L or R mono and second, how can I tell what the latency settings are of any particular interface? The Focusrite 2i2 I was recommended outputs either to the left or right channel or mixes between two mics, but I don't need to stereo mic myself so I gotta find something else that takes a mono input and outputs to both L and R at the same time.
 
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