Help me finish my setup. AT2020 w/ XLR + Asus Xonar Essence STX

[vaerwind]

I'm sick of shitty quality mics on my PC that break after 6 months or have nasty background noises. I need a good setup that allows for extended Skype/Teamspeak convos without annoying other people. I'm also diving into Twitch streaming.

So, I didn't quite do my research and I now have an AT2020 (non-USB) that obviously doesn't work with my Asus Xonar Essence STX soundcard as it requires phantom power.

So, what do I need to make this work? I don't want to return it for the USB version.

I've found something cheap like this Innogear 1- Channel 48V Phantom Power Supply or something a bit more expensive like this Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 2 In/2 Out USB Recording Audio Interface. Will either of these work to connect my AT2020 to my soundcard? Price really isn't an issue.

Also, will this mic and my soundcard play nice together so that I can hear it on both the left and right channels? If not, can I buy one item (are they called preamps?) that will both supply phantom power and duplicate to the left and right channels before plugging into the soundcard via 1/4" TRS?

 

[gecko zzed]

You may have inadvertently done yourself a favour.

If you get the Focusrite you will have set yourself up nicely, giving yourself maybe more quality potential than you actually need.

Connect At2020 to focusrite, connect focusrite to computer via USB. Connect headphones and speakers to focusrite and tell the computer to use it as the audio device. Your onboard sound becomes redundant.

If you want to save a bit of money you can get the Innogear Phantom power. You will need to get an adaptor cable to go from XLR to 6.3mm jack to plug into the STX soundcard. In this option, leave headphones and speakers connected to XTC.



.

 

[Bobbsy]

My advice is to forget the in built sound card whatever solution you go for. If the Focusrite is too expensive, try something like the M Audio M Track...they're on sale right now because they're being replaced by a Mark 2 model--but the original works well for the money. I bought one about a year ago for simple playback and have been impressed enough to use it for lots of mobile recordings.

The built in Asus card would be a major limiting factor on the quality you're trying to achieve even if you use the phantom power supply.

FYI, as soon as you buy an external USB sound card, you will completely bypass the built in card so there's no element of them having to work with each other. Frankly, I use my USB unit for everything from proper recording to Skype to playing Diamond Dash (he admits sheepishly).

 

[vaerwind]

Is that the way to go with soundcards now? External USB? How long has the trend been going away from internal PCI-E sound cards? Seems like a laptop trend more than anything else. What are the limitations of a USB solution?

So, if I'm now considering an external sound card to drive my AT2020 AND my AT900x headphones, what should I be looking at? Will the Focusrite give me the same sound quality that I've had the last 14 months with the Xonar?

 

[gecko zzed]

Is that the way to go with soundcards now? External USB? How long has the trend been going away from internal PCI-E sound cards? Seems like a laptop trend more than anything else.

It is the trend for recording. Not necessarily for gaming or general use. The reason is that audio interfaces allow multi-track recording, monitoring while recording, and playing back. And at the same time, the audio interfaces can fulfil all the other sound requirements you have. USB or firewire are the most common.

What are the limitations of a USB solution?

The limitations are none that are not present in any sound device, at least from a recording perspective.

So, if I'm now considering an external sound card to drive my AT2020 AND my AT900x headphones, what should I be looking at? Will the Focusrite give me the same sound quality that I've had the last 14 months with the Xonar?

The focusrite is designed for recording. Recording usually has higher quality demands than other sound requirements, so it will give the same or better. Importantly, it will give you the flexibility to venture into other areas other than Skype and Twitch.

 

[Bobbsy]

There are still a few PCIe cards that can be used for proper recording but not many. The market has rather split, with things like Creative, Asus and Realtek being aimed mostly at gamers and watching videos etc. USB (and Firewire though that's on the way out) have most of the market for recording and "serious" audio.

Before ecc83 dives in and defends PCI cards, I fully admit there are exceptions that prove my rule...but you'll get a far bigger choice with USB.

Either the Focusrite or the M Audio will deliver a far higher spec for recording. They'll also be somewhat better for playback though the difference there won't be as big.

 

[vaerwind]

Alright. Well, unfortunately, it looks like I got suckered into the bling purchase of the Xonar PCI-E soundcard about a year ago.

Now that I'm looking in the right direction, are there any products that are good for both recording AND playback? The product page for the focusrite talks a lot about the recording capabilities but hardly mentions the playback.

Also, it'd be cool to be able to plug my speakers into whatever device I get so that I could easily switch between playback devices (headphones to speakers).

It seems this discussion has drifted away from mics and towards USB desktop recording/playback devices. Is there a more appropriate forum or is this still the best place to ask?

 

[gecko zzed]

Now that I'm looking in the right direction, are there any products that are good for both recording AND playback? The product page for the focusrite talks a lot about the recording capabilities but hardly mentions the playback.

Recording AND playback are intrinsic to audio interfaces such as the 2i2. That's what they are designed for.

Also, it'd be cool to be able to plug my speakers into whatever device I get so that I could easily switch between playback devices (headphones to speakers).

Here are front and back if 2i2. The front shows headphone socket. The back shows line-outs that go to left and right speakers (if you use powered speakers) or to an amp.

It seems this discussion has drifted away from mics and towards USB desktop recording/playback devices. Is there a more appropriate forum or is this still the best place to ask?

Here is fine.

 

[vaerwind]

Thank you very much for you help thus far. I'm getting closer to a decision. I'm currently trying to understand the differences between the Focusrite Solo, the Focusrite 2i2, and the Focusrite 6i6.

The solo has RCA outs on the back which I can use with my powered Logitech Z623 speakers but does not have a volume control for the headphones out on the front.

The 2i2 DOES have the headphone volume control but has some kind of different connections that I am not familiar with. They can be seen in the back panel photo above. The Focusrite website says "2 balanced monitor outputs – ¼” TRS Jack" on the back panel. What exactly does this mean?

My speakers have left and right RCA in and a single 1/8" TRS in. Can they be connected to the 2i2 outs?

I'm thinking RCA -> 1/4" TRS to get the "balanced" output (I'm not sure what that means tbh) OR 1/8" TRS -> 1/4" TRS and just using either the left or the right balanced jack on the 2i2. Would either of these scenarios work? The second seems like I might only hear half of what I should be.

While I'm looking, any other recommendations for audio interfaces?